THE NATIONAL YOUTH ADMINISTRATION
IN TEXAS, 1935 - 1939
by
DEBORAH LYNN SELF, B.S. in Ed.
A THESIS
IN
HISTORY
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty
of Texas Tech University in
Partial Fulfillment of
the Requirements for
the Degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
Approved
Acceoted
'f5
T3
ftJo 7 0
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am deeply indebted to Dr. James V. Reese for his direction
of this thesis and to Dr. Seymour V. Connor for his helpful criticisms
I also wish to thank Mrs. Margaret Troutman for proofreading the
final manuscript and Mr. and Mrs. Ben J. Young for their help in
typing and printing this thesis.
11
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
11
Chapter
I.
THE NATIONAL YOUTH ADMINISTRATION AS A PARTIAL
SOLUTION TO NATIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT
National Unemployment, 1932 - 1935
The Creation of the National Youth Administration
The National Youth Administration From a National
Perspective
II.
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL YOUTH
ADMINISTRATION IN TEXAS
18
The Appointment of Lyndon Johnson as Texas NYA Director
Administrative Structure of the Texas NYA
The Expansion of the Texas NYA Staff
III.
THE NATIONAL YOUTH ADMINISTRATION OF TEXAS, 19 35 - 1939. .
32
The NYA Programs in Texas
Financing the Texas NYA
Highlights of the NYA in Texas
A New State Director for the Texas NYA
IV.
THE NATIONAL YOUTH ADMINISTRATION ON CAMPUS
IN TEXAS
51
College Aid in Texas
Public School Aid in Texas
Freshman College Centers in Texas
An Evaluation of the Educational Programs
V.
THE TEXAS NATIONAL YOUTH ADMINISTRATION'S
WORK PROGRAM
The Diversity of the Texas NYA Work Projects
Service and Clerical Work Projects
Recreational Area Improvement Projects
NYA Public Works Projects
Resident Training Centers
111
73
VI.
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE NATIONAL YOUTH ADMIHISTRATION . . . .
APPENDIXES
95
99
BIBLIOGRAPHY
105
IV
CHAPTER I
THE NATIONAIi YOUTH ADMINISTRATION
AS A PARTIAL SOLUTION TO
NATIONAI. UNEMPLOYMENT
National Unemployment, 1932-1935
The causes of the Great Depression in America were interwoven
with economic, social, and political complexities, and yet, at the
center of this national crisis was the devastating disease of unemployment.
To examine or explain the Depression from merely one
perspective would reflect a shallowness in understanding the past,
but the condition of massive unemployment was a fundamental aspect
of most of the other complexities of the 1930's. Cutting through
every socio-economic strata, unemployment was a disease which struck
in the majority of American homes. Highly contagious, the disease
of national unemployment not only robbed the male breadwinner of his
job but also denied jobs to the other potential workers in the labor
force.
During the first four years of the 1930's, the disease
resisted all remedies resulting in a paralyzed American economy and
an almost abandoned American dream.
Seven months into President Herbert Hoover's administration
the stock market crashed, and during the following three years the
entire American economy crumbled into ruins.
President Hoover was
hesitant to violate the time-honored policy of laissez-faire toward
business, and he appealed for private business to provide the
needed jobs.
American business failed to heed President Hoover's
plea, for as the economic situation steadily worsened, they could
not provide the jobs necessary to shrink the swelling lines of the
unemployed.
When Franklin Roosevelt was inaugurated in March, 1933,
the unemployment situation had reached previously unimagined proportions.
The new president hastened to alleviate the employment
crisis by creating thousands of federally financed jobs.
However,
the work programs of the New Deal required time to put into operation,
and unemployment continued to spread during the early months of
Roosevelt's administration.
To deal with the multi-faceted problems created by massive
national unemployment. President Roosevelt established numerous
agencies during his first administration.
The Federal Emergency
Relief Administration (FERA) under the leadership of Harry L.
Hopkins tackled some of the most immediate crises of the crippled
economy.
The New Deal fostered the ideology of massive work programs
to replace the direct relief or welfare payments made by the government.
The early years of the New Deal witnessed a changing of
roles by the government as it shifted from a benefactor without
solutions to an employer with jobs to fill.
For those on the relief
rolls, a program of federally funded work projects proved the most
pragmatic answer.
In 1934 the FERA assumed the leadership of the
few existing work programs and expanded them.
As FERA administrator, Harry Hopkins was interested in
finding out who made up the ranks of the nation's unemployed as well
as in finding jobs for them.
Therefore, the FERA conducted a survey
of the unemployed in seventy-nine cities in March, 1935, which revealed that the "typical unemployed city worker was white, thirtyeight years old, the head of a household, an unskilled or semi-skilled
worker in the manufacturing or mechanical industries."-'- Additionally,
the survey went on to show that one-eighth of those on relief did not
have any prior work experience. Two-thirds of the inexperienced
2
workers were between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five.
Thus,
the Administration was faced with the problem of finding employment
for several million blue-collar Americans—many of whom were young
and without previous training.
No simple, clearcut solution existed to the unemployment crisis
which permeated every corner of American society.
However, the idea
of more extensive federal work relief programs had mushroomed within
the decision-making circle of the New Deal, and in 1935 the Works
Progress Administration (WPA) was established with the objective of
finding jobs for 3,500,000 persons.
As one with experience in the
welfare field and completely dedicated to the philosphy of work relief, Hopkins assumed the leadership of the WPA.
The program grew
quickly to massive proportions employing millions of destitute
Americans in construction work, conservation projects, sewing rooms,
public health care, and furtherance of the arts.
Although the WPA came
•'•Harry L. Hopkins, Spending to Save (New York: W. W. Norton
and Co., 1936), p. 161.
2
Ibid., p. 162.
under attack from many sources, its positive contribution in stimulating the economy cannot be denied.
Of greatest importance is the
fact that at hhe same time the Works Progress Administration benefitted the individual worker, the finished product of his work enriched the nation.
3
While the FERA and the V;PA were making noticeable gains in
red'jcing the number of unemployed adults, the ranks of unemployed
youth were swelling.
The United States Employment Service revealed
in 1933 that youths between sixteen and twenty-five years old ac4
counted for one-third of the nation's unemployed workers.
Not only
were they great in number, but youth as a group had other special
problems during the Depression.
"Their needs were greater and more
far-reaching than the immediate needs of food, clothing, and shelter,"
for they were concerned with their educations, careers, and with "the
prevention of the natural effects of long idleness and continued frustration.
Theirs was a spiritual as well as a physical problem."^
Yet, the problems of American youths were by-passed in the early
months of the New Deal, and in many ways, the legislation of
Roosevelt's First Hundred Days actually inadvertently discriminated
against those under twenty-five years of age.
For example, the
national Recovery Act established a minimum age of sixteen for
3[bid., pp. 166-178.
'^Betty Lindley and Ernest K. Lindley, A New Deal For Youth
(New York: Viking Press, 1938), p. 8.
5
Samuel T. Rosenman, The Public Papers and Addresses of
Franklin D^. Roosevelt (8 vols.; New York: Russell and Russell,
1938), TV, 284. Hereafter referred to as Papers of Roosevelt.
employment and a minimun wage. The immediate effect of the National
Recovery Act upon young workers was that more than one million lost
their jobs and were unable to find other employment due to the
mandatory minimum wage.
Meanwhile, due to lack of funds from home
and the shortage of part-time jobs, college enrollment had steadily
decreased during the early 1930's.
Thousands of young people went
on the road as transients, for their situation seemed to be hopeless.
Surely the future must have looked bleak to an eighteen-year-old who
could not afford to go to school and who could not find a job to
support himself.
The Administration was not unaware of the special problems of
the nation's young people, but the decision-makers did not have any
ready answers in the early part of the New Deal.
President Roosevelt
exhibited his personal concern for the thousands of unemployed youths
when he created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1933. The
CCC was perhaps the most original contribution which Roosevelt made
to the unemployment crisis, for the government hired young men to work
on important conservation projects.
By 1935 the CCC numbered 505,782
young men and had become affectionately known to the public as the
"tree army".
The CCC was effective in reducing the number of
unemployed young men, but due to its structure and purpose, it could
not offer an overall solution to the plight of the unemployed youth
^'ibid.
7
Lindley, A New Deal For Youth, p. 10.
8
Ibid., pp. 9-10.
of the Depression.
The program was limited in scope because a young
man had to be available to leave home and join a CCC camp to secure
employment.
Thus, the program, of which President Roosevelt was so
proud, offered no help to many youths including students, young women, or young men unable to leave home.
9
The plight of young women and of students had not escaped
notice within the Roosevelt Administration.
With the intention of
implementing a female counterpart to the CCC, the Federal Emergency
Relief Administration established camps for unemployed girls. Although forty-seven camps housing approximately 3,000 girls were
established, the program fell far short of its founders' expectations.
10
Most agree that the idea was a good one, but the absence
of services which the camps could provide to the nation proved to be
their downfall.
In comparison with the CCC, the girls' camps had no
purpose for existing other than providing sustenance for the young
women.
Meanwhile, those young people who had managed to remain in
school during the Depression remained in desperate need of financial
assistance if they were to complete their educational objectives.
If these students left school they would only add to the number
looking for work.
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration
stepped in to alleviate some of the financial stress
mental student aid program in the fall of 1933.
9
Rosenman, Papers of Roosevelt, IV, 284.
10
Lindley, A New Deal For Youth, p. 11.
in an experi-
Initiated at the
University of Minnesota, the student aid program proved successful
and was expanded to other colleges in 1934. The government allocated funds to each participating institution to employ ten percent
of its enrollment at part-time jobs.
Nationwide, more than 75,000
colJege students took immediate advantage of the student aid program,
but it did not reach thousands of needy students nor those who were
forced to drop out of school.
Thus, the Roosevelt Admininstration had in limited fashion
attempted to deal with the unemployment crisis of American youth
during its first two years. However, the various recovery programs
whic?i offered some help to young persons fell far short of providing
the solution to the problems of those under twenty-five years old.
The programs in existence in the spring of 1935 were simply inadequate
to contain—much less to halt—the displacement of a generation who
had reached maturity in the leanest years in American history.
The Creation of the National
Youth Administration
The predicament of American youth during the Great
Depression was so visible that few could ignore its existence.
The
parents, educators, businessmen, and government officials of the
nation witnessed the effects of prolonged idleness and frustration
upon the young who seemed to be trapped in an unending cycle of
poverty-
One of Harry Hopkins' aides adequately surmised the
Ibid.; and Rosenman, Papers of Roosevelt, IV, 284.
8
situation when he said, "The young are rotting without jobs and there
are no jobs."
Mrs. Franklin Roosevelt was the most well-known and active of
those concerned with the future of the nation's young people.
In
1934 the First Lady revealed the depth of her concern for youth.
"I
have moments of real terror when I think we may be losing this
generation.
We have got to bring these young people into the
active life of the community and make them feel that they are
necessary."
13
Never idle when faced with a crisis, Mrs. Roosevelt
began investigating the complex youth problem for herself.
As a
former teacher, she had little difficulty in communicating with the
younger generation, and she appealed to the nation's youth as a
genuinely concerned friend rather than as the wife of the President
of the United States. During the whirlwind of the early New Deal
when her husband was attempting to put the nation on the road to
recovery, Mrs. Roosevelt found time to meet on a regular basis with
a group of underprivileged youth in New York City.
From this group
of urban young, the First Lady began to comprehend the depth of the
problem.
Eleanor Roosevelt was a woman of great strength and dedication, and she devoted both those qualities to improving the future
12
William E. Leuchtenberg, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the
New Deal (New York: Harper and Row, 1963), p. 129.
13
James R. Kearney, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (Boston: Houghton
Mifflin Co., 1968), p. 23.
14 . ^,
Lindley, A New Deal For Youth, p. xiv.
for the nation's young people.
Her position was unique, for as the
President's wife, she could present her pet concerns directly to him
for consideration.
It is impossible to measure or even to estimate
the degree of influence which she exercised over President Roosevelt,
but as the youth problem clearly illustrates, he became more cognizant
of those situations which concerned his active wife.
Eventually this
strategy of gradually exposing the President to the special problems
of youth proved successful, for the creation of the National Youth
Administration (NYA) came after months of suggestion from Mrs.
Roosevelt.
The First Lady was convinced that a program designed
especially to alleviate the problem of the jobless was mandatory.
Others in the Administration shared this conviction—primarily
Harry Hopkins and Aubrey Williams, the two top administrators of the
Works Progress Administration.
The solution seemed clear enough—
create a national program of youth relief patterned after the WPA.
With urging from Hopkins and VJilliams, Mrs. Roosevelt agreed to take
the idea to the President.
At first President Roosevelt did not share his wife's
enthusiasm concerning a nationwide youth program.
He was quite
hesitant to sponsor such an idea for "fear that it might be construed as a fascist-like attempt to regiment youth," for the powerful fascist leaders in Europe were in the process of regimenting the
minds of a generation.
Roosevelt's concern that young American minds
be free from government propaganda through federal programs was sincere
1r
•^^Joseph P. Lash, Eleanor and Franklin (New York: W. W. Norton,
1971), pp. 537-540.
10
Only after he rationalized the proposed youth program as strictly one
for financial assistance to the young did the President agree to create
the National Youth Administration.
16
On June 26, 1935, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order
Number 7086:
By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by
the Emergency Relief Appropriations Act of 1935, approved
April 8, 1935, (Public Resolution Number 11, 74th Congress),
I hereby establish the National Youth Administration, to be
within the Works Progress Administration established under
Executive Order Number 7034 of May 6, 1935. . . .
The National Youth Administration shall be under the
general supervision of the Administrator of the Works Progress
Administration and under the immediate supervision of an Executive
Director. I hereby appoint Aubrey Williams as Executive Director
thereof to serve without additional compensation.
The Executive Order, short and to the point, was accompanied
by a more eloquent and explanatory statement.
Although he had been
hesitant to establish a special youth program, this reluctance had
been overcome by genuine concern.
Traces of Mrs. Roosevelt's
influence may be seen in the President's statement.
I have determined that we shall do something for the nation's
unemployed youth because we can ill afford to lose the skill and
energy of these young men and women. They must have their chance
in school, their turn as apprentices, and their opportunity for
jobs—a chance to work and earn for themselves.
In recognition of this great national need, I have established
a National Youth Administration, . , .
It is recognized that the final solution of this whole problem
of unemployed youth will not be attained until there is a
1r
Kearney, Eleanor Roosevelt, p. 25; Lindley, A New Deal For
Youth, p. 13; and Lash, Eleanor and Franklin, p. 540.
17
Rosenman, Papers of Roosevelt, IV, 282-283.
11
resumption of normal business activities and opportunities for
private employment on a wide scale. I believe the NYA will
serve the most pressing and immediate needs of that portion
of unemployed youth most seriously affected at the present time,
. . . The yield on this investment should be high.^^
The Presidential statement briefly outlined the administrative
structure and the functions of the new program.
Several agencies within the Administration had hoped to
administer the youth program in the event that the President should
create it. The primary contenders for the administrative control
were the Office of Education and the Works Progress Administration.
Probably due to Hopkin's influence, the President chose the latter.
However, as a compromise, Roosevelt designated that an Executive
Committee consisting of various departmental officials would assist
Executive Director Williams in administrating the NYA.
Finally, to
insure that the program would relate to all socio-economic groups in
America, the President announced that a National Advisory Committee
to the youth program would be appointed.
The importance of this
Advisory Committee should not be under-estimated, for it consisted
of thirty-five of the nation's most influential leaders in business,
labor, agriculture, education, and ethnics.
