Document text
January 5, 1940
Mr. W. W. Tarpley (White)
5001 Nebraska Ave., N. W.
Washington, D. C.
Finance Officer in U. S. Treasury
(Bank Conservator)
By Bradley
RECO-VEX
"Yes, I really went through the depression. iity story may not be so
interesting to anyone else, but 1111 be glad for you to write it."
The consultant is r. haymond Tarver and he is being interviewed at
his hone, in a fashionable section in Washington, D. C. In appearance
he is tail and rather slender. Though only in his early forties his hair
is showing a decided grey and his face has lines in it that are the result
of much care and responsibility. he is not a handsome man but has an
expression on his face and a personality that immediately inspires one
with confidence. his genuineness and his afrable disposition have won
for him many friends.
Ms home is modern, with every comfort and convenience. The furnish-
ings are of the best and most luxurious with an absence of any display of
wealth.
"1 guess, in a way," he resumed, "the depression was a blessing in
disguise for me. Ws an ill wind that blows nobody any good, you know.
uf course i felt like 1 was ruined at the time, but if the crash had not
came, i might have still been down in that little South Georgia town work-
ing for a small salary.
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"There were thousands who went down during the panic lost fortunes,
homes, business, and in fact everything. some have survived, and many
never will. great many were too old to begin building up again. In
the kind of work Pm in i have been in position to know some of the
devastating effects of it, and it certainly gets on your sympathy.
“i guess you would say 1 mn recovering from it. Allen I say that
though, not boasting, but 1..ra deeply grateful for the good fortunes
that have come my way. Then, too, i feel under everlasting obligations
to some of my friends who have helped me to get where i am.
"I had not accumulated a great deal at the time of the panic, but I
did have same savings and a good job. That was the trouble, my savings
and my job went at the same time. Now that was real trouble. Nobody but
my wife and I knew just what we did go through.
-"I was born and reared down in Laurens County, Georgia. i lived
there until the depression came on, except for about a year and a half
when j. was drafted during the war. it seems now that I have left Georgia
far good. Out of a family of seven there's only one left down there, so
I haven't much to go back for.
-1 came from fine old pioneer ancestors on both my father's and
mother's side and I owe much to them. On my father's side there's quite
a bit of interesting history. Since 1 have been here I find so many of
my ancestors both in the District and in Virginia, I've been making a
study of it. My great -great-grandfather was born in Brunswick County,
Virginia, in 1765. He was a captain in the ar of 1812 and also in an
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Indian war. Be led the Virginia forces in 1830 which broke the South
Hampton Insurrection, and captured the notorious Negro leader, Nat Turner.
He received a reward of .c;;500 from the Governor of Virginia for this.
His sword belongs to a cousin of mine, down in South Georgia. My great
great -grandmother, the former Mary Hanson of Virginia, was the great
great -granddaughter of Pocahontas, the Indian princess. My grandfather
went from Virginia down to Irvinton, Georgia, Alkinson County, and
that' z where my father was born. He went from there down to Laurens
County, met my mother, and they married.
"My father was a -Tharmacist there for forty-five years. He was,
besides that, a scholar of the highest type. He was considered one of
the best read men in that section. I was one of seven children. There
were eight but the first child died in infancy. My childhood was not
very different to that of other children. I wasn't any better and, I
suppose, no worse than other boys.
"Our parents were good old-fashioned orthodox Methodists. Father
was Superintendent of Sunday School and mother always took the lead in
church affairs. My: they were strict on us. Every Sunday all seven of
us were carried to church and Sunday School. In the afternoons we stayed
at home and read or someone read to us. '.;e were not allowed to get out
and run around and play like they do now. And reading the funnies on
Sunday was unheard of. Times have certainly changed even though that has
not been a great while ago.
mother changed, though, before she died,
for she was much more lenient with the grandchildren than with us. Card
playing, dancing, and drinking were things that we never saw in our hue.
