"Little Known Facts About Detroit"--1937 WWJ radio booklet

[EstateSale]

At a recent estate sale I picked up a neat artifact from the past. It's a printed text version of "Little Known Facts About Detroit," which was apparently a brief feature heard on WWJ radio during 1937 under the sponsorship of the Industrial Morris Plan Bank. There is no cover on the booklet and no authorship or other information is given as to who actually read these on the air. But there are around fifty pages, each with its own date, covering an assortment of trivia and information about Detroit.

I've attached the first page here.

[Ray1936]

Two items at the lower rlight caught my attention.

[[1) " Detroit's 1936 birth rate was yada yada yada." Hey, I'm in those figures, somewhere!!!!

[[2) "Detroit has everything! Climate!" Well, after living in southern Nevada for the last 35 years, I can only note that Detroit's climate absolutely sucks. Better than Petoskey, perhaps, but not by much.

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

[One Shot]

It still amazes me how many firsts we were known for. Not in the country but the WORLD!

[Jimaz]

Thanks for sharing that, EstateSale.

Note the disclaimer at the very top indicating that concerns about "fake news" are nothing new.

Now I'm wondering where the world's largest shoe store is today. Hey, no reason it couldn't still be here!

[Former_Detroiter]

Thanks for sharing that, EstateSale.

Note the disclaimer at the very top indicating that concerns about "fake news" are nothing new.

Now I'm wondering where the world's largest shoe store is today. Hey, no reason it couldn't still be here!

Now you know..

The Largest Shoe Store in the World. In terms of both store square footage and selection, the record-breaking largest shoe store in the world is the Level Shoe District store located in the Dubai Mall

[EstateSale]

A little update: Following some googling about, it appears these talks were written and delivered by an E. A. McFaul of Wayne University. I can post some more [[as time allows) if anyone is interested.

[masterblaster]

Please post some more if you have the time and desire. I appreciate it!

[archfan]

What caught my eye was the sponsor, the Industrial Morris Plan Bank. I hadn't heard that name, so I did some searching, and here's what I learned:

Arthur Morris noticed it was hard for middle class and working folks with secure jobs to get small loans - the large banks wouldn't touch them, so their only alternative was loan sharks. So he started a bank. People could get loans if they supplied two co-signers with similar steady jobs [[who now had an interest in you paying on time). The idea spread, and banks opened across the country.

The Morris Plan banks started just as the demand for consumer credit exploded, and they were very successful up until the Depression. As the large banks recovered, they decided they needed the Morris Plan business, and began offering consumer loans, too. Morris Plan banks became general banks, and gradually dropped Morris Plan from their names. There are still a few out there.

In Detroit, the Morris Plan bank was called Industrial, I guess, because all of their customers worked in industry. They started in the Farwell Building, but eventually built their own: the Industrial Morris Bank Building, shortened to the Industrial Bank Building, now known as the Louis Kamper Apartments. The owners just announced new renovations this past week.

More here and here.

[softailrider]

Two items at the lower rlight caught my attention.

[[1) " Detroit's 1936 birth rate was yada yada yada." Hey, I'm in those figures, somewhere!!!!

[[2) "Detroit has everything! Climate!" Well, after living in southern Nevada for the last 35 years, I can only note that Detroit's climate absolutely sucks. Better than Petoskey, perhaps, but not by much.

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

Some years you might freeze until June, but I don’t think you can beat Spring and Summer in Michigan.

[EstateSale]

Following a bit more research, it would seem that what I have is from the second series of "radio talks." https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?...view=1up;seq=7 The text of an earlier series is reproduced at the link, including a cover letter from the bank.

[Bigb23]

Arthur Morris noticed it was hard for middle class and working folks with secure jobs to get small loans - the large banks wouldn't touch them, so their only alternative was loan sharks. So he started a bank. People could get loans if they supplied two co-signers with similar steady jobs [[who now had an interest in you paying on time). The idea spread, and banks opened across the country.

So there was a bank with a heart as compared with now. Evil does as evil will. I'm looking at you Goldman Sachs. You took the country down, and now reap the rewards.

[Bham1982]

So there was a bank with a heart as compared with now. Evil does as evil will. I'm looking at you Goldman Sachs. You took the country down, and now reap the rewards.

Huh? How did Goldman Sachs "take the country down"?

They agreed to pay a fine for misleading investors in mortgage-backed securities, which is the same as every major U.S. bank. There was nothing unique about GS conduct in terms of the last recession.

And, yeah, GS is "reaping the rewards". They reported $3b in profits just last quarter.

[archfan]

So there was a bank with a heart as compared with now. Evil does as evil will. I'm looking at you Goldman Sachs. You took the country down, and now reap the rewards.

I think Arthur Morris' original motivation was to help out folks who couldn't borrow. But the Morris Plan banks were banks - they still repossessed your car if you didn't pay. The banks invented consumer credit at the right time - just as mass production provided steady jobs and new consumer goods. They were profitable enough that Morris could donate the law library at the University of Virginia.