The NYA statement of June 6, 1935, firmly established that
the program was to be decentralized along state lines with only a
minimum amount of supervision from the national office. Throwing
the program open to experimentation, each state was allowed a great
IP
Ibid., 281-282.
12
amount of freedom in establishing programs to fit the needs of its
youth.
The President also outlined the dual purpose of the NYA:
to provide financial assistance to high school and college students
and to provide employment for young people between sixteen and twentyfive years old who were no longer in school.
19
The National Youth Administration From
A National Perspective
"It is certain that we will be well underway in ten days and
20
I hope in full swing by mid-July."
Such was the optimistic state-
ment of NYA Director Williams on the day following his appointment.
Although the administrative details were monumental in organizing this
national recovery program, the NYA. was rapidly transformed from an
Executive Order to an action-packed organization.
A flurry of
presidential appointments followed the creation of the NYA, and
within a month, directors for each state and for New York City and
Washington, D. C. were named by President Roosevelt.
Members of
the Administration made recommendations from their home states to the
President, and from the suggested names he chose the state directors.
To complete the national administrative office, Richard R. Brown
was appointed as the Assistant Executive Director, Miss Josephine
Roach was chosen to head the Executive Committee, and the National
Advisory Committee was selected with the well-known Charles Tassing
as its chairman.
Enthusiasm for the youth program permeated
19
•^^rbid. i and Lindley, A New Deal For Youth, p. 14.
20
Lubbock Morning Avalanche, June 28, 1935, p. 6.
13
Washington and began to be felt throughout the nation as thousands
of poverty-stricken youths looked forward to the prospect of
employment.^1
Six weeks after the establishment of the National Youth
Administration, the newly-appointed National Advisory Committee
gathered in Washington for the first of many meetings.
Harry Hopkins
addressed the group which would be outlining policies directly relating
to the nation's unemployed youth.
It is awfully easy to make a speech about youth; how they
have been neglected and the difficulties and disadvantages
which have come to them through unemployment. When you try to
put some body to this and be specific, definite, and precise as
to what we are going to do, then it gets a little complicated.
. . . I want to assure you that the government is looking for
ideas, that this program is not fixed and set, that we are not
afraid of exploring anything within the law.^^
Aubrey Williams continued to stress the theme of the new program's
flexibility when he told the same meeting, "We have no answers already
written to the problems of young people. Those answers that we have
are obviously meager and do not provide any general solution.' "^
Scarcely had the first meeting of the NYA National Advisory
Committee adjourned when the state directors flocked to Washington
on August 20, 1935, for their first meeting.
Most had held their
jobs only a few weeks, and each was faced with the awesome task of
Tjindley, A New Deal For Youth, p. 15; and Kearney, Eleanor
Roosevelt, p. 26.
22
Lindley, A New Deal For Youth, p. x.
^hhid.
14
implementing a viable program to alleviate the special problems of his
state's youth.
tainties
They came to Washington to share their common uncer-
and to obtain some direction in administering the program.
President Roosevelt addressed the state directors and impressed upon
them the urgent need to help the 2,900,000 young people from families
on relief.
However, the meeting failed to give them any measurable
direction, for again, the themes of uncertainty
were stressed.
and experimentation
President Roosevelt's words were positive but not
explanatory to the NYA state directors.
We have asked you here to start something. We have given
you fifty million dollars. It is the first time the federal
government has attempted a great national project of this
kind. It is an experiment, but we are going to get something
more than resolutions out of it. We are going to get action.
President Roosevelt demanded action from the NYA state directors, and they left Washington in August, 1935, hoping to solve the
problem of unemployed youth.
The diversity which characterized the
activities of the National Youth Administration may be traced to the
first meeting of the state directors, for they were challenged by the
Administration to capitalize upon the experimental element of the
program.
During the following four years, the National Youth
Administration gave jobs to more than 600,000 college students and
1,500,000 high school pupils through its student aid program.
In
addition, more than 2,600,000 young people were employed in the NYA
work programs. Thus, during its existence, the NYA touched the
24
Rosenman, Papers of Roosevelt, TV, 327.
15
lives of almost 5,000,000 young people in America, but its long term
effects were not measurable in mere numbers.
25
"From the standpoint of cost it was the cheapest work relief,
combining part-time employment with little equipment and overhead
at a yearly average of $225.00 apiece."
26
The federal government spent
approximately $184,000,000 on the NYA between July, 1935 and June,
1939-
27
This money was stretched to reach 5,000,000 young people
and was used to finance an immense variety of jobs throughout the
nation.
The young men and women in the program as well as the
diverse activities inwhich they participated presented an "excellent
testimony"
28
in the words of President Roosevelt and in the eyes of
the nation.
The criticisms of the program should not be discounted, for
there were genuine expressions of concern that the NYA might destroy
the independence of American education.
29
Another criticism came
from conservatives who feared that the resident training centers and
girls' camps were a "hotbed of Communism."^^
Y e t , the fears of the
^^Leuchtenberg, Roosevelt and the New Deal, p. 129.
Dixon Wector, The Age of the Great Depression (New York:
MacMillan C o . , 1 9 4 8 ) , p. 187.
^^Rosenman, Papers of Roosevelt, IV, 286, states $109,170,612
was allocated to the NYA by June 3 0 , 1937. Vol. 7, p. 227 states that
on April 1 4 , 1938, Roosevelt asked Congress for an additional
$75,000,000 for the NYA for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1939.
28
Rosenman, Papers of Roosevelt, V , 230.
29
Leuchtenberg, Roosevelt and the New D e a l , p. 129.
30
Editorial, Lubbock Morning Avalanche, July 7, 1936, p. 3.
16
NYA critics were never substantiated.
Among the most plausible
criticisms of the NYA was the charge that many of the work projects
were supervised by inexperienced local administrators and were underfinanced.
However, even those who criticized the program usually
concluded that "by holding back the torrent of unemployment and the
prolonging of education through
any means," youths were better equipped
"for the economic struggle ahead. "•^•'- In April, 1939, President Roosevelt
publicly announced his own evaluation of the youth program by stating,
"The NYA . . . has developed a program which has proven its effectiveness m
meeting this need." 32
Thus, effectiveness may be employed as one measure to evaluate
the National Youth Administration.
Public records, newspaper articles,
and personal recollections of those involved in the program show that
they believed it was successful in lessening the massive unemployment
of the nation's young people.
In many ways, it is surprising that
the NYA was not a complete failure, for the state directors
were told to solve a youth problem of immense proportions with very
little guidance from anywhere or anyone. Yet, the program worked
and aided many young people of the Great Depression from the horrors
of being permanently uneducated and unskilled.
To attempt an evaluation of a national program as diverse
and decentralized as the National Youth Administration is not an
easy task.
The program consisted essentially of forty-eight state
wecter. The Great Depression, p. 188.
32
Rosenman, Papers of Roosevelt, VIII, 290,
17
National Youth Administrations supervised by a Washington office.
Each of the state NYA directors established activities to fit the
special needs of his state's youth. The problems of poverty and
unemployment were shared, but a great amount of diversity existed in
the way this recovery program was implemented in each state. While
the national government appropriated the money for the youth project,
to comprehend the impact of the NYA, it must be closely examined on
the state and local levels. This study will survey the administrative
structure and the various programs of the National Youth Administration
in Texas and attempt to evaluate its effectiveness on the state and
local levels.
CHAPTER II
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL
YOUTH ADMINISTRATION IN TEXAS
No area escaped the devastating effects of the Depression,
for unemployment, poverty, hunger, and frustration ran rampant
throughout the nation during the 1930's. The state of Texas was
neither spared by the Depression nor affected more adversely than other
states.
Since the socio-economic conditions in Texas were similiar
to those of all but the most highly industrialized states, a study
of a specific recovery program as it was implemented in the state
is beneficial to an understanding of the Great Depression and the
attempts of the New Deal to relieve the impact of hard times.
The youth of Texas were badly in need of financial
assistance in the summer of 1935. Many had dropped out of high
school and college in the early years of the Depression searching
in vain for nonexistent jobs.
The state still had a predominantly
rural economy, and the drought of the early 1930's and the resulting
"dust bowl" added to the ordinary crises which had plagued the
American farmer and had forced many Texans into dire financial conditions.
Thousands were on the state relief rolls in 1935, and Texas
was ripe for the New Deal work programs.
In August, 1935, Lyndon
Johnson estimated that his home state had more than "100,000
18
19
unemployed youths within our age limit on relief."^ Texas mirrored
the national youth unemployment situation, for the various programs
of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Civilian
Conservation Corps were in effect. Yet, the majority of young
Texans were in need of jobs to finance their educations or simply
to support themselves.
The Appointment of Lyndon Johnson
As Texas NYA Director
Aubrey Williams, Executive Director of the National Youth
Administration, announced on July 26, 1935, that Lyndon Baines
2
Johnson had been appointed director of the Texas NYA.
When the
announcement was made, few recognized the name of the man who would
occupy the White House thirty years later.
Johnson was only twenty-
seven years old when he assumed control of the Texas NYA program, but
he was enthusiastic about the job. As later years would illustrate,
Lyndon Johnson was a leader and not a follower.
This New Deal re-
covery program for youth provided him with his first chance to direct
policy and make political decisions.
Lyndon Johnson seemed predestined to a career in politics.
His father had served in the Texas House of Representatives, and
the young Johnson had accompanied him on the campaign trail and to
•'"Telegram, Lyndon Johnson to Jacob Baker, August 30, 1935,
National Youth Administration Papers, Lyndon Baines Johnson Library,
Austin, Texas. Hereafter referred to as NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
2
Lubbock Morning Avalanche, July 27, 1935, p. 1.
20
sessions of the Legislature.
While a student at Southwest Texas
State College in San Marcos, Johnson majored in history and minored
in government.
His extra-curricular activities as a debater and
journalist further prepared him for a life in politics.
He never
escaped the influence of Southwest Texas State College, for his
teachers and friends from the college formed the nucleus of what
Lady Bird Johnson was later to define as her husband's "political
machine."
Not only was the future president preparing himself
academically and socially for a career in politics, but while in
school he held a job which gave him insight into administrative
decision-making.
Upon the recommendation of state Senator A. J.
Wirtz of Seguin, the president of the college, C. E. Evans, hired
young Johnson as his secretary.
President Evans was receptive to
new ideas and allowed Johnson to establish an employment service
for students.
5
After graduation, he pursued a teaching career for
several years and proved his ability to motivate those around him.
By the standards of his contemporaries Lyndon Johnson had already
achieved a large measure of success, but his thirst for politics
was not satisfied in the classroom.
Congressman Richard M. Kleberg of Corpus Christi opened
the door to national politics for Lyndon Johnson by offering him
3
William C. Pool, Emmie Craddock, and David E. Conrad,
Lyndon Baines Johnson The Formative Years (San Marcos: Southwest
Texas State College Press, 1965), p. 176.
4
Interview, Lady Bird Johnson, Austin, Texas, June 6, 19 74
Austin American, August 4, 1935, p. 3.
21
a job as his secretary in December, 1931.^
The young man thrived
in Washington and rapidly became known as an "ardent supporter of the
7
New Deal."
Two of Texas pro-New Deal Congressmen, Maurey Maverick
and Sam Rayburn, became his close friends. However, as Johnson became progressively more in favor of the New Deal, Congressman Kleberg
began to waver in his support of the President and his policies.
For
several months Johnson served as a mediator between Roosevelt and
Kleberg.
The end result of this ideological difference was a break
between Congressman Kleberg and his secretary.
Apparently the two
men shared a mutual respect, and only at the insistence of his wife
o
did the Congressman dismiss Johnson from his staff.
The details of Johnson's dismissal from his first Washington
job were not widely known, for he received the National Youth
Administration appointment shortly thereafter.
He appealed to his
friends Maurey Maverick and Sam Rayburn for help, but neither had
a staff position open.
Maverick came to the rescue by suggesting
Johnson to the President as a possibility for state director of
the newly-created NYA.
Roosevelt was hesitant to appoint one so
young and inexperienced to head a statewide recovery program.
Continued pressure from Maverick and Rayburn and a recommendation
from Tom Connally, senior senator from Texas, resulted in President
Lubbock Morning Avalanche, July 27, 1935, p. 1.
7
Pool, Craddock, and Conrad, Lyndon Johnson, p. 176.
Q
Alfred Steinberg, Sam Johnson's Boy (New York: MacMillan
Co., 1968) , p. 93 .
22
Roosevelt's appointment of Lyndon Johnson as director of the Texas
9
NYA.
Administrative Structure
of the Texas NYA
Johnson and his bride of eight months left the capital in
August, 1935, to establish the youth program in their home state. Mrs,
Johnson was the former Byrd Taylor of Karnack, and she recalled her
elation at the prospect of returning to Texas. Her husband was
equally elated at the responsibility of directing the state NYA. Both
were "young and full of fire, and the program was particularly
exciting" to them.
Demonstrating an administrative maturity far beyond his
twenty-seven years, Johnson began making decisions necessary to put
the state NYA into operation.
The program had to move quickly if
it was to provide student aid for the fall semester.
Johnson
exhibited his understanding of political priorities when he immediately conferred with Governor James V. Allred and WPA Director
H. P. Drought.
It was decided that the state NYA headquarters
would be in Austin, but the youth office would operate under the
auspices of the Texas WPA office located in San Antonio.
Johnson issued a statement which set the opening of the state
^Ibid., pp. 93-94.
^Interview, Lady Bird Johnson.
11
Austin American, August 7, 1935, p. 12
23
NYA office for Aug\ast 15, 1935. ^^
immediate staff rapidly.
Therefore, he had to hire his
The men whom Johnson named to his staff
were "young, ambitious, and well-qualified,"^^ but of greatest
importance was the fact that they were close associates of the youth
director.
He went to his friends from college to recruit a staff
for the program feeling that these were people with whom he could
work.
Johnson asked his classmate Jesse Kellam to serve as the
assistant director of the Texas NYA.
Kellam was hesitant to leave
1-1 is position as deputy supervisor in the Texas Department of
Education, but Johnson prevailed upon him to take a month's leave
of absence to set up the student aid program.
The month's leave of
absence stretched into a year, and Kellam proved to be a valuable
addition to the Texas NYA staff. -^^
In completing his staff, Johnson recruited two more classmates from San Marcos—Willard Deason as his personal assistant and
Sherman Birdwell as the finance director.
Deason held a responsible
job with the Federal Land Bank in Houston when Johnson approached him
about the NYA position, and Birdwell was in the process of setting up
a foreign office in Austin.
It was almost impossible to refuse Lyndon
Johnson when he had made up his mind about something, and he remained
firm in his resolve to obtain Deason and Birdwell.
Finally both
1o
San Antonio Express, August 6, 1935, p. 1.
13
Telephone interview, Willard Deason, Washington, D. C.
to Lubbock, Texas, March 26, 1974.
Interview, Jesse Kellam, Austin, Texas, February 14, 1974
24
men consented to join the NYA, and soon they shared the enthusiasm
of their friend and boss.
15
The staff was completed with the addition
of a former WPA staff employee, L. B. Griffith.
He was designated
by Johnson as supervisor of the NYA work projects.
The recruitment
of these four men—^Kellam, Birdwell, Deason, and Griffith—within a
week in August, 1935, should be considered among Johnson's major accomplishments as director of the Texas NYA, for they were largely
responsible for its success.
The Texas youth program opened an office on the sixth floor
of the Littlefield Building in Austin, and the staff began working
nineteen hours a day to put it in operation.
Johnson demanded much
from his staff during those first weeks as the opening date for Texas
schools neared.