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"I graduated from high school and then went to the A &VI School at
Douglas, Georgia. I didn't stay there long for I got into some mischief
and left and went home, I guess to keep from being sent. It wasn't so
bad. A crowd of us boys raided the pantry one night and got caught up
with. That was one time my daddy took my part. As a rule, if we got
in trouble at school, we got in bad at home too. This was an exception.
Anyway, he didn't make me go back. The next year I went to Tech. I
didn't 3o there but one year for I was crazy to get a job and go to work.
"The first job I ever had was in my father's drug store. Then I
wrote insurance awhile. I had several jobs. I've forgotten just what
all I did do. Anyway, later on I got on as bookkeeper at the First
National Bank. That was my first real good paying job. I had only
myself to support then. I lived at home, so I began saving some money.
I have been taught from childhood to put aside something out of every-
thing you make, so I have tried to live up to it.
"There's one thing that has been a lot of help and satisfaction to
me, and that is my ability to make and to hold friends. A real friend
is certainly an asset. Of course, there are fair weather friends but
they are not worth considering. I know something about that kind too.
"I volunteered when the United States got into war. ;ihen I was
examined the doctors found me to have a slight leakage of the heart, so
I was not accepted for oversea service, but was sent down to Quitman,
Georgia, to serve on the local exemption board.
"That is a fine place to live, and I made some staunch friends
while I was there. I identified myself with the church, sang in the
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choir, and took part in all 6ocial and civic affairs. llien the Armistice
was signed, I was oftered a place in a bank there, so being without a
job I was glad to get it. I was in this bank for two years.
"During that time many changes had taken place in my home. Two of
my sisters and two brothers had married and left home. My youngest
brother, who was a lieutenant in the Army, was located in Texas, so that
left only one sister with my mother and father. Father was not in good
health and mother had had a fall which injured her spine, so she. was con-
fined to a rolling chair five years before her death. I was really needed
at home and that worried me.
"One day I got a long distance call from Dublin offering me a job
back in the First National Bank where I worked before the war. 141 I
was glad, for while I had a good job there, I was needed at home. That,
I suppose, was the turning point in my life. Had I not gone back, the
depression might not have hit me so hard; on the other hand, I -might not
be where I an today. After l had been back in this bank awhile I was
given a promotion, and that, of course, carried with it a raise in salary.
I was still saving some too. I didn't invest it, but just had it on
savings deposit.
'Tot long after, my mother died. This was the first death in the
family. It seemed so sad to think that of a family as large as ours, my
sister, father, and I were the only ones left at home. The other children
had all moved away to other states.
"I married the next year. For awhile we tried to live at home with
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my sister and father. that didn't work so well. It seldom does,
you know; no house was built big enough for two bosses.
r:e moved out and began keeping house in two roams and a bath. We
didn't buy much furniture, just enough to E3 -t by with. really began
at the bottom. were content to live that way until I saved enough
to buy us a permanent home. e didn't stint ourselves by any means,
but we didn't spend money extravagantly. Our first and only child, Gloria,
was born while we were living in these two roams. e needed more roam,
though, so we moved into a larger house and rented out hslf of it. We
bought us a second-hand Ta,aodel Ford coupe. I don't suppose any couple
ever started out life any happier than we. I was making a fine salary,
had a growing savings account, and a host of friends, and no serious
troubles to worry about. My wife is just the smartest) thriftiest
person you have ever seen. To her I owe a lot of my successes. She
is fine with her needle and crocheting, and you never saw her idle. She
made all her spending money that way. Even now since we have been in
'.ashington she keeps it up. And her fruit cakes People here rave about
it. She cooks an enormous amount of it every Christmas and sells it for
a big profit. She can't fill all the Orders she gets. She is very re-
sourceful and right now, if I were to die and not leave her a thing, she
would manage some way. One of my hobbies was gardening and it proved to
be a profitable one too. This place we rented had a fine garden spot,
the finest in Dublin, so every one said. I worked in it early every
morning and in the afternoon after banking hours. I sold lots of vege-
tables, and realized a lot on then especially the early variety 4oltatt
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that brought a good price."
