==============================================
MPC GRAM
==============================================
Covering the entire World of Military Numismatics

Series 003 - Number 636      Friday - 31 MAY 2002
___________________
__273 days to Fest IV__


FEATURED ARTICLE


Oral History Interview with BERNARD BERNSTEIN- Part VII
July 23, 1975
by Richard D. McKinzie
submitted by Fred Schwan [comments in brackets]


       Very quickly we turned our principal attention to the German problems. General Eisenhower's SHAEF headquarters was established in Versailles and the military government division called G-5 occupied the reconverted grand stables of the Versailles Palace. We had begun our German planning when we were in England. In August, 1944 Secretary Morgenthau had come over to England. He came on a number of occasions into the war theatre for the President, not just as the Secretary of the Treasury but also as the President's representative. The President couldn't move about easily and Morgenthau's visits were one of the means whereby the President kept abreast of developments. 

       I was designated by Generals Eisenhower and Smith to go with General Holmes on General Eisenhower's train to Scotland to meet Secretary Morgenthau and his party. You can imagine what a comfortable trip that was. I had a chance to talk with the Secretary. I had breakfast alone with him that first morning on the train. We discussed the German planning that was going on at the time. Then later that day Secretary Morgenthau had lunch with General Eisenhower at General Eisenhower's headquarters. The Secretary had considerable discussion of what should be the German program with General Eisenhower.

       Thereafter, Secretary Morgenthau, during the balance of his stay in England, discussed extensively with American and British officials what should be the Allied military government program for Germany. During those talks the matter of the SHAEF military government handbook came up for discussion. From the time of his trip to England, Secretary Morgenthau became deeply involved in the German program. He developed what was called the Morgenthau plan. The Morgenthau plan became a subject of great, great controversy.

MCKINZIE: Well, perhaps you would be good enough to talk a little bit about your relationship with Secretary Stimson at an earlier period here and then we'll come back to this.

BERNSTEIN: All right. There was one case that I worked on that had many interesting aspects. At the time of the civil war in Spain our government recognized the Republican Government in Spain as the legitimate government. The President and the Secretary of the Treasury decided to purchase some silver from the Republican Government of Spain and from the Bank of Spain that was acting as agent for and under the authority of the Republican Government of Spain.

       As Assistant General Counsel I drafted the silver purchase agreements. We also learned that John Foster Dulles, a partner of Sullivan and Cromwell, was acting for the Franco side of the Bank of Spain and he was going to lead a legal fight against the Treasury's purchase of the silver. The first purchase of silver from Spain was bought by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York acting as the agent for the Treasury and the remaining purchases of silver were made by the U.S. Treasury directly from the Republican Government of Spain. Secretary Morgenthau discussed with the President the idea of retaining special counsel for the Federal Reserve Bank to represent it and the Government in connection with the lawsuit resulting from the purchases of the silver from Spain. 

       The man they decided to select to be the special counsel was Colonel Henry L. Stimson. Col. Stimson was deeply engaged in another massive litigation, relating I think to the Standard Oil Company of Indiana, and he was reluctant to take on the Spanish silver case. He was finally persuaded to do so. He and several of the partners and associates worked on the case. I had the privilege of working with them. A decision favorable to the Government was won both in the Federal District Court and in the Circuit Court of Appeals. I recall that after the argument in the District Court I was a little concerned as to the impact of Dulles' argument on the judge. As I was leaving the Courthouse in the company of Colonel Stimson and Allen Klotz, his partner, I mentioned my concern as to the impact of Dulles' argument, and suggested we might consider the filing of a further memorandum or brief in the case. Colonel Stimson looked at me and said in probably the strongest language he had used in a long time, "Why, we'll go back to my office and we'll roll up our sleeves and I'll go after that stinkadora."

