Introduction

The Daniel M. Braum Papers (1935-1998) were donated to Kansas State University by his daughter, Wava Skaggs, in December 2005. The majority of the papers document the professional career of Daniel Braum from 1940-1965, in addition to containing information about his personal activities and family. The family placed additional material in the collection about the Braums after Daniel's death in 1981.

Comprising 8 linear feet of shelf space, the Braum Papers are contained in fourteen document boxes and two flat boxes and span the years 1935-1998. The Braum Papers are divided into eight series: 1) Correspondence, 1935-1987; 2) Subjects, 1943-1998; 3) Literary Works; 4) Organizations and Conferences, 1948-1958; 5) Certificates, Awards, Diplomas 1924-1978; 6) Printed Material, 1938-1957; 7) Photographs; and 8) Over Size.

Braum was born in Kansas in 1896 and he graduated from Kansas State Agricultural College in 1924 with a degree in agriculture. The bulk of the collection consists of information regarding his involvement with the advancement of farm work simplification, scientific management, and public administration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, General Services Administration, University of the Philippines, and Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service. The papers contain both personal and business correspondence received from numerous people throughout Braum's life. Braum is the author of A Thousand Questions on Supervision in the Philippines, and a typescript of the book is preserved in the collection.

The accession number assigned to the collection is P 2005.07. The processing of the papers was completed by Casey Thilges, student processor, in January 2006.

Biographical Sketch

1896        Born in Jackson County, Kansas, on farm 2 1/2 miles south of Denison, Kansas on February 1

1913        Graduated Denison High School, Denison, Kansas

1913-1915   Prep School in Agriculture, Manhattan, Kansas 

1915-1917   Cooper College, Sterling, Kansas

1918        Served in World War I

1920        Married Roberta M. Myers on December 20

1920-1922   Farmed for his father, John Henderson Braum, south of Denison, Kansas

1924        Graduated from K-State, BS degree in Agriculture

1924-1927   County Farm Bureau Agent, Burlington, Kansas

1927-1930   Operated his own farm in northeast Kansas

1930-1935   Returned to serving as County Farm Bureau Agent, Iola, Kansas

1935-1937   Soil Conservation Service Training Specialist, Iola, Kansas; 
               directed job training in 59 Civilian Corps Camps in the Midwest

1937-1939   Soil Conservation Service Training Specialist; Salina, Kansas

1939-1940   Soil Conservation Service Training, Amarillo, Texas

1940-1950   Entered Training Division of US Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.; 
            helped install the National Farm Work Simplification Laboratory at Purdue University

            Began using principle of Scientific Management to develop method of constructing training program

1947        Delegate to International Management Congress in Stockholm; delivered paper on 
               "Progress of Scientific Farm Management."

1949        3rd General Semantic Congress, Denver, CO; delivered paper "Peaceful Approach to Work"

1950-1952   Became Chief of Training for the General Services Administration;
            served as consultant in Public Administration to the Philippine government

1951        Delegate to International Management Congress in Brussels

1952        Awarded fellowship to District of Columbia Chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Management

1952-1955   Prof on faculty of Univ of Philippines as Dir of In-Service  
               Training in the New Institute of Public Administration; 
            directed training of supervisors, executives and bureau chiefs,  
               and conducted government-wide conferences in budgeting, 
               personnel management and records management;  
            with Philippine officials, developed training policy and plans  
               for Philippine Government

            Authored book, Thousand Questions on Supervision in the Philippines

            Assisted Dr. Lillian M. Gilbreth in organizing Philippine Council  
               of Government when it was given membership in the International  
               Committee of Scientific Management

1955-1965   Returned to U.S. as training officer of Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service of USDA 
               in Washington, D. C.; developed training policy and plans for the Service which was responsible 
               for price support and management of surpluses for the US.

