Arthur Summerfield

Arthur Ellsworth Summerfield ( born March 17, 1899 in Pinconning, Bay County, Michigan, † April 26, 1972 in West Palm Beach, Florida ) was an American politician ( Republican), who in the Cabinet of President Dwight D. Eisenhower eight years, the Office of the U.S. Postmaster General held.

Life

Even as a 13 -year-old left Arthur Summerfield school to work in a factory. In 1918 he had already brought it to inspectors items in the Chevrolet plant in Flint. The following year, he founded the company Summerfield Realty, with whom he became the largest independent motor oil dealer in Michigan. Opened in 1929 Summerfield his own Chevrolet dealership. By 1953, he established himself as one of the most successful car dealers Michigan.

Policy

Politically, he was first active in 1940, when he organized the campaign of Republican candidate Wendell Willkie in the presidential election. Later, he applied himself to public office, but remained unsuccessful. 1942 failed Summerfield in the election for secretary of state of Michigan, in 1946 he was defeated in the election for governor of the state.

But he rose to within the Republican Party. From 1944 he was a member of the Republican National Committee, which he chairs took over in 1952. In this role, he was responsible for the campaign of presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower. After the victory he resigned the party chairmanship to enter as Postmaster General in the government.

Worth Summerfield made ​​during his tenure to improve the efficiency in the delivery, while experimenting with new delivery methods. Non- economic post offices and delivery routes were shut down; for a system was created, were supplied free of charge with the more than 300,000 farm businesses in the country ( Rural free delivery system ).

However, the minister also drew criticism on himself by trying to exclude as " obscene" designated writings of delivery. So he said, for example, the delivery of DH Lawrence's novel Lady Chatterley 's Lover. In court, the government was defeated, however, so that the delivery ban expired in 1959.

With the end of Eisenhower's presidency and Arthur Summerfield resigned from the government. He worked in the episode back in the car trade.