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Detroit Trust Company. John F. Dodge Estate Trust Lawsuit collection, 1902-1928 (bulk 1925-1928)

Title: John F. Dodge Estate Trust Lawsuit collection, 1902-1928 (bulk 1925-1928)

The John F. Dodge Estate Trust Lawsuit collection is comprised of documents assembled by a Detroit Trust Company vice president, Raymond H. Berry, while representing the estate in the Additional Tax Case of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) versus the Ford Motor Compay's (FMC) former minority shareholders. Berry was the primary contact with the Ford Motor Company, which cooperated fully with the appellants. The documents in the collection pertain almost exclusively to the case and provide voluminous evidence supporting a value of $9,489.34 or more for a share of FMC stock in 1913. The records are arranged into two series. The first and most substantial is the Topical Files series, 1902-1928 (9.2 cubic ft. and 1 oversize box), which is arranged alphabetically by subject. The series includes copies of most of the important documents relating to the case, including memoranda of conferences with potential witnesses, outlines of the planned case against the BIR, exhibits, briefs, and other material used by the attorneys. It is an excellent source for researchers interested in the early years and products of the FMC, its production techniques, its finances, and its key personnel. Included are FMC financial statements, lists of FMC plants and their dates of establishment, annual reports to the state of Michigan from 1921 to 1924, annual reports to the state of Delaware from 1919 to 1925, and various production and earnings records. There is also information regarding competing automotive firms, memoranda with key industry leaders, material relating to the Dodge brothers from 1916 until their deaths in 1920, key published pieces on the history of the automotive industry, comprehensive bibliographies, and material documenting road construction in Michigan from 1905 to 1924. FMC personnel interviewed include P. E. Martin and Gus Degener on factory techniques; Clarence W. Avery on the development of the moving assembly line; Fred H. Diehl on purchasing; Stanley Hoag of the Traffic Department; John R. Lee on the Sociological Department; William S. Knudson on the branch assembly plant system; and Joseph A. Galamb on Model T design. Executives with FMC suppliers interviewed include executives from the Rand Manufacturing Corporation, the Kelsey Wheel Company, and the C. R. Wilson Body Company. Officers of competitive automotive firms interviewed include Roy D. Chapin of the Hudson Motor Car Company; Charles D. Hastings of the Hupp Motor Car Company; Fred J. Haynes, president of Dodge Brothers, Walter C. Marmon of the Marmon Motor Car Company; and Windsor T. White, president of the White Motor Company. Three of the shareholders were interviewed: John W. Anderson, Horace H. Rackham, and David Gray. The petitioner's attorneys also contacted and interviewed two well-known technical writers: Fred H. Colvin and Fay Leone Faurote. Fauote's research for the attorneys includes bibliographies, lists of potential witnesses, lists of machines, and dates of machine installation. Of particular note are copies of Spooner & Wells photographs containing Faurote's detailed comments explaining what was unique about the machines, their purpose, and production economies affected by their use. A very small second series, Financial records, 1904-1919 (1 oversize box), is comprised of Ford Motor Company monthly financial statements from 1904 to 1919; notices of deficiency of taxes for the John F. Dodge General Trust for 1925; copies of stock certificates; and other material related to the request for additiional taxes from the BIR. Researchers should note that extended descriptive information is available in an expanded finding aid created by Dr. Trent Boggess in 2005. It is filed in the first folder of the first box.

ArchivalResource: 9.2 cubic ft. and 1 oversize box.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/62246246 View