Arthur G. Froe

Froe was endorsed by the McDowell County Colored Republican Organization for the position of Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia.[11] However, in December 1921, West Virginia Republicans, Senator Davis Elkins and Congressperson Wells Goodykoontz of West Virginia's 5th congressional district, announced their intent to recommend Froe for the Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia post.[11][28] On February 1, 1922, Senator Elkins, Congressperson Goodykoontz, and Froe held a closed meeting with President Warren G. Harding.[29][30] Harding had previously nominated Henry Lincoln Johnson to the post, but this nomination was rejected by the Senate.[30][31] Senator Elkins described Froe as "an able lawyer" and "a colored man of the highest standing in the southern part of West Virginia" in his nomination letter to President Harding,[32] and he recommended Froe to recognize West Virginia's African-American Republican voters.[33] On February 1, 1922, following their meeting, President Harding formally announced his nomination of Froe for Recorder of Deeds, to succeed John F. Costello.[30]

In a later speech at a conference of West Virginia African-American Republicans, Froe stated that West Virginia's African-American voters "constituted a power that demanded recognition in both the state and nation."[32] President Harding further echoed this sentiment by stating, "colored voters of West Virginia, holding the balance of power feel that they are entitled to recognition."[32] While Froe was being considered for this position, he received letters of endorsement from both Northern and Southern African-Americans, who emphasized the significance of his appointment for the advancement of the African-American community.[34]

At the time of Froe's appointment and tenure, the Recorder of Deeds was one of the highest U.S. government positions held by African-Americans,[10][35][36] and all but three appointees who served in this post were African-American.[37] Froe's predecessor Costello was white, and Froe's appointment returned an African-American to the post.[35][37] President Woodrow Wilson had appointed Froe's white predecessor Costello following a campaign by the National Democratic Fair Play Association to whiten U.S. government offices and an accusation by a white female Record of Deeds copyist, Irene Monroe, that she had been preyed upon by African-American men in that office.[38] Following Froe's appointment, California Republican Congressperson Julius Kahn cautioned Froe against disturbing Monroe's position in the office.[38]

Froe was confirmed by the Senate on February 15, 1922,[11][37][39] and he took his oath of office as Recorder of Deeds on March 1.[31] He was sworn in by William E. Williams, assistant clerk of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.[31] At Froe's induction ceremony, he remarked, "I shall endeavor to conduct the work of the office with credit to the cause and the race which I represent."[14]

At the onset of his tenure, Froe deplored the low salaries of the Recorder of Deeds employees and stated that one of his missions was to increase their salaries.[14] At the time of his arrival to his post, the Recorder of Deeds office comprised a staff of over 50 employees―many of whom were African-American―and occupied four floors in the Century Building at 412 5th Street in the Judiciary Square neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C.[14][40] Froe soon found the need for more office space for the Recorder of Deeds staff, and in November 1922, he sought support in Congress for a new office building at the cost of $250,000 (equivalent to $3,865,308 in 2020).[41] The following year in 1923, Froe also identified the need for increased office space for the storage of the documents under his charge and enlisted the support of Congress and then-President Calvin Coolidge for an appropriation of $500,000 (equivalent to $7,594,727 in 2020) to build a new Recorder of Deeds office building.[42][43]

President Coolidge reappointed Froe to the position in 1926.[36] In August 1927, the General Accounting Office determined that Froe's salary was not subject to deductions under the Civil Service Retirement Act as he was a presidential appointee and was not within the classified civil service. Froe had questioned such deductions to his salary by his deputy recorder and disbursing officer, Robert W. Dutton.[44] In 1928, the Bureau of Efficiency released a report with recommendations to improve the efficiency of the Recorder of Deeds office to yield an estimated cost savings of $124,000 per year (equivalent to $1,868,891 in 2020).[45] While Froe approved the majority of the report's findings and recommendations, he objected to some of the cost cutting recommendations as they could be construed as being racially discriminatory.[45] A house subcommittee led by Ernest Willard Gibson led an inquiry into why these recommendations were not implemented by the Recorder of Deeds office.[45] Later in 1928, Froe identified the need for Congress to update the District of Columbia's code for incorporating companies.[46] He found the then-present law, which required every stock share be subscribed for in good faith, prevented companies from holding treasury stock.[46] This requirement discouraged the incorporation of companies in Washington, D.C., thus depriving the district of potential revenue.[46] At Froe's request, Maryland Republican Congressperson Frederick Nicholas Zihlman introduced a bill in December 1928 to update the code and enable companies to have treasury stock.[46]

In 1930, Senator Henry D. Hatfield and West Virginia's Republican congressional delegation urged President Herbert Hoover to retain Froe as Recorder of Deeds.[47][48] Froe had the support of Hatfield, all five of West Virginia's Republican congressmen, the state's Republican governor, and the state's Republican national committee members.[48] Froe was also a popular African-American politician, and the turnout of West Virginia's African-American electorate was critical for ensuring Republican Party campaign victories at the state and national levels.[48] West Virginia Republicans recognized that the African-American vote represented the balance of power in the 1930 elections, and were concerned that Democrats would "alienate the negro vote from the Republican ticket."[48] However, in September 1930—two months before the 1930 election⁠—District of Columbia Auditor Daniel J. Donovan accused Froe of being unable to carry out his duties effectively.[47][48] In response, Hoover demanded and received Froe's resignation.[47][48] Hoover appointed Jefferson S. Coage to succeed him.[36][49] Senator Hatfield threatened to fight Hoover's nomination of Coage on the Senate floor, but he was later appeased by lesser appointments.[47][49] In total, Froe served as Recorder of Deeds during the presidential administrations of Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover.[2][50] While serving in his post, Froe resided at 1724 S Street in Northwest Washington, D.C.[40]