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Collection Overview

Creator:
United Service to China
Title:
United Service to China Records
Repository:
Public Policy Papers
Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/j6731377c
Dates:
1934-1967 (mostly 1941-1950)
Size:
92 boxes
Storage Note:
  • Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Box 1-92
Language:
English

Abstract

The Records of United Service to China, Inc., known from 1941 to 1946 as United China Relief, Inc., document the activities of the organization from the early formation in 1940 to its official consolidation with the American Bureau for Medical Aid to China in 1966. In addition there is a limited amount of material from other Chinese relief agencies that predate the founding of United China Relief / United Service to China. The Records focus on UCR/USC attempts to raise money in the United States, to educate Americans about China and the Chinese people, and to carry on relief work in China. The collection consists primarily of correspondence among the various individuals and agencies involved with UCR/USC, along with other material produced by the agency, such as minutes and publicity material. In addition, the collection includes a series of photographs dealing with China during the 1940s and efforts in the United States to raise money for China during the same period.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

Consists of records of an umbrella organization, originally known as United China Relief (1941-1945) and later as United Service to China (1946-1966), which coordinated various agencies in their wartime and post-war civilian relief activities to aid the people of Nationalist China, first on the mainland and subsequently on Taiwan. Agencies represented include the American Bureau for Medical Advancement in China, the American Friends Service Committee, Indusco, Inc., the Institute of Pacific Relations, and the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. There are general files of correspondence, articles, speeches, annual reports, budgets, financial statements, documents, agency and committee files, minutes of meetings, files of national, state, and local fund raising material; biographical files on Chinese and American people with interests in aiding China; and publicity and educational program materials. Also present is a large group of photographs of places, events, and people, including such figures as Pearl S. Buck, Walt Disney, Hu Shih, V. K. Wellington Koo, Henry R. Luce, Mary Pickford, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Arrangement

This arrangement does not fully reflect the way in which the files were organized when they were being used by UCR/USC. Approximately two thirds of the material was in "General Files" which were arranged in alphabetical order by subject and reverse chronological order within each subject. These were broken down into several series when the collection was processed in order to give researchers easier access to the materials. The rest of the material was maintained as close to original order as possible. The series which were originally part of the General Files include: Board of Directors - General Files; Board of Directors - Correspondence; Internal Committees; Administration Files; Staff; Cooperating Agencies; National War Fund Records; State Campaign Files; China Office Files; Publicity Department; Legal Files; and Financial Files.

Collection Creator Biography:

United Service to China

United Service to China was founded as United China Relief on February 7, 1941 as a membership corporation in the state and county of New York. However, the origins of UCR/USC stretch back more than a year to January 1940 when a group of men known as the Committee of Five first suggested that the various relief agencies raising money for China could work more effectively if they were to work together. The Committee of Five promoted, without much success, this idea throughout the year among the various agencies associated with relief for China. This committee consisted of Dr. Claude Forkner, Mr. Roger Greene, Dr. Edward H. Hume, Dr. John Earl Baker, and Dr. B. A. Garside. The Coordinating Committee for China Relief and Rehabilitation decided in December 1940 that the idea had some merit and began studying ways in which to coordinate their fundraising activities. This committee consisted of representatives from the American Bureau for Medical Aid to China (ABMAC), the China Emergency Relief Committee, the China Aid Council, the American Committee for Chinese War Orphans, the Church Committee for China Relief, China Famine Relief, the American Committee for Chinese Industrial Cooperatives (Indusco, Inc.), and the Associated Boards for Christian Colleges in China (ABCCC). These agencies decided to establish a corporation that would carry on a joint fundraising campaign. All of the agencies on the committee except China Famine Relief elected to become cooperating agencies of the newly formed United China Relief, Inc.

The original intent of the cooperating agencies was that UCR would be a temporary institution which would last only long enough to conduct a 1941 fundraising campaign. The goal of this campaign was to raise $5 million, approximately four times as much as the agencies had been able to raise separately in 1940. UCR was unable to meet this goal by the original July 31 deadline, so the board extended the deadline several times. By the end of the year, UCR had been so successful that the agencies decided to maintain it as a permanent institution in order to raise money on a permanent basis.