They were attempting to put young people on the
payroll so that they could begin school in September.
to work;
"'Put them
get them in school!' Lyndon kept hammering at us," re-
called Birdwell.17
At the end of a long day, the state director
would often take the staff home for his wife to feed.
Mrs. Johnson
served "four to eight people almost every night," and the men seemed
to enjoy her hospitality and good food.
18
The work of the NYA
staff did not end with dinner at the Johnson's house, for usually
Telephone interview, Willard Deason;
Johnson's Boy, p. 95.
and Steinberg, Sam
Chart, "NYA State Staff Administrative Organization, Texas,"
July 8, 1936, NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
17
Steinberg, Sam Johnson's Boy, p. 96.
1^
.
.
. , ^
Interview, Lady Bird Johnson.
25
they would return to the Littlefield Building
and remain until well
past midnight. When the building's lights were turned out at ten
o'clock, Joiinson lit old gas jets for lights so that his staff could
continue working.
19
Tt is difficult to determine what forces motivated
Johnson to work so hard as NYA state director.
His brother, Sam
Johnson, concluded "the spectre of poverty all around him spurred him
to work."20
At the first conference for NYA state directors held in
Washington in August, 1935, Johnson obtained more money for the
Texas program than had been appropriated originally.
Aubrey Williams
was impressed with the director from Texas, and he won national publicity as the youngest state director.
By the time Johnson left the
Washington conference, many New Dealers were predicting that the
Texas NYA program would be a pace-setter.
21
During the last week in August, 1935, Johnson made several
other important administrative decisions and appointments. He
announced that the work of the state NYA would be conducted through
four district offices located in Houston, Dallas, Lubbock, and
2?
Austin.
The men who were appointed to supervise these offices were
from a variety of backgrounds, but they shared the enthusiasm of the
new program.
The appointments went to W. 0. Alexander in Houston,
19
96
Steinberg, Sam Johnson's Boy, p.
20
Sam H. Johnson, M^ Brother Lyndon, ed. by Enrique Hank Lopez
(New York: Cowles Book Co., 1969), p. 51.
21
Steinberg, Sam Johnson's Boy, p. 96.
22
Dallas Morning News, August 28, 1935, Sect. I, p. 3.
26
Z. S. Armstrong in Dallas, Calvin Hazelwood in Lubbock, and Sherman
Birdwell in Austin (Birdwell also served as the NYA finance director)
With the exception of Armstrong, the district supervisors were in
their mid-twenties, and all four were eager to set up the youth
23
program on the local level.
Each state National Youth Administration had an advisory
board.
During the initial phase of the Texas NYA program, Johnson
sent his recommendations for the state advisory board to the
Washington office.
Each of the five men recommended was a well-
known Texan, and as a group, they represented a cross section of the
state's leaders. They were Miller Ainsworth, the state commander of
the American Legion, Joseph S. Meyers who represented the labor
viewpoint, Lutcher Stark, one of Texas' wealthiest businessnen, D. H.
Perry, a well-known leader in agriculture, and Beauford Jester whose
24
interest in education was widely recognized.
The national NYA
office approved these appointments and suggested that the Texas
Advisory Board be enlarged.
According to Alfred Steinberg's
biography of Lyndon Johnson, the Roosevelt Administration insisted
that Alvin Wirtz, a powerful, behind-the-scenes liberal Democrat,
be placed on the Texas NYA Advisory Board.
25
Johnson's office
announced the members of the complete State Advisory Board on
September 4, 1935.
In addition to the six men already mentioned.
^"^Chart "NYA State Staff Administrative Organization, Texas,"
July 8, 1936, NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
^^Letter, Lyndon Johnson to John J. Corson, August 14, 1935,
NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
25
Steinberg, Sam Johnson's Boy, p. 101.
27
three more were added.
They were Sid Kyle of Pecos, state tax com-
missioner R. B. Anderson, and Wallace C. Reiffy, secretary to the
Texas State Federation of Labor.
26
The Expansion of the
Texas NYA Staff
One of the most serious difficulties facing the Texas NYA was
the geographic size of the state.
Each of the four original districts
covered hundreds of miles, and there was a limit to the distance which
the NYA district supervisors could travel per day.
Realizing this
geographic problem, Johnson appealed to the national office for
help.
Assistant Executive Director Richard Brown authorized the
Texas youth director to appoint additional district supervisors in
November, 1935.2'
Johnson's reply to the national office acknowledged
that
our limitations, before you informed us expansion would be
permitted, prevented us from doing a very complete job, . .
A glance at the map of the old districts will reveal how
hopeless the task of covering the territory was for each
district director. . . . We plan to add ten field supervisors. . . . Under the proposed re-arrangement, the NYA
districts will follow those of the WPA.
The administrative expansion of the Texas National Youth Administration
was significant because as the district offices were opened in the
26
Editorial, Austin American, September 5, 1935, p. 4.
27
Letter, Richard Brown to Lyndon Johnson, November 23,
1935, NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
28
Letter, Lyndon Johnson to Richard Brown, November 30,
1935, Ibid.
28
smaller and more remote Texas towns, the state youth program was
made available to a larger number of young people who would have
never participated had the district offices remained only in Austin,
Houston, Dallas, and Lubbock.
Johnson recruited another group of young men to supervise
the newly-created district offices.
Again, they were diverse in their
background experience but ambitious and willing to work hard.
Most of
the young district supervisors had encountered financial hardships
during the Depression, and the annual salary of $2,100 offered by
29
Johnson was alluring.
As of November 30, 1935, the Texas NYA was
expanded to include eleven district offices in Tyler, Palestine,
Waco, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Abilene, Brownwood,
30
Lubbock,and Wichita Falls.
(See Appendix I ) .
Even after enlarging his staff, Lyndon Johnson was
administering a statewide recovery program with a small number
of men.
He was extremely demanding upon both those in the state
office and those scattered across Texas as district supervisors.
Almost every Sunday Johnson called a meeting in Austin of his entire
NYA staff. These were problem-solving sessions, and usually a
discussion of the problem preceded a suggested solution by Johnson. 31
The result of the hard work and excessive traveling demanded by the
^^Letter, Congressman Ray Roberts to Deborah Self,
April 2, 1974.
30
Chart "Stations of District Representatives," November,
1935, NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
31
Interview, Lady Bird Johnson.
29
state director was a special closeness among these young men. Mrs.
Johnson recalled that they were
a "special fraternity and remained
close friends throughout their careers.
32
In addition to attending the staff meetings, the district
supervisors were required to submit a large number of reports to
the state office.
Before a project could be initiated, Johnson had
to approve of it and of each of the recommended NYA employees. Then
the district supervisors were required to submit progress reports to
him.
Although the available records reveal that Johnson approved most
of the recommended projects and employees and that he was satisfied
with the progress on most local projects, it is noteworthy that he
required his subordinates to furnish him the details of the program.
Apparently, he did not use his veto power very often, but he was well
33
informed on all aspects of the state NYA,
The Administrative duties of the district supervisors included
conducting constructive programs and keeping their offices in good
working order.
The district representative of the Texas youth
program was expected to find qualified supervisors for each work
project and to work closely with the college officials in his
area.
Johnson inspected these district offices frequently, and on
occasion he would not give notice that he was coming for a visit.
^^Interview, Jesse Kellam, Austin, Texas, June 5, 1974.
33
This conclusion is based on the fact that the NYA papers in
the Johnson Library contained many lists of prospective employees'
names and projects' numbers stamped "Approved" and signed by Johnson.
Also, Texas Newspapers carried stories stating Johnson had announced
the approval of local projects. No vetoed projects were located.
30
As state director, he made it clear that inefficiency or slowness
would not be tolerated within the administrative staff. Therefore,
the district supervisors were expected to be efficient in administering the Texas NYA on the local level.
It is interesting to note that many of the Texas NYA staff
pursued successful careers in public service.
From the months of
grueling work in the Texas youth program, they formed close friendships with their boss, and his future political success had undeniable
consequences in the lives of each. They followed different avenues
of government work after the termination of their jobs with the
National Youth Administration.
Two members of Johnson's NYA staff,
Ray Roberts and Jake Pickle, became long term members of the United
States House of Representatives.
Willard Deason was appointed to the
Interstate Commerce Commission, Albert Brisban headed the Southwestern
Region of the Internal Revenue Service, and Fenner Roth presently
serves as director of the Federal Social Security Administration in
Houston, Texas.
C. P. Little was a high ranking executive in the
Labor Department, Sherman Birdwell became a member of the Texas
Employment Commission, and Jesse Kellam remained a close and trusted
35
business associate of President Johnson.
Congressman Ray Roberts
remembered the relationship which existed through the years between
Johnson and his former NYA staff with the statement.
Steinberg, 5am Johnson's Boy, p. 97.
35
Letter, Congressman Ray Roberts to Deborah Self,
April 2, 1974.
31
Johnson never forgot his "NYA boys" and he never ceased to
have absolute confidence in their ability and loyalty. When he
found a job that was too tough for anyone else to do, he would
telephone one of his old NYA x^rowd and say that he needed him
to do a certain job. His young men had a terrific impact upon
our government.^°
The establishment of the Texas National Youth Administration
ranks as one of Lyndon Johnson's early outstanding accomplishments.
In four months the young director had brought the state NYA from
nonexistence to a pragmatic program ready to offer assistance to the
thousands of needy young Texans-
The NYA administrative staff had been
chosen with deliberate care, and the result was that a close-knit,
dedicated group of young men ran the Texas program,
Johnson proved
his ability to organize both people and projects and to make difficult
administrative decisions under stress. The success of the Texas NYA
may be largely attributed to the firm foundation laid for it by the
twenty-seven year old state director.
^^Ibid.
CHAPTER III
THE NATIONAL YOUTH ADMINISTRATION
OF TEXAS, 1935 - 1939
The NYA Programs in Texas
The common bond which tied the multi-faceted programs of the
Texas National Youth Administration together was the word "youth".
In
an effort to meet the various needs of the state's young people, the
NYA carried on several diverse programs. The student aid program had
an entirely different set of goals and objectives than did the work
projects program, and each worked within its own administrative framework on the local level.
In reality, each aspect of the NYA could
have been an individual recovery program, for each attempted to solve
a separate problem.
The multiple projects which the youth program
introduced in the state added to its appeal. Clearly, the NYA was
open to most young people who had been adversely affected by the
Depression years.
Those involved in the decision-making process of the Texas NYA
realized that a prerequisite to success was public understanding of the
various programs which they attempted to initiate. Without the cooperation of the local communities the NYA was doomed to inevitable failure.
Therefore, state director Lyndon Johnson and his staff worked
hard to sell their fellow Texans on the idea of a special program to
32
33
provide assistance to young people.
Realizing the importance of a good
public image, Johnson set the example for his staff by establishing excellent public relations with the press, business leaders, local governments, and school boards of the state. During those first frantic
weeks of organizing the Texas NYA, the young director found time to
make speeches and write articles explaining the program.
His staff
was encouraged to spread the word of the youth program by any available means.
Johnson's message was simple and direct:
"Placing Texas un-
employed young men and women in school and on jobs, helping them back
on their feet to establish themselves in life is the aim of the National
Youth Administration."
To skeptics fearing the new program would be
like the politically oriented youth movements in Europe, Johnson spoke
directly in The Daily Texan, "Let it be understood once and for all
that the National Youth Administration is not a movement.
program . . . based strictly upon American traditions.
It is a
It has no polit-
ical significance and never will have."^ Once the youth program in
Texas was underway, the criticisms of it as a politically oriented
movement ceased to be heard, for it was readily apparent that the NYA
was not trying to influence young people's political beliefs.
Perhaps the most widely acclaimed NYA program was that which
provided needy high school and college students with part-time jobs
Lyndon Johnson, "A Helping Hand for Youth," Texas
Municipalities, XXII (November, 1935), 299.
2
Marjorie Arp, "NYA Program, Not Movement, Johnson Says,"
The Daily Texan, October 4, 1935, p. 1.
34
in order that they might continue their educations. Aubrey Williams,
NYA Executive Director, established the guidelines governing the program which was generally known as "student aid".
It was open to any
student between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five who could prove
that without assistance, he could not continue his schooling.
The
young people were to be chosen on the basis of need, and the maximum
wage set for college students was fifteen dollars per month.
Any non-
profit college or university was eligible for NYA funds to employ
twelve percent of its enrollment.
All decisions concerning the actual
jobs on campus were left to the discretion of the participating institution, for the NYA only supplied the funds for the student aid program,
The high school aid program supplied part-time jobs for those
in the state's public schools. Any student whose parents were on relief, employed by the Works Progress Administration or the Public
Works Administration, or in the Rural Rehabilitation program was eligible.
The maximum wage paid to high school students was six dollars
per month, and all decisions pertaining to these jobs were made by the
4
local school officials.
In many cases there was not enough money
to go around, and waiting lists were created.
Hundreds of Texas youths
displayed their interest in education by flooding the school officials
with applications for NYA jobs on campus.
•5
Memo, National Youth Administration National Office to All
State Youth Directors, August 15, 1935, Texas Tech University
Records, National Youth Administration File, Southwest Collection,
Texas Tech University. Hereafter referred to as Texas Tech NYA
Papers, Southwest Collection.
^Dallas Morning News, October 20, 1935, Sect. IV, p. 3.
35
The Texas National Youth Administration also offered a program
of work projects for out of school, unemployed young persons.
According
to regulations established by the national office, youths could be
hired at a maximum wage of twenty-five dollard per month.
Caution
was exercised that the NYA not steal jobs from the New Deal recovery
programs for adults. The Texas NYA was allotted 12,000 jobs for the
out of school young people, and Johnson's staff met the challenge of
creating the work projects throughout the state.
This program was an
innovative venture, for when considering a work project, the state
NYA questioned not only its benefits to the employee, but also the
"permanent social benefit . . , to the city, county, and state,"
Considering the variety of the NYA projects, it is clear that
"permanent social benefit" was fairly broadly interpreted by the
decision-makers of the Texas youth program.
The Texas NYA had moved rapidly to establish the school aid
and work projects programs outlined by the national office. The
Depression had hit hard at this generation of young Texans, and they
needed little encouragement to seek NYA employment.
Johnson revealed
the magnitude of the state program when he announced to the press in
November, 1935, "The NYA will have 20,000 Texas boys and girls either
5
Telegram, John J. Corson to Lyndon Johnson, August 31, 1935,
NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
Letter, Richard Brown to Lyndon Johnson, March 31, 1936, NYA
Papers, Johnson Library.
7
Lyndon Johnson, "Texas Turns to Its Youth," Texas Outlook,
XIX (November, 1935), 37,
36
in school or in part-time jobs soon. The work in Texas is well underway, and there is not a high school or county which cannot have some
of its young people in school or at work,"^
The youth program in Texas went beyond employment for the
state's needy young people.
One of its unique undertakings was the
establishment and financing of fifteen freshman college centers across
the state. The idea of offering "academic work of freshman year rank
to young men and women unable to attend college" was a novel one in
9
the mid-1930's.
The sources consulted in this study did not mention
the existence of NYA freshman college centers in other states, and it
is possible that the program of providing tuition-free freshman courses
to needy high school graduates was unique to Texas. The idea was
first proposed at the September, 1935, meeting of Texas college officials and the NYA staff.
President C. E, Evans of Southwest Texas
State College introduced the freshman college idea in the form of a
recommendation to the state NYA,
Director Johnson accepted the
unique proposal and presented it to the national office for approval.
Aubrey Williams authorized the Texas NYA to open the freshman colleges
in cooperation with the State Education Agency in October, 1935.
