Milo Randolph Perkins (1900–1972) was an American economic expert working for the
Department of Agriculture in
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
, DC. He was the first administrator for the
First Food Stamp Program (FSP) (May 16, 1939 – Spring 1943).
Professional life
Born in
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
, Milo Perkins became a successful businessman in
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, Texas, launching the ‘King-Perkins-Bag Company’ in 1917 for the production of burlap bags. In 1935 or 1936 he was called to
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
to become aide to
Henry Wallace, who was the 11th US
Secretary of Agriculture
The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments.
The department includes several organi ...
(1933–1940).
In a 1939 publication, Perkins was titled as the “President of the
Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation
The Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation was one of the so-called alphabet agencies set up in the United States during the 1930s as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. Created in 1933 as the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation, it ...
”, an agency of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
. To Perkins’ responsibilities belonged the ministerial exportation policy to stabilize the internal markets and to secure financial returns from the surpluses through exports. At this time, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
was member of several ‘state cartels’ for international commodity regulation e.g. in the
International Wheat Agreement (since 1933). In 1944, Perkins rejected the project of leftist
Progressivist
Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techn ...
s to ban all
cartel
A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mos ...
s, nationally and internationally.
In 1942, Perkins was featured as one of the prominent "young
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
ers" along with
Francis Biddle
Francis Beverley Biddle (May 9, 1886 – October 4, 1968) was an American lawyer and judge who was the United States Attorney General during World War II. He also served as the primary American judge during the postwar Nuremberg Trials as well a ...
,
Archibald Macleish and
Abe Fortas
Abraham Fortas (June 19, 1910 – April 5, 1982) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1965 to 1969. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Fortas graduated from Rhod ...
. He also was said to be "now top war and postwar planner“ on the American side of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. In 1944. he had resigned from his last official post in Washington, being ‘Executive Director of the
Board of Economic Warfare
The Office of Administrator of Export Control (also referred to as the Export Control Administration) was established in the United States by Presidential Proclamation 2413, July 2, 1940, to administer export licensing provisions of the act of July ...
’. Then he was “consultant to several business firms on foreign trade”.
In later years, Perkins became an adviser in questions of
economic development
In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...
e.g. for
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
.
Private life
Perkins lived for long in
Montgomery, MD near
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
. He was married with the former Tharon Kidd (1902-1976). They had two sons, who both died during World War II. Milo and Tharon founded an
azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...
garden in Washington to commemorate them.
[Berlin, Isaiah (2012): Enlightening. Letters 1946-1960: Random House. Online available under https://books.google.de/books?id=bdxs3L_iw94C.]
Bibliography (in selection)
*''Report of the associate administrator of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration'', in charge of the Division of Marketing and Marketing Agreements, and the president of the Federal Surplus. Washington D.C 1939), U.S. G.P.O. Online available under http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/oclc/14986522.
*''Cartels. What shall we do about them?'' In: Harper' Magazine 189 (1944), 11 (Nov.), p. 570-578.German economic policies and the German economists. Washington. 1942).
*'The azalea handbook'' (as a co-author with: Coe, Frederick W. et alii). Baltimore MD 1952: Monumental Print Co. Online available under http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/oclc/676825947.
*''Por el desarrollo y estabilidad de Venezuela : principios de acción''. Caracas 1952: BCV Banco Central de Venezuela. Online available under http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/oclc/838951564.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, Milo
1900 births
1972 deaths
Government advisors
United States Department of Agriculture people