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James Cecil Nelson Papers, 1934-1975

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Nelson, James Cecil
Title
James Cecil Nelson Papers
Dates
1934-1975 (inclusive)
Quantity
35 containers., (24.5 linear feet of shelf space.), (8950 items.)
Collection Number
Cage 369
Summary
Correspondence, reports, government documents, statistics, unpublished papers, reprints, clippings, memoranda, student papers, and other materials related to teaching, researching, writing, and consulting about transportation economics, particularly railroads and the Interstate Commerce Commission.
Repository
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

Professor Emeritus James Cecil Nelson, internationally known transportation economist, was born in Bickleton, Washington, on October 5, 1908. Nelson received his B.A. from the University of Washington in 1930, his M.A. from Ohio State University in 1931, and his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in 1934. Nelson was a Dupont fellow, 1932-1934, and also a research fellow at the Brookings Institution from 1933 to 1934. After receiving his doctorate, Nelson served on the faculties of several universities and also worked for more than a year with the Washington Department of Public Service. In 1938 Nelson joined the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, U.S. Department of Agriculture, as a senior transportation economist. In 1941 he became the principal transportation economist with the National Resources Planning Board.

During the Second World War, Nelson worked with a number of Federal agencies. He served first as assistant director in charge of regulatory policy studies, Division of Economic Studies, Board of Investigation and Research (1941-1944), and later as assistant director, Division of Review and Special Studies, Office of Defense Transportation (1944-1945). Before returning to academic life in 1947, he served as chief of the Transportation Division, Office of Domestic Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce (1945-1947).

In 1947 Nelson joined the faculty of Washington State University as professor of economics and transportation in the Department of Economics, a position he held until his retirement in September 1974. In addition to his teaching, research, and writing at WSU, Nelson served as a consultant for the Washington State Legislature's Joint Fact-Finding Committee on Highways, Streets, and Bridges, as well as the Legislative Research Committee of the North Dakota Legislature (1948-1952). He also served as a consultant for, among others: the Royal Commission on Transportation, Alberta, Canada (1960); the Federation of Nigeria (1960-1961); the Royal Government of Afganistan (1963); Pembina Pipe Line Limited, Calgary, Alberta (1961, 1962); A.T.and S.F.; Railway (1961-1968); American Automobile Manufacturers Association (1966); and the Pacific Island Tariff Bureau (1969). In 1956-1957, Nelson was a senior staff member at the Brookings Institution. He also served as visiting professor at the University of Wisconsin (1964), University of British Columbia (fall, 1975), and Monash University, Melbourne, Australia (1975). Nelson's research has resulted in numerous articles in professional journals and a number of books, among which are: Railroad Transportation and National Policy (1959), Transportation Problems and Policies in the Trans-Missouri West (1967), The Future of American Transportation (1971), Perspectives on Regional Transportation Planning (1973), Perspectives on Federal Transportation Policy (1975), and Railway Pricing under Commercial Freedom: The Canadian Experience (1977).

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Item Description]. Cage 369, James Cecil Nelson Papers. Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The papers of James Cecil Nelson are arranged in four series: Research Files, 1934-1947; Correspondence and Student Placement Files, 1938-1975; Instructional Material and Related Research Files, 1932-1974; and Professional Activities, 1947-1975. The first series, Research Files, 1934-1947, is divided into two subseries: Academic and State Appointments, 1934-1938; and the Federal Service, 1938-1947. Included in the Academic and State Appointments subseries are a transportation bibliography, employment correspondence for 1938, and a field book compiled by Nelson when he worked for the Washington Department of Public Services in 1936. The second series, Federal Service, 1938-1947 is arranged chronologically by the positions Nelson held with the federal government, that is, with the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, 1938-1941, the Board of Investigation and Research, 1941-1944, and the Department of Commerce, 1944-1947. This material is arranged alphabetically within each of these groups. Included in this subseries are some correspondence, reports, research materials, publications, and memoranda.

In the second series, Correspondence and Student Placement Files, 1938-1975, is divided into two subseries: Correspondence, 1938-1967, and student Placement Files, 1952-1975. The correspondence is arranged alphabetically by subject and includes both incoming and outgoing letters to individuals, professional and business organizations, federal agencies, state legislative committees, and publishers. The student placement files are arranged alphabetically by the name of the firm or corporation involved, such as Great Northern, New York Central, and Shell Oil. Included in this subseries are letters from Nelson to personnel officers and other executives on behalf of various students, as well as. information on the various companies and their policies and opportunities.

The third series, Transport Economics Courses and Research Files, 1932-1974 is arranged by course number. The material collected for use and research in the various courses is arranged alphabetically by subject within each particular course. The material for the ten different courses includes correspondence, reports, memoranda, published documents (federal, state and private), newspaper and magazine clippings, trade journals, court and Interstate Commerce Commission decisions, statistical surveys and professional reference papers, analysis of almost every aspect of transportation, research notes, projects, addresses, studies and student papers. One of Dr. Nelson's primary interests was rail transportation; consequently, the course entitled Land Transportation Agencies (Economics 464) which deals at length with rail transportation, comprises the majority of the material in this series.

The fourth series, Professional Activities, 1947-1975, is composed of two subseries: Consultation and Testimony, 1951-1967; and Publications, 1947-1975. The first subseries, Consultation and Testimony, is arranged alphabetically by subject and consists of material pertaining to Dr. Nelson's consulting work for private business, professional organizations, foreign countries, Canadian provinces, and states, as well as his testimony before various federal committees and commissions. This subseries includes Nelson's testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Small Businesses (1955) and the Interstate Commerce Commission (1970), consulting work for the Royal (Canadian) Commission on Transportation and the Province of Alberta, as well as documents, reports, legal decisions, correspondence, notes, publications, railroad rate information, and notes pertaining to both consultation and cases in which Dr. Nelson was interested. The second subseries, Publications, 1947-1975, pertains to Dr. Nelson's writing and publishing. The conferences are listed alphabetically by the sponsoring organization. The publications or papers which Nelson reviewed are listed alphabetically by author or generating body. Conference papers presented by Dr. Nelson are arranged alphabetically by the title of the paper, except under the folder heading "Conference Papers presented by Nelson, 1941-1973" in which the papers are arranged chronologically. Accompanying some of the conference papers are various research materials. Nelson's publications and accompanying research papers are arranged alphabetically by the title of the publication. With the majority of Dr. Nelson's publications are also correspondence (either with publisher, critics, or research sources), manuscripts, galley proofs, and other research material.

Acquisition Information

The James Cecil Nelson papers were donated br Dr. Nelson to the Washington State University Libraries in January 1977 (UA 77-2).

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Economics -- Study and teaching (Higher)--Washington (State)--Pullman
  • Railroads -- United States--Finance
  • Transportation --United States--Finance

Personal Names

  • Nelson, James C., 1908- --Archives (creator)

Corporate Names

  • United States. Interstate Commerce Commission

Finding aid prepared by George M. Armstrong and Stephen E. Balzarini
2012

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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