Thus, the Texas youth administration displayed its flexibility in
^Dallas Morning News, November 3, 1935, Sect. I, p. 2.
9
Letter, Lyndon Johnson and A. A. Bullock to Texas Educators,
October 21, 1935, NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
Austin American, September 4, 1935, p. 10.
^•4'elegram, Aubrey Williams to A. A. Bullock, October 25,
1935, NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
37
meeting the special needs of those between high school and college.
Although all the programs conducted by the NYA depended upon
cooperation from other groups, the freshman college centers provided
a good example of state and local agencies working together.
Each
freshman college had to be endorsed by the local school board and sponsored by a cooperating college. Usually, the school board provided the
facilities, and the cooperating college contributed the faculty.-^^
Hundreds of Texas young people were eligible for the freshman colleges
in their communities, and the classes filled rapidly in most centers.
The program was heartily endorsed by students, educators, and civic
groups.
For example, colleges such as North Texas State University,
Texas Christian University, and the University of Houston rapidly
filed petitions to sponsor a freshman college center. Civic groups
realized the need for such centers in their communities, and organizations such as the Dad's Club of Adamson High School in Dallas and
the Young Men's Business Club of Fort Worth applied to the NYA district
supervisor as a co-sponsor of a freshman college.
From the statewide
response to this program, it may be judged as one of the Texas NYA's
successful ventures.
Another highly innovative aspect of the state NYA was the resident training program designed for unemployed, out of school youths.
Many of these young people were unskilled, and the NYA introduced a
l^Austin American, September 4, 1935, p. 10.
13
Houston Post, November 17, 1935, Sect. I, p. 10; Dallas
Morning News, October 16, 1935, Sect. I, p. 14, and October 22, 1935,
Sect. I, p. 5; and Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 25, 1935, p. 13.
38
program to give them training and temporary employment at the same time.
Resident training centers were established on college campuses and in
communities throughout the state where resources and personnel were
available to teach youth a skill or trade.
In return for their in-
struction, the NYA residents worked either at their newly acquired
skill or at unskilled labor on construction work.
Those who partici-
pated in the resident training programs came from all areas of the
state and lived at the center for two to four months. These centers
were located across the state, but some of the more widely publicized
resident training programs were in Ranger, San Marcos, Prairie View,
and Lubbock.
14
In addition to acquiring a skill and contributing their
labor to a project, they earned about five dollars per month over their
living expenses.15 The resident training program was widespread and
diversified, and while filling a special need for Texas youths, it provided an example of the positive value of vocational education. The
paternal relationship between the NYA resident training program of the
1930's and the Job Corps program of the 1960's is undeniable.
The Texas NYA did not ignore the state's unemployed, unskilled
young women.
Five camps of out of school girls were set up by the state
NYA at Fort Worth, Houston, Brownsville, and San Antonio (two camps).
^^Letter, H. A. Zeigler to Deborah Self, March 31, 1974; and
Lindley, A New Deal For Youth, p. 237.
•'•^Letter, H. A. Zeigler to Deborah Self, March 31, 1974; and
Austin Statesman, July 27, 1937, p. 9.
16
Louise Cox, "Girls Broken By Depression Get New Grip On Life
At Youth Camp," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, September 27, 1935, p. 4.
39
These camps were plagued by the same problems as such centers in other
states.
The primary difficulty was that the girls' camps existed en-
tirely for the benefit of the residents and
community.
offered nothing to the
While attending an eight week session of an NYA camp a young
woman was taught "home management and elementary academic subjects."
Despite the fact the girls' camp program was the least successful of
those initiated by the NYA, the positive benefit which it had on the
lives of those who participated should not be ignored.
For "girls
broken either spiritually or physically by the Depression years" the
camps served "to restore their confidence, to teach them how to approach persons from whom they want employment . . . , and how to occupy their time when there is no job to be had and no money with which
to attend school."
18
Lyndon Johnson and his NYA staff were faced with the awesome
responsibility of implementing these diverse programs to assist over
100,000 needy youths in Texas. The difficulties were numerous, and
often the district supervisors resorted to a trial and error method of
setting up a particular program.
Because the NYA staff was young and
in many cases inexperienced, mistakes were inevitable.
However, long
after their mistakes were forgotten, the memory of their dedication to
the youth program lived on. The experience of Ray Roberts who arrived
in Tyler, Texas, on Thanksgiving Day, 1935, to establish the various
programs of the NYA through a district office was probably repeated by
•'•^Dallas Morning News, September 11, 1935, Sect. II, p. 1,
18
Cox, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, September 27, 1935, p. 4
40
others across the state. He recalled, "My complete library of
instructions was 500 mimeographed copies of 'The Four Point Prograr
im
in Texas* tied up with a small piece of sisal rope,"!^ Yet, from such
meager beginnings the district supervisors established the impressive
array of NYA programs throughout the state.
Financing the Texas NYA
Although the Depression affected every area of American life,
it should not be forgotten that it was basically a national economic
problem.
Therefore, the financing of the New Deal recovery programs
was a nightmare both in Washington and the state headquarters.
President Roosevelt established the National Youth Administration
with a $50,000,000 appropriation from Congress, and he instructed
Aubrey Williams not to spend more than $27,000,000 during the first
20
fiscal year.
When all the figures were tabulated, the Texas NYA
was allocated $90,000 per year.
21
State director Johnson realized that staying within this budget
would be a difficult task, and he began to recruit additional funds
for his program from any available source. He set out to find
financial backers for the various programs so the $90,000 could be
used only to pay the young people employed by the NYA and to cover
1974.
19
Letter, Congressman Ray Roberts to Deborah Self, April 2,
20
Samuel I . Rosenman, P a p e r s of R o o s e v e l t , IV, 327; and
S t e i n b e r g , Sam J o h n s o n ' s Boy, p . 9 6 .
21
Letter, Richard Brown to Lyndon Johnson, January 15, 1936,
NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
41
administrative costs. Governor James V. Allred had already voiced
his intention "to give the NYA my full support and backing,"^^ so
Johnson approached the Governor with his budgetary woes.
In a letter
dated September 27, 1935, he appealed to Governor Allred to ask the
Legislature for $50,000 to buy materials for the proposed state park
work projects. The Governor included this request in his message to
the first called session of the Forty-Fourth Legislature.
Finally,
during the second called session, the money was appropriated.
Although the state NYA sent a copy of its monthly reports to the
Governor, the only real connection between the two offices was an
occasional financial one. Governor Allred seemed interested in the
work of the youth program, but in general, the state government was
content to let the NYA director administer the project.^
Johnson set the example for his district supervisors in
finding co-sponsors for the NYA programs.
It was impossible for the
NYA to provide the materials, space, and supervision in addition to
paying the young people. He elicited the co-sponsorship of state
agencies such as the Texas Highway Department and the Texas Relief
^^Austin American, September 12, 1935, p. 12.
23
Governor James Allred, "Message to the Forty-Fourth
Legislature, First Called Session," October 9, 1935, James V, Allred
Papers, Univeristy of Houston Library. Hereafter referred to as
Allred Papers, University of Houston Library.
24
This conclusion is based on two facts: the Legislature
passed only the appropriation mentioned above and Governor Allred
admitted to Johnson that he was not well enough informed on the NYA
to make suggestions. Letter, Governor James Allred to Lyndon Johnson,
May 15, 1936, Allred Papers, University of Houston Library.
42
Commission.
Mrs. Johnson recalled her husband used all his persuasive
powers to convince Gib Gilcrest, head of the Texas Highway Department,
25
that NYA boys could be used to build roadside parks.
The end result
of Johnson's visit with Gilcrest was that the Highway Department was
co-sponsor of 142 NYA work projects by March, 1936.^^
The Texas
Relief Commission co-sponsored projects in its county offices, and the
Agricultural Extension Service cooperated in conservation projects.
The district supervisors found local sponsors for a large assortment
of endeavors including sewing rooms and recreational area improvements.
27
Because the Texas NYA was supported by agencies throughout the state,
the financial burdens of employing the needy youths were greatly alleviated.
Although the state office was on an annual budget of $90,000
from the federal government, by March, 1936, programs for Texas young
people were in effect costing approximately $450,000.28 Because the
Texas NYA convinced local groups to contribute the costs of materials,
facilities, and supervisors, it was possible to spend most of its
money to pay the NYA employees. Local sponsors were enthusiastic
enough about the youth program to finance expensive projects for the
youths to work on. The state NYA was not afraid to spend money nor to
ask others to contribute to its programs, for the attitude prevailed
that an important investment in the future was being made.
25
Interview, Lady Bird Johnson.
26
"NYA Youths At Work," Texas Outlook, XX (March, 1936), 24.
27
Report on NYA Work Projects, Lyndon Johnson to Richard
Brown, July 29, 1936, NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
28
Lubbock Morning Avalanche, March 1, 1936, p. 1.
43
Highlights of the NYA in Texas
The National Youth Administration in Texas began gaining national recognition almost as soon as its programs were underway.
Al-
though some New Dealers, including President Roosevelt, had been hesitant to trust young Lyndon Johnson with the responsibility of running
a statewide recovery program, they soon were praising the work of the
NYA staff in Texas. The statistics which the state youth program was
able to report were impressive.
For example, as of March, 1936, 11,030
high school students and 5,905 college students held part-time t3YA jobs,
12,011 young people were employed on work projects, and 631 students
29
were enrolled in fifteen freshman college centers.
By November,
1936, the youth director in Texas was able to tell the Texas Press
Association, "In short, it has touched the lives of over 30,000 youngsters who have been fighting for a toe-hold after the Depression; yet,
it didn't give them one red cent they didn't work for and earn themselves. "^°
Not only were the statistics of the Texas NYA impressive, but
the list of New Dealers who visited its programs was noteworthy-
Mrs.
Franklin Roosevelt, the ideological godmother of the National Youth
Administration, came to Texas several times. On one of her trips
to the Lone Star State, Mrs. Roosevelt told the press she "had come
^^Texas NYA Monthly Report, April, 1936, NYA Papers, Johnson
Library.
30
Lyndon Johnson, "Government Making It Possible For Young
Men and Women To Attend College," Texas Press Messenger, XI
(September, 1936), 4.
44
to find out why the Texas NYA director was doing such a good job."31
Lady Bird Johnson, who was to follow in the footsteps of Eleanor
Roosevelt, did not know her during the NYA days in Texas. However,
she recalled the First Lady's visits were "big events for Lyndon and
32
his staff."
Mrs. Roosevelt visited work projects and students
receiving school aid and praised the accomplishments of the Texas program.
Fenner Roth, district supervisor in San Antonio, remembered
Mrs. Roosevelt as "very warm and gracious" when she visited the famous
La Villita restoration project.^"^ On another visit, the First Lady
dedicated the Little Chapel in the Woods at Texas Women's University
in Denton.
It had been built by NYA labor, and both Jesse Kellam (who
was by that time the state director) and H. A. Zeigler, district supervisor in Fort Worth, recalled the dedication of the chapel by Mrs.
Roosevelt with special fondness.
34
In June, 1936, President and Mrs. Franklin Roosevelt visited
the Texas Centennial Exposition in Dallas. NYA director Johnson had
learned of their time schedule, and he prevailed upon the Chief Executive to dedicate an NYA roadside park outside Dallas. The President's
son, Elliot Roosevelt, picked up his parents in Dallas to drive them
to his home in
Fort Worth.
About seven miles west of Dallas, the
presidential motorcade stopped for a short dedication of the park.
The
^•''Steinberg, Sam Johnson's Boy, p. 98.
32
Interview, Lady Bird Johnson.
33
Telephone interview, Fenner Roth, Houston, Texas, to Lubbock,
Texas, March 18, 1974.
^^Interview, Jesse Kellam, February 14, 1974;
H. A. Zeigler to Deborah Self, March 31, 1974.
and Letter,
45
top Texas NYA officials were present—Johnson, Kellam, work projects
director L. B. Griffith, and Dallas district supervisor Z. S.
Armstrong—, but the President seemed more impressed with the group
of 155 young men who had lined the highway with their shovels in
35
hand.
The Texas National Youth Administration had captured the
attention of the busy President, and he joined those who praised the
youth work being done in the state.
Two top officials of the NYA, Aubrey Williams and Richard
Brown, made several visits to Texas. Williams' trip in March, 1937,
included inspection of work projects in Dallas and Fort Worth and a
36
visit to the Austin office.
Richard Brown came to the state in
August, 1936, as guest of honor at a banquet attended by the
37
presidents of most Texas colleges.
The quality as well as the
quantity of work undertaken by the Texas NYA impressed both men, and
they challenged other state programs to keep up with the pace set
by Texas. Williams commented in 1937 that the Texas NYA had done
38
a "first class job."
Jesse Kellam recalled a telephone conversation with Williams in which the latter stated, "The Texas program
stands as an example to other states' youth administrations."
39
35
Dallas Morning News, June 13, 1936, Sect. II, p. 1.
36
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 18, 1937; and Interview,
Jesse Kellam, Austin, Texas, June 5, 1974.
37
Austin Statesman, August 30, 1936, p. 4.
38
"NYA Has A New Director," Texas Outlook, XXI (May, 1937), 43,
39
Interview, Jesse Kellam, June 5, 1974.
47
representative by a majority of more than 3,000 votes. From his
hospital room, the twenty-nine year old Johnson issued a victory
43
statement.
The man who had established the Texas National Youth
Administration was on his way to the White House.
Lyndon Johnson was profoundly affected by his work with the
NYA, and he carried memories of it to the House of Representatives,
the Senate, and the Presidency.
In formulating the "war on poverty"
of his own administration, Johnson relied on his experience in helping
disadvantaged Texas youths. He said both programs were an "opportunity
for people to lift themselves out of the treadmill of poverty."
Mrs.
Johnson reflected that her husband's work with the youth program had
long range effects, for he was awakened to "real poverty, . . . to
the problem of black economic opportunity, and to an interest in
parks and conservation."4^
After leaving the NYA, he championed each
of these causes during his political career.
On election eve, 1964,
President Johnson spoke eloquently summing up his experience as
director of the Texas NYA,
I learned . . . , when 1 was the NYA administrator, that poverty
and ignorance are the only basic weaknesses of a free society, and
that both are only bad habits and can be stopped.
^ • ^ I b i d . , A p r i l 1 1 , 1937, p . 1 .
^^Lyndon B. J o h n s o n , The Vantage P o i n t (New York:
Winston, 1971), p . 73.
45
Interview, Lady Bird Johnson,
46
Sam Johnson, M^ Brother Lyndon, p. 179.
Holt,
Rinehart,
46
A New State Director for
the Texas NYA
Lyndon Johnson's tenure as state director of the Texas NYA
came to an abrupt end on February 28, 1937, when he resigned to run
for Congress.
Representative James B, Buchanan of Texas' Tenth
District had died suddenly in Washington, and the ambitious young
Johnson saw the vacancy as his chance to enter national politics,
Mrs. Johnson said her husband's decision to leave the youth program
and campaign for the vacant seat "was not particularly
difficult
because it was one of those now or never sort of things. However, it
was presumptuous to think that he would be elected when he entered the
race,"40
Lady Bird Johnson convinced her father to take $10,000 from
her inheritance to finance her husband's first political race.41
The
campaign carried on by Johnson against his nine opponents was characterized by the same vigor with which he had run the youth program.
President Roosevelt's plan to enlarge the Supreme Court was the main
issue of the race, and Johnson proclaimed himself as "the candidate
with his coat off fighting for the President,"^^
On election eve
Johnson entered Seton Hospital in Austin for an emergency appendectomy.
