Notes from 1930-1935

 

Background of Pittsburgh:

 

Census of 1930

 

Population: 669,817 (Pittsburgh)

Allegheny County: 1,374,410

 

Politics

 

There were three mayors in Pittsburgh during this span:

 

Charles H. Kline, 1926–1933

 

The city was in the Great Depression during Kline's administration. Despite the economic hardships, new construction projects arose such as the Gulf Oil Tower, Grant Building, and Koopers Tower.  Kline expanded the city boarders by annexing the neighborhood of Carrick into the city's tax rolls.  Kline was accused of political wrongdoing involving the purchase of an oriental rug.  On May 14th, 1932, Kline and supplies director Bertram L. Succop were found guilty of misconduct in office.  On September 15, 1932, Kline returned to City Hall after a judge overturned the verdict.  He later resigned a "defeated and broken man" on March 31, 1933.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_H._Kline)

 

John S. Herron, 1933–1934

 

Herron served only one term as Pittsburgh Mayor and had an uneventful administration. During his term the city repealed the commonwealth's "Sunday Blue Laws" prohibiting business and sports for 24 hours. Upon leaving the mayor's office he served as County Commissioner until his death in 1947. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_S._Herron)

 

William N. McNair, 1934–1936

 

McNair had several previous attempts in politics, losing each election until 1934.  McNair clashed with the city council from the beginning.  Many times his poor leadership ground the city's ability to govern to a halt in heated debates over minor issues.  During his fractious leadership McNair even set up his office in the ornate lobby of the City County Building to display his "independence" from council and the city bureaucracy.  A good example is when on June 3, 1935, McNair installed a bed in his office in preparation for a long siege between himself and the State Legislature.  The most fateful event during his political career took the city by force on St. Patrick's Day 1936 when it suffered the worst flood in its history. The chaos which ensued forced him to resign in October 1936. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_N._McNair)

 

The Archives Service Center at the University of Pittsburgh has the William McNair Papers.  Finding aid found here.

 

Unemployment

 

Unemployment was not as bad in Pittsburgh as it was in the rest of the country, and many of the public relief projects proved to be very helpful.  In October of 1929 unemployment was around 14,000.  However, in December of 1932 it had risen to 214,000.  By 1932, the index of employment dropped to 65.5, while the index of payrolls dropped to 40.  Welfare Agencies were strained and needed financial help to continue to provide wealth.  The city was providing funds for the welfare agencies, but soon that money was diverted to create work projects for the unemployed.  One of these agencies was the Allegheny County Emergency Association, formed in January 1931.  By February the first unemployed people began to work for them.  The majority of the work was outdoor labor involving street and sewer construction, as well as rejuvenating public playgrounds and parks.  Because the organization had to help as many people as they could, once a person earned $100, they were laid off to make room for someone else.  Women and foreigners were included among the employed.  In January of 1932, Father Cox’s hunger army marched on Washington demanding relief.  Upon their return, Father Cox was a championed hero.

 

For more information about unemployment in Allegheny County in the early 1930s, check out Activities  February 1931 to February 1933 / by James W. Howell, Major Philip Mathews, Francis D. Tyson. http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/text-idx?c=pitttext;cc=pitttext;view=toc;idno=00afx7791m on the Historic Pittsburgh website.

 

 

Entertainment

 

On November 25, 1930, a to-capacity audience filled the Stanley Theater for a benefit show for Pittsburgh unemployed and needy families. Among those featured were Phil Baker, Fred Stone and Dick Powell.

 

 

Originally named the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team joined the NFL in 1933.  On September 20, 1933, the Pittsburgh Pirates (Steelers) lost their first game 23 to 2 to the New York Giants at Forbes Field.  The team was renamed the Steelers in 1940.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_steelers

 

On November 5, 1935, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County voters approved Sunday movies by a vote of three to one.

 

 

Pittsburgh Firsts

 

 

1930 August 27: Sara Soffel was sworn in by Judge Richard Kennedy as judge of County Court, the first woman jurist in Pennsylvania.

