Ralph Hayes was born in Crestline, Ohio, on September 24, 1894. After growing up and attending public school in Crestline, Hayes moved to Cleveland, Ohio and studied at Western Reserve University. During his years at Western Reserve, Hayes served as manager of the basketball team and drama club, and was a member of the debating team. He graduated in 1915. While still in college, Hayes worked as an assistant to Mayo Fesler, secretary of the City Club of Cleveland. When Fesler resigned in 1915, Hayes became Secretary. Hayes' lasting contribution to the City Club was the Club's Creed, which he wrote. It was during his tenure with the City Club that Hayes met Newton D. Baker. When Baker was selected by President Woodrow Wilson to become Secretary of War in 1916, Baker chose Hayes to be his private secretary.
During World War I, Hayes served as a private with the 11th Division and was stationed at Camp Meade in Maryland. Later, while serving with the infantry in France, he was commissioned a lieutenant. After the war, Hayes remained in the Army and worked between December 1918 and March 1919 as a liaison officer between the Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces and the American Commission to Negotiate the Peace. He was honorably discharged in May 1919 and went back to work for a short time in the War Department as Assistant to Secretary of War Baker.
In 1920, Hayes returned to Cleveland and began a career in business and philanthropy which was to last nearly half of a century. From 1920 to 1922, he worked as an assistant to Frederick H. Goff, president of the Cleveland Trust Company. He then worked as an assistant to Will Hayes (no relation), president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America. In 1923, Ralph Hayes became Executive Director of the New York Community Trust, a post he held until his retirement in 1967. During his years with the New York Community Trust, Hayes maintained his ties with the corporate community by serving in numerous executive positions. Successively, Hayes worked as Vice-President of Chatham-Phoenix National Bank and Trust Company, Secretary Vice-President of the New York World, and Vice-President of the Transamerica Corporation. He also served many years on the executive staff of the Coca-Cola Company. After serving as Secretary-Treasurer from 1934 to 1935, Hayes was Vice-President until 1948.
Hayes died in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 20, 1977. He was buried in Crestline, Ohio. A lifelong bachelor, he left no immediate survivors.
The Common Wealth Trust, a private charitable foundation administered by the Bank of Delaware, was created under the will of Ralph Hayes. Approximately one-half of the net income from the trust is annually distributed to designated beneficiaries (including the Western Reserve Historical Society), and one-half is used to support the Common Wealth Awards, intended by Mr. Hayes to recognize and foster excellence in the fields of literature, science, invention, sociology, government, public service, dramatic acts, and mass communications.
The Ralph Hayes Papers, 1911-1974 and undated, consist of address books, correspondence, diaries, financial and legal records, newspaper clippings, publications, scrapbooks, speeches, and university degrees and awards.
The Hayes Papers provide an insight into the goals and workings of philanthropic foundations, such as the James Foundation and the New York Community Trust. They also provide substantial information on the lives and careers of Newton D. Baker and Judge John Hessin Clarke, and reveal their thoughts on contemporary political and social issues. Throughout his correspondence with Hayes, Baker shows a great admiration for President Woodrow Wilson and Wilsonian ideals. Particularly important among the Baker materials are those items that detail his candidacy during the 1932 Democratic National Convention. Despite repeated urgings, Baker was extremely reluctant to seek the nomination. He believed that the Presidency should seek the man. Judge Clarke shared Baker's admiration for Wilson and believed that Baker best represented Wilsonian political principles and traditions. Consequently, Clarke supported Baker's nomination in 1932. When Roosevelt received the nomination, Clarke and Hayes overcame their disappointment and supported Roosevelt. Unlike Hayes who had become disenchanted with the New Deal by 1940, Clarke continued to be an enthusiastic supporter. Other correspondents in this collection include Julius Ochs Adler, Leonard P. Ayres, John Barrymore, Bernard Baruch, Alfred Benesch, Adolf Berle, Hugo Black, Tasker Bliss, Ralph Bunche, Winston Churchill, Amelia Earhart, Stephen Early, Dwight Eisenhower, James Farley, Frederick Goff, George Gund, Herbert Hoover, Rupert Hughes, Harold Ickes, Walter Lippmann, Henry Luce, Douglas MacArthur, George Marshall, Samuel Mather, Ralph McGill, H. L. Mencken, Raymond Moley, John J. Pershing, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Samuel Seabury, Adlai Stevenson, Lewis Strauss, William Howard Taft, Wendell Willkie and Peter Witt.
The collection has been retained in original order and is arranged in eight series.
The researcher should also consult PG 216 Ralph Hayes Photographs.
Processed by Thomas Pappas in 1986.
None.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4000 Ralph Hayes Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gifts of the Estate of Ralph Hayes through the Bank of Delaware in 1978 and 1980.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.