John Skelton Williams(July 6, 1865 – November 4, 1926) was aUnited StatesComptroller of the Currencyfrom 1914 to 1921 and the first president of theSeaboard Air Line Railway.
John Skelton Williams | |
---|---|
13thComptroller of the Currency | |
In office February 2, 1914 - March 2, 1921 | |
President | Woodrow Wilson |
Preceded by | Lawrence O. Murray |
Succeeded by | Daniel Richard Crissinger |
Personal details | |
Born | Paxton,Powhatan County,Virginia | July 6, 1865
Died | November 4, 1926 Richmond, Virginia | (aged 61)
Spouse | Lila Lefebvre Issacs |
Children | John Skelton Williams Jr, Hubert Skelton Williams |
Parent(s) | John Langbourne Williams and Maria Skelton Williams |
Occupation | Financier |
Biography
editJohn Skelton Williams was a leadingsouthernfinancier. He served as the Comptroller of the Currency under PresidentWoodrow Wilsonfrom 1914 to 1921 after serving as AssistantSecretary of the Treasury.Previously, he had organized the Seaboard Air Line Railway into a single company, and served as its president from 1900 to 1903.
Williams was Comptroller throughoutWorld War I.Under his leadership, the agency worked closely with the War Finance Corporation, which was established in 1918 to provide credit to businesses, including banks, to promote the war effort. A segregationist, he imposed segregation on the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ended promotions for black workers.[1]During William's term, legislation was passed allowing the consolidation of two or more banks. On July 31, 1920 Williams released a report to the press detailing how interest rates for "call money" were manipulated to the advantage of insider speculators and the disadvantage of borrowers nationwide paying higher interest rates. This statement is published verbatim in toto in H.C. Cutting,The Strangle Hold(Chicago, M.A. Donohue, 1921) p. 297-317.
References
edit- ^Yellin, Eric Steven.Racism in the Nation's Service: Government Workers and the Color Line.UNC Press. pp. 117–9, 123–4.
Further reading
edit- John Moodyand George Kibbe Turner (1911). "The Masters of Capital in America,"McClure's Magazine,Vol. XXXVI, No. 3.
- Garet Garrett(1920)."The Whirling Pyramid,"The New Republic,November 3.