       As I say, the Government won the case in the Federal courts. The decisions in effect upheld the power of the Chief Executive to decide what Government legally represented a foreign country in any particular time. The decisions held that the acts of such legally recognized Government would not be questioned in an American court. There was one aspect after the conclusion of the case that left me a little troubled. Colonel Stimson had submitted a bill for $50,000 for the services of himself and his partners and associates covering work over a two year period. When the bill was presented by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to the Stabilization Fund at the Treasury, the director of which fund was Merle Cochran, Cochran thought that the bill was very high. Merle Cochran is not a lawyer. All his mature life he had been in Government Foreign Service until he came to the Treasury. Probably he was just accustomed to the modest pay of Government officials and not to attorney’s fees.
      
       He impressed Secretary Morgenthau about the size of the fee. I found to my considerable surprise, at a conference in the Secretary's office, that the Secretary was opposed to paying such a fee. I pointed out that of all the people in the room, I was the only one who had been a lawyer with Wall Street experience. I then set forth in some detail the services that had been rendered by Colonel Stimson and his office in this case, the volume of work, the high quality of the work and the importance of the work. I stated that I felt confident that by all fair standards, Colonel Stimson's fee was reasonable and that his fee should be paid promptly. I still didn't seem to convince the Secretary. So I finally said, "Mr. Secretary, I think your honor is involved in this matter, and the honor of the President of the United States is involved. The fee should be paid and either you or the President ought to write Colonel Stimson a letter of appreciation." Secretary Morgenthau turned to Cochran and said, "Pay the fee."  It wasn't long thereafter that President Roosevelt invited Colonel Henry Stimson to become a member of his Cabinet, as Secretary of War. Colonel Stimson was a tower of strength in his administration during World War II. I think on the fee matter I had rendered a public service. 

MCKINZIE: There was a dramatic incident during the course of the movement, the physical movement of the silver from Spain to New York. I wonder if you would be good enough to relate the circumstances of that?

BERNSTEIN: Well, one shipment of silver came in around the 4th of July weekend. We had been told that Dulles had obtained an attachment order, which was going to be served by the Sheriff of New York in an effort to prevent the Treasury from getting the silver. A good part of Saturday evening I spent on the telephone talking to Colonel Stimson about the matter and considering what steps we should take to forestall Dulles' legal proceeding and to obtain the silver for the Treasury. At the end of the discussions I told Colonel Stimson I was taking the night train to New York and would appreciate his having an assistant of his meet me at the dock. believe the ship that brought the silver was at the dock of the U.S. Lines. When we got to the dock, we saw the stacks of silver. We had had wooden horses placed all around the silver, saying that this was the property of the U.S.Government. There were also on the dock many deputy sheriffs from the New York Sheriff's office. I carried on discussions with some officials of the U.S. Lines. I noticed that every time I would make a point one of the officials would leave the room and walk down the hall and come back in about five or more minutes and present me with a counter argument. I said, "Who is that you're talking to down the hall, a lawyer for your company?"  And he said, "Yes."  And I said, "Well, ask the lawyer to come down here. I'd like to talk to him face-to-face."  The lawyer came in and just shortly after he arrived I again made the demand that we be allowed to take the silver off the piers on our trucks. The entrance of the pier was blocked by a huge steel door that was down to the floor. I asked the lawyer to have the steel door lifted so our trucks could move the silver.

       The lawyer suggested to me that it would be all right as far as the U.S. Lines were concerned if I broke down that steel door. I had a quick thought of what that would look like in the next day's newspaper, and I told them we were going to do no such thing. "You're going to lift that door because otherwise you're interfering with the movement of Government property."

       Apparently the argument worked, the steel door was lifted, the silver was moved to the Assay Office, and the next part of the case took place in the courtroom.

