Series I
Scope and Contents
Harry LeRoy Jones gave his papers to the University of Virginia Law Library in May of 1985, and there are no restrictions on their use. The files were moved to the library from the Jones home where they had been stored since his retirement. Much of the collection was in labelled folders, and the original labels, where accurate, were transcribed when folder contents were placed in new folders. Some re-naming of folders was necessary for the sake of consistency, and decisions were made concerning description and location for material found loose or in unlabelled folders. Unannotated printed material was listed and removed from the collection.
The papers are contained in 51 boxes (22.1 linear feet) and span the years 1917- (1934-66) -1975. The bulk of the collection, Series I, concerns Jones' work in the Justice Department from the late thirties to the early fifties, although his entire career there (1934-1959) is documented. Series II contains the record of Jones' work on international judicial assistance, 1950-1966, with some copies of documents dating from the thirties. Jones kept a "Personal Correspondence File" which dates from 1917 through the 1960's, and these files along with newsclippings constitute Series III.
This collection will be useful to scholars interested in U.S. treatment of enemy property during the two world wars, and efforts after the second world war to establish better judicial cooperation among nations. Jones' papers thoroughly document the internal workings of the Justice Department's Alien Property Division over a 25-year period, as well as the struggle between Franklin Roosevelt's Justice and Treasury Departments over control of enemy property. There is no indication that Jones had to leave any of his files behind when he left the Justice Department. Since he had a pivotal position in his division, his records provide an exceptionally detailed and unrestricted view of his time and place in government service.
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found in 1917-1975, 1934-1966
Creator
- From the Collection: Jones, Harry Leroy, 1895-1986 (Person)
Extent
From the Collection: 22.1 Linear Feet (54 boxes)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
General
Series I (Boxes 1-41): records of the Justice Department period, provide a thorough view of Jones' work in his several assignments during a time of turmoil and transition for the Alien Property Division. There are administrative files -- interoffice memoranda, budget and personnel files, reports, etc. -- showing how the office was run. Because he was chief of the litigation and claims divisions for a long time, there is a great deal of documentation on the cases in which the department was involved.
The case files (Boxes 5-13) vary in their thoroughness. Of special interest are the gold cases (15 folders); the I.G. Chemie case, General Aniline Film v. Markham) and subsequent Interhandel case (Switzerland v. U.S.) (3 folders); the Hackfeld case (Rodiek v. U.S.) (2 folders); Standard Oil v. Markham (7 folders); and Von Clemm v. Smith and International Mortagage and Investment Corp. (3 folders). In addition, there is extensive correspondence about litigation, some of it concerning the administration of cases, much of it case strategy. Boxes 31 and 32 contain litigation correspondence, but discussions of cases are by no means limited to these files. A researcher interested in a particular case should examine other correspondence files, such as interoffice memoranda, the personal office files, legislation material and perhaps administrative files for the appropriate years, in order to do an exhaustive search. Although there is little case material on Rodiek v. U.S., for example, this important and lengthy case is mentioned throughout the Series I files and personal correspondence. In addition, there are numbered opinions of the division's general counsel regarding the vesting of enemy property in the war years (Boxes 33-36), and correspondence and decisions regarding claims brought in the periods before and during the time Jones was Chief Hearing Examiner (Boxes 13-17).
Another large group of files in Series I (Boxes 25-30) concerns legislation which Jones was in charge of drafting. These documents relate almost entirely to the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917, a frequent source of dissatisfaction to the Justice Department. These boxes contain drafts of proposed legislation and related correspondence, as well as a great deal of correspondence and internal memoranda regarding the Justice Department's procedures in the absence of legislative changes. Jones' papers document repeated unsuccessful efforts, into the 1950's, to replace this World War I legislation. Although the TWEA has been amended numerous times, it has not yet been repealed.
Repository Details
Part of the Arthur J. Morris Law Library Special Collections Repository
Arthur J. Morris Law Library
580 Massie Road
University of Virginia
Charlottesville Virginia 22903 United States
archives@law.virginia.edu