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RECORDS OF THE BUREAU OF INSULAR AFFAIRS
(RECORD GROUP 350)

The Bureau of Insular Affairs had its origin December 13, 1898, as the Division of Customs and Insular Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of War to assist in administering customs and other civil affairs in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippine Islands. A War Department order of December 10, 1900, designated the Division of Customs and Insular Affairs the Division of Insular Affairs. The latter Division was named the Bureau of Insular Affairs by an act of July 1, 1902. Reorganization Plan No. II of 1939 consolidated the Bureau with the Division of Territories and Island Possessions, Department of the Interior (see RG 126).

The functions of the Bureau and its predecessors included supervising civil affairs of the Governments of the Philippine Islands, 1898-1939, and Puerto Rico, 1898-1900 and 1909-34; and the Cuban Military, 1898-1902, and Provisional, 1906-9, Governments (see RG's 140 and 199). The Bureau also supervised the Dominican, 1905-39 (see RG 139), and Haitian, 1920-24, Customs Receiverships and performed duties relating to the Panama Canal, MarchMay 1904 and January-April 1905. To some extent it acted as a central clearinghouse for information concerning all U.S. territories and insular possessions. The records in this record group interpret the purpose and intent of orders, laws, and rulings, and document the Secretary's determinations on civil questions in island governments.

There are 1,645 cubic feet of records dated between 1868 and 1945 in this record group.

GENERAL RECORDS. 1898-1945. 922 lin. ft.

Included are general classified files, with indexes and record cards, relating

to the Philippines, 1898-1939; Puerto Rico, 1898-1900 and 1909-34; the Military, 1898-1902, and Provisional, 19069, Governments of Cuba; the Dominican, 1905-39, and Haitian, 1920-24, Customs Receiverships; the Virgin Islands, 191745; the Panama Canal, 1904-5; and aspects of territorial administration. Also a confidential file, 1914-35; classified files relating to customs matters, 1898-1941, and the Dominican Customs Receivership, 1905-35; a personal name file, 1914-45; letters sent, 1899-1913; and maps (57 items) primarily relating to the Philippine Islands, with a few of Puerto Rico, 1911-34.

OTHER RECORDS RELATING TO THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 18971938. 47 lin. ft.

These include executive orders and proclamations of the Governor General of the Philippine Islands, 1898-1935, and the President of the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands, 1935-36; correspondence of the Philippine (Taft) Commission, 1900-1906; acts of the Commission, 1900-1907, the Philippine Legislature, 1907-35, and the Philippine National Assembly, 1936-37; House and Senate bills of the Philippine Legislature, 1928-35; galley proofs of A History of the Philippine Insurrection Against the United States, 1899-1903, 1906, with related records of the War Department project to publish the history, 1899-1916; correspondence and reports relating to Gen. Mariano Noriel and Apolinario Mabini, 1916; and records of the Philippine Exposition Board, 1904-5, and the Manila Railroad Co., 1905-17.

LIBRARY RECORDS. 1868-1945.
685 lin. ft.

As an adjunct to its general correspondence files, the Bureau accumulated

a library that consists chiefly of official documents relating to all noncontiguous U.S. territory and includes published documents issued by the U.S. Government and the Bureau of Printing at Manila, relating to the administration of U.S. insular possessions, 1900-1934; copies of the Gaceta de Manila, 1868-98, and the Official Gazette of Manila, 190232; and manuscript reports of the Philippine Commission, 1900-1915, and the Governors General of the Philippines, 1916-40, and Puerto Rico, 1909-31. There is also a card index to the library, 1898-1935.

MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS.
1898-1937. 49 lin. ft.

Included are the U.S. President's Executive orders relating to island possessions, 1903-32; a code translation volume, n.d.; records relating to the Spanish Treaty Claims Commission, 1910; correspondence between Gen. Leonard Wood and the Secretary of War, relating to Cuba, 1899-1902; notes on Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson's trip to the West Indies and Panama, 1911; laws, ordinances, decrees, and military orders effective in Puerto Rico, 1900-1934; records relating to sugar production, 1930-33; and records of the Statistical Branch, relating to the occupation of Cuba, 1901-2. Also scrapbooks relating to Bureau activities, 1905-17; summaries of newspaper articles published in the Dominican Republic, 1905-6, and of newspaper and magazine articles about territorial affairs, 1931-36; abstracts of newspaper and magazine articles published in the Philippines, 1929-35; and

a list of periodicals received by the
Bureau, 1918-34.