"You haven't forgotten the cabbage patch, have you?"asked Mrs.
Tarver, joining us. "That played an important part during the depression."
"Yes," said he, "Louise called the cabbage patch her own, and all
the money she took in from it was hers. You have heard of Mrs. Wiggs and
the cabbage patch. the neighbors gave Louise that name.
"One morning we three were at the braakfast table when the phone
rang. It was one of the fellows who worked at the bank.
ITarver,' he said, /have you heard the news?'
"'That news? No, I haven't heard any news,' said I. 'hat's it all
about?'
he said, "hurry on down and see.'
"If you aill excuse the expression, when he said that, the seat of
my britches almost dropped out. I felt like it meant trouble of some
kind. I had had a terrible feeling of uneasiness over the bank for some
time. Banks had been closing all over the country. There had been a
run on our bank same time previous to that, but we tided that over, and
since then it had seemed stronger than ever.
"1 hurried down and, sure enough, in front of the bank, there stood
a crowd of employees, as blank expressions on their faces as I've ever
seen. They were too dumbfounded to be excited even.
-The bank was closed and a notice to that effect on the door.
stood there just looking at each other until finally one said,
boys, guess we had better go on the inside and see if we can find out
what it's all about. i guess there goes our jobs.'
nevocery
-"ot only my job was in the balance but my savings were one, at
least for the present.
o one knows, unless they have experienced it, what it means to
work in a place under such conditions. Of course, there were promises
that the bark would soon open up and resume business and begin paying oft.
That gave the depositor samyching to hope for at least. The sad part was,
this was the strongest bank in this town. In fact there had already been
several failures, so this was almost the only bank open for business.
It was a national bank too, so everybody thought their money was safe.,
we worked on awhile. To be frank, I didn't worry so much about my losses.
1 was so concerned about the other fellows. eeople were losing their
names ana some their savings of a lifetime. The saddest part or it was to
see widows who probably had been left a little insurance and had put it
all in the Panic. reople have a feeling that all connected with a bank,
fram the directors, president, on down to the lowest employee, are re-
sponsible for a bank failure and that makes you feel bad.
-what do you think caused the depression?" he asked. "well, almost
everyone will tell you something dirrerent. Usualiy Iney 1li speak from
a pe2sonal standpoint. t.st'c a rarmer down J.:Li that section and they will
say, 'The burr weevil'. The merchant will tell you,inflation in prices
during the war and tne slump following. The elorida boom eventually
brought disaster in that state. 1'11 tell you more about that later. I
haven't told you yet how the depression affected me personally. We
worked on at the bank trying to get things in shape, with no hopes deep
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down in our hearts a ever Opening up again. of course, we couldn't
tell i)eople on tile outside that. tried to appear hopeful. One by
one they began laying off employees and 1 knew, sooner or later, my
time would come. I didn't worry very filch right then because I was
young and, with I;ly experience and standing in the town, I just knew 1
would not have any trouble getting work. I soon round out, tnough, 1
was mistaken in tnat.
-well, my turn came to ue laid orr. on my desk one morning I found
a letter to that eirect. ur course it read, 'with appreciation for my
valuable service, deep regret, best -Ashes, etc.' thit that didn't help
my feelings much. y job was gone and my savings too. Except for the
time I served during the war, that was the first day I was without a job
since 1 was just a boy. I went on home to break the news to Louise. She
was not sururised, ror we naa outn been expecting it.
"I didn't lose any time worrying but got my hoe and went to the
garden. Oh, that garden was a lifesaver to me in more ways than one.
dome way, you can't worry and watch things grow all at the same time.
don't remember just how long I went without work, but it seemed
a long time to MB. .ounas were getting mignty low but we said nothing
aoout it. iv4- idea oi stepniLo3 rignt into anotner job was erroneous. In
normal times I could have, but then there were no jobs to be had. Of
course, i preferred work in my line but soon saw I would do well to get
a job at anything.
