Call Number:

URB 45

Repository:

Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center

Extent:

8 linear feet (16 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Manufacturers' Association of Montgomery County (Pa.) Records, URB 45, Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Date:

1908-1972 (inclusive)

Creator:

Manufacturers' Association of Montgomery County (Pa.)

Form:

Administrative records, Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws (administrative records), Clippings, Correspondence, Financial records, Ledgers (account books), Manuscripts, Pamphlets, Photographs, and Reports

Abstract:

In 1908 a group of businessmen, hoping to create a "mutual interest" of employers against proposed state legislation, formed the Manufacturers' Association of Montgomery County. The immediate object of the MAMC was to create a lobbying interest against the state child labor law. By 1912, however, the Association was also aligned against new tax proposals and workmen's compensation legislation. Later activities included providing liability insurance and factory safety advice.

By the 1920s, the MAMC was in the forefront of promoting new managerial practices. Corporate welfare programs, including industrial recreation, plant safety, worker housing, community development and public relations, show the varied responses of MAMC members to new industrial conditions. The Association, led for over four decades by Secretary Walter A. Knerr, however, never modified its opposition to state interference in the economy. In its later years, the MAMC moved toward closer cooperation with the Manufacturers' Association of Greater Philadelphia, eventually merging to form the Manufacturers' Association of the Delaware Valley in 1971.

The records of the MAMC document many of the major activities of the organization. In particular, the minutes of MAMC meetings, as well as the Secretary's minute book, provide insight into the Association's policies and decision-making processes. The correspondence chronicles the MAMC's activities in its first decade, and the subject file covers specific topics such as safety and labor turnover. Financial records included in the papers contain information on dues, expenses, payrolls and taxes, as well as some financial correspondence, ledgers and auditor's reports.