Journal of the Senate of Texas being the Second Called Session of the Forty-Third Legislature Page: 9
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S
of February at the rate of 500,000
employees every two weeks, provided
of course that Congress appropriates
the money with which to do so. If
this is done then we will have the
greater part of 250,000 employees in
Texas who will be compelled to seek
aid from our relief funds. These
employees alone will represent at
least one million people, and it is
evident that we would have a dis-
astrous situation. On the other
hand if the Civil Works Program
should end on February 15 by failure
of Congress to make the appropria-
tions for its continuance, then the
intensity of our situation would be
further increased. It would amount
to a tragedy. But if we look at the
case in the most favorable light and
say that the present Civil Works ac-
tivities are continued uninterrupted
it will still call for the expenditure
of substantial millions for relief
work.
I have asked the office of the Di-
rector of the Texas Relief Commis-
sion for estimates covering these
possible conditions, and I am ad-
vised additional funds to the five
million five hundred thousand dol-
lars already provided for will be
needed as follows:
1. If the present Civil Works
Program continues uninterrupted,
$11,440,000.
2. If the Civil Works Program
is curtailed on a gradually reduced
scale from February 15, 1934 on-
ward, $17,840,000.
3. If the Civil Works Program
ends on February 15, 1934,
$19,640,000.
If the present plan of matching
with the National Government is
continued then the State's part of
the above needs will be one-half of
said sums. It would appear that the
second condition mentioned above
calling for a gradually reduced scale
from February 15 will be the con-
dition most likely to obtain, and out
of an abundant caution an issuance
under premise No. 2 of $8,920,000
should be the minimum amount the
Legislature should issue, and it will
only take an issuance of $1,000,000
more to provide against the contin-
gency of the Civil Works Program
ending on February 15. To avoid
the further expense of another ses-
sion of the Legislature it is my
opinion that the Legislature should
issue at least $10,000,000 of the re-
maining bonds. This, however, is amatter for your determination. I
suggest that you call upon the Di-
rector of the Relief Commission to
furnish you with data covering the
matters herein referred to.
The next question submitted in the
proclamation is what is known as
the moratorium equity of redemp-
tion law. Next to the feeding of the
hungry and destitute population is
the question of foreclosures on the
homes and real estate of the people
in this hour of depression. I am
informed that there are three hun-
dred farms now advertised for fore-
closure in one north Texas county.
I am also informed that there are
fifteen hundred foreclosures now ad-
vertised in Dallas County. From all
over this State I am receiving in-
formation calling attention to the
plight of the people whose homes
and real estate are now threatened
to be taken away from them be-
cause of the depression and the de-
creased prices of farm products.
Nobody should be allowed by law
to take advantage of an unfortunate
home owner in this time of depres-
sion. Present conditions will prob-
ably improve some, but nobody
knows when. There has been such
decrease in real estate values that
we will deceive ourselves if we ex-
pect normal values to return under
two years. Certainly they will never
return if money lenders are now per-
mitted to extort the collection of
their loans at this time and forever
wipe out the interest or equity of
the present owners in their lands.
Certainly everything should be done
to prevent this inhuman condition to
take place now.
I attach herewith a copy of the
law which in my opinion will bring
great relief and protection' to the
owners of real estate. This law is
largely copied from the Minnesota
law on the subject and recently up-
held as to its constitutionality by
the Supreme Court of the United
States. I am submitting this law for
your consideration in the hope that
you will pass the same promptly so
that any foreclosure sale of real
estate will be prevented and pro-
tected against if held on the sale
day of first Tuesday on February 6,
1934. But the Legislature will have
to act promptly. I trust that good
time will not be lost in a discussion
of different kinds of laws that
might be passed and that the Legis-
lature will pass the law as it has9
SENATE JOURNAL.
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Texas. Legislature. Senate. Journal of the Senate of Texas being the Second Called Session of the Forty-Third Legislature, legislative document, 1934; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth307712/m1/15/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.