-I was blessed with friends and, even though we were cutting down
exenses in every way and could not live as we always had, my friends
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were as staunch as ever. They tried to help me every way possible to get
work.
-we were occupying iour rooms then with a oath and a kitchen.
were lucky enough to rent two of those roums out to a couple who wanted
to ao light housekeeping. The rent from those rooms, together with the
rent from the apartment already rented, took care of the rent, lights,
and water of the whole house.
"'Aien I saw there were no jobs to be gotten in Dublin, i began look-
ing in other touns where i thought there were prospects. Loon my money
was getting so low i couldn't afford to take any more trips in search of
employment, so i just nad to ue patient. That is hard to do and I got.
awfully blue too.
"I. got a temporary job in the office at the ice plant. That didn't
pay much but it helped a lot. ge counted our nickels too. 2all came on
and business fell off at the plant. I wasn't laid off,but i. realized
they didn't need me but were just letting me stay on out of sympathy and
I couldn't stand that so i. simply quit.
"Then I was taken on as night clerk at one of the hotels. If I
hadn't had a family that would have worked out fine until 1 could do
better. I got all my meals and a nice roam and I was supposed to sleep
during the day. It didn't nay much in money and kept .he away from home
practically all the time,
it almost never rails, though, that hard times and sickness go hand
in hand. fhere was a terrible flu epidemic and Louise had a severe case
of that, followed by pneumonia. i put her in the hospital and for several
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days it looked as if 3he would be taken from me. fay friends truly
rallied to we in those days. Part of the time Gloria stayed with ma at
the hotel, and frields by the score offered to keep her for me. Louise
recovered but expenses piled up, for she had to have good nursing and
nourishment even after she was carried home.
"just as i was getting in the dumps about a regular jab, i was
notified to report at once, to act as assistant receiver for a defunct
bank in 21orida. They were feeling the depression there even more than
we were in Georgia, and banks were closing every day.
"To go back a little in m„ story. i had a good friend, in fact I
went to school with her, .,ho was secretary to one of our United States
aenntors from Georgia. Through her I was fortunate enough to gain his
friendship and interest. I had my application and photograph on file
with the banking department in Washington, and it was through his influ-
ence that this job opened 11D.
"That was a happy day for us. Our friends didn't know it, but I
didn't even have enough aonei to take the trip but I borrowed it. The
question was, hoy: was the family to live until I got my first check?
Of course I had to leave than there until I 3ould get able to move them.
"'Don't you worry,' said Louise, 'there's always a way. Don't for-
get i still have my cabbage catch.' fhat was no joke either.
"It was ,Iiraculous the cabbage she did sell. ghen she couldn't
sell them she would swap than for other things she needed. ahe even
paid off her help with cabbage.
"That was a happy day for us all when I drove my old T -model out of
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the yard headed for 21orida. I left Louise and the baby on the porch
waving at me.
'Now don't look so sad,' said she, 'we'll be down there with you
before you have time to mdss us.'
"Fran that day life has been a different thing to me. I have worked
hard and had lots of responsibilities, but from a financial standpoint
it has been on the up -grade. I don't mean at all that our troubles were
over. e had to watch our expenses so close.
"I moved my little fei.dly, when I had been on my job just two
months. -,-.;he sold out everythi we had except her machine and the baby
bed. e rented a maall house ready. furnished. Luckily we went down
before the tourist season opened up, so we got our rent cheap, and the
beople we rented from didn't raise our rent either when winter came on.
9y the way, we rented from C,eorgians.
"he soon became established in the civic and social life of the
town and mowed our church letters, so it didn't take us long to really
feel at home.
"We owed some dills back home that had accumulated when I was out
of work, and as soon as possible I began paying those up. It was a
strugle but we paid them all IA) before we stopped. ;i.nother misfortune
came to us. Our Ford was stolen from us, and not a penny of insurance.
did without a car for awhile for we didn't really need one then
except for pleasure.
