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McMath, Robert E. (Robert Edwin), 1886-1968

Existence: 1886 - 1968
 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1886-10-21 - 1968-03-23

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Bethlehem Steel Corporation records, 1892-1967

 Record Group
Accession: 1699Identifier: 1699-I.
Scope and Contents:

The records of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation are a series of fragments, lacking the complete runs of corporate and executive documents that normally comprise a business archive. The surviving records give a reasonable overview of the company's history and activities, but one which is lacking in depth.

Correspondence and memorabilia of its executive officers consist largely of material collected by Robert McMath, Vice President (Finance) and Secretary. These include organization papers, directories, annual and quarterly reports to the stockholders and internal statistical reports. McMath’s correspondence deals with an assortment of subjects, including those related to the financial downturn of the 1930s and its effect on business and industry. Other letters pertain to plant visits, construction activities, destruction of securities, financial progress of competing steel companies, investments, the benefits of free enterprise over communism, and Bethlehem’s contribution to World War II. Although the bulk of the letters are addressed to McMath, some are directed to Bethlehem Steel Chairman Eugene G. Grace and Charles Schwab.

There are bound collections of documents regarding major mergers and acquisitions and the issuance of stock and bond issues, these documents are most useful in tracing the evolution of corporate structure. Also from McMath's office are scattered legal files of which the most important is a transcript of testimony from the anti-trust proceedings barring the merger with the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company in 1968.

Dates: 1892-1967