Darkest of times

The diary of Benjamin Roth, who documented the day-to-day life during the Great Depression in Youngstown, will be released as a book next month.

By JON MOFFETT

Vindicator Staff Writer

Even in the darkest of economic times, Benjamin Roth refused to give up on America.

A Youngstown lawyer during the Great Depression, Roth focused his attention on recording the tribulations of that era instead of fearing that they would never end.

Hoping to share his insight with future generations, he chronicled life in the 1930s and 1940s in a series of diaries that he continuously edited until his death in 1978. Excerpts of those diaries will be released as a book titled “The Great Depression: A Diary” next month to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Oct. 29, 1929 stock market crash that ignited the Depression.

The first entry, dated July 5, 1931, details the origins of Roth’s understanding of the financial times:

“For the first time in my personal business life I am witnessing a major financial crisis,” the entry reads. “I am anxious to learn the lessons of this depression.”

“Here was a man who was personally strapped so badly he wondered how he would feed his own family,” said Roth’s son, Daniel. “But he was still able to passionately describe what was going on.”

The diaries consist of 14 volumes the younger Roth keeps in his home in Naples, Fla. The entries vividly describe life in Youngstown during the Depression.

Before his death, the elder Roth asked his son to someday edit and publish the diaries. A five-part series of excerpts was published last fall online on the Web site thebigmoney.com, an affiliate of the Washington Post, and The Vindicator.

But it was William Roth, Daniel’s son and Benjamin’s grandson, who suggested turning the manuscripts into a book.

“[Bill] told me, ‘If you’re ever going to do something with the diaries, now would be the perfect time to do it,’” Roth said. “Because when you equate [the content of the diaries] to what we’re dealing with today, it’s almost the same thing.

“You can open this book to almost any page and find an entry and then read a local newspaper about the same thing.”

To prove his point, Roth opened the book to a random page – 131 – to find an entry from Sept. 13, 1933:

“We have had 4 years of [the depression] so far —and that means another year or two of slow uphill progress. I don’t believe [the National Recovery Agency] or inflation will hasten the process.”

That entry can be compared to the current administration and its stimulus plan, Roth said.

The diaries gained national fame when posted online. James Ledbetter, editor of The Big Money, said those who visited the Web site were “riveted” by the content.

“You sort of read these things and you think, ‘Oh my God, it’s just like then,’” he said.

An Aug. 17, 1931, diary entry reads: “Today’s Vindicator carries the news that four of the largest commercial banks in Toledo, Ohio, closed their doors (total deposits over 100 million). Also that 11 Savings & Loan companies in Toledo stopped paying out money.”

The 288-page book, which Roth said was rejected by 13 publishers before getting accepted by New York publishing firm PublicAffairs, is the combined editing effort between Roth and Ledbetter. Roth said he would spend time during nights and weekends editing the manuscripts. The task was made more difficult by the elder Roth’s elegant script, which, coupled with the paper and ink of the time, made for many hours of deciphering.

Samples of Roth’s writing can be found on the inside cover of the book.

Roth’s handwriting was electronically made into a font, Ledbetter said, and embossed on the book’s cover for authenticity and nostalgia.

During a telephone interview, Ledbetter raved about the book’s content.

“There are a variety of lessons,” he said. “...I think it will resonate with a lot of people … it really brings that period to life and allows us to count the few blessings we’ve been able to hold onto throughout the last year.”

Both Roth and Ledbetter have multiple engagements to promote the book. The first is a seminar at 4 p.m. Oct. 19 at Kilcawley Center at Youngstown State University. The second is a book signing and question-and-answer session 7 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Barnes & Noble store in the Shops at Boardman Park.

A lawyer for 52 years, the younger Roth said the book’s upcoming release is the culmination of his father’s work and an effort of three generations. He said he could not be more satisfied with the final product.

“It’s difficult to be able to put a degree on the pride I have for him,” Roth said.

Jan Strasfeld, one of Benjamin Roth’s five grandchildren and current executive director of the Youngstown Foundation, said reading the diaries provided insight on her grandfather’s life during the Depression.

“He was brilliant as far as the financial interpretation and understanding what had happened,” she said. She said the book has been added to the list for a book club she is a member of and is featured on Amazon.com as an “Item to Consider.”

Roth said having the diaries published is more than enough success, and he doesn’t particularly care about sales figures. He said just seeing the books on the shelf would make his father proud.

And Ledbetter said the book provides hope for better days ahead.

“It’s almost reassuring,” he said. “When you look at how long [the Depression] went on and the depths these people went through … it reminds you that we don’t have it that bad today.”

jmoffett@vindy.com

Excerpt from the book:

Youngstown lawyer Benjamin Roth chronicled his experiences of the Great Depression in a 14-volume diary. The diaries have been compiled into a book titled “The Great Depression: A Diary.”

March 8, 1933:

When I started in 1930 to jot down the happenings during this depression, I had no idea it would last so long, and I did not think I would require more than one small notebook. Now after 31‚Ñ2 years of the worst depression this country has ever seen, the end is not in sight. A very short summary of the past events might be of assistance at this time.

While the world war raged in Europe from 1914 to 1917, we had unparalleled prosperity in [the] U.S. because of [the] sale of war supplies to the belligerents ... In 1917-1918 the U.S. participated in the war — became the greatest creditor nation in the world by loaning money to finance the war. Today these war debts are still unpaid in the sum of about twenty billion and Europe wants us to cancel them.

From 1919 to 1921 we had the greatest real estate boom of all time because 2 million soldiers were released from the army, got married and established homes of their own ...

Thru 1930 and 1931 and 1932 business leaders kept on preaching that nothing was wrong — do business as usual — spend money — and almost daily people expected a return to “normal.”

Then in 1932 all Europe seemed to collapse and for the first time people realized that the depression had just started, and it would be many years before the “normal” period of 1929 would return ...

Within 24 hours after his inauguration the new president issued a dramatic proclamation closing every bank and stock exchange in the U.S., forbidding the export of gold and technically removing the U.S. from the gold standard. As I write this, every bank in Youngstown and all over the U.S. is closed and newsboys are selling “extras” stating that scrip will be issued soon by the banks.

Times are exciting and personally, I would not take a great deal for the privilege of participating in these events.