AUDIOVISUAL RECORDS. 1898-
1939. 14,570 items.

These consist primarily of photographs relating to Cuba, including the first military governor, a jail, and other subjects; Puerto Rican Governors, census enumerators, police, schools, and roads; places and persons in Haiti, Santo Domingo, Panama, and the Virgin Islands; Philippine agricultural products and methods, tribes, customs, crafts, industries, modes of transportation, railroad development, educational facilities, public roads and buildings, political bodies, historical events, geographical features, and cities; and Philippine and American military organizations and officials.

See Richard S. Maxwell, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of Insular Affairs, PI 130 (1960); Kenneth Munden, comp., Records of the Bureau of Insular Affairs Relating to the Philippine Islands, 1898-1935, a List of Selected Files, SL 2 (1942); Munden, comp., Records of the Bureau of Insular Affairs Relating to the United States Military Government of Cuba, 1898-1902, and the United States Provisional Government of Cuba, 1906-1909, a List of Selected Files, SL 3 (1943); Munden and Milton Greenbaum, comps., Records of the Bureau of Insular Affairs Relating to Puerto Rico, 1898-1934, a List of Selected Files, SL 4 (1943); and Munden, comp., List of Records of the Bureau of Insular Affairs Relating to the Dominican Customs Receivership, 1905-1940, SL 5 (1943).

Microfilm Publications: Bureau of Insular Affairs: Index to Official Published Documents Relating to Cuba and the Insular Possessions of the United States, 1876-1906, M24, 3 rolls; and History of the Philippine Insurrection Against the United States, 1899-1903, and Documents Relat ing to the War Department Project for Publishing the History, M719, 9 rolls, DP.

RECORDS OF THE WAR MINERALS RELIEF COMMISSION (RECORD GROUP 194)

The War Minerals Relief Commission (WMRC) was established under the War Minerals Relief Act of 1919 to assist the

Secretary of the Interior in adjudicating mineowners' claims for losses relating to the production of manganese, chrome,

pyrite, or tungsten in compliance with Government requests or demands during World War I. Although by 1926 final settlements had been made on all claims submitted, an act of February 13, 1929, authorized claimants to petition the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia to review the Secretary's decisions. The Secretary was directed by an act of May 18, 1936, to reopen certain claims and include in his adjustments interest paid by or accrued against the claimant to 1936. After May 1, 1923, the Commission functioned as part of the Office of the Secretary, under the Solicitor's direction. The Commission was abolished April 15, 1940, and its functions were performed by the Office of the Chief Clerk of the Department of the Interior until June 30, 1941.

There are 155 cubic feet of records (in WNRC) dated between 1917 and 1941 in this record group.

RECORDS. 1917-41. 195 lin. ft.

The records include those relating to the completion of Commission activities by the Chief Clerk of the Department of the Interior. There are records relating to administration, legislation, and Government promotion of the production program, 1917-29; correspondence and other records of Commissioner John Briar, 1919-36; correspondence, reports, and other records of the Chief Engineer of the Commission, 1918-23; correspondence and other records of the Chief Clerk and the Chief Accountant of the Commission, 1918-25, including weekly reports of field auditors, 1922-25; claims files containing questionnaires, correspondence, supporting papers, and other documents relating to individual claims, 1919-41; claims lists and indexes; records relating to recommendations, decisions, and awards; and general correspondence and related Commission records, 1919-41.

RECORDS OF THE PETROLEUM ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD

(RECORD GROUP 232)

By a series of Executive orders issued in the summer of 1933, the Secretary of the Interior was designated Administrator of the Code of Fair Competition for the Petroleum Industry and was delegated responsibility for administering the provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act, which authorized the President to prohibit transporting in interstate or foreign commerce petroleum and petroleum products exceeding amounts permitted by State laws or regulations. On September 11, 1933, the Secretary established the Petroleum Administrative Board to enforce regulations issued under authority of the National Industrial Recovery Act and the petroleum code. The Board assumed most functions of the Federal Oil Con

servation Board, 1924-34, which had investigated petroleum production, refining, distribution methods, and sources of supply; studied and recommended Government activities concerning petroleum; and cooperated with oil industry and State authorities in conservation work. Although the U.S. Supreme Court on May 27, 1935, invalidated codemaking provisions of the act, the Board continued to exist as the agent of the Secretary in enforcing the Connally "Hot Oil" Act of February 22, 1935, which also prohibited foreign and interstate commerce in petroleum and its products produced in violation of State laws. The Board worked closely with the Petroleum Labor Policy Board, 1933-36, which assisted the Secretary in enforc

