Letters between Mrs. Ralph Majors to Governor Olin Johnston, May 1935

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Document Description:

Mrs. Ralph Majors writes to Governor Olin Johnston asking for aid because her husband has deserted her and how difficult it is to live on just the relief. She is trying to find work that pays well so that she can take care of her son, but this is very difficult to do. She asks if there is anything the Governor can do and that she is thankful for him reading her letter.

The reply from the Governor says that he is very sorry of the difficulties that she is facing but that there is nothing that he can do. He tells Mrs.Majors that he is going to refer her letter to Colonol James D. Fulp, the State Relief Administrator, who he hopes will help her in some way.

Citation:

Mrs. Ralph Majors to Olin D. Johnston, 23 May 1935. Federal Correspondence. Governor Olin D. Johnston papers. South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, South Carolina.

Olin D. Johnston to Mrs. Ralph Majors, 27 May 1935. Federal Correspondence. Governor Olin D. Johnston papers. South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia, South Carolina.

Transcription:

Sumter. S.C.

May 23, 1935

Gov. Olin H. Johnson

Columbia S.C.

Dear Mr. Johnson,

Sometime ago I wrote you concerning my husband Ralph O. Majors who disappeared Feb. 28th 1934, he is a sinotype operator worked on State and Record there for quite a while also for R.F. Bryan for 3 months or more doing State printing, he is 6ft. 2in. tall, Wt. 190 lbs. Fair complexion dark wavy hair, world war veteran served 27 months over seas. I am appealing to you for help because I don’t know which way to turn or what to do, I am getting 24 hrs. work (Relief) at 20 Cent p/hr. not every week even that much. I tried to get my chief in Connie Maxwell (Greenville, S.C.) I am Baptist but since he was 12yrs. Failed on that so temporarily I have placed him with a relative in Ga. Until I can do better, I have begged for more work and more per hr.-as I can’t even get the bare necessities of life on the amount I am making and it seems impossible to get work elsewhere, so once again I am appealing to you isn’t there something be done, if majors is living his capacity of making a good salary, and to this Bonns of course in case if is paid off through him couldn’t I get a part of ill-will for the child? He looked fine, but had an operation on his head in Augusta veterans Hospital about a year before he went away, he was employed here on fairly often, for four years went down to work as usual left in the car, telling them he was going to veterans Hospital in Columbia J.P. Sowers Secretary of Typographical Union knew him, and has aided me in every way he can through advertising in sinotype news and journal.

I regret to worry you since I know you have so many big things to worry about,

But please I am hoping in some way you can help me, Geo. Sevi here has asked the relief administration to give me more work. I have a high school education and I took a summer course several years ago. I am ambitious, want to work and take care of my boy, and is it right the child must suffer? Through no fault of his and maybe his father isn’t responsible for this awful predicament we are in.

Please I know your time is valuable but isn’t there something you can do my boy should have a chance to live. I thank you kindly for anything you may do and for your valuable time even reading this.

Yours very Truly

Mrs. Ralph Mayors

110 Couranil St.

Correlating SC Social Studies Academic Standards:

Standard 3-5: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the major developments in South Carolina in the late nineteenth century and the twentieth century.

Indicator 3-5.5 Explain the effects of the Great Depression and the New Deal on daily life in South Carolina, including the widespread poverty and unemployment and the role of the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Standard 5-4: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the economic boom-and-bust in America in the 1920s and 1930s, its resultant political instability, and the subsequent worldwide response.

Indicator 5-4.2 Summarize the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression, including economic weakness, unemployment, failed banks and businesses, and migration from rural areas.

Standard 8-6: The student will demonstrate an understanding of South Carolina’s development during the early twentieth century.

Indicator 8-6.5 Explain the effects of the Great Depression and the lasting impact of New Deal programs on South Carolina, including the Rural Electrification Act, the Civilian Conservation Corps, Works Progress Administration and Public Works Administration building projects, the Social Security Act, and the Santee Cooper electricity project.

Standard USHC-7: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the economic boom-and-bust in America in the 1920s and 1930s, its resultant political instability, and the subsequent worldwide response.

Indicator USHC-7.4 Explain the causes and effects of the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression, including the disparity in incomes, limited government regulation, stock market speculation, and the collapse of the farm economy; wealth distribution, investment, and taxes; government policies and the Federal Reserve System; and the effects of the Depression on human beings and the environment.

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