The voters of the Tenth Congressional District went to
the polls on April 10, 1937, and elected the young man as their
40
Interview, Lady Bird Johnson.
41
Sam Johnson, M^ Brother Lyndon, p. 54.
42
Austin Statesman, April 1, 1937, p. 2,
48
Upon the resignation of Johnson, Aubrey Williams named Jesse
Kellam as the acting state director. William's praise for Johnson's
work with the NYA was lavish, and he wanted to wait for the results of
the special election before appointing a permanent director. Kellam
was well prepared to carry on the youth program begun by his old
friend.
47
Many influential Texans including Vice President John Nance
Garner, Governor James Allred, Senator Morris Sheppard, and University
of Texas President H. Y. Benedict endorsed Kellam for the position.
Allred wired Williams the "NYA . . . is constructive, efficient, . . .
and one of our most popular New Deal agencies. We . . . urge you to
leave Kellam as its head in our state."^®
On May 3, 1937, Kellam
received word that he had been appointed the new state director of
the Texas NYA.'^^
The programs of the state NYA continued relatively unchanged,
for most of the modifications initiated by Kellam concerned administrative matters. Shortly after being named the permanent state director, Kellam reorganized the administrative staff by moving several men
to new posts. To fill the vacancy created by his own promotion, he
appointed Willard Deason as the assistant state director.
Deason had
been with the program since Johnson had lured him away from his job
with the Federal Land Bank in Houston.
As Johnson's assistant and
4'^Texas Outlook, May, 1937, p. 43.
48
Telegram, Governor James Allred to Aubrey Williams, April 15,
1937, NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
49
Letter, Aubrey Williams to Jesse Kellam, May 3, 1937, Ibid.
49
as the liason officier between the NYA and the WPA, Deason had proven
his ability and dedication, and he was an invaluable asset to the program as the second in command.
-1
J
•
The other administrative changes in-
^
50
volved new assignments for several and a few additions to the staff.
(See Appendix II). Kellam's organization remained roughly the same
for the following two years.
In October, 1939, a few administrative
51
changes were made in the district offices and in the state office.
(See Appendix III).
Jesse Kellam ran the Texas NYA much as Lyndon Johnson had.
He
traveled extensively, corresponded with hundreds of school officialsr
and work projects' supervisors, and kept in close touch with his district representatives.
By 1937 the trauma of setting up the youth
program was over, and Kellam was not quite as demanding upon his staff
as the first director had been.
For example, the number of staff
meetings decreased from the weekly gatherings in Austin called by
Johnson to quarterly sessions under Kellam. 52
The Texas NYA continued to excel in its programs under the
leadership of the second director.
In 1936 the national office had
established the number of NYA work projects jobs in Texas at 12,000.
This quota was filled every year under Kellam, and the diversity of
the work projects across the state continued.
1937,
The number of high
^^chart, "NYA State Administrative Staff Organization," May 3,
Ibid.
51
"Some Facts About Youth and the NYA," Texas NYA Office
Publication, Austin, Texas, October, 1939.
52
Interview, Jesse Kellam, June 5, 1974.
TEXAS TECH LI31^ARY
50
school and college students employed on NYA part-time jobs reached a
peak during the 1936-1937 academic year (7,123 students in 87 Texas
colleges and 11,061 students in 2,122 public schools; November, 1936).
However, even as the national economic condition improved during 1937
and 1938, the student aid program continued to provide thousands of
Texas youths with the opportunity to stay in school.
53
It is apparent from this survey of the NYA work in Texas that
it was not only characterized by the youthful idealism of its leaders,
but also that it was an extremely active recovery program.
From
August, 1935 through 1939, the Texas NYA worked hard to help the
state's youth by giving them jobs and keeping them in school. The men
who administered the program were not afraid of long hours of work,
excessive traveling, or the frustration which is inevitable in a largescale bureaucratic undertaking.
They realized that they were filling
a vital need for many Texas young people who had been caught in the
Great Depression.
Untold thousands of Texans reached success in busi-
ness, education, politics, and the arts because the NYA gave them a
chance in the 1930's.
Much of this success must be attributed to the
men who lead the Texas NYA.
Perhaps they realized the truth uttered
by President Johnson in 1964:
"that poverty and ignorance are the only
basic weaknesses in a free society and that both of them are only bad
habits and can be stopped."^^
The Texas NYA made great gains in
stopping both bad habits.
^•^Texas NYA Monthly Reports, 1936-1939, NYA Papers, Johnson
Library.
54
Sam Johnson, I^ Brother Lyndon, p. 179.
CHAPTER IV
THE NATIONAL YOUTH ADMINISTRATION
ON CAMPUS IN TEXAS
The student aid program of the National Youth Administration
received a great amount of publicity and praise, for the concept was
a new one in higher education. To the post-World War II generations
whose college careers have been characterized by a variety of grants,
loans, and work-study programs, it is difficult to imagine a campus
not providing part-time employment or governmental aid for students in
need of financial assistance.
However, the NYA student aid program
was the first large-scale venture of this kind.
Because the hardships
of the Depression had forced many high school students as well as those
in college to discontinue their educations, the NYA also provided employment in public schools. Although federally funded jobs for public
school students have been largely abandoned since the Great Depression,
the NYA inspired program continued in various forms in the nation's
colleges and universities.
In addition to providing jobs for students,
the NYA educational program introduced the concept of tuition-free
freshman college centers.
First year college work was offered away
from the university campuses to those who could not afford to attend
a regular college. The educational program of the NYA proved to be
among the most outstanding of its undertakings.
51
52
College Aid in Texas
Aubrey Williams established the guidelines for the state NYA
directors to follow in the student aid program.
After careful calcu-
lations, it had been decided that the NYA could finance part-time jobs
for twelve percent of the college enrollment as of October 15, 1934.
Apparently, the NYA officials reached this figure by allowing a maximum
salary of fifteen dollars per month per student as the FERA student aid
program had done. Using this salary figure, the NYA decision-makers
announced the maximum number of jobs which the youth program could finance was twelve percent of the college enrollment. The state directors
were responsible for tabulating the quota of jobs for each participating
institution and for transferring jobs to other schools if a college did
not use its quota. Williams reminded the state directors that the
"principle objective of using relief funds for student aid is to increase the number of young men and women in college."
Thus, with the
goal of extending the limits of higher education, the college aid program was initiated.
Any non-profit, tax-exempt school which required a high school
diploma or its equivalent for entrance was eligible to participate in
the NYA student aid program.
Church supported colleges as well as
state colleges applied for the federal aid to provide part-time jobs
2
for students.
From the available sources, it appears there was no
iMemo, Aubrey Williams to All State Youth Directors, August 15,
1935, Texas Tech NYA Papers, Southwest Collection.
2
Lindley, A New Deal For Youth, p. 159.
53
criticism of sectarian schools receiving federal appropriations.
The actual decisions concerning employment of students and
particular jobs were left to the college officials. Those receiving
these positions were to be chosen on the basis of "need, . . . character, and ability to do college work.""^ A student was required to
carry three-fourths a normal course load (usually twelve hours) to
qualify.
The maximum monthly salary was fifteen dollars for the
undergraduate, and one could work no more than eight hours a day or
thirty hours per week.
Applications for the jobs were made directly
to the college president, and on most campuses, he named a committee
4
to help him in selecting the job recepients.
Each college was allowed
to determine the nature of its own NYA positions. Texas college
officials displayed a great amount of ingenuity in finding worthwhile
on-campus jobs for needy students. The program was demanding on both
the school officials and the state NYA staff and called for cooperation
between the two groups of decision-makers.
However, they shared the
goal of helping young people, and the success of the student aid
venture was apparent from its beginning.
Immediately after setting up the administrative structure of
the Texas youth program, Lyndon Johnson began to establish a student
aid program to reach those who desperately needed help to stay in
school.
Johnson delegated the responsibility for the student aid
program to Jesse Kellam, the assistant state director, but he remained
•a
Memo, Aubrey Williams to All State Youth Directors, August 15,
1935, Texas Tech NYA Papers, Southwest Collection.
4
Chart, College Aid 1935, NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
54
the final authority in all decisions.
August, 1935 was the most action-
packed month in the history of the Texas student aid program, for decisions had to be made quickly if the program was to be in existence
for the coming semester.
Because youths from across the state were
depending upon NYA jobs to finance their return to college, Johnson's
staff worked hard to get the program on its feet before fall registration. With the cooperation of the state's college administrators,
the NYA began a full-scale program of student aid on eighty-three
campuses in September, 1935. During the 1935-1936 academic year, the
number of participating institutions in Texas reached eighty-seven.
This number remained constant for the duration of the program.
(See
Appendix TV).
The college administrators met with Johnson and Kellam on a
regular basis to discuss student aid. Their meeting in September, 1935
was devoted to a discussion of the common problem of not having enough
jobs to go around.
V. I. Moore, Dean of Students at the University of
Texas, reported that he had more than 3,500 applications for the 761
5
NYA jobs on his campus.
President Bradford Knapp of Texas Technological
College revealed that approximately 1,500 students had applied for the
259 positions available on the Lubbock campus.
The federal govern-
ment had appropriated as much money to the youth program as it deemed
possible, but there were still more needy students than there were
NYA financed jobs.
Johnson wrote Richard Brown of the national office
^Austin American, September 4, 1935, p. 10.
6
Lubbock Morning Avalanche, August 15, 1935, p. 1.
55
"in excess of 20,000 applications for the 5,086 student aid jobs" had
flooded Texas college administrators
since September, 1935.^
The de-
cisions concerning who would get the NYA jobs must have been difficult
for the college officials.
Many probably shared the sentiment of
University of Texas Dean Moore when he said, "I feel like I have blood
Q
on my hands," after eliminating hundreds of students for employment.
The NYA jobs were as diverse as the eighty-seven participating
schools.
Johnson stressed that "all educational aid is based on useful
work and is not a dole or loan," and the colleges endorsed this statement by finding worthwhile tasks.
Examples of campus assignments in-
cluded clerical work in academic departments, library, campus post office, bibliographic, and construction work, assisting in research or
laboratories, sewing, surveying, and beautifying the school.
Specific
examples of NYA jobs included planting shrubs and grass on the Texas
Tech College campus under the direction of the Agriculture School. NYA
students at Texas Tech compiled a history of the Agriculture School
and made maps of the expanding campus.
A student in this college's
chemistry department worked for an entire year on the problem of removing floride from the Lubbock water supply.
The University of Texas
offered a wide variety of student aid jobs such as working at the Austin
7
Letter, Lyndon Johnson to Richard Brown, February 7, 1936,
NYA Papers, Johnson Library,
Q
Interview, Jesse Kellam, February 14, 1974.
9
Johnson, Texas Outlook, November, 1935, p. 36
10..
"NYA Assignments, 1935-36," Texas Tech NYA Papers,
Southwest Collection.
56
Recreation Department, at the state NYA headquarters, on the University
Centennial Exposition, and as campus guides,H
Most academic depart-
ments at the University of Texas employed NYA students as research
assistants, although the specific details of this research work have
not been discovered.
12
Each campus offered special opportunities for employment, and
the college officials of the 1930's must be commended for their adaptability to the student aid program.
Because of the wide range of NYA
campus activities, it is apparent that the colleges, students, and
state NYA officials were flexible in determining the assignments. This
flexibility contributed to the success of the program, and the diversity
of work done on each campus brought praise from many groups including
the University of Texas Young Democrats who passed a resolution supporting the NYA program.
13
The Ex-Students Association of the University
of Texas commended the NYA for helping students in urgent financial
need in its monthly publication, The Alcalde.
Many Texans who were
interested in higher education realized that the youth program was
filling a vital need on college campuses by providing a wide variety
of part-time jobs.
-^•^The Daily Texan, September 24, 1935, p. 1;
1935, p. 1.
and October 16,
12
Dean V. I, Moore reported at the September, 1935 NYA meeting
of college officials that students would be placed in the academic departments as research assistants. (Houston Post, September 4, 1935,
p. 1.), However, the University of Texas Records are closed, and
specific details of the NYA research were not available,
^••^The Daily Texan, March 12, 1936, p. 1.
14
The Alcalde, XXIV (February, 1936), 106.
57
The Texas NYA usually operated without major administrative
problems, but when an occasional
people.
difficulty occurred, it affected many
An example of one of the administrative problems of the NYA
student aid program was the detained college payroll in the fall of
1935.
Although the procedure appeared efficient on paper, it proved
to be complicated and time-consuming for all concerned.
There were
nine pay periods during the academic year ending on the twelfth day of
the month.
According to the first payroll pl&n, the college president
was to fill out a detailed form in quadruplicate for each student employee.
This was sent to the state offices of the NYA, WPA, and Board
of Education where it was certified.
The certified payroll then went
to the United States Treasury Disbursing Officer in each state. He
issued the checks to the NYA state director who in turn sent them to
the colleges.
Finally, they reached the auditor's office on each cam-
pus where the students received them.
15
The result of this procedure
was that the first checks were not received by Texas college students
until mid-November, 1935. They had been attending classes and working
for almost two months without any income, and many were in dire financial straits when the first NYA check arrived.
Both the college officials and the NYA staff were concerned
over the complicated payroll procedure. With permission from the
national office, director Johnson simplified the system during the
1935 fall semester.
The state youth office was required to approve
the applications for all those employed on NYA jobs, and it was unnec-
"Procedure For Obtaining Money For College Aid," August 15,
1935, Texas Tech NYA Papers, Southwest Collection.
58
essary for them also to be required to certify each payroll before
and after the checks were issued.
Therefore, in December, 1935, the
college presidents were instructed to fill out only one payroll form
16
and send it directly to the WPA finance director in San Antonio.
This expedited the issuance of the students' checks, and everyone
seemed pleased with the new system. The Texas NYA office continued to
keep detailed reports of the payroll at each college, but the checks
were not held up in bureaucratic red tape.
The college program in Texas reported impressive statistics
during its first academic year.
In response to a questionaire circu-
lated during the summer of 1936, it was reported that 5,497 college
students had been placed on jobs during 1935-1936.
Almost six times
that figure (29,000) had applied for the NYA positions. The students'
hourly wage ranged from twenty-seven to thirty-one cents on the various
campuses.
Of upmost importance is the fact that the majority of those
employed made high grades.
Perhaps this was because college officials
tended to choose young people with high grades for the NYA jobs, and
they continued to excel scholastically after obtaining an NYA parttime job. Sixty-eight percent of the white NYA students and eightysix percent of the black students made better than average grades.
Few would argue with the statement that the NYA college students were
a special group, for they wanted an education enough to work for it
17
while maintaining a high scholastic record.
16
. ,
,
Letter, Lyndon Johnson to All College Presidents, December 13,
1935, Texas Tech NYA Papers, Southwest Collection.
^"^"The NYA and the Student," Texas Outlook, XX (September,
1936), 26.
59
The number of students receiving college aid in Texas reached
a peak during the 1936-1937 school year. Knowledge of the program had
spread during its first year of operation, and thousands of young Texans
flocked to college campuses in September, 1936, in hopes of obtaining
NYA employment to finance their schooling. The state youth office was
authorized to compute new quotas for each institution based on its
18
total enrollment as of October 15, 1935,
Because enrollment had in-
creased significantly from 1934 to 1935, there were more NYA jobs available under the new quotas. Enrollment figures on most Texas campuses
had risen during the 1934-1935 academic year, and many colleges reported a record enrollment in the fall semester of 1935 (approximately
8,800 at the University of Texas and 2,400 at Texas Tech College).
19
Although the direct relationship between increasing college enrollment
and the availability of NYA jobs cannot be quantitatively proven, it
seems apparent that the possibility of obtaining part-time work lured
some students back to college.
