Loren Miller
Loren Miller was a civic reformer and
libertarian activist in the first half of the
20th century. Perhaps Miller's most lasting contribution was his success in convincing business magnates to support libertarian causes and organizations. The most notable case was William Volker who, at Miller's suggestion, founded the
William Volker Fund in
1932. Other examples included
Jasper Crane of
DuPont;
B. E. Hutchinson of
Chrysler;
Henry Weaver of
General Electric;
Pierre Goodrich, the
Indianapolis businessman and creator in
1960 of
Liberty Fund;
Richard Earhart, founder of the
Earhart Foundation; and
Harold Luhnow of the Volker Fund.
Miller's political career started as a municipal reformer in
Kansas City, Missouri, opposing the entrenched
Pendergast political machine. For a time, Miller worked with the Detroit Bureau of Governmental Research (now the
Citizens Research Council of Michigan). Later, he worked in
New York City with
Dun & Bradstreet on their municipal work, and also worked as ssociate director of the Bureau of Governmental Research of
Newark, New Jersey.
After the establishment of the Volker Fund, Miller went on to become director of the Volker-funded
Kansas City Civic Research Institute from
1942 to
1944. He stayed in Kansas City until
1944, and then he left to go back to the Detroit Bureau of Governmental Research as its director.
In 1947, He frequented the first meeting of the
Mont Pelerin Society.
Subsequently, Miller returned to the Volker Fund, where he worked with Luhnow and
Herb Cornuelle, who later became vice president of
Dole Corporation and president of
United Brands.
*
An interview with William Matscheck about the Kansas City Civic Research Institute
*
A speech by John Blundell discussing the history of William Volker Fund