1957        Assigned for 3.5 months to Indonesian Government to conduct demonstrational management training; 
            prepared dual language flip charts for instruction which were published

1959        Delegate to International Management Conference in Paris
	
            Participated in the American Society for Public Administration Management Institute at the 
               University of Colorado

            Received USDA superior service award 

1963        Member of the Board of Governors for the planning of the International Industrial Engineers 
               Conference in New York City

            Delegate to International Management Conference in New York City
		
1964        Awarded life membership to D.C. Chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Management

1965-1980   Retired from USDA Commodity Stabilization Service; 
            became part-time consultant, Agriculture International Development, Foreign Training Division, USDA; 
            developed and conducted the management program for foreign trainees

1966        Received the Gilbreth Medal for his contributions to the application of time and motion studies

1978        Recognized by the National Republican Committee from President Ronald Reagan for his generosity and 
               service to the Republican Party

1981        Died, October 26 in Rockville, Maryland; buried in Denison Kansas Cemetery

Scope and Content

The Daniel M. Braum Papers document the professional career of Braum from 1940-1965. They also include information about his personal activities and family during that time as well as after his death in 1981 when information was added to the collection by the family covering the years 1982-1998. Throughout Braum's work he was greatly involved with the advancement of farm work simplification, scientific management, and public administration. He worked for the United States Department of Agriculture training division from 1940-1950. During this time he helped establish the National Farm Work Simplification Laboratory at Purdue University. He was also employed as the Chief of Training for the General Services Administration (1950-1952) and became a consultant for the Philippine Government (1952-1955). After spending three years working in the Philippines, he returned to work in Washington, D.C. as a training officer of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service for the USDA from 1955-1965.

The Braum Papers are divided into eight series: 1) Correspondence, 1935-1991; 2) Subjects, 1943-1998; 3) Literary Works; 4) Organizations and Conferences, 1948-1958; 5) Certificates, Awards, Diplomas 1924-1978; 6) Printed Material, 1938-1957; 7) Photographs; and 8) Over Size.

The first series, Correspondence (1935-1991), is divided into two sub series. The first includes both business and personal correspondence received from numerous people throughout Braum's life. The letters are organized alphabetically and include correspondence from Roberta Braum and John H. and Mary Ann (Loughridge) Braum. The series contains numerous letters with Dr. Lillian Gilbreth that involves their work with farm work simplification, as well as personal matters after Daniel and Roberta Braum became close friends with Gilbreth. Gilbreth became known as the "mother of modern management" and, with her husband, Frank, pioneered industrial management techniques that are still practiced. Correspondence with Dan Copell, E.C Young, Lowell Hardin, the farm work simplification project director, and a number of other individuals also address Braum's involvement with farm work simplification. White House correspondence includes a small number of invitations and personal notes sent to Braum by Presidents Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. The second sub series contains general correspondence and is organized chronologically from 1935-1975. The majority of these letters are related to Braum's professional career and his involvement with farm work simplification, public administration, and scientific management. The letters also address a number of committees and conferences Braum was involved with throughout his career including the Executive Committee, Agricultural Committee, and the Agricultural Management Conference at Purdue.

Subjects (1943-1998) is divided into 10 sub series: 1) The Braum Family contains newspaper clippings and articles concerning Bill Braum and other Braum family members; 2) Denison, Kansas History includes information about the history of the town; 3) Farm Work Simplification involves reports, literary works, and other information including course outlines and material, charts/graphs, and printed material outlining Braum's involvement in the development of farm work simplification; 4) Lillian Gilbreth contains biographical information and printed material about Dr. Gilbreth and her work with time and motion study analysis; 5) Lectures consists of a class orientation lecture and a lecture series given in 1949; 6) Open Door Policy (1946) includes the policy and contract used when this program was established; 7) Philippines contains documents and other papers including Braum's literary works from his time spent teaching in that country; 8) Semantics (1948-1949) includes course material and information on semantics taught at Purdue University; 9) Scientific Management and Christianity consists of 3 papers written by Braum on the subject and also his notes and Christian publications; and 10) Management involves literary works by Braum on management applied to the home, management development, and labor management, also includes Braum's notes on the topic and charts/graphs.

The third series, Literary Works, contains two important works written by Braum. The first is entitled "A Peaceful Approach to Work." A number of abstracts, critiques, and drafts are included. Also, a complete typescript of Braum's book A Thousand Questions on Supervision in the Philippines is retained in this series.

