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November 12 # 1955
Be&r Sieve*
In accordance with the request that I received
several d&y* ago froa your assistant, Mr* H&seett, I am
transmitting to you herewith & aewor&ndiss contrasting
present economic conditions with those of two or three
years ago, and giving particular consideration to conditions in the South,
You will probably find that there is more
materiel here than you intended that I should send to
you, brat I have undertaken to supply & fairly comprehensive picture of the recovery of Southern agriculture
against the larger background of economic recovery in
the country as & whole,
I hope that you yourself will have an oppor*
tunity to look this aemoraudua over, for it Is not confined to a recital of statistical changes, but contains,
in relation to these, sto&e suggestions in which I think
you will be interested*
Please cull on se if I can supplement this
material in any way or if there are any parts of it that
are not altogether clear.
Sincerely yours,
|t £• Eccles
Jhairsan
Hr. Stephen Early
Assistant Secretary to the President
The fhite House
Chairman
xxxxxxxx
November 13, 1935,
TO
-
Mr. Hassett
FROM
-
Mies Egbert
In accordance with your telephone request
of thlfl afternoon, I ara enclosing an extra copy of
a memorandum contrasting present economic conditions with those of tTtvo or three ytri ago, and
giving particular consideration to conditions in
the South.
November l£ f 193S
TO*
Mr. St«phc& £*triy
FROIfi 1* 8, ftoels*
SUMICft Rot** for
us* ia preparing ?resid«at f s sp*«ch for
Howecoa&Rg Day in Atlanta.
This ia « roport of progr«s*«
It i* »or#
iy a report of progr©»» in O^nrgia and la eoae of h«r si«t«r
SU.t«« of th* South} but «hst h*s boms going on la Qeorgie
in the South gotwrally roflects^ aad contributo* to, what
b«en tcJciag plfice th*a« pii«t two y«fer© ia th« couwtry as
« whole, Just as «hst h&u bees t&kiog plftee ia other ««cti<m»
reflects, ftad contributes to, ifeftt bus b««» going on in Southern
&gricult«r«, ia Sooth«rn Industry, und in Southani cowaercial
Th* report, th«af i s o»« of progress ia our agriculture, industry, and cossaere* frosi deflation, depression,
tfitioa—on© h«bd &l«ost ©dkied despair—to th» building $f
solid basis for r&eowry &tt& to the ftttsiasemt of & large
of recovery its«lf •
But i t i s a report^ also* of progress ia the restormtion
of lost hopes and lost opportuoiti«sf and ia th« restoration of
I ~
l o s t values both fosaan M0 aatesrial*
For there i^s® b@©a progress la
restoring the moral®, through restoring the earning ;;ow@r M i th« ineoii©, of Million* who had bmoamm disheartened | progress In
their courage to take up the &afc*M of e««h i**w day; progress in
novittg people's faith i a the worth a& well as th* dig;ait/ of
and liuiiam uehiw#ia«it f in rtaawlng their coafldeae# timt thi»
and sebiemeent would one* ®or® b® j»i®tl^r eoapenaate*!*
Ir* otiysr vor&&9 tlw farmer aac! fousiasss la&H i a Georgia &nd
in the v-outh c&n again task® • profit, the vorkers Q& our
&attthern far»c f in our tioutbem faetorlee asd ?««rcajitllo e e t e M I A 5ient69 und in our ;>oathern mli^s can «^ftia go out to their labors in
the eoral%* without dr@&d as I t *h&t "the d&^r will bring forth «JKI return
to thair Isoses in the ®ir@iii«g without fear timt toaorrov's
i s lns©cmr®»
#,ad tlsose for wte® -fch® ugtimxltvkT^l aa
h&s not j e t i&4ima©#4 far @a®ugh to give & r€stttns to prlr&te
are no longer ii^iag in the denonJJLnation of want and lasecairit^ for
t&eir fasHies and then*«lve*«
for these l a s t , of course, there sast
be «. further report of progress &s t^s© South, in mm&o®. with the r e s t
of the eo&stry, eostiisis© to add to the gain* that batr® been Mid* i s
agrloiltur© # tMlMl^ff &as! cosusere© during th» past IM ^e&rsi bat «•
have slr&fedy COKHI a long way, & vesry loag na^f from the condition* that
pre^nailed IMM i a the $Mrfc ssoatlui of I M t and llMi early part of If S5«
111 of our people are aw&r®, of eom*jt## that programs
sade i a the South daxring tiwuse pact two yaars, but i s tli* #xt®nt of
thin progress .fully cospr^lwrid^d by our people?
