Financial History Issue 130 (Summer 2019) | Page 21

of 1920–1921. Prominent Yale economist Irving Fisher announced in May 1930 that, “thus far the difference between the pres- ent comparatively mild business recession and the severe depression of 1920–1921 is like that between a thunder-shower and a tornado.” This time, the nation’s leaders met the “mild business recession” with a very different response. Businesses fought to keep wage levels up for fear of reducing what was beginning to be called “aggre- gate demand.” The most prominent proponent of this effort was Henry Ford and his Ford Motor Company. Ford stubbornly raised work- ers’ wages in 1930 to combat the decline. President Hoover announced in May 1930 that, “for the first time in the history of great slumps, we have had no substan- tial reduction in wages.” Of those firms reporting their activity to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 92% had reduced wages in 1921, while just 7% did so in 1930. This stubborn approach to keep up wages and “aggregate demand” did not work. Other factors—the Smoot-Hawley tariff bill, income tax hikes, the repeal of dollar- gold convertibility—contributed to cause the mild recession described in May 1930 to deepen. 1931 would be one of the most dif- ficult years of the 20th century, and by mid- year 1932, things had completely collapsed. Unemployment soared. The economic rout that was the 1930s was on, and the difficult days of 1920-1921 and the lessons that those events might hold began being erased from the nation’s collective memory.  Dan Munson is a student of financial and scientific history. His writings have appeared in Barron’s Financial Weekly and many other publications. He enjoys reading and writing financial and scien- tific history and worked for many years at 3M. Sources Barber, William J. From New Era to New Deal: Herbert Hoover, the Economists, and Ameri- can Economic Policy, 1921–1933. Cambridge University Press. 1985. THE JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOND & SHARE SOCIETY SCRIPOPHILY ENCOURAGING COLLECTING SINCE 1978 No.110 - AUGUST 2019 A. E. Reynolds Scripophily Surprise – page 17 Peculiar Jai Hind share Carret, Philip L. The Art of Speculation. New York: Barron’s. 1927. Friedman, Milton and Anna Jacobson Schwartz. A Monetary History of the United States, 1867–1960. Princeton University Press. 1963. Friedman, Walter. Fortune Tellers: The Story of America’s First Economic Forecasters. Princ- eton University Press. 2013. General Ledgers and Income Statements of the 3M Company, 1905–1932. The Minnesota Historical Society. Grant, James. The Forgotten Depression: 1921: The Crash That Cured Itself. Simon & Schus- ter. 2014. Huck, Virginia. The Brand of the Tartan: The 3M Story. Minnesota Mining and Manufac- turing Company. 1955. “A Long-Term Perspective: Dow Jones Indus- trial Average 1920–2000,” New York: Value Line Publishing, Inc. INTERNATIONAL BOND & SHARE SOCIETY PUTTING FINANCIAL HISTORY IN YOUR HANDS Join the International Bond & Share Society, supporting collectors of vintage bonds and shares from all countries for over forty years. For $32, £20 or €25 annually, receive: ◆ Three issues a year of our full color 52 page journal Scripophily with news, – page 13 in-depth articles, auction reports and more ◆ Membership Directory listing dealers, auction houses and fellow collectors ◆ Members-only part of the Society website, scripophily.org ◆ Members’ Newsletters with up-to-date information and event schedule Zanke Gets Drumm Catalogs Donation for IBSS – page 2 Worldwide Auctions 43,000 Euros – page 23 ➠ FRANKY’S 2018 TOP 30 ➠ IBSS AGM AND Astronauts’ high-flying certificate highlights scripophily – page 27 FINANCIAL REPORTS Scripophily The Movie – page 5 For further information contact Mahler on New York Revenue Stamps – page 14 Cox 3rd Edition goes to Strasburg – page 11 Robin Majlak Membership Secretary 824 Harbor Road Southport, CT 06890 Philip Atkinson Secretary 167 Barnett Wood Lane, Ashtead, Surrey KT21 2LP, UK membership@scripophily.org secretary@scripophily.org Or visit our website www.scripophily.org www.MoAF.org  |  Summer 2019  |  FINANCIAL HISTORY  19