GILBERT, SEYMOUR PARKER Ameri can lawyer and financial expert, was born in Bloomfield, N.J., on Oct. 13, 1892. He graduated from Rutgers college in 1912, and from Harvard law school in 1915. After admission to the New York bar, he practised with the firm of Cravath and Henderson in New York city from 1915 to 1918. In the latter year, on the initiative of R. C. Leffingwood, a former associate secretary of the Treasury, he joined the War Loan staff as counsel. In June 1920 he became assistant secretary (later under-secretary) of the Treasury in charge of fiscal affairs. He resigned on Nov. 17, 1923, and was appointed permanent agent general for reparation pay ments from Germany under the Dawes Plan on Oct. 31, 1924, succeeding Owen D. Young. At the end of his first year, Nov. 3o, 1925, Gilbert reported that the initial annuity of a billion gold marks due on reparation payments had been received in full. On Sept. 2, 1926, he turned over to the U.S. Treasury the first cash payment, $5,900,000, received by the United States from Germany under the operation of the Dawes Plan. At this time, by agree ment with the German finance minister, Gilbert modified the amount of immediate cash payments and fixed the total annuities to be paid during the ensuing three years.
Gilbert relinquished his reparations post in 1930 and returned to the United States to become a partner in J. P. Morgan and Company. After his return to private business, he made few pub lic utterances. He died in New York city, Feb. 23, 1938.