Loren Miller was a civic reformer and

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

activist in the first half of the 20th century. Perhaps Miller's most lasting contribution was his success in convincing business magnates to support libertarian causes and organizations. The most notable case was William Volker who, at Miller's suggestion, founded the

William Volker Fund The William Volker Fund was a charitable foundation established in 1932 by Kansas City, Missouri, businessman and home-furnishings mogul William Volker. Volker founded the fund with the purposes of aiding the needy, reforming Kansas City's health ...

in 1932. Other examples included

Jasper Crane Jasper, an Aggregate (geology), aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, ...

DuPont DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...

; B. E. Hutchinson of

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

; Henry Weaver of General Electric; Pierre Goodrich, the

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

businessman and creator in 1960 of Liberty Fund; Richard Earhart, founder of the Earhart Foundation; and

Harold Luhnow Harold W. Luhnow (September 25, 1895 – August 1978) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and political activist. He is most well known for his management of the influential William Volker Fund during the period between 1947 and 1964 in t ...

of the Volker Fund. Miller's political career started as a municipal reformer in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, opposing the entrenched Pendergast political machine. For a time, Miller worked with the Detroit Bureau of Governmental Research (now the

Citizens Research Council of Michigan Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

). Later, he worked in New York City with

Dun & Bradstreet The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation is an American company that provides commercial data, analytics, and insights for businesses. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the company offers a wide range of products and services for risk and financia ...

on their municipal work, and also worked as associate director of the Bureau of Governmental Research of Newark, New Jersey. After the establishment of the Volker Fund, Miller went on to become director of the Volker-funded

Kansas City Civic Research Institute Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the we ...

from 1942 to 1944. He stayed in Kansas City until 1944, and then he left to go back to the Detroit Bureau of Governmental Research as its director. In 1947, he attended the first meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society. Subsequently, Miller returned to the Volker Fund, where he worked with Luhnow and

Herb Cornuelle Herb Cornuelle (died 1996) was a businessman and activist in Hawaii, who was involved in the development of free market think tanks during the mid-twentieth century. With F. A. "Baldy" Harper, Cornuelle helped found the Foundation for Economic Educ ...

, who later became vice president of

Dole Corporation Dole may refer to: Places * Dole, Ceredigion, Wales * Dole, Idrija, Slovenia * Dole, Jura, France ** Arrondissement of Dole * Dole (Kladanj), a village at the entity line of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina-Republika Srpska * Dole, Ljubuški, ...

and president of

United Brands Chiquita Brands International Sàrl (), formerly known as Chiquita Brands International Inc. and United Fruit Co., is a Swiss-domiciled American producer and distributor of bananas and other produce. The company operates under a number of s ...

References

An interview with William Matscheck
about the Kansas City Civic Research Institute
A speech
by John Blundell discussing the history of William Volker Fund Year of birth missing Year of death missing American libertarians {{Activist-stub