H@r® in *tlanta
I s published ®&e& soath Jay your Ffcd^r&l Kosdrto B&ak & Monthly R
of fia&noi&l, agricultural, trade* aad iadastri&l conditions in the
£i3tth Federal Beserve District*
The States located wholly or partly
in this d i s t r i c t are Georgia, klabeaa, Tennessee, Florida,
and Loulsi&iaa* The Monthly Kevle* of t2)e Atlanta "imak is &
gdide to eeGNcumio conditions In tb@ Sixth District, for the iafoswatioa
that i t tmm^tm
fros misi««rmis ©ourc^a i s a.uthoriMs.tiv®, asad the cosi-
meats that I t makes on conditions within the id s t r i c t are impartial
b/ p o l i t i c a l or pftrtisaa consideration of a ^ kind
If w© tarm buck to the Bank's Bevi©w i a Jiimisry 1932 of
in the Sixth District in the i^rwioa® j e a r , wa fiad -Unit
tfl thes© six States i s U in 1931 to $S44#5£2#00Qf or 1®BS th&n
half ti^s figure of &L»118»U490G0 for 19£0; &sa tfeea m year l a t e r *e
find tiaa ikok r@j*orti^g crop v&lejej In tbmm six Nvtai f e l l s t i l l
farther in M R to ^7fct0S4t0O0f & third of th© figure for 1929, M«r®
i a Georgia th» f a l l l a ©r®p mla©& wm& a t an ^v^a gr®&ter rate than
for the oixth d i s t r i c t as & whoief t»sy f e l l froffl $228,515,000 ia 19&0
to ^101,667,900 i a 1921, unei than to p?,050,000 l a 19S&—less thas 20
pejtf cent of tha figure for 1923*
Of rtssltMlM tract® ite read in tiae Monthly Review of %hm Atlanta
B&nk for J&mmrj 19S2t
*T.be volus© of s&lss daring D®c«ffi.t»r ^r 119
reporting wholesale flras • • • aver«£$d 22.7 per oecit scalier
than In L'-i'cesbw l9Wm • • • For the | W 19SXt iat&l s&lea tgr
a l l reporting wholnaale firms ^ v « &ver&p*d £5*5 per c#nt smullsr
than in 19§Q«** i 5?mr l a t e r the ftory of wooleeale trtssle as
ported % the Banl^e Settfhly B©iri#w (JAmunry 195$) w^a e t l l l
The t o t a l volwm of •alMI daring the year
10? tfMiMRi* fijme i a the Sixth Di.©t3rietfw tim Bask
Qtfitedf *««&• £4*7 pas* c«Bt ^mller than during 19$l f the da@x*0a.«
fr«m 17»1 .per eeat in datygood© to 41,0 i*®r oe&t l a elee*
Turning to r e t a i l i M l i »e f i i ^ the eeae etovy of
l a kisla®#« in tbe Sixth d i s t r i c t .