The series Organizations and Conferences consists of seven sub series. The first is the American Society of Mechanical Engineers that includes information about the Farm Management Committee set up by Braum in 1948. The second, Bureau of Ships, contains papers on leadership and communication. The third sub series is the International Committee of Scientific Management (CIOS) and contains a day book written by Braum while attending one of its conferences in Paris in 1957. The fourth is the International Management Conference. It contains papers written by Braum to be presented at the 8th and 9th Conferences. The fifth sub series contains the Purdue Farm Cardiac Project (1958). The sixth, The Society for the Advancement of Management, houses information and papers on the advancement of management. The final sub series includes miscellaneous papers and documents from unidentified organizations and/or conferences.

The Certificates, Awards, and Diplomas series contains eleven certificates, awards, and diplomas Braum received throughout his lifetime. The series includes certificates of merit from the USDA, ten and twenty year service awards from the USDA, and a certificate of recognition from Ronald Reagan and the National Republican Party for Braum's service to the Republican Party.

Printed Material, the sixth series, contains various items that are related to most of the other series or sub series. These include Farm Work Simplification, the Philippines, International Committee of Scientific Management, the International Management Conference, Scientific Management, and a copy of Braum's book A Thousand Questions on Supervision in the Philippines.

The Photographs series contains several hundred images including those of the Braum family, Philippines, China, Hong Kong, USDA, International Management Conference, International Committee on Scientific Management, and miscellaneous. They provide excellent pictorial documentation of family members and the locations where Braum worked.

The final series, Over Size, contains photographs, certificates, awards, diplomas, posters, photo albums, and memorabilia from Braum's life including an audio tape of Dr. Lillian Gilbreth and a photograph album that includes photographs from Braum's service in World War I and other personal and family photographs.

Included with the papers were nineteen books from Daniel and Roberta Braum, many of which were signed and presented to them by the authors. They have been cataloged and added to the library of the University Archives.

Container List

Box  Folder   Contents

            Correspondence, Alphabetical

01   01     Barrett, Rollin; Sep 1942-Nov 1943		
     02-03  Braum, Roberta; Christmas 1951-Mar 1991 
     04-07  Copell, Don; Sep 1942-Mar 1946
     08     Braum, John H. & Mary Ann (Loughridge); Jun-Jul 1947
     09     Gant, George; May 1947
     10-27  Gilbreth (personal), Lillian; Oct 1948-Dec 1966

02   01-05  Gilbreth (personal), Lillian; Jan 1967-Mar 1969
     06	    Gilbreth (children), Lillian; Mar 1964-Feb 1985
     07	    Gilbreth (Farm Work Simplification), Lillian; Sep 1942-Oct 1947
     08-09  Hardin, Lowell; Mar 1943-Jan 1951
     10     Henney, Homer; Nov 1942-Sep 1943
     11     Hill, Grover; No Date
     12     Hughes, Charles; Mar-Nov 1945
     13     Kansas State University; Nov 1945-Sep 1954
     14     Lathrop, Merle; Jan 1943-Jul 1980
     15-16  Mann, Albert; Sep 1942-Mar1946
     17     Mattern, H.C.; Mar 1946-Jan 1949
     18     Porter, David; Sep 1942-Dec 1945 
     19-20  Venard, C.L; Feb 1944-Jan 1980
     21     White House; Oct 1945-Feb 1985
     22-25  Young, E.C.; Jan 1942-May 1946
		
            Correspondence, General 

     26     1935
     27     1942
     28-29  1943
     30     1944
     31-33  1945

03   01-04  1946
     05-06  1947
     07     1948
     08-11  1949
     12-14  1950
     15-20  1951
     21     1952
     22     1953-1955
     23     1956-1988
     24     No Date