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cost schedules, other statistical and accounting records, transcripts and other records concerning hearings, compliance case files, reference material, and field office records, 1933-36; correspondence and other records of the Petroleum Labor Policy Board, 1934-35; case files, administrative correspondence, and other records of the Oil Enforcement Section of the Division of Investigations, Department of the Interior, 1933-35; and records of the PetroleConservation Division, 1934-43, some of which were created by the Petroleum Administrative Board, including general subject files, proration studies, and reading files of communications sent by the Division and by the Federal Tender Board and its successor, Federal Tender Board No. 1, Kilgore, Tex., concerning the issuance of clearance certificates for shipping petroleum and petroleum products.

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RECORDS OF THE

PUERTO RICO RECONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION (RECORD GROUP 323)

The Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration was established in the Department of the Interior by Executive Order 7057 of May 28, 1935, in accordance with the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935, to provide relief, increase employment, and rehabilitate the agricultural economy in Puerto Rico. It initiated and administered urban and rural housing projects, granted loans to farmers, assisted in establishing cooperatives, and constructed a cement plant and hydroelectric plants. By a joint resolution of August 15, 1953, the Secretary of the Interior was authorized to liquidate the Administration, and it was terminated February 15, 1955.

There are 65 cubic feet of records dated between 1935 and 1953 in this record group.

RECORDS. 1935-53. 72 lin. ft.

Included are general files of the Washington office, consisting of correspondence, progress reports, financial statements, and other records relating to agency administration and projects, 1935-45; records of the Office of the Assistant Administrator in Puerto Rico, including correspondence, 1935-45, investigative files, 1937-40, radiograms received and sent, 1935-50, legal opinions, 1935-39, and administrative orders, 1935-44; records relating to Administra

tion-sponsored cooperatives, such as the Cooperativa Azucarera Los Canos and the Cooperative Lafayette, 1935-45; records of the Administrative, 1935-50, Rural Electrification, 1935-42, Finance, 1935-45, Forestry, 1935-41, Engineering, 1935-53, Legal, 1935-40, and Rural Rehabilitation, 1935-41, Divisions;

records of the Office of Housing Management, 1935-47; and records relating to the Guaynabo cement plant project, 1935-45.

See Mary Jane Schmittou and Mario D. Fenyo, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration, PI 152 (1963).

RECORDS OF THE

NATIONAL BITUMINOUS COAL COMMISSION, 1935-36 (RECORD GROUP 150)

The first National Bituminous Coal Commission was established in the Department of the Interior by the Bituminous Coal Conservation Act of August 30, 1935 (the Guffey Act). The Commission was to determine average production costs for bituminous coal in each of nine minimum-price areas and establish minimum prices based on those costs, guarantee collective-bargaining rights to miners, provide for adoption of maximum hours and minimum wages in the bituminous industry, and constitute marketing regulations and conduct research on the production, use, conservation, and distribution of bituminous coal. On May 18, 1936, the U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the principal provisions of the Guffey Act and the Commission ceased most of its activities. An act of April 26, 1937, created the second National Bituminous Coal Commission (see RG 222). Records of the Office of Consumers' Counsel of the Commissions are among records of the Office of the Bituminous Coal Consumers' Counsel (see RG 223).

There are 70 cubic feet of records (in WNRC except for nontextual records) dated between 1935 and 1936 in this

record group.

RECORDS. 1935-36. 86 lin. ft.

Included are records of the Office of the Secretary of the first National Bituminous Coal Commission and its Code Membership, District Board, and Docket Sections and Business Manager's Office, including drafts of minutes, orders and other Commission issuances, transcripts of hearings before the Commission, correspondence, code acceptance certificates, affidavits of tonnage production, and materials relating to organization, administration, and work of district boards; records of the Commission's director of research; and general records and office files of its Legal Division. Records of the Bituminous Coal Labor Board of the Department of Labor, which from 1935 to 1936 mediated labor disputes in the bituminous coal industry under the Guffey Act, consist of minutes, correspondence, and records concerning a wage dispute in Illinois.

CARTOGRAPHIC RECORDS. 193536. 60 items.

These consist of maps and graphs relating to petroleum and coal production, Commission districts, pipelines, railroads, and coal sales.

See Wallace B. Goebel, comp., and Charles Zaid,

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