==============================================
   
MAIL CALL


If the person wanting Philippine Guerrilla Notes will contact me, I would be
happy to forward my list of same, PEG-2a.,  if they have not been in contact
with me this year. Many thanks,
Ed Hoffman

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *


Dear Editor,

The information that Jim Downy found about the use of AMC and MPC in treaties/SOFAs is wonderful. Of course as many questions are raised as answered, but it is nonetheless great stuff.  I particularly liked the language of the SOFA when referring to "generic" army issues: military payment scrip. This would include MPC and BAFSV. In Europe it would then include other issues as well. I liked it alot!
Fred


==============================================
EDITORIAL


Ok, it looks like we got it made for the Gram / Series Articles:

641       Philip M. Goldstein
651       Marv Mericle   
661       Harold Kroll
681       Mark Watson
691       Mr. 691
692       Tom Koch
701       Marcus Turner

If anyone cannot fulfil their commitment, please let me know.
Phil

==============================================
CALENDAR OF EVENTS

2002

ANA Seminar:   29 June to 5 July
W.W. II numismatics seminar at ANA Summer Seminar, July 2002
Session I
(Saturday, 29 June through Friday, 5 July, 2002)
Session II
(Sunday, 7 July through Thursday, 11 July, 2002)
general events will return

WESPMEX:   27 - 28 July
Westchester Paper Money Exposition - 175 Dealers
Westchester County Center, White Plains, NY

WESPMEX:   11 - 13 October
Westchester Paper Money Exposition - 100 Dealers
Westchester County Center, White Plains, NY

WESPMEX:   29 November - 1 December
Westchester Paper Money Exposition - 160 Dealers
Westchester County Center, White Plains, NY

2003

CPMX 9:   20 - 23 February,
MPC Fest IV:   28 Feb - 2 March, Port Clinton, OH
Fest Registrants: Doug Bell,  Joe Boling,  Guido Crapanzano,  Dick Freyser,  Philip M. Goldstein,  Gary Hicks,  Harold Kroll, 
Jack Lippincot,  Kevin Maloy,  Leo May$$,  Fred Schwan,  David Seelye,  Nick Shrier,  Larry Smulczenski,  Warner Talso,
Marcus Turner,  Tom Warburton

$$ = Paid          Running total: 17



ANA:   19-22 March, Charlotte, NC

===================================================

HOT CONTACT LIST - DEALER & RESOURCE LIST


Below is the BNR Press Hot Contact List. This list serves several functions. Obviously it is an outreach by the dealers listed for your business. Most of them buy and sell MPC. Others organize shows or publish periodicals, or furnish information dedicated to this field. They have supported the new Comprehensive Catalog of Military Payment Certificates with their advertising.

They deserve your support and patronage!

Name                                                       phone                    fax / cell                          email
Allens                                                     (614) 882-3937       (614) 882-0662               info@allens.com
American Coins & Collectibles          (800) 865-3562
American Numismatic Ass'n               (800) 367-9723                                               ana@money.org
Guy Araby                                             (562) 945-7891      (310) 508-0018                guyaraby@earthlink.net

Bob Baker                                              (713) 864-3122
Ken Barr                                                 (408) 272-3247                                               ken@kenbarr.com

Fred Bart                                                (810) 979-3400
Dick Balbaton                                        (508) 699-2266       (508) 643-1154               RJBalbaton@aol.com

Keith and Suzanne Bauman                (248) 262-1514                                               tnaksbauman@earthlink.net
Joe Bissell                                              (602) 440-0442       (602) 494-9103
BNR Press                                              (419) 732-6683       (419) 732-6683               fredschwan@yahoo.com

Remy Bourne                                         (800) 789-7070       (763) 789-4747
Ed Carne                                                 (614) 882-3937       (614) 882-0662               info@allens.com

Champion Stamp                                   (212) 489-8130       (212) 581-8130
Cookie Jar Collectibles                         (301) 604-9225                                               cjcpi@comcast.net

Guido Crapanzano                                [39] 2-8056228       [39] 2-4459856
Currency Dealer Newsletter                (310) 515-7369
David F. Cieniewicz                              (205) 852-7015
CGC                                                         (602) 493-4758       (602) 494-9103               sales@gradedcurrency.com
Mike Cummings                                    (863) 603-9899       (863) 603-9880            
   mpccoin@hotmail.com
Cygnet Charters                                    (419) 734-2422
Ray Czahor                                            (301) 604-9225                                               cjcpi@comcast.net

Doric Coins & Currency                      (508) 699-2266       (508) 643-1154
FUN                                                        (407) 321-8747