In 1942 UCR conducted a very successful campaign, raising approximately $7 million for relief for China. However, this was UCR's last independent campaign for several years, because in 1943 UCR joined the National War Fund and conducted most of its fundraising through that agency and under its supervision. This arrangement was a great financial success for UCR.

The next major change in the organization came at the end of the war in 1945. Most of UCR's efforts up to this time had been focused on short-term relief work in China to deal with the devastation of the country by the war with the Japanese. After the war the UCR turned instead to projects with more long-term benefits, such as education. The directors felt that the best way they could fulfill their duty to China was to help the Chinese help themselves. As a reflection of its new mission, the board decided in 1946 to change the name of the corporation to United Service to China, Inc.

USC attempted to conduct its first independent campaign in several years in 1946 and extending through 1947. This was not as successful as the campaigns during the war years had been, a condition which the directors attributed to lack of interest in philanthropic organizations among the American people. In an attempt to generate more income, USC joined with an organization known as American Overseas Aid - United Nations Appeal for Children in a joint campaign, through which they had hoped to receive $4.8 million, but eventually received only a few hundred thousand dollars. Although USC tried other fundraising techniques, such as direct mail to those considered most likely to contribute, USC revenue was still far less than in previous years. In addition, growing Communist influence in China made it seem less and less likely that USC would be able to generate support for China, no matter how assiduously it campaigned. As a result, USC had to scale back its activities. USC operated on an ever decreasing scale until the end of 1950, when the directors decided that USC should become inactive. They dismissed all of their employees and ceased all active solicitation as of December 31, 1950.

During the next few months, all the assets of USC except for a small reserve fund were handed over to the two cooperating agencies which were still operating and associated with USC: the American Bureau for Medical Aid to China (ABMAC) and the United Board for Christian Colleges in China (UBCCC, formerly ABCCC). The contributors to USC were informed of the change and asked to make all their contributions either to ABMAC or UBCCC. In the years that followed, USC carried on very limited activities. It did not solicit funds, but it did receive some unsolicited contributions and bequests from estates. It passed these funds, along with interest from the reserve fund, on to its cooperating agencies. The board met once every year in order to maintain USC's legal status. The meetings usually lasted only 10 to 15 minutes and consisted of little more than reelecting all the members of the board for the upcoming year.

In 1965, the board decided that USC could do more for China by giving all of its funds to agencies which were actually active in China than by waiting to reactivate itself at some unknown time in the future. It decided to liquidate its reserve fund and hand over the funds to the cooperating agencies to help them continue their programs. The board therefore ordered that the officers of the corporation look into (1) recovering all the funds from dormant accounts which had previously been held by local committees of UCR/USC, and (2) finding a way of terminating USC's legal existence. The officers conducted the search for the dormant funds, but the amount that they recovered was negligible.

At the next meeting of the board, in November 1966, the directors voted to divide the financial assets and liabilities of USC evenly between the American Bureau for Medical Aid to China (ABMAC) and the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA, formerly UBCCC). They also voted to consolidate USC and ABMAC, so that ABMAC would take on all the legal obligations of USC, and it would go out of existence as of the close of business on December 31, 1966. In total, UCR/USC had raised over $52 million to aid China, 90% of it between 1941 and 1946, and 99% between 1941 and 1950.

Collection History

Acquisition:

The Records were given to the University Library by B.A. Garside, the former Executive Vice President and Secretary of United Service to China, Inc., on 28 March, 1966 . The Records had been in the possession of the American Bureau for Medical Aid to China, with which USC consolidated in November 1966 . Files relating to the United Council for Civilian Relief in China were donated by Patti Gully in December 2007 (accession number ML.2007.036).

Appraisal

There is no indication that materials were separated from this collection.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Douglas Ray in August 1992. The December 2007 Accession was processed by Mike Mellor in December 2007. Finding aid written by Douglas Ray in August 1992 and updated by Mike Mellor in December 2007.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

United Service to China Records; Public Policy Papers, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/j6731377c
Location:
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library
65 Olden Street
Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
(609) 258-6345
Storage Note:
  • Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Box 1-92