Babst, Earl D., 1870-1967

New York attorney and business executive.

Earl D. Babst was a nationally known lawyer, industrialist, and businessman, who maintained throughout his life a deep and abiding affection for his alma mater, the University of Michigan. Born July 6, 1870, in Crestline, Ohio, Babst attended Kenyon College, then transferred to the University of Michigan where he received a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in 1893 and a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1894.

Upon graduation, Babst practiced law in Detroit where he also became counsel and associate editor (1894-1902) of The Michigan Farmer, a widely circulated and influential weekly paper. During the 1896 election, he served as secretary of the Michigan Sound Money League, an anti-Bryan, anti-Free Silver organization of businessmen. Two years later, in 1898, he became secretary of the Citizens Committee on Education which initiated a plan for the administration of the public schools of Detroit.

Also in 1898, Babst's career took a new direction when he went to Chicago on a case involving the National Biscuit Company, one of the nation's major food companies that was attempting to market its products in packages identified by national trademarks and promoted by national advertising. Before this time, most food products were sold in bulk containers. The changeover to identifiable packaging involved long and tedious patent and trademark litigation, because each state had its own laws restricting corporations in others states from doing business in their region. Babst was influential in removing these barriers and opening the way for uniformity in the laws regulating the food industry.

In 1902, Babst moved to Chicago with his own law firm - Green, Peters and Babst. In 1906, he went to New York as general counsel and vice president of the National Biscuit Company. In 1915, Babst became president of the American Sugar Refining Company. Here, Babst was primarily responsible for revolutionizing the marketing and packaging of sugar. Until then, sugar was sold to brokers who distributed it to wholesalers and retailers, packed in bags or barrels, and then sold to consumers in paper bags. Upon firsthand investigation, Babst believed the traditional method to be both wasteful and unsanitary. The most efficient and sanitary way to distribute sugar, he felt, was to market it in sealed cartons that would insure full weight and leave it untouched by any hands other than the consumer's.

Although not unchallenged, Babst's viewpoint became established and Babst became a respected voice in New York and Wall Street business circles. During World War I, he represented the United States as a member of the International Sugar Committee that, in cooperation with the United States Food Administration, worked to allocate sugar supplies to the Allies. In 1925, Babst became chairman of the American Sugar Refining Company and its chief executive officer. He served as CEO until 1937, and was chairman until his retirement in 1951. During his career Babst was also director of various New York banks and financial institutions.

During the later part of his life, Babst turned much of his energies to his lifelong love of the University of Michigan. Long active in Alumni Association affairs, Babst had a keen interest in University of Michigan history. As sponsor of the Michigan Historical Collections of the University of Michigan, Babst suggested that a study be conducted of the contributions made during the presidency of Grover Cleveland by U-M alumni and former students. The result was the publication in 1948 of Michigan and the Cleveland Era, a book jointly edited by Babst and Collections director Lewis G. Vander Velde.

Earl D. Babst died April 23, 1967 at age 96. In 1903, he had married Alice Edwina Uhl, daughter of Edwin F. Uhl, assistant secretary of state and ambassador to Germany, 1893-1896. Babst was survived by two daughters, Mrs. George H. Parsons and Mrs. George P. Bent 2d.