MoRt&l^ Barls^ etftteei
In Jfinu&ry 19529 the
"&e«e®ti@3r enlee tfals y««^r w®r» lit*5 >;«r
ceat l e e s Uma In Deoeabm* a / e a r &go» and for the ®&tlr# j«»r 1951
^tore. sal#«6 u«v# bass 11*$ per eest sssdler tij&n la the
tt
& $m? l&ter^ l a JTannejrj' 1$$5# the l^ak reportedt
sales In ttoe Sixth I'd strict* • MM M i l .per cast MM In
v&lue than i n tmembor 1951 f and far the tv&lw ssosths of
10&£ tbey WHra ^S#7 p#r ciest lee*? tkaa H X9S1* • . » Turnover
for the &oat&9 &ad for the yeer t «M l&ss tlmn for those periods
a y@&r ^syller*
Accouats reoeivftble a t tiae end of Deceuber
were • • • 19 per cent I s s s t t a i a pMV ^go# aaf! Decesiber csolloo*
tlons * • • wsr^ -; , 4 pi»r eent smaller than In D@cm&\mT 19S1**1
& m
%km ymr 1951, the vj&ak reported 1*698 business
f&ilure* i s the Sixth District usad points oat that thl« »as
&» Inerea&e of 21*5 per seat ia ike ausbar of fallures MM 1950*
But throughout the year IfSk cooBerei&l failure* in the wixtis
District eontiauted, and aotiritiadtaiuilQg zbm toll ttlntadljr talcea in
1330 &ad 10S1 there were l f 873 adcUtloxukl failares in 1952*
So this st^jy °^ W» ste&c^1 diatntegratioB of a^rieaX-*
tar® and trade aad ia«la»try ia. tm ^lixth N i m X Rsserve District
might b® glaaaed mt gr©&t Xemgth sad ia grcmt detail fnm
x^cordin of yeur Atlaata fege-pr® Bank ia i t s
declln» in crop values* in wholesale &m ret&il
«ad eoiwtruetl9ttf in ^&jmfa.cturing aad nialqg activila tfe® ftoeks of a^r#baadi^# oa Imud, ia co»Tio4ity prioe* of
all kindSp in the feak debits that reflect the mt$«@ of
settled by checkf in talk loan* and
deposits ^SKI saving* deposits, aad ia all mich items
as reflect in coM ftfttlallM the dlffftsl s^ory of eeenonle eolIe.pM
in this ar©& of tete S^uth prior to the closing dowa of the «bol«
fin&aai&l systeii of tb» country in March
Bat contrast th* conditions which ycwir Atlanta feauk reported
at tit© beginning of lt&3 mith thoaa which i t *as afcle to report for
the iAxtb District at the bagiaiaiisi; of 18&5* In i t s Monthlyft*vie*
tar January of this y*»ar, the bank s&idt
»Xa L©c©»ber (19M) the volusse of retail tr«4* in the Sixth
District iacre«.8e4 lay «sor® th^a th« ueo&I »@&#c«satel* atm»4at #tad im»
at th« liigheat levftl for suogr «Qatli in four jtmr*9 • *
B
D«partseat store sales> refl»ct«« i s figures reported eon*
Hd«ntiiiUy by #i3tty fir»««
a
• *vr* X9«l percent gre*t€r than in
D@c«»t<«r, 19S3* F*>r the year 19541 -total mlm hj theee firms were
2S»5 perceat greater th&B i s 19e&f &nd «er@ also freatei* thaa i s 19§£« * •
Wholesale tr&d* • •
#
for the year «*a tS*4 percent greater thai) ia
greater thas ia 1»SE,
debits to ir»divid»«l accounts at twmtj^six d e a r i e
centers in UM» Sixth District, reflecting the «j«mot of business
settled by ch&ck • # « vert 1S.1 peroent greater than a
ago* The Iscruase of i4«S percent direr the south eonp&reii with
an air^rage g&ia of 1^,1 ptsreect at th@ ^e»e ti»e for the pest seven
years* , «
•tana* »er« slightly l«ss than a year ago, but imirestseiit
holclit^s 18,9 wlllions greater t and. desmnd deposits • * • were 42,4
Billions greater than a year ago*
4 * tf «fr
•
#
aliel*
• ##
&x!i!
X@t ua bri&g this
&%®rg- &%&1X mv®
Sixth f # ^ P ^ 1 Httstm Bi«trie4 h&$$rmm&
til©
pig iafli ia
building p#r»its issued &t twenty reporting c i t i e s
District § * t w®T9 118*7 percent grfc&tar than in September
la»t yi»r* and for the &ia# oonth* of ISSS th# total h&s been 68*9
greater than i s tla&t part of 19&4 and larger than for that
of as^ y«&r since 19S0.