Larry Gibbs                                            (308) 635-7900                                               oth@prairieweb.com
Philip M. Goldstein                               (845) 254-MPC1 [6721]                                iwantmympc@aol.com  or  MPC Website
Great Lakes Bank Note Company      (419) 732-6683
IBNS                                                                                                                               joeboling@aol.com
Essie Kashani                                        (909) 627-3996       (909) 627-2776               kashani10@aol.com
Lowel Horwdel                                      (765) 583-2748       (765) 583-4584               horwdel@inshightbb.com
Peter Huntoon                                       Smithsonian Research
                                peter.huntoon@att.net
Lyn Knight                                            (800) 243-5211
Krause Publications                             (715) 445-2214       (715) 445-4087  
             bnr@krause.com
Harold Kroll                                           (251) 649-5134                                               HARBONS@aol.com
Leo May                                                 (305) 271-8391      (305) 720-0659                LeoMayEnt@aol.com or Wide World of Banknotes
Ian Marshall                                          (416) 445-0286       (416) 445-0286               iam@total.net
Memphis Coin Club                             (901) 757-2515
MPCGram                                               (419) 732-6683                                               MPCGram@yahoo.com
Bob Reed                                               (504) 361-5684                                               bobreed@rrcoins.net
Fred Schwan                                          (419) 732-6683       (419) 732-6683               FredSchwan@yahoo.com
David Seelye                                         (585) 594-1987       (585) 594-2311               coinman@rochester.rr.com
Richie Self                                              (318) 868-9077
R. M. Smythe                                         (800) 622-1880       (212) 908-4047               www.smytheonline.com

Mel Steinberg & Son                           (415) 453-9750       (415) 457-4432               melsteinberg@mindspring.com
Military Trader                                      (800) 334-7165
Scott Winslow Associates                 (603) 472-7040       (603) 472-8773  
             scott@scottwinslow.com
George Warner                                      (307) 672-3700
Pam West                                              [44] 0208 641 3224   [44] 0208 641 3224      pamwestbritnotes@compuserve.com


===================================================
POST / BASE EXCHANGE   (PX/BX/NEX)


Dump your dupes! Your classified advertisement for items for sale, purchase or trade will be run here for free. Send your ads to the gram. This service is for everyone, most humble dealer or most advanced collector. The point is to make the gram more interesting. In all cases confirm your order via email first.

FOR SALE SECTION:
For Sale ads will run for a period of up to 5 issues, or until sold.

FOR SALE:  ALLIED MILITARY AUTHORITY CURRENCY FOR AUSTRIA. 1944 ISSUE
P-102b       50 Groschen          XF $1        AU $2        CU $3
P-103a       1 Schilling               F $2           VF $3
P-103b       1 Schilling               F $1          VF $2        XF $3
P-104b       2 Schillings             XF $3        AU $4
P-105         5 Schillings             VF $3        XF $4        AU $5
P-106a       10 Schillings          
(no fractional line in prefix number)      F $3     VF$4         XF $5        AU $6
P-106b       10 Schillings          
(with fractional line in prefix number)     VF+ $5
P-107         20 Schillings           F $3           AU $8
P-109         50 Schillings           VF $8        XF $10      AU $12
P-110a       100 Schillings        
(no fractional line in prefix number)       F $6     VF$8         AU $12
P-110b       100 Schillings        
(with fractional line in prefix number)    F $6     VF $8

RUSSIAN OCCUPATION - WWII - 1945 issue
P-113b       1 Reichsmark         VF $10    AU $20

ALLIED ISSUE FOR BELGIUM - GOVERNMENT IN EXILE - ISSUE 1-2-43
P-121         5 Francs                 F $3          VF $4        XF $5        AU $6
P-122         10 Francs               F $3          VF $4        XF $5        AU $6
P-123         100 Francs             F $10        VF $15      XF $20
P-124         500 Francs             F $50        VF $75

MILITARY ISSUE OF 1-8-46
P-M1         1 Franc prefix 'A'    F $15         VF $25
P-M4         10 Francs  prefix 'A'                 F $50

