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Chapter 23: Twentieth Century Politics: Kump to Marland
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Twentieth Century Politics: Hump to Marland Depression Politics. Prolonged economic depressions have always been deadly enemies of elected governments,and it was inevitablethat the economic collapse of 1929,unprecedented in scale or duration, would seriouslyaffect the political situationin both the nation andthe states.Moreover, the euphoriaof the late 1920sand a naive belief that want and privation would be banished fromthe landleft most Americans unprepared pyschologicallyor materially forthe worst crisis the nation had faced since the Civil War. The depressionfell upon West Virginia with unusual severity. Employment in coal mining dropped from 119,937 in 1926 to 86,378 in 1932, with an approximatefortypercent decline in production.Thousandsof mining families, caught in townswhere mines ceased to operateor worked onlyone ortwo daysa week, depending upon erratic orders for coal, fled to places where work was reportedly available, even to such deadly opportunities as Hawks Nest tunnel construction. Others lived precariously, with emergency aid fromthe Red Cross or volunteer or religious organizations. Similar conditions existed in industrial towns. Wages in all industries plummeted precipitously. Farmers fared little better. They seldom faced the destitution of industrial workers, but their cash income dwindled, and many faced the loss of their farms for nonpayment of taxes. Neitherthe federal nor the stategovernmentprovided effectiveresponsesto the depression. Both were attuned to the corporate values and laissez-faire doctrines of the 1920s. The ReconstructionFinance Corporation, for instance, was predicated on the "percolator theory" and offered no immediate relief to millions of distressed Americans. In West Virginia the state government suffered from an antiquated system of financing that left its treasury with a $4 million deficit and its credit impaired. County governments and boards of education were on the verge of bankruptcy. Sufferinganear-paralysis,state and local governments also failed to devise effective strategies for the emergency. In spite of the crisis, the election of 1932 offered reassurances that the people retained faith in the political system. West Virginians followed national patterns in turning Republicans out of office and replacing them with Democrats . The election ended a thirty-six-year Republican reign in the state and ushered in a predominantly Democratic era that continued for the next half- Politics: Kump to Madand 267 century.West Virginians, who had voted 375,551for Herbert Hooverto 263,784 for Alfred E. Smith for president in 1928,cast 405,128votes for Franklin D. Rooseveltto 330,731for Hooverin 1932.They gave only 5,133votes to Norman Thomas, the Socialist candidate, and 442to William Z.Foster, the Communist. Governor Herman Guy Kump. Voting in the gubernatorial race in 1932 followed closely that of the presidential contest. Democrat H. Guy Kump (October 31,1877-February 14,1962) defeated Thomas C. Townsend, a Republican with strong labor support by a vote of, 402,325to 342,660.J.N. Snider, the Socialist candidate, received only 2,788votes, and Mike Stone, the Communist , a mere 452.Kump, a successfullawyer, farmer, and banker in Randolph County, had served as county prosecutor and mayor of Elkins. He resigned the judgeship of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, which included Randolph and Upshur counties, to seek the governorship. On March 24,1933, Kump, a man of quiet strength and efficiency, called a special session of the legislature, which convened on April 1 0and continued in session for 240days, making it the longest in statehistory. Its thorniest problem, the need for revenues to coverthe treasury deficit, meet interest and sinkingfund requirements, and maintain essentialpublic services, was complicated by a taxlimitation amendment, approvedthe preceding November by a vote of 335,482 to 43,931. A response to an appalling loss of farms and homes for nonpayment of taxes during the depression years, the amendment limited tax rates for each class of real property and reduced local revenues to such levelsthat the state had to provide supplemental aid for schools, relief of the destitute, and highways. In grappling with the financial crisis, the legislature was forced to tap new sources of revenue. It provided some additional income from increase in gross sales and capitation taxes, but it moved in a new direction with a consumers sales tax of two percent on retail sales, earmarked for public schools, and a personal income tax, initially set at one percent on gross income. New taxes were also imposed on chain stores; manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of beer, wine, and liquor; and horse racing. The new taxes permitted general property tax reductions in keeping with the tax limitation amendment. The constitutional requirement of a balanced budget, as well as his campaign promises, forced...