The Great Depression: A Diary

by Benjamin Roth

Banks are absolutely terrible in their insistence on payments on notes and mortgages. It is the old story of lending you an umbrella when the sun is shining and then demanding it back when it rains. If a depositor asks for his money he is regarded with suspicion—sometimes he is sent to one of the officials who wants to know why he wants the money—if they think he is hoarding it they try to shame him out of a withdrawal and only if he becomes unpleasant and insistent does he get his money. It is a good time not to owe money to a bank and many businesses are being ruined because the banks insist on liquidating their loans. Some businesses owe the banks so much money that the banks are afraid to press them too far for fear they will go into bankruptcy and thus avoid the whole loan.