            Subjects
			
            Braum Family
               Bill Braum
04   01           Newspaper clippings (1982-1994)
     02           Magazine articles (June/July 1994)
               Other
     03           Funeral programs/eulogy
     04           Newspaper clippings (1998)
     05           Magazine article (April 1954)
     06     Denison, KS – History (1981)
            Farm Work Simplification, Purdue, West Lafayette, Indiana
     07        Work simplification report (July 1943-1945)
               Literary Works
     08           Reid 
     09           Hardin, Lowell
               Scientific Management in Agriculture
     10           "A New Field in Scientific Management"
     11           Literary works by Braum
     12           Summary report (October 1945)
     13           Mechanization (1948)
     14           Questions on application of scientific management
     15           Minutes of meeting on scientific management (November 1945)
               Farm Work Simplification Course Material, Purdue
               University, West Lafayette, Indiana
     16           Course outline; preliminary program (1943)
                  Course on supervision
     17               Course material for week of October 16
     18               Course material for week of Oct. 23 & 30
     19               Course material for week of November 6
     20               Course material for week of November 13
     21        Rubber project (1943)
     22        Charts/Graphs
               Printed Material
     23           Magazine articles (1943-1944)
     24           Programs (1944-1946)
            Gilbreth, Lillian
     25        Works by Gilbreth
     26        Biographical information
               Printed Material
     27           Newspaper clippings
     28           "The Gilbreth Story" (1962)
     29           Miscellaneous
            Lectures
     30        Thematics of design class orientation (1952)
     31-32     Lecture series (1949)
            Open Door Policy (1946)
     33        Policy
     34        Contract
     35        Printed material

05          Philippines
     01        Journals/Diaries (1954)
     02        Correspondence (1952-1958)
     03        Contract (1952)
     04        Financial documents (1952)
               Course material for scientific management
     05           Enrollment figures (1952-1955)
     06           Course outlines (1952)
     07           Case studies
               Semi-annual reports
     08           May 1955
     09           November 1955
     10           June 1956
               Literary Works-Braum
     11           "The Administration and the Internal Auditor"
     12           Labor department talks
     13           Radio Speech (1954)
     14           "Relationship of Management to Science and Technology"
     15           "Relationship of the Work Itself…"
     16           Rotary meeting speech (1952)
     17           "Scientific Management and Public Administration"
     18           "Some Foundations of Group Action" (1951)
     19           "What is Management" (1954)
     20           Training suggestions
               Printed Material
     21-27     In-service training programs (1953-1954)
     28           Charts/Graphs
     29           Program (1954)
     30           Newspaper clippings (1953, 1954)	
            Semantics
     31        Course material (1948)
     32        3rd Congress (1949)
     33        Institute of general semantics information sheet (1948)
            Scientific Management and Christianity
               Literary Works-Braum
     34           1951
     35           Two greatest forces in the world paper
     36           "Union of Christianity and Scientific Management"
     37-38     Notes
     39        Christian publications		

            Management
               Literary Works- Braum
06   01           "Application of Scientific Management of Home"
     02           "An Unique Approach to Management Development" (1973)
     03           "Labor-Management Statesmanship"
     04-05     Literary Works- Other
     06        Notes
     07        Charts/Graphs

            Literary Works

            "A Peaceful Approach to Work"
     08        Abstracts
     09        Critiques
     10        Rough Drafts
     11        Discussion Drafts
     12        Pre-Congress Drafts
            "A Thousand Questions on Supervision in the Philippines"
     13-27     Chapters 1-15
     28        Overview Sheet on Book
     29        Speech, Gilbreth Award Acceptance (1961)

            Organizations and Conferences

07          American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
     01        Student Branches
     02        Minutes (April 1949)
     03-06     Farm management committee (FMC)
     07-08     FMC correspondence (March 1948-July 1950)
            Bureau of Ships
     09        Leadership
     10        Assigning work
     11        Communication
     12        Rules
     13     International Committee of Scientific Management (CIOS): day book (Paris, 1957)
            International Management Conference
     14-17     Literary Work-Braum
     18        Synopsis
     19     The Purdue Farm Cardiac Project (1958)
     20     Society for the Advancement of Management
     21-22  Miscellaneous
     23     Certificates, Awards, Diplomas: (1924, 1952, 1958, 1959, 1963, 1978)
	