1931 September 15: For the first time in Allegheny County, voting machines -- 186 of them -- were used in the primary election.

1932 February 7: Winston Churchill visited the city.

 

 

Business/Labor

 

 

Labor unrest was common in the early 1930s, most notably the taxi driver strike in the winter of 1930.  On January 12, Pittsburgh taxi drivers held a mass meeting at Duquesne Gardens to begin a strike against the Green and Yellow Cab companies in protest against what they claimed was a pay cut.  In February, police used tear-gas bombs to disperse a crowd on Center Avenue; two cabs were burned and 10 persons arrested as taxi strike violence continued.  A Time Magazine article reflected on the strike, saying: “Last week Pittsburgh's taxi strike became violent, culminated in a pitched battle. Like wolves, small packs of strikers ran about the streets of the East Liberty business district, threw bricks, stones, milk-bottles at every passing cab.”

 

Business picked up in Pittsburgh as Depression relief efforts were taking affect.  In January 1935 it was reported that business activity in 1934 was up 68 percent higher than in 1933.  With the construction projects providing jobs, businesses followed suit.  On October 8, 1931, the Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock prepared to re-open with plans announcing the reemployment of about 7,000 at Homestead and Braddock.  By 1934, steel mills in the Pittsburgh district retained the 40-hour week and granted 10 percent pay raises so 100,000 steel workers, increasing district payrolls by a total of approximately $1,750,000 per month.

 

More taxi strike information can be found at: http://www.library.pitt.edu/labor_legacy/TaxiDrivers.htm

 

Collection of the PCLU with notes on the strike found here: http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=ascead;c=hswpead;cc=ascead;g=hpead;xc=1;q1=taxi%20strike;rgn=main;view=text;didno=US-PPiU-ue964

 

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,881936,00.html (Time Magazine article)

 

Suicide: According to http://www.nps.gov/archive/elro/glossary/great-depression.htm, the suicide rate increased in the United States from 14 to 17 per 100,000.

 

This information was found at http://digital.library.pitt.edu/pittsburgh/ and www.wikipedia.org

 

 

 

 

Observations and Events 1930-1935

 

There is a noticeable trend of increased suicide deaths and declining industrial deaths.  We have also found fewer pictures accompanying the files.  In the mid-1920s there were many pictures to accompany industrial accidents, particularly at the Carnegie Steel Works.  We have also noticed a stamp on the press report that is called the Postmortem Voucher ID. This number does not match the docket number, and we have no idea what it means. 

 

MG 03 Oct 2007

 

 

 

I have been working on November and December of 1930.  I noticed that there have been relatively few murders compared to the late 20s.  In two boxes I only came across five murders.  The suicide rate has also decreased during this time.  I was only able to find four or five suicides.  The vast majority of the deaths that I have seen are health or auto related deaths.  I also noticed that the coroner has been lumping files together to be presented in court at the same time.  For instance, the entirety of auto related deaths from the previous week will be presented on the same day in court.  The coroner has also added a paper to homicide files titled: "homicide identification."  This paper lists the general information about the person who died, such as name, address, how they died, and who identified the body. 

 

AL 05 Oct 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

So far in 1930-1931 I have only done a couple months in each year but I have noticed a change in the amount of detail found in the case files.  The case files are thicker and contain more papers and information.  For example, more detailed autopsy reports, police interrogations, homicide reports, sometimes newspaper clippings, and sometimes detailed maps. I could be proved wrong the further we get into the labeled years, however. 

 

CL 05 Oct 2007

 

This week I was working closely with the case files during the Great Depression.  What I found surprising was the number of suicides seemed to increase many months after the fall of the stock market. What we assume were the real hardships were not felt until after many months of struggling. Many more suicide notes were included in the late 1930s than I have ever seen before. There were also references to more money problem included in the suicide notes themselves. One note wrote to the undertaker to "dispose of the body as you would any poor person that doesn't even have money to die." I really felt the personal struggle the people must have felt during this trying time in America's history.

