Philip Albright Small Franklin was president and chairman of International Mercantile Marine Company (IMM) from 1916 to 1936.
Background
He was born of old American stock in Ashland, Maryland, the second son of six children of Walter Simonds and Mary Campbell (Small) Franklin.
His father, a civil engineer who came from York, Pennsylvania, was manager of an iron works and later president of a Baltimore street railway; his uncle, William Buel Franklin, was a Union general in the Civil War.
The family, however, included a maritime tradition, for another uncle, Samuel Rhoads Franklin, became a rear admiral in the United States Navy, as did Philip's older brother William.
Education
Educated in the Ashland public schools, young Philip went to Baltimore in 1889 to enter the steamship business as an office boy for the Atlantic Transport Company.
Career
Here his immediate superior was one of the leaders of the nineteenth-century shipping business, Bernard M. Baker, under whom he served for two decades, successively as traffic solicitor, office manager, and general manager of the company.
In 1903, when the J. P. Morgan interests completed the formation of the International Mercantile Marine Company, organized to control a number of major shipping lines, American and English, Baker was named president and Franklin vice-president and director.
When the company became insolvent in April 1915 Franklin was appointed receiver, and by his energetic direction he restored its financial standing by the middle of 1916. His abilities were recognized by his selection as president in 1921, in succession to Harold A. Sanderson.
Franklin directed the affairs of the International Mercantile Marine Company with notable success in the difficult postwar years. In 1926 he initiated a program designed to liquidate the non-American properties of the company (among them the White Star and Red Star lines) and sold many of its one hundred foreign-flag ships.
As head of an American company which for many years controlled major British shipping lines, he had been accused by American capitalists of favoring British interests, while in England he had been criticized for having protected his American interests at the expense of the British.
From 1926 until his retirement his major efforts were devoted to the development of the American-flag fleet of the International Mercantile Marine Company, which operated vessels in the transatlantic, intercoastal, and Asian-Australian trades.
In 1932, in conjunction with Pacific coast shipping and financial interests, Franklin arranged the purchase of the United States Lines Company from Paul W. Chapman. This deal was perhaps the most controversial incident in Franklin's long career in shipping and led to charges of favoritism on the part of the federal Shipping Board.
Hearings before the House Merchant Marine Committee, however, uncovered no illegal operations by the Franklin syndicate.
In 1936 Franklin resigned as president of the International Mercantile Marine Company and became chairman of the board of directors. He retired voluntarily from this post in December 1938 and was succeeded by his eldest son, John.
He died of Parkinson's disease at his estate in Locust Valley, Long Island, New York, and was buried in Locust Valley.
Achievements
Politics
In 1932, in conjunction with Pacific coast shipping and financial interests, Franklin arranged the purchase of the United States Lines Company from Paul W. Chapman.
Membership
He was a member of the Export Control Committee, which designated the ports through which military cargoes could move.
Personality
A large, florid-complexioned man who stood six feet two inches tall and weighed over two hundred pounds, Franklin was a sociable individual and a member of many clubs.
Connections
He was survived by his two sons, John Merryman and Philip Albright Small, and one daughter, Elizabeth. His wife, Laura F. (Merryman) Franklin, had died the preceding year.
In recognition of his achievements he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by the United States and was made a member of the Legion of Honor by France and the Order of Leopold by Belgium.