JAMES J. DAVIS
As Secretary of Labor, he agrees to meet with an education official.
Typed Letter signed: "James J. Davis" as Secretary of Labor, 1 page, 8x10½. Department of Labor, Washington, 1922 November 12. On official letterhead to Miss Maria Anita Boggs, Bureau of Commercial Economics, Department of Public Instruction, Washington, D.C. In full: "In answer to your letter of November 12th, I shall be glad to see you and discuss any matters which you wish to bring up. I suggest that you call my secretary and arrange an hour which will be mutually convenient. Cordially yours". James John Davis (1873-1947), who immigrated to the U.S. from Wales in 1881, became a puddler in the ironworks in Pennsylvania before moving to Elwood, Indiana, where he became involved in local politics and labor activities. In 1907, the year Davis moved to Pittsburgh, he became Director General of the Loyal Order of Moose. In 1921, Davis was appointed Secretary of Labor by President Warren G. Harding, serving under Presidents Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover until he resigned in 1930 to become Republican U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania. Davis served until 1945, being defeated for reelection in 1944. He published his autobiography, The Iron Puddler, in 1922. The Department of Public Instruction was a predecessor of the Department of Education, but was in 1922 a part of the Department of the Interior, not a cabinet-level department. Multiple mailing folds. Light surface creases. Corners heavily worn and creased. Toned. Faint pencil markings under signature. Otherwise, fine condition.