 

AS 09 Oct 2007

 

Another case file was of a boy who fell out of a roller coaster called The Dips at West View Park. This park was a competitor of Kennywood until it closed in 1977.  I wonder if there is evidence of city legislation that was passed in response to these incidences that raised safety standards in the city of Pittsburgh.  Considering we are in the Depression, there was much public demand for better government services.  Therefore, there might be demand for better safety/security standards as well. 193106_23

 

I have also noticed several heat related deaths called "heat prostration" occurring in July of 1931.  According to the Monthly Weather Review Journal (http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/059/mwr-059-07-0282.pdf) on the American Meteorology Society website, July of 1931 was one of the hottest Julys ever recorded.  Many states set record high temperatures all over the country.  This chart from the same journal (http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/059/mwr-059-07-c1.pdf) indicates that Allegheny County was between 2-4 degrees hotter than normal, but closer to the range of 3-4.

 

 

There was also an event in 1931/1932 where a preacher named Father Cox rallied an army of hungry and unemployed people to march on Washington (http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/chronology/chronology_driver.pl?searchtype=ybrowse&year=1932&start_line=0).  While there are no case files pertaining to his campaign, there is a newspaper photo of him in Washington within the crowds in a separate case file of a woman's suicide (193201_88).  I thought it was a neat connection to see a newspaper reference to Father Cox.  We have the finding aid for his papers online at http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=ascead;cc=ascead;q1=cox;rgn=main;view=text;didno=US-PPiU-ais695  and the images online at

 

http://images.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/i/image/image-idx?c=fcox&g=imls&page=index

 

MG 10 Oct 2007

 

 

1932

 

The cases I have done so far during this year still have a higher than usual amount of murders and suicides when compared to the years 1925-1930.  On the press reports next to the deceased name a stamp is next to the name saying male or female, a new addition to the files.  I have also come across a new paper included in the files that gives a detailed description of what happened if the death was a murder. 

 

CL 12 Oct 2007

 

 

In November 1932 the upper floors of an abandoned hotel in Homestead caught fire.  After fighting the fire for five hours, the fire chief deemed the building structurally sound and all authorities left the scene.  As they were pulling away, the chief noted that a group of about 50 people entered the building to look for kindling wood.  People were taking sledge hammers to 2x4 joists until the walls and floor of one section of the hotel collapsed, killing three men.  The story told in these three files (193211_172-193211_174) shows the desperation of families during the Depression.

 

 ZB 18 Oct 2007

 

In October of 1932, a mother and son were found dead after eating poisonous toadstools (193211_18).  They were obviously a poor family since they found these toadstools while searching the outdoors for anything to eat.  It shows the desperation faced by Pittsburgh citizens during the Great Depression, much like the case mentioned above.  There is a newspaper article that accompanies this case. 

 

MG 25 Oct 2007

 

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1933

 

Out of a sample of 50 files from this year, 7 of them were suicides: 4 female, 3 male. These tragic cases were clearly a reflection of the Depression years, as affidavits from relatives and friends cited unemployment, despondency, and anxiety over business affairs, as some of the conditions that plagued these suicide victims. This sort of volume of suicides I have not encountered anywhere else. Several of these case files include handwritten suicide notes, intimate and haunting records of the real desperation brought about by the Depression. 

 

2008 May 26 RLM

 

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1933-1938

 

There is a gap covering a period of approximately five and a half years in the records.  Box number 308 contains records ending with #220, January 1933 (193301_220).  There is a record of destruction in the form of a label on box number 308 indicating records #221 January through December were destroyed on 4/14/82.  There is no box numbered 309.  Box number 310 begins with record #73 for June, 1938 (193806_73).  The records between 1933 and June 1938 are missing and are presumed to have been destroyed in 1982 prior to the transfer of this collection to the Archives Service Center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1930-1931