Miller-Auchincloss papers

The Miller & Auchincloss Papers consist of two linear feet of correspondence and memoranda related to the work of law partners David Hunter Miller (1875-1954) and Gordon Auchincloss (1886-1943) as special representatives of the State Department in New York City between March 1917 and August 1918. The appointment went first to Auchincloss, but Miller took over the position shortly after 24 May 1917, when Auchincloss became assistant to the Counselor in the State Department. Miller served in various diplomatic capacities in Paris and London between October 1918 and June 1919, and then continued as representative of the State Department until he resigned the following October.

The duty of the special representative was to gather information at government request about activities with roots in the United States that might be intended to benefit Germany and her allies. Most of the inquiries had to do with transactions between American banks and those in neutral countries in Europe and South America on behalf of their respective clients. These transactions came to the attention of the government mainly through censorship of cables. There were also inquiries about shipments to neutral countries, enemy aliens in the United States, and representatives of American businesses abroad. The government officials with whom Auchincloss and Miller most often corresponded mere Leland Harrison (State Department), Frank E. Carstarphen (Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York), Arthur Woods (New York City Police Commissioner), Dudley Field Malone (Collector of the Port of New York), A.B. Hoff (Naval Communication Service, Office of the Cable Censor), and William J. Flynn (Secret Service). Most of the other correspondents were lawyers or officers of banks and businesses.

The diaries of Auchincloss (1917 Mar-May) and Miller (1917 May-Jun) as special representatives of the State Department are part of the Gordon Auchincloss Papers, Manuscript Group No. 580.