"Mat was right after the real estate boom and the khole state was
in a panic. 3anks were still closing until it was hard to get enoukh
hecuvery
13
receivers for then. Oh, we did work. Banks in neighboring towns were
added to our work until we were liquidating six banks at one time, all in
different places. I had to have another car then but was lucky to pick
up a good used car almost at my own price. People had lost their cars
as well as their homes, so it was no trouble to buy a good used one.
"Sometines I would ride to all six of these banks in one day and
when night came I would be completely given out. I couldn't stop even
then, for there was scarcely a night that we didn't work.
"One morning, after reading his mail, the receiver says, 'Tarver,
how would you like to go to Virginia?' I didn't answer for a minute.
he says, 'I'm going to liquidate a big millionaire bank
that has closed its doors, and you can come along, too, if you like.'
'25ure I'll go, and be glad to.' .ell, we -lade another move, to a
better job and, of course, a bigaar salary. he left Florida though, I'm
glad to say, in better shape financially than we did Georgia. We were
out of debt and beginning to save same money again. iar. Despard, the
receiver, and his wife went on ahead on the train and I followed with
Louise, Gloria, and his two children in the car. e had discarded the
baby bed by this time so only had the machine to ship. Louise just
couldn't part with that. lived in Virginia four years, and those
were four of the aJost satisfactory years of my life. Fe had learned
about hard times to teach us the value of money, and even though money
was not so scarce we still lived conservatively. Virginia people are
fine to live among. They were having failures there just as they were in
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Georgia and Florida, but they didn't talk hard times as much.
"One nial7ht after we had retired, the phone rang, and it was Mr.
Despard. He had had a call from the banking department wanting to know
if they could borrow me for two weeks. "Je were surely excited over
that call and didn't sleep another wink that night.
"This was at the time the President declared the moratorium. All
banks were closed, you remember, for a short period of time, and only
those banks found to be in good condition were allowed to re -open. ell,
a number of banks remained closed, so many they didn't have sufficient
men in .:ashinaton to look after than. That was why they were calling
for extra help.
"I went the next morning, thinking it was only temporary, but had not
been there two hours before I was asked how long before I could ;move my
family. el1, it loo4ed like I was a fixture. I told him I could not
move until Tune since my little girl was in school. I began work and,
when school closed, my family moved and we have been here ever since.
My salary was more than I ever hoped for and, since it was more or less
due to political influence, I felt a little insecure in my job for a
while. I have been here six years now. 2or auhile we lived in a fur-
nished apartment, but last beptenber we bought this home and furnished
it. is property is a good investment. It is in a section that is
developing and will increase in value all the time. I decided that I
wouldn't put all my savings in the bank this time. I'm carrying good
insurance, so in case anything happens to Me my family be well pro-
tected. home is not entirely paid for but I have made a substantial
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payment down on it and am paying the balance monthly.
"My job is purely political, and one never knows what might happen.
I enjoy- my work but it carries with it many responsibilities and I work
hard. I have a tremendous number of banks under my supervision. I an
"ploy eight stenogranhers and two secretaries. One office is in the
ashington 3uilding, just across from the White House. If you have time
while you are here, came down and I'll show you through the building,
and also the Treasury 3uilding.
"Of course the depression -made a decided difference in our mode of
living. ie cut expenses down to a minimum and, if it had not been for
Louise's resourcefulness, I don't know how we would have weathered it,
"It did not make any material difference in our friends or standing
in the commllnity. I had the confidence of every one and was able to
retain it. I have some fine friends here in Lashington. It is due to
sae political friends that here. I appreciate them, too. There
are 30 many Georgians here that we have never felt lonely.
"rolitics is something that I feel very strongly but talk little.
I think our Present administration the inest and most far reaching we
have ever had. tremendous lot has been done to help the country re-
cover from the depression, and here in ,ashington we feel very keenly
any harsh criticism of those in power.
"It is a great thin- to be here in the merry-go-round but sometimes
I get tired of it all ond :ish I could get out in my garden back down in
Georgia, and Louise says she sill never cease to miss her cabbage patch."