Respectfully Dedicated to Herbert Henry Lehman on the Occasion Of
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Y Respectfully dedicated to Herbert Henry Lehman on the occasion of his JBtii birth- day - March 28, 1959. Bibliography Commentary Whof s Who in America uQrld Alaianac Daily Newspapers Herbert H. Lehman himself. a 53c It has been said that "A United States Senator is not only a person, but also an institution". To fully describe the subject of my biography, I want to add that Herbert H. Lehman is also a warm-hearted, kind and generous man who has contributed much to the political, economical, social and physical welfare of mankind, Herbert H. Lehman was born in New York City on March 28, 1878. His parents were Mayer and Babette Lehmon. He was the youngest of eight children. His father had come to this country from Germany and settled in Montgomery, Alabama, where he entered the cotton business. Later, Mayer Lehman moved to New York and became one of the co- founders of the New York Cotton Exchange. Young Herbert received his preparatory education at Dr. Sach's Collegiate Institute. In 1899, he received his B.A. degree at the Williams College in Williamstown, Mass. After his graduation, he entered welfare work at the Henry Street Settlement in New York City. He started in business with the J. Spencer Turner Company, a textile - 2 - manufacturing firm in Brooklyn, and his weekly salary at the beginning was 15. By 1906, however, he had become vice-president and treasurer of the company. Two years later, he left the firm to become a partner in his family's banking business, Lehman Brothers. In 1914, he became associated with the Joint Distribution Committee and directed the collection and disbursement of $75,000,000 for the relief of Jewish war sufferers in Europe and Palestine. Later, he became a civilian assistant to Franklin Delano Roosevelt who was then Assistant Secretary of the U. 8. Navy. In August of 1917, Lehman became a captain in the United States Army, and two years later had been promoted to the rank of colonel. He aided General George W. Goethals in supervising the purchase, storage and distribution of material for the American Expeditionary Forces. Later he served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of war, and in 1919 was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. After World War I, he returned to his work with Lehman Brothers and was active in the settlement of many labor disputes. In 1926, he was asked to serve as chairman of a citizen's committee on finances for New York City and of the campaign committee for Alfred E. Smith's election as governor of New York. In 1928, Lehman withdrew from business and embarked on a political career. 0530-^315- - 3 - Later that year, Lehman was elected Lieutenant Governor of New York, and was re-elected in 1930. He thus served again under his old "boss" Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was then governor of New York. During this period of time, Lehman devoted much time and work to the improvement of state hospitals for the insane and a better system for the parole of criminals. When Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for President in 1932, Lehman ran for Governor of New York; both won their campaigns. Lehman was re-elected in 1934, 1936 and 1938 and became New York's first Governor to hold office for four consecutive terms. Twenty-nine days before the end of his fourth term, Lehman resigned the governorship to become head of the newly created Office of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation Operations. Lehman himself defined the aims of this agency as follows: "Our enemy is fighting to enslave mankind; we are fighting to make men free. We must feed and clothe and find shelter for the millions whose lives have been disrupted by the war". Again, Herbert H. Lehman put his heart and soul into welfare work, For the next eight year3, Lehman held no political office, but devoted all his tine and efforts to the newly created United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration of which he had become director-general. At this point, I would like to quote from a letter which Mr. Lehman wrote to me on March 3, 1959, in answer to my question what he considered his greatest achievement: "I believe that the position which gave me the greatest satisfaction was that of Director General of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, to which I was elected by 44 nations in 1943. "UNRRA", as it was generally known, was the greatest relief and rehabilitation organization in the history of the world. V,e dealt with greet numbers of people in Europe, Africa and Asia. The work brought me so much satisfaction because there is no doubt that we saved many millions of people from death by starvation, disease tnd suffering, and we made it possible for several hundreds of millions of people throughout the world to take the first steps toward economic recovery and well-being. It v\as the hardest job I ever had, but also the most satisfying. I will always look back with great pride that I was able to direct the efforts of this great organization for three years." Herbert Lehman's untiring efforts on behalf of UNRRA were recognized and appreciated, for he was swarded decorations not only by the United States but also Italy, Czechoslovakia and China. He worked with UNRRA until March 1946. In 1948, Lehman joined the advisory board of the Economic Cooperation Administration. The 71-year old Lehman was elected United States Senator in 1949» to complete the term of Senator Robert P. Wagner. Lehman was re-elected in 1950 and served his full term which expired in 1957. He strongly opposed the McCarran-Walters Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, calling it "dis- criminatory". He was among the few Senators who opposed the joint resolution of January 1955 granting the President discretionary pov.ers to use American forces in the defense of Formosa and the Pescadores. He opposed the mutual defense treaty between the United States and Nationalist China. How Lehman feels about the time he spent as Lieutenant Governor and Governor of New York State end Senator for 2^ew York in Washington, can perhaps be best answered in his own v,ords: "In addition to being Director General of UNRRA, I enjoyed very much the fourteen years I spent in Albany as Lieutenant-Governor and Governor, as well as the seven years which I spent in Washington as e member of the United Stetes Senate." "Many people have asked me which of these two positions I liked best. My answer is the Governorship, since that position brought me very close to the people with whose problems any successful public official mu3t concern himself." - 6 - Lehman has been active in philanthropic work all his life and has always taken particular interest in child welfare institutions, hospitals and trade schools. He is a director of the National Council of the Boy 3couts of America and the National Conference of Christians and Jews, to mention only two of his many associations. So much for Lehman the public figure, and now to Lehman the man: When I asked Mr. Lehman what he considered the most important thing which has ever happened to him, he answered me this way: "I believe that the most important thing that has happened to me is my marriage to the then Edith Altschul nearly forty-nine years ago". One of Mr. Lehman1s hobbies is photography, and he told me about the type of film and cameras he uses. Mr. Lehman and his wife were the originators of the Boxer breed of dogs in this country. They brought over the first Boxers fifty years ago. Lehman is very fond of dogs and has never been without one since he was a little boy. The Lehmans lost a son (Peter Gerald) in World War II and have two remaining children, John Robert and Hilda Jane. They are the proud grandparents of five grandchildren. I would like to have Herbert Henry Lehman as my friend because he has done much for the welfare of mankind ~ 7 — and because I believe he is a kind-hearted and generous man all the way through. I like to feel that he has already become my friend in a small way because he took the time and patience to answer my letters even though he is very busy..