Chief Askew's Diary: March 5, 1930

Court adjourns; Hoover and GOP push for major tariffs to reduce unemployment

Chief Askew’s “Boys” were still handing out street tax summons on this warm spring day, and he noted that the March term of court had adjourned shortly after 12 noon. A full report of the court’s activities, including its Grand Jury reports, would appear in the March 14 Newnan Herald. It gives quite a bit of insight into live in Jim Crow Georgia, which I will write about on that date.

In Washington, supporters of President Hoover were pushing for a major tariff bill to protect American businesses during the economic downturn. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff bill passed Congress and had unexpected — and disastrous — effects.

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The photo of Rep. Willis C. Hawley, R-Oregon, left, and Sen. Reed Smoot, R-Utah, is from the collection of the Library of Congress, accessed via Wikimedia Commons.