Another factor in the increased number of NYA jobs was the
decision of the government in 1936 to appropriate more money to colleges
which had large numbers of students affected by the drought. Texas had
a predominantly rural economy, and many farming families had been hurt
by the drought of the mid-1930's. Twenty Texas colleges received addi20
tional drought aid funds,
Johnson's monthly report of November,
•"•^Austin Statesman, August 15, 1937, p. 6,
19
Austin American, November 10, 1935, p. 4; and Lubbock Morning
Avalanche, October 16, 1935, p, 1.
20
"NYA Drought Aid Chart," NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
60
1936 showed a record of 7,123 undergraduates receiving college aid
m
21
m• Texas.
As the national economy began to show signs of improvement,
many who had been employed in the New Deal recovery programs found jobs
in private industry.
State NYA director Kellam announced in 1937 that
due to the improving economic situation, the demand for college aid
was decreasing after reaching its peak during the 1936-1937 academic
22
year.
No mention was made by Kellam of the lower federal appro-
priation to the Texas student aid program, but it dropped approximately
$500,000 from 1936 to 1937. This undoubtedly had an effect on the decreased number of student aid jobs available on Texas campuses in the
fall of 1937.^^
The quota for the 1937-1938 year was based on eight
percent of the enrollment as of October 15, 1936, rather than twelve
percent.
The November, 1937, NYA report showed 4,785 college stu-
25
dents in Texas receiving assistance.
The college aid figures dropped
again for the 1938-1939 year, for in September, 1938, only 4,169 stu2 f\
dents were holding part-time NYA jobs.
It is significant that the
^1 "Texas NYA Monthly Report of November, 1936," Ibid.
22
Austin Statesman, August 15, 1937, p. 6.
Lindley, A New Deal For Youth, p. 302 states that federal
allocations for the Texas NYA student aid program dropped from
$1,390,644 in 1936-37 to $895,170 in 1937-38.
Austin Statesman, August 15, 1937, p. 6.
25
"Texas NYA Monthly Report of November, 1936," NYA Papers,
Johnson Library.
26
"Texas NYA Monthly Report of September, 1938," Ibid.
61
state decrease by 3,000 jobs between 1936 and 1938, for it mirrored
the improvement of the national economy.
The Texas National Youth Administration was particularly concerned with helping young blacks stay in school during the Depression
years.
Johnson had become keenly aware of the "problem of black eco-
nomic opportunity" while working with the youth program, and he considered education as one solution to the economic inequality which
27
separated the races.
There were thirteen black colleges partici-
pating in the student aid program, and more than 500 young blacks held
NYA jobs on campus. Johnson appealed to the national office for a
fifty percent increase in college aid to black schools, and the additional appropriation was granted in March, 1936.28
Prairie View Normal
and Industrial College, the only state supported school for blacks,
carried on an extremely successful student aid program.
Johnson at-
tributed Prairie View's success to the excellent leadership on campus,
and there was a great deal of cooperation between the Prairie View administrators and the state NYA.
Mrs. Roosevelt, Governor Allred, and
Mrs. Mary McLeod Bethune, Director of Negro Affairs of the NYA, praised
the work done at the college.
Prairie View undoubtedly set an example
for other black colleges to follow in the NYA student aid program.29
The University of Texas had the largest enrollment in the
27
Interview, Lady Bird Johnson.
28
Letter, Richard Brown to Lyndon Johnson, March 5, 1936, NYA
Papers, Johnson Library.
Austin Statesman, July 24, 1937, p. 7.
62
state during the 1930's, and many of its students financed their educations by holding NYA jobs.
President H. Y. Benedict and Dean V. I.
Moore of the University of Texas were especially interested in the student program, for without it, they believed the school would lose many
promising young scholars.
Dean Moore headed the NYA program on the
Austin campus, and he was assisted by a special committee in choosing
the students for NYA jobs.
30
The University had the largest number
of jobs available (820) and the largest monthly allotment (approximately $12,000).
(See Appendix IV).
Administering student aid at the University of Texas was a
formidable task, and Dean Moore did a commendable job juggling hundreds
of students and thousands of dollars.
He was constantly having to
weigh the financial urgency of the many applications which came to his
office and to place all but the most poverty-striken on waiting lists.
It was decided that a student who did not maintain a "c" average would
be removed from the program.-^1
Students living at their parents' homes
in Austin were declared ineligible for NYA employment after the 1935
fall semester.
32
University of Texas students were greatly affected by the
delay of the first NYA paycheck explained earlier.
As the days of
waiting stretched into weeks, it became apparent that many might be
forced to drop out of school for lack of funds. To alleviate the
-^^Tbid., August 31, 1938, p. 9.
31
The Daily Texan, December 6, 1935, p. 1.
32
Ibid., November 2, 1935, p. 1.
63
situation Dean Moore offered to finance small loans as an advance
33
against the late checks.
After the checks arrived in November, 1935,
the student aid program at Texas University proceeded smoothly. Students on the Austin campus were assigned a wide variety of jobs such
as campus guides and research assistants, and the program was heartily
endorsed by the faculty as well as student organizations.
Among the state's most active student aid programs was that
of Texas Technological College in Lubbock.
Much of the credit for the
successful program belonged to the college president. Dr. Bradford
Knapp.
The school was barely a decade old, and President Knapp was
dedicated to building it into one which could compete with the older
state supported institutions. He believed the NYA student aid program
would help many financially deprived youngsters from West Texas attend
college and the work they did would benefit the new school. When a
report of Texas Tech's student aid program was sent by President Knapp
to the NYA office in Washington, the national youth leaders praised
35
the work done on the Lubbock campus.
State director Jesse Kellam
recalled that Aubrey Williams was impressed with the college aid
program at Texas Tech and inquired about its progress often during
telephone conversations.
36
The Texas NYA asked college officials to complete a questionnaire
-^^Ibid.
34
Ibid,, March 12, 1936, p, 1.
35
Austin Statesman, July 16, 1937, p. 2.
36
Interview, Jesse Kellam, June 5, 1974,
64
in March, 1936, and from it, a fairly complete picture of the Texas
Tech student aid program emerges. The college was allotted $3,885
per month to employ 290 students.
Roughly 1,000 young people applied
for student aid, and a waiting list was created.
Academically, the NYA
students at Texas Tech were above average, maintaining a grade point
average of 3,18 out of a possible 4.0. Texas Tech reached its peak
number of students in the NYA program during the 1936-1937 year, for
130 additional jobs were created by the drought aid allocation, bringing
the total number of positions to 420.^^
Student aid jobs were available in most departments at Texas
Tech, as well as in the administrative offices. The students working
part-time in the Agriculture Department were involved in some particularly noteworthy plant and soil studies. Their experiments related
to such topics as the penetration of rainwater into certain types of
soil and the adaptability of plants and trees to the West Texas enviroment.
Agricultural economics was another facet of the NYA sponsored
research work done at Texas Tech.
According to the chairman of the
Agricultural Economics Department, L. E. McBride, the NYA students
were engaged in "investigations of various economic conditions of our
territory or state. ""^^ Many NYA students at Texas Tech were involved
in planting trees and shrubs on the flat, barren land of the new college.
39
President Knapp's evaluation of the NYA college aid program
37
Lubbock Morning Avalanche, September 15, 1936, p, 10,
38
Austin Statesman, July 16, 1937, p, 2.
39Ibid.
^.^
65
at his school provides an insight into the program at its best.
Taken as a whole we regard this program as highly constructive
and beneficial. The students . , . have received really valuable aid. We doubt whether any of them could have remained
in college without this assistance. The institution itself
could not have furnished these additional jobs. , . , Much
valuable . . . research work has been done.
President Knapp, whose health had been poor since early in
1938, remained vitally interested in the student aid program.
He
dictated letters to the state NYA office while confined to bed and
participated in an NYA tree planting ceremony on March 2, 1938,
President Knapp had proudly shown Mrs. Roosevelt the work being done
by NYA students when she visited the campus on March 8, 1938, The
First Ijady traveled extensively inspecting NYA projects, and she spent
the day visiting the work projects in Lubbock and the college aid programs on the Texas Tech campus. That evening, she spoke to a large
audience at Lubbock High School auditorium.
41
Dean A. H, Leidigh of
the Agriculture Department said of President Knapp, "He was a firm
believer in making education contribute directly to earning power,
42
human comfort, and human well-being."
This statement of President
Knapp's educational philosophy partially explains his ideological support of the NYA, for the youth program helped to provide education
during the 1930's.
President Knapp seemed to realize the importance
4^NYA Questionaire, March 10, 1036, Texas Tech NYA Papers,
Southwest Collection,
41
Lubbock Morning Avalanche, June 12, 1938, p. 1,
42
Ibid., p. 6.
66
of vocational education at Texas Tech, and the NYA program fit easily
into his educational beliefs. The student aid program at Texas Tech
was a reflection of Dr, Bradford Knapp's educational philosophy, for
it was beneficial for the students, the school, and the community.
The college aid program conducted by the Texas National Youth
Administration on eighty-seven campuses was undoubtedly a success.
Thousands of college age young people who might have been roaming the
country searching for work were in school from 1935 through 1939 because of the student aid program.
Although the statistics and records
of the venture are impressive, the impact of the college aid project
is impossible to measure. Those who earned college degrees in the
late 1930's were the military and domestic leaders in World War II
and the decision-makers during the turbulent decades of the 1950's
and 1960's.
Public School Aid in Texas
Equally important, but less publicized, was the NYA program
for employing public school students.
Public school enrollment, like
that of the state's colleges, had decreased steadily during the early
years of the Depression,
Many youngsters dropped out of school hoping
to find employment to add to the family income, but jobs for the young
were practically nonexistent.
New Dealers faced the very real pos-
sibility that the Depression generation would be one of high school
dropouts.
The dropout rate was unquestionably a motivating factor
in the creation of the National Youth Administration.
Lyndon Johnson received instruction for implementing the
67
public school aid program in the autumn of 1935. Needy students between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five were eligible for part-time
jobs which paid six dollars per month.
At first, only high school
students were permitted in the program, but soon the assistance was
extended to those over sixteen in the junior high or elementary grades.
To qualify for student aid, a young person had to be considered on relief status. This meant that his parents were either on the relief
rolls, employed by the Works Progress Administration or the Public
Works Administration, or were members of the Rural Rehabilitation
43
program.
The Texas public school aid program was organized by counties.
A quota of jobs was assigned to each county by the state NYA, and the
school officials within the county were responsible for dispersing the
positions.
In counties where a metropolitan center was located, the
procedure required cooperation between the county and city school superintendents.
Public school officials were usually willing to work to-
gether in the program, for they were anxious to help the young stay in
school.
A quota of jobs was assigned to each high school in the county,
and a student applied directly to the principal of his school for an
NYA job.
After verifying the relief status of the applicants, the
44
principal made the job assignments.
45
Public school aid was labeled "a God-send to needy students"
^^Dallas Morning News, October 20, 1935, Sect. IV, p. 3.
44
Ibid. , October 27, 1935, Sect. I, p. 3,
45
"National Youth Administration," Texas Outlook, XXI (March,
1937) , 15.
68
by many Texas educators.
It reached its peak during the 1936-1937
academic year, employing 11,061 students in 2,122 schools."*^ The jobs
assigned to the public school students were the fairly routine tasks
of maintenance and clerical work, and most of the young people were
willing to work at anything for the six dollars per month. The school
officials reported that the program "had a benefit both to the school
and to the student,"^"^
Following the trend of the college aid program,
the number receiving public school aid decreased to 6,755 in November,.
48
1937, and to 3,794 in September, 1938.
The most obvious reason for
this decrease was that the Texas NYA student aid program received less
federal money to finance student jobs during 1937 and 1938.
Specific examples of high school aid in Texas were difficult
to find, for the state
NYA records available did not detail this phase
of the educational program.
From newspaper stories only, a sketchy
picture of the public school aid undertaking may be drawn.
High School
students in Dallas worked on the school census, in the library, cafeteria, and offices of their schools, and in the school administration
building.
49
In Fort Worth the job assignments included "helping the
school janitor or nurse, or serving as a . . . laboratory assistant."^^
Because the program was based upon the school age population of each
46
"Texas NYA Monthly Report of November, 1936," NYA Papers,
Johnson Library.
47
Texas Outlook, September, 1936, p. 26,
48
"Texas NYA Monthly Report of November, 1937, and September,
1938," NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
49
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, September 26, 1935, p. 22,
69
county, the urban centers received the most from it, Harris County
led the state in the number of jobs and the amount of money available,
Dallas, Bexar, Tarrant, Travis, and Lubbock counties followed.
School
superintendents such as Dr. Norman R. Crozier of Dallas, William Roach
of Fort
Worth, and Joseph R. Griggs of Lubbock heartily supported the
NYA student job concept, but each fell slightly short of filling the
51
job quota in his district.
In contrast to college aid, there were
plenty of NYA jobs available for Texas public school students. This
may be explained by the fact that public school students did not apply for NYA jobs in the great numbers that college students did. Despite the fact that there were no waiting lists for public school aid,
the project helped many Texas youths obtain a high school education
during a time when it would have been easy to justify dropping out of
school.
Freshman College Centers
in Texas
One of the unique features of the educational program of the
Texas National Youth Administration was the freshman college center.
The NYA had filled a vital need by furnishing part-time jobs for students to earn money while staying in school, but many Texas youths fit
neither into the high school nor the college aid group. These were
young people who had graduated from high school but could not afford,
even with a part-time NYA job, to attend college.
Many desperately
Dallas Morning News, October 20, 1935, Sect. I, p. 5; Fort
Worth Star-Telegram, November 20, 1935, p. 21; and Lubbock Morni ng
Avalanche, August 30, 1936, p. 5,
70
wanted to continue their education, but in their financial conditions,
there was no way for them to do so.
The idea of NYA sponsored freshman colleges was proposed by
Dr. C. E. Evans, president of Southwest Texas State College, at the
September, 1935, NYA meeting of college administrators.
Dr. Evans
suggested to his fellow educators and to the Texas NYA staff that a
tuition-free freshman college would "provide a stop-gap between high
school and first year college education for youths from relief fam52
ilies."
The state NYA obtained permission from the national office
to open fifteen freshman college centers.
In November, 1935, di-
rector Johnson announced the location of the first five of these
centers to be in Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Houston, and Lubbock
. ,
54
With an expected total enrollment of 750 students.
The freshman colleges were unique not only because they provided free higher education, but also because they required a maximum
amount of cooperation between state and local agencies. They existed
under the joint administration of the Texas NYA and the Emergency
Education Division of the state WPA.
The local board of education
applied for such a center and supplied the classrooms, and a
55
co-sponsoring college furnished the teachers and the curriculum.
^Austin American, September 4, 1935, p. 10.
53
Telegram, Aubrey Williams to A. A. Bullock, October 15,
1935, NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
54
Austin American, November 3, 1935, p. 13.
55
Letter, Lyndon Johnson and A. A. Bullock to Texas Educators,
October 21, 1935, NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
71
The teachers were paid seventy-five dollars per month to conduct two
three hour classes, and the courses offered usually included freshman
English, math, and a social science.^6
The Texas Relief Commission
was responsible for certifying a student's relief status before he
could be admitted to NYA freshman college classes.^^
Local school boards and sponsoring colleges were anxious to
obtain freshman college centers for their communities.
The Texas NYA
provided funds to pay the teachers, so the centers benefitted communities without costing them anything except the upkeep of the
buildings and the administrative costs. Johnson's office received
numerous applications from cities and towns desiring a freshman college center.