            Printed Material

     24     Braum newspaper clippings
     25-28  Farm Work Simplification

08   01-13  Farm Work Simplification newsletters (April 1943-July 1948)
     14-17  Philippines
     18-21  Management
            International Committee of Scientific Management (CIOS)
     22        Geneva (1949)
     23-25     Brussels (1951)
     26-27     Paris (1957)

            International Management Conference (IMC)
09   01        7th IMC, Washington (1938)
     02-04     8th IMC, Stockholm (1947)
     05        Society for the Advancement of Management (SAM)
     06        American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
     07-08     Scientific management
     09-14     Travel
     15-17     Braum
     18-22     Others

10   01-12     Others	

            Photographs
			
11   01     Daniel and Roberta Braum (8); 1952, 1958
     02     Daniel Braum (28); 1896, 1953, 1955, 1973, 1980, ND
     03     Daniel Braum and miscellaneous people (15); 1947, 1948, 1969?, ND
     04     Roberta Braum (9); 1898, 1953, 1955, ND
     05-06  Daniel and Roberta Braum Family(16); 1928, 1942, 1968, ND 
     07     John H Braum Family (15); 1921, 1927, 1938, 1950s, ND
     08     Edwin and Ella Myer Family (4); ND
     09-10  Miscellaneous Family Photos (13); 1920, 1922, 1947, 1953, ND
     11     Braum Family's Friends (3); 1954, 1956, ND
     12     Gilbreth, Lillian (1); ND
     13     Gilbreth in Philippines (23); 1953, [1952-1955]
     14     Gilbreth Children (1); [1985]
     15     Braum receiving Gilbreth Award (1); [1966]
     16     Denison, KS High School (1); ND
     17     Kansas State Agricultural College (KSAC) (1), ND
     18     Postcards (2); ND
     19     Camp Mackall Postcards (20); ND
     20-21  Photo Christmas cards from Philippines (12); 1953, [1952-1955]
     22-25  Photo Christmas cards (42); 1945-1948, 1950, 1958, 1961, ND  

12          Philippines
     01-03     Miscellaneous (84); 1957, 1959, [1952-1955]
     04        Braum in Philippines (13); [1952-1955]
     05        Public administration luncheon (4); 1953
     06        Braum Home (10); 1953, [1952-1955]
     07-10     Boat Trip (49) [1953]
     11-14     In-service Training Program (87); 1953-1954, [1953-1954]
     15        Postcards (15); ND
     16     Stockholm (2); 1947, ND
     17     Brussels (1); 1951
     18     China (5); 1956-1958
     19-22  Turks Head (78); ND

13   01     Indonesia (18); [1957]
     02     Japan (1); ND
            Hong Kong
     03-07     Scenery/People (99); ND
     08        Postcards (12); ND
     09     Morton Brothers Farm-Lebanon, IL (8); [1946]
     10     Farming (35); 1940-1941, 1947, ND
            US Dept. of Ag
     11-12     "Improving Farm" (40); ND	
     13        Building (1); ND
     14        Extension Service (4) ND
     15     Superior Service Award (1); May 1959
     16     Woodland Park Conference, Manitou Park Experimental Forest (5); May 1942
     17     Small Business Advisory Committee Meeting (6); [1948]
     18     Management Association Dinner (3); [1953]
     19     International Management Conference (2); 1947
     20     International Committee of Scientific Management (CIOS), Paris (1); 1957
     21     Kiwanis (1); ND
     22     Drottingholm (sailing to Stockholm) (6); 1947
     23     Corregidor (23); ND
     24     Hunting (3); ND
     25     Juan Luna Day Celebration (2); October 23, 1954
     26     October 1941 (9)
     27     October 1955 (26)
     28     July 1956 (5)
     29     July 1957 (32)
     30     May 1958 (1)

14   01     People (Identified) (11); ND
            Miscellaneous
     02-07     People (77); ND
     08-09     Landscape (34); ND
     10-12     Buildings (69); 1951, ND
     13        Horse (10); ND
     14        River/Boats (10); ND
     15        Swimmers (2); ND
     16-17     Miscellaneous Photos (31); ND
     18-26     Negatives

