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Correspondence, memoranda, and legal and financial documents of Keppel. The files deal largely with Keppel's personal and professional life during his tenure as President of the Carnegie Corporation, and also include some files from his years as Newton D. Baker's Third Assistant Secretary of War, and as Dean of Columbia College. There are extensive files of correspondence from and to Keppel's parents and children, as well as files concerning his activities in organizations such as the Century and Columbia University Clubs. The letters from friends and business associates concern American education, politics, business, and cultural life, particularly in the New York metropolitan area, from 1900 to 1943.

The collection includes the original manuscript of "Surrender on Demand", Mr. Fry's account of his wartime experiences, which was later rewritten for young readers as "Assignment Rescue" (New York, Four Winds Press, 1968). Among the correspondents represented in the collection are Marc Chagall, Jacques Lipchitz, Roger Baldwin, Norman Thomas, J. Edgar Hoover, and Herman Wouk. In addition to the material relating to the Emergency Relief Committee (later known as the International Rescue Committee), the collection includes correspondence and papers concerning Fry's work as a writer on foreign affairs as well as copies of his books.

The Corporation awards grants to nonprofit organizations and institutions for projects that are broadly educational in nature and that show promise of having national or international impact. Certain appropriations are made for activities, such as Corporation-led initiatives that are administered by the foundation's officers. The trustees set the overall policies of the foundation and have final authority to approve all grants above $50,000 recommended by the program staff. Grants of $25,000 or less, called discretionary grants, are made upon the approval of the president and are reported to the board; larger discretionary grants, those between $25,000 and $50,000, are also reviewed by a Corporation-wide group, which makes recommendations to the president. (from Program Guidelines 2003-2004 (http://www.carnegie.org/sub/program/areas.html))