Please confirm availability with Ed @ hoffman@rabbitbrush.com



Comprehensive Catalog of Military Payment Certificates - 4th Edition
by Fred Schwan

Standard Edition (400 pages!)                                                               $  50
Collectors’s Edition (432 pages!)                                                          $  95
Researcher's Edition (432 page, 46 produced, limited to availability)      $125
All orders plus $4 shipping per order (NOT per book). Send snail mail payment to:


BNR Press
132 E. Second Street
Port Clinton, OH   43452

or PayPal using email:
fredschwan@yahoo.com


WANTED SECTION:
Collectors may submit lists of items wanted for their collections for listing here.
Dealers and collectors who have these items, are then encouraged to list them for sale in the above section as a reply.
Wanted listings will run for a period of 1 month.


WANTED - Fancy Series 641 fractional notes - any condition. (5/18)
WANTED - Philippine Guerrila Money (5/26)

===================================================
MPC CATALOG CORRECTIONS & ENHANCEMENTS


Page 18, Bottom - Users of Military Payment Certificates
Check marks were omitted from production copies of books. Please check off the following:
Australia:           641, 661, 681, 692
Canada:            461 through and including 591
Korea:              641, 661, 681, 692
New Zealand:   641, 661, 681, 692
Thailand:           641, 661, 681, 692
United States:    All
(date listed: 02 APRIL 2002)

Page 201, Bottom Right - Very last sentence on this page
Two serial numbers listed for the second printing of
Series 472 .50 cent notes.  The first serial number listed is obviously in error as a nine digit number: C040351392C   
Correct Serial Number is: C04035139C
D Freyser (date listed 10 April 2002)

Page 207, #833/4  - Series 481 .25 4th Printing  (table listing serial number breakdowns)  line 5
Start Number is incorrect. It appears as:
(start) D14784001D   (end) D14784000D
Correct start number should be: D09408001D
PK6 (date listed: 03 APRIL 2002)

Page 214, #855/r2 - Series 541 $1 Replacements,
Ending serial number is incorrect
Correct number is F1112000
(date listed: 02 APRIL 2002)

Page 220, #884/2r - Series 641 .50 Replacements

On page 284, it is broken down into 2 printings. That's correct, BUT, on page 220 he lists only (1) printing reported. It should "list" both first and second printings. 
Guy Araby (date listed 04 APRIL 2002)

Page 287, Series 661 Series Summary, 25 cent note: the "list" shows "#CU as 10(7) . It should read, 8(7). As only 8 are known in CU. Just recount P.289. 
Guy Araby (date listed 08 APRIL 2002)

Page 398, Series #541 $10 on  "UNC." price is $2500, on P.214 the UNC. price is $3500. Also the rest of the prices don't match all the way to "VG" on this issue. They should be the same price.
Guy Araby (date listed 08 APRIL 2002)

===================================================
MPC Gram Staff:


Publisher:                                               Fred Schwan -                              MPCGram@yahoo.com

Editor:                                                     Philip M. Goldstein -                   IWANTMYMPC@aol.com
Subscription Manager:                        Doug Bell -                                   doug@papermoneyworld.net
Tuesday Columnist :                            Joe Boling -                                   JoeBoling@aol.com
Thurski Columnist:                               Larry "Ski" Smulczenski -           skifla@prodigy.net
Friday Columnist:                                 Fred Schwan -                               MPCGram@yahoo.com
Critic:                                                      Harold Kroll -                                HARBONS@aol.com
Distribution Manager:                         Brad Peacock -                              bp22@swbell.net

Scholarship Coordinator:                    Marcus Turner -                           maturner@indy.rr.com
Index & Back Issue Manager:           
vacant
Webmaster & Technical Advisors:   Doug Bell "Wiz" -                        doug@papermoneyworld.net
                                                                 Russ Walsh -                                russ.walsh@gte.net
Fact Checker:                                         Warner Talso -                            
Calendar Coordinator:                          John & Nancy Wilson -

The Boss:                                               Judy Schwan -