Oral History Program William Arthur Budge Interviewed by Mack S. Taft circa 1960s Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah William Arthur Budge Interviewed by Mack S. Taft circa 1960s Copyright © 2016 by Weber State University, Stewart Library iii Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. The reviewed and corrected transcripts are indexed, printed, and bound with photographs and illustrative materials as available. The working files, original recording, and archival copies are housed in the University Archives. Project Description The Great Depression in Weber County, Utah, is an Oral History Project by Mack S. Taft for completion of his Master’s Thesis at Utah State University during the summer of 1969. The forty-five interviews address the Great Depression through the eyes of individuals in several different occupations including: Bankers, Laborers, Railroad Workers, Attorneys, Farmers, Educators, Businessmen, Community and Church Leaders, Housewives, Children and Physicians. All of these individuals lived in Weber County from 1929 to 1941. The interviews were based on what they remembered about the depression, how they felt about those events and how it affected their life then and now. ____________________________________ Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ____________________________________ Rights Management This work is the property of the Weber State University, Stewart Library Oral History Program. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Budge, William Arthur, an oral history by Mack S. Taft, circa 1960s, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. 1 Abstract: This is an oral history interview with William Arthur Budge. The interview took place at the Commercial Security Bank in Ogden, Utah. Mr. Budge was an officer of the Commercial Security Bank during the depression years. The interviewer is Mack Taft. MT: Mr. Budge, what was your profession at that time? WB: I was working with the Commercial Security Bank. MT: What do you remember concerning that particular period of time concerning banking and the stock market crash, things along this line? WB: Well I don't remember many specific instances but when the stock market crash came, and especially here in Ogden when the Ogden State Bank closed, then of course we had a run on the banks here in Utah. And I can remember here in our own bank I was in the teller's cage at that time, that the people came in and wanted their money and we paid it out just as fast as we possibly could, and we stayed open, we didn't close at the regular banking hours, we stayed open just as long as the people came. And so the first day we went on toward evening before we closed, and then we opened the next day and then the people began to . . . there weren't so many came, and then the people began to bring their money back when they found out that they could get it out. MT: What immediate affect did you feel from the crash of the stock market, if any? Either as a banker or as an individual. WB: Well, I can't say that I did because I was working all the time, and personally, I can't say that it did affect me. MT: Then the stock market crash or the depression itself wasn't of much effect on you at all? WB: No, no, because I was still employed by the bank, so I didn't have to lay off, and it didn't make any particular difference that way as I remember. 2 MT: Before we started the tape you mentioned something about the bank holiday, would you like to mention a little something about that? WB: Well, when it was decided by the government to close the banks, then we had a holiday as I remember, and this was decided by whoever had the authority to make the decision that the banks, when they opened would issue script, and I can remember that for these two weeks, I was signing script for the bank, myself. I was an officer for the bank, and I was signing script for the bank with the idea that when the bank opened, there would be script instead of currency. But as, remember, the President of the United States said that when the banks opened we'll pay currency, which was done, and the script was not used. MT: Do you feel that that was an important move at that time? WB: Yes, very important because it then the people had confidence in the government. Now what I think the people were afraid of, it was feared that the people who had currency would keep it hid up, and this way, by paying currency, it was out in the open again, and people had confidence. Kept it circulating and kept the people's confidence. MT: Were there other banks in this particular locality, other than the Ogden State Bank, that did close? WB: No, not in Weber County, none that I know of. MT: Looking back at that time, do you have any ideas or theory as to why the Ogden State Bank closed, while the others were not closed? WB: Well the only thing that I would think about was that the Ogden State Bank was not meeting the requirements of the State Banking Department, or even the ideas that the Federal Reserve might have concerning them. Course the Ogden State Bank, as I remember then, was not a member of the Federal Reserve. I'm not sure about that, but I 3 don't hardly think they were. So it seems, this is my opinion of course, that the Ogden State Bank was not in compliance with what the State Banking Department was demanding, or thought was right, and therefore it closed. MT: Could you give us a little light on a bank, as to why at that particular time they were vulnerable to runs, as opposed to now. WB: Well, now, any time that a bank closes, people begin to lose confidence, and of course they like to have their money, and therefore, people don't generally study bank situations, they don't study bank statements, even though they're published in the paper I doubt if they study them to see how solvent a bank may be. So if one bank closes it creates a condition that people think well I'd better get my money out from where I've got it. So the bank where I worked, the Commercial Security, the people came for their money. I would say we had quite a run on the bank. I don't know how much we paid out but we took care of everyone that came, and we had sufficient money to do it. MT: How important do you feel it was psychologically to stay open, even after business hours? WB: Well we didn't want to shut the people off; we wanted to show them that they could have their money. So we just stayed open so all the things could be taken care of. And we not only gave them their money, but as I recall, we brought in sandwiches for those that had to wait. MT: Are there any other interesting things that you recall that took place during that time, either humorous or otherwise that people experienced during those years? WB: I can recall that one man who was a big business man here in town, and had a good sizeable bank account, stood up on a platform where the people could see him, that is the 4 people in the lobby, and he said "Now I have a lot of money in this bank and I'm not going to take it out, I'm confident that everything's going to be all right." MT: Those things really helped, didn't they? WB: Well, I think it helped, and then there was no criticism of the people; if they wanted their money, no one said anything of a derogatory nature to them. Of course it took time to pay them because the accounts had to be checked and it took a little time to pay them because they were drawing out large sums of money. Some of these people that had three, four, five, six thousand dollars or more, it took a little time to check the accounts and pay out the checks. MT: It would seem that during that time, it would have been a real set-up for someone to rob and so forth, did you become aware of anything of this nature? WB: Well, I can't remember being aware of anything like that. MT: How old were you in 1929? WB: I was about 45 years old. MT: What were you doing in the church at that time? WB: I was a bishop until 1931. I was bishop of the 7th Ward. MT: Did the people of your ward have a different experience than the ordinary citizen of Ogden? WB: No, I can't recall anything of an interesting nature. MT: Now, there was no church welfare at that time, is that correct? WB: No, we had the church welfare, because I recall we had the church welfare store set up over here on 17th street, so the welfare program was in operation. 5 MT: Nowas I recall, the main church welfare, the church-wide welfare program began along about 1936-is that correct? WB: Yes, that is correct. MT: Now, do you see a measurable difference in things as a result of this? WB: No. I don't recall anything about that. Now, I did say that we had the welfare program while I was bishop, but I should correct that and say that we didn't have any of these welfare programs, or any of the major items until along about 1936, and I was in the Ogden Stake Presidency when that was done.