Buildiog aa«i eonntruetion eo&tr&eia
In th® Piatrlet m & w&ole i M M K t i i «^"®r August and «©r®
than a yacr ago*
i«otwithfitandtng; th® shorter »ontn t con-
of cotton and pro^uotloo s t reporting mills inera&aed
August to 8®ptmb»r &M SM gr©^t@r thaa a ^®&r ago*
Fig
iron production in id&fo&ma was loeroasad 14 porcaat from august
to September at^i was 57*9 p«ro*nt gt^&tmr %kmnftyear «go# * •
"VMM MfMPti iscticate that tbc South®!^ pin© ssrket eontisues on a satisfactory dasi* a ^ i s chowiog iaprovesi^»t*
Re-
t a i l yards Imv® contlistod to teuy only for tb«ir aurr@nt oa©<lsf but
.t pr#»eat tfti* represents a aatisfactory quantity* • •
"In %h* t&r<»o ©t&t«s of t h i s District for *hieh
figur^p »r« cosapil«id % th* C«iuRUt Bureau, total ao«aumptlon of
cotton Increased furthor i s ^epteabar fay 8*4 p«reentf and was 6S»4
a ysar «arll«r« • •
*
j « e dtnrtag S<tp-fc«i&«r than i s Jagptt -nd O I MfeAda lsrgc
#s payroll tlvbsi «.t tho ond of finguvt* Od«rettB&« e.1
o i l a l l l o in this D i s t r i c t , during Aagast ®a& S«i>t«aaborf the f i r s t
of seed &&€ in th« ptFOdaetlon of UM p s d n e i ^ l cottoa ®m4.
of »leetri«i^y for s^blie m® in ti»
tlie s i x ststofl of t h i s Diotrlot # prodojetlofi iBer#&3#d 4*4 poreont
to Attguttf «ed iacroa#ed i*T {MWCMRti eo»p»rM «ifeh
m&% tho largest total far «ey aoath in Affiliable
of pm0mm
m& rmmmp
«jre t&l&«n f r a i but
Ocii@i»» 19S&9 o f to® a«i«t:i# i n i i i
lia with &h© tioecttskto of ^oflAtlon M
$a&JUi#iKi and dopoxidsblo #^Jtre#j
l«o$tlt turf i s ftillar d#feil 1A tb#
slUv *«ooitest» of ess41iiafin in
@imr UM 044io i>^rl^d are to bo
if the Fiftlt F®dor&l
with i t s haftd^uiurtors l a 3.iel»Mmdt *M t&n Eleventh
mmrm h*mm$ is
eg©. Bur* In
f 44S f
ap-^roati
MUf tiaae
9000
but
of rwatad M i
it
F»r fc&ft f a l l y^ar XtSS, U » t&l&X
for
mmr XS&Z of 45 percent f ozd^uiTe of rental a&d benefit
or S7 p&remt i&eliading thes
la ©i3tttp3,@ of ho* %hl® F®c®mr$ of
pATticttl«r2jr ^&r^M JJ& the -5<mifet pi?©^ia#« on outlet for tit*
la #tb#r «ce«av i s strikingly &ffox*ded by tha
of aiit<s®^IX#^ izuSivid^ftll/ and INttMllStp ©wi#d bere la
State of 0«9rgl&» la 19&I ih« ia«^#r «f sut^sefeil®^. registered
in 19S£ tfei® hs
to
of
mtomibtlm
la one of the seeders af th^ i^e#
For y©»r» b^foi^ the
$
the
netere i f <MT r e e r ^ t i o B to edept e^r^^X'r^ii to
the* SM&st p@@pl@ ©smfeiim®rJ to ^riv» tfeeir esre daring the
therefore, vlHlfchs>*vjrsr b*tLtk I * the I'-te
sj& fevisjg the £e$nre&sio&* the sutoaeibile iasSastapy has been ^je
f i r s t t o ©feow & s?eml ®ujita,ln04
f
in %h® j ^ a r 19S4t
I t i e n o t t o to* 4ap@wwd«
af .our people b«ss g®a©fc@feas|r4S4MMMBbiXe«« o r ti^et &H o f
v e r e r a p i d l y «%>X€t#d &3r^ «£*2& .ifkoroejD-n^ let our snisict*
fil
tis