            Over Size
			
            Photographs
15   01        Daniel Braum
     02        Cooper College football team [1917]
               Panorama-World War I, Camp Cody, New Mexico-322 Sanitary Train (partial roster)
               Panorama-World War I, Camp Funston, Kansas, 14th National Army Cantonment
               Panorama-World War I, Ambulance Company #386, Camp Cody, New Mexico
               Panorama-Mountains near Deming, New Mexico
            Certificates, Awards, Diplomas				
     03        Diploma of Honor (Perfect Attendance)-Jackson County, Kansas Public School [1903]
     04        Sunday School teacher diploma, Kansas [1917]
     05        Jackson Country, Kansas Public School Diploma [1910]
     06        Kansas State Agricultural College Diploma [1924]
     07        Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society member [1924]
     08        Certificate of thanks [1957]				
     09        USDA Superior Service Award [1959]
     10        Society for the Advancement of Management life membership award [1964]
     11        USDA 10-year service pin
            Broadsides: General Electric 
     12        Should Wages Go Up and Down with Profits?
     13        General Electric Cuts Prices
     14        Should Pay be Equal Everywhere?
     15        How big are General Electric Profits?
     16        Who told you These Fairy Tales?
     17     Cooper College-courses
     18     Cooper College-mechanical drawings [1918]

16          Wooden desk plate, "Daniel M. Braum"
            Audio tape:  Daniel & Howard Braum
            Audio tape:  Dr. Lillian Gilbreth 
            Medical Banner
            Framed Gilbreth Commemorative Stamp
            Photo album-World War One
            Photo album-Braum family 
            Guest book [1957-1967]
            Funeral guest book

The following books belonged to Daniel Braum; they have been cataloged for the collection in the University Archives.

Beyer, Prof. H. Otley & De Veyra, Prof. Jaime C. Philippine Saga: A Pictorial History of the Archipelago Since Time Began. Manilla: Capitol Publishing House, 1952. Inscribed by colleagues to Daniel and Roberta Braum.

Clark, Pearl Franklin. Challenge of the American Know-How. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1948. Inscribed by author to Daniel and Roberta Braum.

Copeland, Lloyd and Kathryn. Through the Years: History of Denison. Holton: The Gossip Printery, 1982.

Eighth International Management Congress. Vols. I, II, III. Stockholm: Esselte Aktiebolag, 1947 and 1948.

Gardiner, Allen. Denison, Kansas; An Historical and Biographical Account of the Town and Surrounding Community, from Earliest Times to the Present, with a Personal Delineation by the Author. Topeka: Topeka Genealogical Society, 1973. Inscribed by author to Daniel and Roberta Braum.

Grady, James F. & Hall, Milton. Writing Effective Government Letters. Washington, D.C.: Employee Training Publications, 1939. Inscribed by author to Daniel and Roberta Braum.

Improved Techniques for Administration and Control. New York: American Management Association, 1957.

Laurel, Jose P. Bread and Freedom. Manilla: 1953. Inscribed by author to Daniel and Roberta Braum.

Maynard, H.B. Industrial Engineering Handbook. Second Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1963. Inscribed by author to Daniel and Roberta Braum.

Niles, Mary Cushing. The Essence of Management. Bombay: Orient Longmans, 1956. Inscribed by author to Daniel and Roberta Braum.

Person, H.S. Little Waters: A study of headwater streams & other little waters, their use and relations to the land. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1935.

Rathe, Alex W. & Gryna, Frank M. Applying Industrial Engineering to Management Problems. USA: American Management Association, 1969. Inscribed by author to Daniel and Roberta Braum.

Swaffer, Paul. Look What I Stepped In. Kansas City: The Lowell Press, 1972.

Thompson, Richard N. Languages of the Philippines. Pampanga Province: Community Press, 1953. Inscribed by author to Daniel and Roberta Braum.

Ware, George W. The New Guide to Happy Retirement. New York: Crown Publishers, 1968. Inscribed by author to Daniel and Roberta Braum.

Wilson, Laurence Lee. The Skyland of the Philippines. Baguio: Baguio Printing & Publishing Co, 1953.

Yost, Edna. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth: Partners for Life. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1949.