After due consideration, the Texas youth administration
announced the freshman college centers would be located in Beaumont,
Brenham, Cameron, Corsicana, Dallas, Fort Worth, Hempstead, Houston,
Lubbock, Marshall, Pittsburg, San Antonio, Taylor, Temple, and Waco,
58
The freshman college centers were a tribute to the flexibility
and inventiveness of the Texas NYA program.
They also illustrated the
dedication which the youth program employed in meeting the special
needs of the state's young people. The educational needs of those
caught between high school and college were recognized and in some
small measure filled.
To "provide education (both academic and voca-
^^Houston Post, November 11, 1935, p. 10,
57
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, November 5, 1935, p. 8.
CO
Letter, Lyndon Johnson to Richard Brown, March 4, 1936,
NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
72
tional), job training, guidance, recreation, and work opportunities"
were the goals of the freshman colleges.
This program deserves spe-
cial notice in the story of the Texas National Youth Administration,
for it extended the educational horizons of many past a high school
diploma.
As a forerunner of the community junior colleges of later
decades, the freshman college centers were important in formulating
the concept of widespread education beyond high school.
An Evaluation of the
Educational Programs
The three point educational program conducted by the National
Youth Administration in Texas "occupied a noncontroversial position
60
because practically everyone seemed to approve of its work."
Americans
had long promoted the ideals of education, and there was broad support
for the recovery program designed to further education for the Depression
generation.
The Texas NYA carried out the student aid project with its
usual enthusiasm for helping young people.
Reminders of its existence,
such as the Little Chapel in the Woods at Texas Women's University,
stand on campuses throughout the state. However, the most important,
impressive remnants of the Texas student aid program are those people
whose achievements in life can be traced back to a part-time job
which kept them in school during the Great Depression.
59
Letter, Lyndon Johnson and A. A. Bullock to Texas Educators,
October 21, 1935, Ibid.
60, .
Lionel V. Patenaude, "The New Deal and Texas," (Unpublished
PhD Dissertation, University of Texas, Austin, 1953), p. 427.
CHAPTER V
THE TEX;^ NATIONAL YOUTH
ADMINISTRATION'S WORK
PROGRAM
The National Youth Administration furnished employment on
work projects to jobless young Americans outside educational institutions, but this aspect of the youth program has been largely ignored since the Great Depression, for four decades later few associate
work projects with the NYA.
One explanation of this lack of recognition
is the fact that under instructions from Aubrey Williams' office, the
NYA work projects were not labeled for posterity.
Almost every child
born in America since the Depression has found a plaque in a park or
on a school building identifying it as built by the WPA or PWA, but
thfjre are no such markings for the thousands of projects constructed
by the NYA,
Another factor might be that the work projects did not
have the same popular appeal as the student aid program, for many
considered this phase of the youth program simply a "junior WPA",
While student aid was a new idea in 1935, work projects undertaken by
any age group were simply another recovery endeavor. Therefore, the
fact that the NYA had a full-scale work projects program was quickly
forgotten after the Depression.
73
74
The Diversity of the Texas
NYA Work Projects
When Lyndon Johnson began organizing the Texas National
Youth Administration, he realized more than 100,000 young people in
his state needed financial assistance of some kind.
Many of this
number were struggling to stay in school, and the student aid program was designed to help them continue their educations. However,
thousands in Texas were out of school—either graduates or dropouts—
and could not find jobs.
To help solve the unemployment crisis among
Texas youths, the NYA initiated a comprehensive program of work
projects.
Johnson established the work program in Texas according to the
guidelines for such programs he received from the NYA national office.
Williams had authorized the "employment of youth who are not heads of
families on work projects . , , with a maximum wage of twenty-five
dollars per month,"
All NYA projects were to be done in cooperation
with or have the approval of the State WPA, The Texas WPA office in
San Antonio was headed by an extremely efficient administrator, H. P,
Drought,
Fortunately for young Texans, the NYA and WPA offices were
able to work well together.
Johnson corresponded with Drought almost
daily, and from available records, the relationship between the two
men and their respective programs was one of mutual cooperation. The
WPA and the NYA worked as a team in both the state and district offices
"Sfelegram, John Corson to Lyndon Johnson, August 31, 1935,
NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
75
to employ Texas youths, and this cooperation proved a decisive factor
in the program's success.
Jobs for unemployed young Texans did not just appear;
had to be created.
they
Lyndon Johnson, like his contemporaries in other
work relief programs, was faced with the challenge of finding worthwhile jobs.
The youth administrator pledged his program would sponsor
only projects which would "be of permanent social benefit . . . to the
youths, . . , the city, county, and state"2
Thus, the Texas NYA did
not build roads for the sake of creating jobs alone;
rather, the road
had to go someplace. The NYA staff solicited co-sponsors for their
work projects from every imaginable source. Generally, state agencies
and local groups were willing to co-sponsor an NYA project, for they
had jobs which needed to be done. On the projects the NYA provided
the laborers and the funds to pay them, and the co-sponsors supplied
the materials and supervision for the job.
Because the Texas NYA*
obtained the cooperation of business and labor leaders and actively
publicized its work program, thousands of young people were put to
work.
The scope of the NYA work projects in Texas was vast, for
youths proved willing to work on an immense variety of jobs.
In
counties across the state, young persons worked in the local library,
improved recreation areas, assisted the county agent, conducted various
surveys, researched anything assigned, and built roadside parks. The
Texas NYA was allowed to employ 12,000 on work projects at one time.
Johnson, Texas Outlook, November, 1935, p, 37,
76
and sometimes it seemed there were almost as many different jobs as
there were employees,
Because the state and local leaders of the Texas youth administration initiated a diverse program of work projects, it is difficult
to categorize the various projects. The NYA district supervisors displayed great inventiveness in finding the possible work projects in
their territories.
Each community offered different possibilities
for work projects. Generally, there were four broad categories
of NYA work projects:
service and clerical work, recreational im-
provements, public works programs, and resident training centers.
Service and Clerical Projects
The Texas NYA sponsored work projects which provided needed
services for local communities throughout the state. The possibilities
for service oriented projects were numerous, but the Texas youth program concentrated on projects which provided the necessities of
clothing and food to the poverty-strit:ken. Probably the most well
publicized NYA service projects were the sewing rooms which employed
young women. Such centers were located in the metropolitan areas of
Texas (Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Lubbock, San Antonio, and Austin),
and a local agency usually co-sponsored the sewing room.
The co-
sponsor furnished the facility and the utilities for a center, and the
NYA provided the materials, supervision, and salaries for the young
women.
In August, 1936, approximately 1,800 girls were employed in
3
Letter, Richard Brown to Lyndon Johnson, March 31, 1936,
NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
77
NYA sewing rooms in Texas."^ in most cities, the garments made by the
NYA seamstresses were distributed to those in need of clothing through
the Community Chest.^
Other service oriented work projects sponsored by the Texas
NYA were the non-profit cafeterias which fed needy children. These
cafeterias were usually co-sponsored by the city or local school board.
The Texas NYA bought the food and paid the salaries of the cafeteria
workers while the local co-sponsor provided the facility and the
utilities for the cafeteria.
Specific examples of these NYA cafe-
terias were in Lubbock, Amarillo, and Fort Worth.^
Apparently, there
was a need for service oriented work projects, for
although they were
not highly imaginative, they were present in many Texas communities
during the late 1930's.
A widespread type of NYA work project provided work to unemployed young people as clerks.
Most communities in Texas had NYA
youths employed in various local government offices doing routine
clerical tasks. The office assignments varied from place to place,
but usually the young people were involved in typing and filing. The
city and county governments proved willing to co-sponsor these clerical
projects within their offices, and most local government offices had
a few NYA youths assigned to it. A large, but routine, clerical work
4
Report, Lyndon Johnson to Richard Brown, July 29, 1936, Ibid.
5
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 10, 1937, p. 5.
Lubbock Morning Avalanche, January 31, 1936, p. 1; and
February 8, 1936, p. 5; and Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 12,
1936, p. 8.
78
project was co-sponsored by the Houston city government.
Houston's
Mayor Oscar F. Holcombe initiated an NYA work project which employed
approximately 100 young persons in the municipal offices of his city."^
Although most of the office work was routine, some Texas cities
and counties assigned NYA youths to special research projects. For
example, Grayson County co-sponsored a work project in which NYA employees were assigned to investigate state and local government records and to survey employment trends in the area.
There was a vast
amount of clerical work done in the State Archives, and the city of
Austin co-sponsored a work project in which thirty-five young men
9
were employed to cross-index the old state records.
Most of the
clerical work projects offered jointly by the state NYA and the local
governments were far from glamorous, but they put many unemployed
young Texans to work.
The Texas Relief Commission co-sponsored clerical work projects in its county offices.
Approximately 1,800 youths were employed
in the county offices of the Texas Relief Commission in July, 1936.
They were assigned to routine clerical work in the welfare offices,
for anything of a "statistical, survey, or research nature" in the
TRC offices was forbidden by the WPA Handbook of Procedure.1°
Ap-
parently, these jobs were reserved for regular TRC employees rather
7
Houston Post, September 17, 1935, p. 9.
''Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 4, 1936, p. 4.
9
Austin American, January 18, 1936, p. 10.
10
Report, Lyndon Johnson to Richard Brown, September 29, 1936,
NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
79
than those working on WPA or NYA clerical work projects.
It should
be noted the Texas Relief Commission was a state agency which provided
clerical work projects for Texas youth through the NYA. Thus, the
state agencies, as well as local government offices, provided opportunities for NYA clerical work projects.
The work projects co-sponsored by the state Agricultural
Extension Service were both clerical and service oriented in nature.
Unemployed youths were assigned to the county agent's office by the
NYA district supervisor.
The county agent supervised agricultural
work projects which included working in the office and informing the
public concerning "better farming, sanitation, and health practices,"
and soil conservation techniques.
The NYA youths were taught the
improved practices, and then they were assigned to the rural area of
each district to teach the farmers the new methods. These demonstrations
of soil conservation techniques and improved farming practices were
12
conducted in approximately forty-five Texas counties.-^ The counties
of Williams and Burnett in the Texas hill country employed NYA youths
13
in their county agent's office as did many other counties.
Ac-
cording to Jesse Kellam, one of the largest and most effective agricultural projects was conducted by the Lubbock county agent's office.
The South Plains of the state had been badly affected by the drought
of the mid-1930's, and the farmers were in need of the new practices.
llLubbock Morning Avalanche, January 28, 1936, p. 10.
12
Lindley, A New Deal For Youth, p. 50.
13
Austin American, February 9, 1936, p. 6.
80
Approximately 110 young people in the Lubbock area were assigned to
teach new agricultural methods throughout the South Plains.
Texas
farmers were trying to recover from the drought and the Depression,
and the help which they received from NYA youths working on agricultural work projects was undoubtedly of great benefit.
Recreational Area Improvement Projects
The broad category of recreational area improvements included
many possibilities for NYA work projects. Local communities cosponsored the recreational area improvement projects, and from the
vast number of such projects in Texas, they were well accepted by the
public.
Almost every community had public recreation areas which
needed improvements, and usually the local parks department was more
than willing to suggest the jobs and supply the materials if the state
NYA would pay the young laborers. Generally, these projects included
landscaping, planting trees and shrubs, repairing the existing park
equipment, and building new facilities at the recreational area. Recreational improvement work projects accounted for thirty-five percent
of the total number of youths employed on Texas NYA work projects in
August, 1936.-^^
Specific examples of NYA recreational area improvements were
numerous throughout Texas. The Dallas Recreational Department employed
approximately 300 youths during the spring of 1936 to improve the
liUbbock Morning Avalanche, February 14, 1936, p. 6.
Report, Lyndon Johnson to Richard Brown, July 39, 1936,
NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
81
city's recreational centers.
In addition to the physical improvements
of the parks, NYA young people were hired as playground directors by
the Dallas Recreation Department. The prospective playground directors
were trained at the Dallas Y.M.C.A. before being placed on the job."^^
The Fort Worth Recreation Department furnished jobs for NYA youths on
various park improvements such as the building of a lighted baseball
diamond at Forest Park.
The site of the 1936 Frontier Centennial
in Fort Worth was landscaped by 400 NYA workers under the supervision
of the city recreation department.
18
co-sponsored by local civic groups.
Park improvements were sometimes
For example, the men in the Lion's
Clubs in Commerce, Crosbyton, and Temple co-sponsored park improvements
in their towns in cooperation with the Texas NYA.
Recreational areas
on school property were also improved by NYA youths.
Examples in-
cluded the improvement of the football stadiums in Lubbock and Spur
and the athletic field in Rockdale as NYA work projects. 20
Probably the most well known and widely publicized recreational
work project sponsored by the Texas NYA was La Villita (the little
town) in San Antonio.
La Villita was essentially a tourist attraction
of historical significance which continues to draw visitors to the
l^Dallas Morning News, December 10, 1935, Sect. II, p. 1.
17
Fort worth Star-Telegram, April 16, 1936, p. 14.
18
Ibid., March 10, 1936, p. 5.
19
Houston Post, February 14, 1936, p. 2; Lubbock Morning
Avalanche, November 11, 1937, p. 1; and Austin American, February 9,
1936, p. 6.
Lubbock Morning Avalanche, July 31, 1936, p. 3; and Austin
American, February 9, 1936, p. 6.
82
Spanish section of the Alamo City. The restoration project, begun in
September, 1939, captured the attention of many Americans.
La Villita
required several years and a great amount of money to restore, and the
problems encountered on this NYA work project provide an insight into
the complexity of the work projects program.
Briefly, the La Villita project involved the restoration of
a cluster of forgotten, historic Spanish huts adjacent to the Alamo.
Mayor Maury
Maverick of San Antonio proposed the idea for the pro-
ject to Fenner Roth, the NYA district supervisor, and to the city
council.
Both approved of the idea, for it would employ young people
in a work of undeniable historic value. The plans called for approximately 100 youths to be employed by the NYA to restore the Cos House
and the Boliver Museum and to construct a central square known as
Juarez Plaza.
After the restoration work was completed, the NYA
planned to continue an arts and crafts work project within the Spanish
village.
21
La Villita was not only well publicized as a historical restoration, it was also well publicized because of the conflicts over the
project.
Complications arose because Maury
Maverick admitted that
he wanted to personally supervise the entire project, and he continually
clashed with the state NYA, the San Antonio City Council, and the
supervising architect over the particulars of the restoration.
He
accused the NYA of not providing enough money or laborers, although
the available NYA records do not support his accusation.
Because
21
Richard B, Henderson, Maury Maverick: A Political Biography
(Austin: University of Texas Press, 1970), p. 199,
83
Maverick had served in Congress throughout most of the New Deal, he
was well acquainted with the national NYA officials. Often he would
by-pass district supervisor Roth and state director Kellam and go
directly to Aubrey Williams, the NYA Executive Director, with his
La Villita problems. Williams apparently did not want to get personally
involved in the San Antonio work project, and he would delegate the
task of appeasing Maverick to Jesse Kellam.
22
Even though Mayor Maverick's headstrong determination to restore La Villita as he had envisioned it was the source of many problems, his contribution to the work should not be discredited.
Through
his efforts, the Carnegie Corporation contributed $15,000 to the project and nationally recognized O'Neill Ford was obtained as the supervising architect.
According to Jesse Kellam, the architect and
Maverick "reached a near impasse over the Boliver Museum."
Maverick
wanted it to be three stories tall, and Ford refused to design it on
the grounds that such a building would be structurally unsound.
Finally,
the two men reached an agreement when it was decided that the first
floor be made into a basement.
