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History of the Treasury
Secretaries of the Treasury
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Ogden L. Mills
(1932 - 1933)
Upon the recommendation of Treasury Secretary Andrew
W. Mellon, President Coolidge appointed Ogden L. Mills (1884-1937) Undersecretary
of the Treasury in 1927. To Mills fell much of the responsibility for representing
the Treasury  Department before Congress. Mills continued
as Undersecretary in President Hoover's administration, during which the
dominant issues were the post World War I reconstruction of Europe and the
German American Debt Funding Agreement (1930) which arranged German payment
to the United States for costs suffered by the American army and citizens
during World War I.
Toward the end of his term Secretary Mellon spent
much of his time overseas, and President Hoover grew to rely greatly on
Mills, who served as Acting Secretary during Mellon's absence. Hoover
promoted Mills to Secretary when Mellon vacated the position in 1932.
As Secretary, Mills continued the policies of his predecessor, recommending
a drastic reduction in government spending and a tax increase, in order
to balance the budget by 1934. Congress also imposed a general manufacturer's
excise tax but neither of these policies helped alleviate the Depression.
Mills resigned at the end of Hoover's term in 1933.
About the Artist
Pilides Costa is reported to have been born in 1892
in the region of the Black Sea to Greek parents. Very little is known
of his professional development, though he did exhibit at the Paris Salons
of 1922 and 1933. Costa served in the French Foreign Legion and was encouraged
by Herbert Hoover, whose official presidential portrait he painted in
1930, to come to the United States to paint portraits. His portraits of
Hoover hang in the White House and in the Herbert Hoover Presidential
Library in West Branch, Iowa. Costa painted Ogden L. Mills, Secretary
of the Treasury under Hoover, from life in 1933.
Office of the Curator
All rights reserved. 2001
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