of fch*> ascejKiRe sl&&klj&g% ®fai®k i s t h e j^a^riml
In mviitig® &®pmi.%®
l§tm9i
The iw&ox of i s ^ ^ t r l a l p«^a«ictloa i sfcfe®United S
of Gcwefiaors i f tbo ?@^#rsil Hessrve
f the ^wrsg® for fe»
100 f f e l l to c. lov .point of 50 in Jtil/ X9S£* fhi» low peint
»«nt«d a ^rap from l&S i s &&o 19&9»
Thftt I s fco «*yf i t w^s
in half In ib© ««ur»@ of t&roo y^ru*
T^urijag the f i r s t sla®
of the ixreooRt jr«arf 19S5 f tbo iado3£ of .trosootldfi &v»r«god 3? f an
of 3S poroont ever tha &vojpege for toe corrosposdULsf period
19SS &r*d «B lac^^fesfi of SO p©rc«®t fvcMt tho iott poi&t of
In it^H oloetrte :^o«or ^jxod^etloo, ki tfeo
a total of 979S&£ aUlioiui of kilowatt hoars | l» 19S2 i t
fftllo& to 8®||U$ sillioBO*
*Thlo yoftr to tlio md of tbd third
i^foosit over
1952*
Itk feet»y « l o e t i i e p>o^or i s b^iisg ^rodueod its
for th* jroor 1USS th^i I t «&&« fat th^ |3r«avi£m« po*3t
i s 0eorii^ oloetHe powor pFodto«liia« iSnriay tho f i r s t
of this yoar wa®ft^proxifflft.to3jras gro«.t s s duriag |h«» f u l l
for
Another iai^ortsst ovid-oaco «f the extent of progrooc
rooofoiy la bmsiaoo* geaoreUy i t the iaaox of oorporate oft
co^llati^m Mitdlo by tho St&ati&vd 3tfttl»tic» Coav^igr of the
of 161 eorporetlflBOt l&oladiias l&fomtrials»
v«dli l o«4s 9
u t i l i t i e s , *itfe th® ye^r 19*J6 tajusn ^s a bftsio of 100* sho^s
*t 41.4 «*
*8 f
pared, with !P*$ for
in
» t 4S«4 f<jsr a
as
is
«f
for
of
riBwn to
of
tfet groftt oetliritigr of
m Xn
I iMfefti such laager*
svci?
.thais iii the euteaabile im:!u©fciy#
o n l j «h^n bail?
CHir ipri*&t©3t l&g tn
m
will
e s u b s t a n t i a l l y high«r
definite %
r«sid«8iiAl ossaatrmeilce
1B
3?
if 1
S? S
1B
»ff 1
MWMf
District
In
160 pe
t:
sit
district the i
Id35
is
fiall
um houelng* Thl« Is t&* field ixt fthicfe tfe» greatest opperttaltgr
in
Is
t*o
MMM i f
utill to
H
#o i t hiss
&<NKI
M3*?l after
part no
that the Ufjtan*
aod i t tlierefer^ t«.ke» ?? f«lr-»
the eicoptic&l aiad of
m& &eeog>t* t&« f&et thftfc a d t a g * fcaa ooemred In the
trend*
Su*b *
vill
the r t p ^ i i f f^rtsailcms civeaiiitiioiM»i no viflMBt of ehaae# -or
of
mm «r^od| aor
dumped feu iimicl, b®lf-4wa®j^«idt
p
of
I
i
-* Ali
m
decisively* &ad mi s #ttffidiag$3y Ittfci seals* to | t t n ®a^ to tl#*
eoald not do i t .
th# will to a® i t *«s sot lf&]&&g# tb«
# tfc© effort to do i t «&* not li^ttig^j but mtr
that eanried
lie
until
its
Corpor«tion was set up9 &M the ^ia#
—tf
uftftfftg i i * • Ssaoi« && toM» « i i l f
la
both of deer easing. Federal revenues and
it the kit
Ho
Crodit /••*slai»t«ttioa ^mm Urnm
tOO!>fO9Ot
of
I
Pat
it
I
la imt
&&U> hftfids ih&% ^oxtld
Of
for
«o
it f
9
amrf t h a n l a b r i n g r@@^i^i^ «&#&£#•
Th« e®a&iiy*#
INMI
la
fur X9S5f bmt
is
trass. &m cher^ras in Ure te !*«•» *a4 la tlio
in
to
Ui
i.n&
MM.
••
@FedFRASER