Mason, Lowell B. Papers

Member, Federal Trade Commission, 1945-1956

The papers of Lowell Mason primarily consist of materials related to Mason’s role as a member of the Federal Trade Commission.

[Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List]

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: 1 linear foot, 9 linear inches (about 2,400 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: The donors gave to the U.S. government their copyrights in this material and in any other papers received by the U.S. government and maintained in a depository administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. Documents created by U.S. government officials in the course of their official duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Harry Clark (1967); Randy Sowell (2001); David Clark, Jan Davis and Randy Sowell (2009).

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1893 (July 25)		Born, Lowell Blake Mason, Chicago, Illinois
1916		LL.B., Northwestern University
1916		Admitted to the Illinois Bar
ca. 1916-1922		Assistant Corporation Counsel, City of Chicago
1922-1930		Republican, Illinois State Senate
1927		Elected Member of the First Illinois State Aviation Commission
1934		General Counsel, National Industrial Review Board
1935		Counsel, Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Investigating NRA
1936		Counsel, Senate Interstate Commerce Subcommittee
1936		Admitted to the Washington, D.C. Bar
ca. 1938		Hired as Lawyer for Washington Senators baseball team
1945-1956		Member, Federal Trade Commission
1954 (June 14)		Received honorary Doctor of Laws degree, Northwestern University
ca. 1956-1970		Practiced law
1983 (July 9)		Died, Oak Park, Illinois

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The original collection of the Lowell Mason Papers, which were opened for research in 1967, consisted of clippings, speeches, photos, and printed materials related to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The first accretion to the collection, in 2001, consisted of speeches and printed materials. The second accretion to the collection, in 2009, contained clippings, speeches, photos, and printed materials. Due to the duplication of materials, the collection was re-arranged into a Subject File which is now arranged alphabetically by folder title.

The series primarily consists of clippings and speeches which document Lowell Mason’s career as a member of the Federal Trade Commission from 1945-1956. Mason, a Republican, was appointed to the FTC by President Harry S. Truman. Many of the speeches included in the collection were repeated by Mason at various conferences and meetings. One of his more popular speeches was titled “Let’s Stop Kicking Business Around.” Other materials include cases, dockets, press releases, procedural reforms, proposed legislation, Mason’s voting record on cases and printed materials pertaining to the FTC. During Mason’s career at the FTC he worked to change the Commission to make it more helpful to business. Due to the dissenting opinions he wrote, he became known as the “Great Dissenter”.

The series also contains correspondence, books and photographs. The correspondence is mostly with members of Lowell Mason’s family and Harry S. Truman. Included are a biography by Betsy Hoort in 2006 titled “Lowell Blake Mason: A Portrait, July 25, 1893-July 9, 1983” and “The Language of Dissent” written by Mason. The remaining books include a set of books written by Lowell Mason and given as the Lowell B. Mason Award in 1956 to different individuals, such as Senator Hubert Humphrey, Representative John McCormack, and Senator Mike Mansfield. All of the books are titled “Hits a Home Run” with the individual’s name preceding the title. Mason was a lawyer for the Washington Senators baseball team and as a result was given some of the best seats at Griffith Stadium. Mason would invite guests to the games including Harry S. Truman. Many of the photos in the collection are of Mason and his guests at the baseball games.

The books have been transferred to the book collection and the photographs to the audiovisual collection.

Other materials at the Truman Library relating to Lowell Mason include his oral history, the Stephen Spingarn Papers, and the Harry S. Truman Papers (President’s Personal File 2081 and the Post-Presidential Papers).

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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