Edwin
W. Pauley
Edwin
W. Pauley (1903-1981) served as United States representative
to the Allied Reparations Committee from 1945-1947.
In May 1946, Pauley met with Herbert Hoover to discuss
the impact of food relief on Japan's ability to pay
reparations. Pauley was en route to East Asia to discuss
with General MacArthur the Japanese situation in light
of rising tensions with the Soviet Union.
Pauley made his fortune running oil companies from
the mid-1920s onward. He became involved with the
Democratic Party as a fundraiser in 1930s, eventually
becoming treasurer of the Democratic National Committee.
In the summer of 1944, while treasurer of the DNC,
Pauley was part of a group that persuaded Roosevelt
to choose Truman over Henry Wallace as the vice-presidential
nominee.
Shortly after becoming president, Truman appointed
Pauley special representative to the Allied Reparations
Committee. In this capacity, Pauley traveled to Europe
and Asia to assess what reparations the defeated Axis
powers could afford to pay the victors. His business
acumen, coupled with his experience as petroleum coordinator
for the war in Europe (one of the $1/year men), made
Pauley well suited to the task.
When Truman nominated Pauley to be Undersecretary
of the Navy in 1946, he was opposed by Secretary of
the Interior, Harold Ickes. Ickes held that Pauley's
ties to oil interests was a clear conflict of interest.
Truman pressed ahead with the nomination, so Ickes
resigned. This effectively scuttled Pauley's nomination,
and led him to return to working behind the scenes
in the Democratic Party.
Pauley served in Truman's 'kitchen cabinet' and advised
Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. He also was an ardent
supporter of UCLA, both as a regent and as a financial
donor. Pauley Pavilion is named for him. For more
information see: David McCullough's Truman, pp. 293-316
passim; Harry S. Truman Encyclopedia, pp.272-273.
