The Lesson of 1929

"As he returned to his office, he knew that the eyes of New York were on him-everyone from the traders in the street to his own secretary was assessing his gait and searching his face, trying to read meaning in every twitch, every line, every wrinkle. In his gray three‑piece suit, shoulders back, Mitchell kept up his smile as he passed through the glass‑domed central hall of his National City Bank."

"It was just past 5:30 p.m. on Monday, October 28, 1929. Hours earlier, the stock market had closed with a sharp, dizzying drop of 13 percent. After a week of downward convulsions, it was by far the greatest fall. The darkening downtown streets still teemed with anxious brokers in their fedoras and flatcaps, messenger boys and switchboard girls, all gossiping and speculating about the collapse. What caused the fall? How much further might it go tomorrow? Would the markets even open?"

Charles Mitchell returns to his office at 55 Wall Street after a crushing afternoon on October 28, 1929, amid a severe stock market drop. He tries to project confidence, aware that brokers, clerks, and his secretary are watching his every gesture. National City Bank's grand glass-domed hall, with an 83-foot ceiling and massive safe behind bronze doors, underscores the institution's scale. The market had plunged 13 percent that day after a week of declines, filling downtown streets with anxious brokers, messenger boys, and switchboard girls who gossiped and speculated about causes and whether markets would open next day. Mitchell previously held emergency meetings at the Federal Reserve Bank seeking remedies.

Read at The Atlantic