July 22, 1944: The Bretton Woods Conference

July 22, 1944: The United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference wraps up at the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, about 150 miles north of Boston, and about 70 miles south of the U.S.-Canadian border.

It was a gathering of 730 delegates, from all 44 nations considered part of "The Allies" in World War II. The purpose was to regulate the international monetary and financial order once the war ended.

Agreements were signed that, after legislative ratification by member governments, established the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, later part of the World Bank group) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This led to what was called the Bretton Woods system for international commercial and financial relations.

The negotiators for the U.S. were:

* Henry Morgenthau Jr., then the Secretary of the Treasury.

* Harry Dexter White, Morgenthau's top assistant, later the 1st Executive Director of the IMF.

* Fred Vinson, Director of the Office of Economic Stabilization, later Morgenthau's successor at Treasury, and then the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. And:

* Dean Acheson, Assistant Secretary of State, later full Secretary of State.

In 1948, testifying before Congress, former Communist agent Whittaker Chambers identified White as a Communist agent. White testified, denied being a Communist, and suffered a heart attack that day. He suffered another 3 days later, and died. Later declassifications of documents showed that White was an active Soviet agent.

Harry Dexter White

Because of White's influence, conservatives have considered Bretton Woods, and the entire postwar economic establishment, to be tainted by Communism, and have expressed a need for an entirely new system. These people believe they're smart, but they're not.

The Mount Washington Hotel is still in operation, as the Omni Mount Washington Resort.

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July 22, 1944 was a Saturday. Albert "Sparky" Lyle, one of the top relief pitchers in baseball history, was born on this day.

These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees were swept in a doubleheader by the Chicago White Sox, 9-3 and 4-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The New York Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-3 at the Polo Grounds. Mel Ott, by this point also the Giants' manager, went 0-for-2 with 2 walks. Former Cincinnati catcher Ernie Lombardi went 4-for-4 for the Giants.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 11-0 at Ebbets Field. Frederick "Fritz" Ostermueller pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* The Boston Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5 at Braves Field in Boston. Stan Musial went 0-for-5.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Cleveland Indians, 9-6 at League Park in Cleveland.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 4-3 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit.

* And the Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 8-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.