Milo Randolph Perkins (1900–1972) was an American economic expert working for the

Department of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, DC. He was the first administrator for the First Food Stamp Program (FSP) (May 16, 1939 – Spring 1943).

Professional life

Born in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') 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 border ...

, Milo Perkins became a successful businessman in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas, launching the ‘King-Perkins-Bag Company’ in 1917 for the production of burlap bags.Perkins, Milo (1944): Cartels. What shall we do about them? In: Harpers' Magazine 189 (11 (Nov.)), S. 579. In 1935 or 1936 he was called to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

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 organiz ...

(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 in the United States, 1930s as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. Created in 1933 as the Federal Su ...

”, an agency of the

U.S. Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and production ...

. 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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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 is a left-leaning political philosophy and reform movement that seeks to advance the human condition through social reform. Adherents hold that progressivism has universal application and endeavor to spread this idea to human so ...

s to ban all

cartel A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collaborate with each other as well as agreeing not to compete with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. A cartel is an organization formed by producers ...

s, nationally and internationally. In 1942, Perkins was featured as one of the prominent "young

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

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 Nuremberg trials following World War I ...

Archibald Macleish Archibald MacLeish (May 7, 1892 – April 20, 1982) was an American poet and writer, who was associated with the modernist school of poetry. MacLeish studied English at Yale University and law at Harvard University. He enlisted in and saw action ...

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 Rho ...

. 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 economics, economic development (or 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 object ...

e.g. for

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Private life

Perkins lived for long in Montgomery, MD near

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. 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 ''Rhododendron sect. Tsutsusi, Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and ''Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate ...

garden in Washington to commemorate them.

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