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Lot 107
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FDR 2x Signed Personal Copy of 1934 Textile Industry Crisis Commission Report
FDR 2x Signed Personal Copy of 1934 Textile Industry Crisis Commission Report
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Description:

FDR 2x Signed Personal Copy of 1934 Textile Industry Crisis Commission Report

A 38pp typescript, being the president's personal bound copy of an official commission report, twice signed by 32nd U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) as "F.D.R." on the title page. September 17, 1934. Hyde Park, New York. The title page of the "Report of the Board of Inquiry / For The Cotton Textile Industry / To The President / Submitted September 17, 1934" has been inscribed by Roosevelt near the center as: "by F.P. to F.DR. / in propria persona / F.DR." Countersigned by John Winant (1889-1947), Chairman of the Board of Inquiry, as "John G. Winant" below Roosevelt's second set of initials; and countersigned by Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins (1880-1965) as "Frances Perkins / all at Hyde Park / N.Y. - conference" below Winant's signature. On watermarked paper and onion skin, bound with heavy-duty brads in a brown cloth binder affixed with a typed title. Expected wear including gentle wrinkles, stray marks, and isolated foxing, with minor water stains affecting the binder edges, else in very good condition and housed in a custom clamshell case. The actual report measures 9" x 11.375" while the clamshell case measures 10.5" x 7.5" x 1." Provenance: From The Franklin D. Roosevelt Collection of Donald S. Carmichael, whose bookplate is affixed to the interior of the clamshell box. This item was offered at the "Books, Manuscripts, & Letters by Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945)" sale organized by a NY Bookseller, Inc. as Lot 64 at over $12,000.

During the 1920s, the American textile industry, facing increased foreign competition and an oversupply that led to a downturn in prices, responded by not only moving its manufacturing facilities to the South, where labor costs were cheaper; but also by increasing its production demands, a practice known as a "stretch-out." In response to worsening labor conditions, unions became larger and stronger, and by the late 1920s, laborers began to strike in significant numbers. The stock market crash in Fall 1929 only exacerbated the situation, and many Northern mills laid off portions of their workforce, increasing production pressures on those who remained employed.

As New York Governor at the onset of the Depression, Roosevelt had offered tax relief to the state's farmers, created America's first state relief agency, and provided low-cost utilities. His bold initiatives gained him both national prominence and the 1932 Democratic presidential nomination. At the Democratic National Convention, Roosevelt promised a "new deal for the American people," and in November he was elected to the first of four terms. His first hundred days were marked by significant reforms that brought the American people quick relief. Among these measures was the passage of the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA), which allowed the president to regulate fair wages. NIRA also created the National Recovery Administration (NRA), designed to bring together industry leaders to implement industry-wide practices such as reducing overproduction and establishing fair wages. The NRA, though less effective than hoped for, galvanized workers to join labor unions, specifically the United Textile Workers of America (UTW).

By the summer of 1934, the White House and Department of Labor had been flooded with thousands of complaints against the NRA. At the same time, the UTW began mobilizing its members to strike. Workers started to walk out of factories as early as July 1934, and the UTW called for a general strike on Labor Day, September 3rd. Textile workers from Maine to Georgia formed picket lines and harassed strikebreakers. Cotton mill workers in the South protested in the tens of thousands and at its highest point, roughly 400,000 workers--nearly the entire textile labor force--went on strike for 22 days. Special deputies were sworn in to maintain order, but picketers were killed in Georgia, South Carolina, and Rhode Island, where thousands of strikers fought troops for more than a day, leading to many casualties and deaths. Some states declared martial law and called in National Reserve troops to round up the strikers.

President Roosevelt ordered a Board of Inquiry for the Cotton and Textile Industry two days after the Labor Day protests and the official start of the national strike. Our 38-page report, drafted less than two weeks later, reported its findings, detailing the number of firms involved in textile manufacture; the extent of the labor force; the nature of supply and market demand; the quality of working conditions; and the effects of the "stretch-out" system. The report also summarizes the NRA's successes and shortcomings, specifically the absence of a mechanism to enforce implementation. Among other things, the board recommended implementing collective bargaining and a process for handling complaints. The report concluded, "We therefore earnestly hope that the United Textile Workers will call off the strike on the basis of these recommendations. At the same time we request the employers in the industry to take back the workers now on strike without discrimination." Roosevelt publicly supported the findings and urged workers to return to their jobs, which they did. Though the UTW declared victory, the board's recommendations went widely unheeded and labor relations continued to fester. Strikes broke out again the following year.

At the time of his role as head of the Board of Inquiry, Winant was the Republican governor of New Hampshire. His involvement in the strike of textile workers in Manchester, New Hampshire, prompted Roosevelt, a Democrat, to tap him to lead the inquiry. Winant's work led to a series of appointments in the Roosevelt administration including the first chairmanship of the Social Security Administration, and, in 1941, as Joseph P. Kennedy's successor as U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain.

Roosevelt appointed Perkins, a sociologist and longtime labor activist, as Secretary of Labor at the beginning of his term, making her the first female cabinet member in American history. She remained an influential member of the president's cabinet throughout his presidency, one of only two cabinet members to do so, and was called "the woman behind the New Deal." Among her many important accomplishments were the implementation of the Civilian Conservation Corps; the Public Works Administration; the Social Security Act; the Fair Standards Act, which established the minimum wage; and the NIRA.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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