1931: Almost a Pretty Good Year?

Warren Buffett is right. Reading about a long-ago year in periodicals of the day gives you a feel for the times you cannot obtain from organized, sanitized history texts. I'm supplementing summaries of 1931 Wall Street Journals, provided by the now misnamed News From 1930, with browses through 1931 issues of The New Yorker. (Only New Yorker subscribers have that privilege.)

Were it not for that darned Depression, 1931 might have shaped up as a pretty good year. The Empire State Building prepared for its May 1 opening. At least one television company announced it was almost ready to start broadcasting.

And Dodge Boat proposed a solution to New York City's growing traffic problems: Commute to work by water!

". .. no corners to turn, no traffic to buck, and the clean reviving scent of spray instead of fume-filled highways!"


While cruising back to their Larchmont or Oyster Bay home, the couple might have noticed the Guaranty Trust ad at right, also offering convenience. No more tedious trips down to the Wall Street area to see one's trust officer. Just drop by one of Guaranty's midtown offices.

Unlike Dodge Boat, Guaranty Trust survived the Depression. In 1958, when it merged with J.P. Morgan, Guaranty was the ninth largest bank in the country.