Notes from "The Hungry City" by Joseph L. Heffernan (Atlantic Monthly, May 1932)

Postcard from Retiring Guy's collection

Business and government leaders have refused to admit seriousness of depression.  Don't talk about it, things will be back to normal tomorrow.  

Even as distress and dislocation increase, relief measures (the "dole") cannot be agreed upon.  

Being one of the centers of the steel industry, Youngstown has been hit particularly hard.  

Efforts by the Communists to whip up a proletarian unity are met with apathy.  

Memorial Day rally, 1931, clash with police.  

In the fall of 1931, a bank panic gripped the city, fanned by wild rumors.  Years of false promises and hollow reassurances made people fearful and resentful.  

Humiliation and degeneration experienced by many who accepted public welfare after all personal assets had been wiped out.

Other Youngstown posts:

Disappearing cities of the United States:  Youngstown, Ohio.  (6/15/2023)

Youngstown Ohio adjusts to population loss.  (7/9/2016)