Thus, the museum has three floors, but
only two are above the ground. -^ Kellam's recollection of the problems
between Maverick and Ford serves as an example of the complications of
the La Villita project.
Many people have forgotten that La Villita was restored through
the efforts of young Texans employed on an NYA work project.
It was
22
La Villita File, Maury Maverick, Sr. Papers, University of
Texas Archives, Austin, Texas.
23
Interview, Jesse Kellam, June 5, 1974.
84
among the most expensive projects sponsored by the state youth administration, but the investment paid off in beginning the restoration
of historic San Antonio and in the lives of those who worked there.
Mrs. Lyndon Johnson adequately evaluated the work project when she
said, "La Villita was the most fascinating when the NYA youngsters
were there. "
NYA Public Works Projects
In addition to the broad categories of work projects already
discussed—service oriented, clerical, and recreational area improvements—the Texas youth administration initiated a program of public
works projects. The state NYA obtained the co-sponsorship of the Texas
Highway Department in two major public works programs designed to employ young people across the state. These public works projects included the construction of roadside parks and the improvement of the
state's highways.
Employing more jobless young Texans than any other
type of work project, these public works were readily identified with
the concept of New Deal work relief.
Texas NYA director Johnson was particularly enthusiastic about
the roadside park projects, and he persuaded the director of the Texas
Highway Department, Sam Gilstrap, that they would be beneficial to
25
the state's highway system.
The need for roadside parks was accepted by the Highway Department, and it agreed to furnish the ma-
24, ^
Interview, Lady Bird Johnson.
"ibid.
85
terials and equipment necessary for their construction.
According to
L. B. Griffith, supervisor of all NYA work projects, the press and the
2c
public were in favor of having these parks built.
By August, 1936,
NYA youths had constructed more than 125 roadside parks in Texas.
During the summer of 1936, approximately 3,600 young men were employed
on these projects. The parks usually consisted of graveled diriveways,
stone tables, and barbeque pits on approximately three acres of land.
This type of project provided jobs for about thirty percent of the total number of youths employed by the state NYA. The location of the
parks was decided by the Texas Highway Department, and they were scat27
tered across the state.
The Texas NYA placed approximately 2,000 young men to work on
highway improvement projects. The need for this type of public works
project was realized by the Texas Highway Department which readily
agreed to co-sponsor the projects. L. B. Griffith, the work projects'
supervisor, conferred with the Highway Department officials and determined what types of road improvements would be feasible as youth work
projects.
Griffith presented his program of highway improvement pro-
jects to Johnson who approved them.
By August, 1936, nearly 2,300
youths were employed on projects such as constructing rural school
walks, graveling intersections, flattening slopes, and planting shrubs.
26
Letter, L. B. Griffith to Lyndon Johnson, August 27, 1936,
NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
27
Report, Lyndon Johnson to Richard Brown, July 29, 1936,
Ibid.
28
Ibid.
28
86
The NYA public works projects provided the state of Texas
with needed improvements along its rapidly expanding highway system.
The majority of the Texas public benefitted from these public works
projects, for during the 1930's, the state was in a period of transition
to an automobile oriented society.
The NYA work projects helped to
provide a safe, efficient highway system.
Of great importance was
the fact these NYA projects employed many unskilled young men who
learned how to build parks and improve highways from their supervisors.
The public works projects were undoubtedly beneficial in
providing the state with necessary improvements and in partially
alleviating the massive unemployment of unskilled young Texans.
It may be concluded that the National Youth Administration
in Texas carried on a wide range of work projects.
In most situations,
if a state or local agency would provide the job, the NYA would provide the young people and the funds with which to pay them.
Everyone
benefitted from such a scheme—the co-sponsoring agency got the needed
work done, the unemployed youths found work, and the people received
public facilities for their use.
It is difficult to find a basis for evaluating the work projects program, for no complete record of these activities apparently
exists.^^
Approximately 12,000 youths were employed annually on the
29
According to Charles W. Corkran of the Johnson Library and
C. George Younkin of the Federal Archives and Record Center in Fort
Worth, the state records of the Texas NYA are no longer available.
Mr. Corkran suggested they were possibly destroyed by fire in the
1940's. Therefore, a picture of the work projects program had to be
constructed from the limited correspondence and charts in the Johnson
Library and from articles in the state's major newspapers. This
87
NYA projects, but it is impossible to determine the turnover within
this group. Therefore, the total number of young people in Texas who
held these jobs is unknown, and a statistical evaluation is clearly
only partial.
However, it is possible to attempt an evaluation based
upon the type of work done by the NYA youths. Generally, the work
projects were of permanent value to the state. Without question, the
work done by the NYA was not mandatory to the survival of the state,
but many aspects of Texas culture were enriched by the building of parks
and highways, research work, agricultural work, and diverse local
assignments.
Perhaps of greatest importance is the fact that the NYA
work projects filled a vital need in the lives of many Texas youths
suffering from the devastating effects of prolonged poverty and unemployment. Therefore, the NYA work projects program must be judged as
successful because it offered a partial solution to the widespread
unemployment of young Texans.
Resident Training Centers
The unemployed youth in America presented a special problem to
the National Youth Administration, for they were largely unskilled for
any job.
President Roosevelt had authorized a full-scale work pro-
jects program to employ these young people as part of the NYA, but
many had to learn how to operate a sewing machine or how to hold a
shovel before they could be put to work.30
On-the-job training was
picture is far from comprehensive, for it only touches the major accomplishments of the NYA work projects.
30
Fort Worth Star-telegram, February 4, 1937, p. 15.
88
emphasized during the first eighteen months of the work projects, but
by 1937, it was evident that additional training was mandatory if youths
were to become skilled workers in the rapidly advancing industries of
America.
To fill this urgent need of providing skilled workers, the
NYA approved the creation of resident training centers. The concept
was simple—^unemployed, unskilled young people were sent to a center
where they could learn a specific trade or skill. While he learned a
skill, the youth worked at the center.
After attending a resident
training center, hopefully one was prepared to work on an NYA work
project or in private industry.
The resident training center program
was perhaps the most lasting aspect of the NYA, for it prepared young
people for the future by teaching them a skill.
The resident training program in Texas was primarily the responsibility of state director Jesse Kellam. With cooperation from
the NYA district supervisors, college administrators, and local officials, an impressive array of resident training centers were established from 1937 through 1939. The program was structured so that
the state NYA furnished the funds and the cooperating college or community supplied the facility and the personnel to teach the young
people.
In numerous instances across the state, those involved in
resident training programs worked on construction projects for the
college or community while learning a vocation. The centers had been
planned as places where youths could earn their living expenses by
practicing the skill as they learned it. This scheme was partially
abandoned when local officials and the NYA leaders decided the resident
trainees were not contributing enough through their learning skills
89
to pay their living expenses.
In order to defray the cost of living
at a center, the NYA trainees were assigned to construction work in
addition to their other projects.
The resident training programs of the Texas NYA offered several
areas of vocational instruction.
Construction work was taught to resi-
dent trainees at Texas Tech College and Southwest Texas State College,
and an in-depth home economics program for girls was available at
Prairie View State College.•^-'- Resident training in agriculture was
available at Texas Tech College, North Texas Agricultural College,
Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College, John Tarleton Agricultural
College, and Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical College. While
learning about agriculture in classes and experiments, these youths
were also employed in construction work on the respective campuses
to help defray the cost of living there.
32
Several resident training centers in Texas were directly
linked with national defense. One of these was operated in conjunction
with the naval base at Corpus Christi. Here Texas youths were taught ^
to be airplane mechanics, and the training received at this NYA resi33
dent project was important during World War II.
Ranger was the
site of a center which provided outstanding machine shop training.
While learning to operate the metal working and wood working machinery,
the young men in the NYA center in Ranger manufactured supplies for
Lindley, A New Deal For Youth, p. 237.
32
Lubbock Morning Avalanche, March 9, 1938, p. 3; Austin
Statesman, July 28, 1937, p. 5; and August 17, 1937, p. 2.
33
Telephone interview, Fenner Roth.
90
the nearby Army base. Camp Wolters, in Mineral Wells."^'^
The resident training centers designed for young Texans were
extremely difficult to administer, for such an undertaking involved
cooperation from all levels of the state NYA, as well as many people
at the sponsoring institution.
Texas Technological College was the
site of a large resident training center.
A brief study of the resi-
dent program there reveals the complexities, strengths, and weaknesses
involved in such a center.
Texas Tech had grown rapidly since its establishment—so
rapidly that there was not enough housing to accommodate the 3,000
students.
Dormitory space was available for only 600 in the fall se-
mester of 1937. Faced with this housing crisis, the Texas Tech Board
of Regents appropriated $8,000 toward the cost of labor to build three
dormitories.
President Knapp seized upon the proposed dormitory con-
struction as a venture in resident training.
He suggested the idea
of bringing rural youths to the Texas Tech campus to build the three
dormitories to NYA state director Kellam.
The Texas NYA could hardly
afford to turn down the proposal, for the school offered to contribute
$6,000 to pay the resident trainees.
In February, 1938, Kellam re-
ceived approval from the NYA office in Washington to begin the resident training center at Texas Tech with an original NYA appropriation
of $2,000.
35
State director Kellam and President Knapp put forth a great
34
Letter, H. A. Zeigler to Deborah Self, March 2, 1974.
Telephone conversation transcript, Jesse Kellam to Richard
Brown, February 1, 1938, NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
91
amount of effort to establish the resident training center on the
campus of Texas Tech.
Both worked relentlessly on the project during
the month of February, 1938. By the end of the month, a frame structure for the NYA residents had been constructed, a course of study in
agriculture had been decided upon, and the first group of residents was
36
in the process of being chosen.
Early in March, the first group of
young men enrolled in the NYA training program on the Lubbock campus. 37
The first resident trainee group at Texas Tech was under the
immediate supervision of Dean A. H. Leidigh of the School of Agriculture.
The youths worked on dormitory construction and received
vocational instruction in animal husbandry, dairy manufacturing, horticulture, and farm machine repair during their four month tenure on
campus.38
This first group was beset by problems. According to President
Knapp, the program had "too many heads," and it took some time for
Dean Leidigh to be recognized by all concerned as the head of the project.
Another source of irritation to the college officials was the
39
trainees who presented discipline problems on campus."^
Dr. Knapp
^^Letters, Jesse Kellam to Bradford Knapp, February 4, 1938,
and February 23, 1938, NYA File, Texas Tech University President Knapp
Papers, Southwest Collection. Hereafter referred to as NYA File,
President Knapp, Southwest Collection.
^^Lubbock Morning Avalanche, March 9, 1938, p. 3.
•^ Memo, A. H. Leidigh to Peges Houston, May 7, 1938, NYA File,
Texas Tech School of Agriculture Records, Southwest Collection. Hereafter referred to as NYA File, School of Agriculture, Southwest Collection.
39
Letter, Bradford Knapp to Jesse Kellam, April 11, 1938, NYA
File, President Knapp, Southwest Collection.
92
had become concerned when he learned the resident trainees were "insulting some of the girls on campus," and he instructed Dean Leidigh
to warn the trainees that such actions could result in dismissal from
the NYA training program.^°
Additionally, there were some misunder-
standings between the state NYA office and Texas Tech officials concerning the methods to be used in vocational instruction.
Dean
Leidigh was unsure whether to hold structured classes for the trainees
or to let them "learn by doing. "^-'- Most of these difficulties may
be attributed to the newness of the resident training program, but
clearly they illustrate the complex problems involved in such an
undertaking.
The Texas Tech resident training center was judged a success
by those most closely involved in its administration.
The college
continued to conduct sessions for rural youths who desired a vocation
in agriculture throughout 1938 and 1939. Undoubtedly, the first session of the Texas Tech resident training program was the most difficult, for it paved the way for others to follow.
Yet, the evaluation
of even this stormy resident training session contained positive
statements by both the Texas NYA and the college officials. State
director Kellam wrote Dean Leidigh, "I am convinced that educational
history is being made at Texas Tech."
President Knapp reflected
^^Letter, Bradford Knapp to A. H. Leidigh, April 1, 1938, Ibid.
41
Letter, A. H. Leidigh to Bradford Knapp, April 2, 1938, Ibid,
42
Letter, Jesse Kellam to A. H, Leidigh, May 11, 1938, NYA
File, School of Agriculture, Southwest Collection.
93
on his own program in a letter to the NYA office in Washington, 'Ve
have a group that is anxious to serve the rural youth and in this
NYA resident project, we have discovered a means to that end."
President Knapp's phrase, "a means to that end," adequately
sums up the work projects program of the Texas National Youth Administration.
Placing thousands of unemployed, unskilled young people on
useful jobs was a monumental task.
Problems plagued almost every
phase of the program from financing to finding sponsoring agencies
and adequate supervision. Those involved in the Texas NYA admitted
they did not have all the answers, but by offering jobs to youths,
they hoped to solve the most immediate problems of unemployment and
poverty.
As a means to that end, the work projects program was
effective.
While the NYA work projects employed many young Texans, it
failed to completely solve the massive unemployment situation. Although the federal government had appropriated as much money as it
deemed possible to the National Youth Administration, there were still
more unemployed youths than there were federally financed jobs.
Even
though the NYA fell short of completely solving the problems of the
nation's young people, it provided a partial solution to the complex
problems of the Depression generation. The New Deal work relief
recovery programs were unexplored territory for the federal government,
and by 1935, the majority of the American public was receptive to the
'^-^Letter, Jesse Kellam to Richard Brown, May 26, 1938, NYA
File, President Knapp, Southwest Collection.
94
idea of federally financed jobs.
Although the WPA and the PWA each
had special features, the attraction of the NYA was that it gave youth
as a group the much needed chance to escape from the unending cycle
of poverty.
The National Youth Administration on the national, state,
and local levels at least attempted to solve the complex problems of
young people during the Great Depression.
CHAPTER VI
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE NATIONAL
YOUTH ADMINISTRATION
Although the National Youth Administration was short-lived,
its impact upon the young people of the Great Depression and upon
future programs was great. The NYA was created to solve the specific
problem of massive unemployment among the American young people of
the 1930's.
Tt was only partially successful in providing employment
for the thousands of jobless youths, for it simply could not finance
as many jobs as were needed with the funds provided.
However, the
NYA did provide employment for untold thousands of out of school
youths who could not find jobs elsewhere, and it kept thousands of
others in school by furnishing them with part-time jobs on campus.
In 1935 the demand for a special youth program was great, but as
the American economy slowly improved, the need for federally funded
jobs decreased.
The NYA, like other work projects, seemed to lose
its sense of urgency-
The youth program might have lingered on during
the 1940's—especially on college campuses—if the nation had not entered World War II, for it was the war which ended the need for the
youth program.
After the advent of the war, the majority of those
who might have sought NYA assistance entered the armed services or
went to work in the national defense industries.
Thus, the National
Youth Administration was created to fill a need, and in 1943, when
95
96
the need no longer existed, the United States government abolished the
program.
The concrete accomplishments of the National Youth Administration in the state of Texas were numerous. The students who were
employed on the public school and college campuses contributed a
great amount of work to the educational system of Texas. On many
campuses the work done by NYA students was obvious—planting trees
or working in the library—,but often the research work and clerical
tasks which these students contributed were not so obvious to one
outside the educational system.
However, the very real contributions
made by the NYA students should not be ignored or discounted.
The
NYA work projects provided the state with needed improvements such
as parks, highways, and other public facilities.
Because the NYA
projects were not labeled for posterity, it is often difficult to
describe the concrete accomplishments of the youth program, but the
young people of Texas were involved in building numerous public facilities and in improving parks and highways throughout the state. Hopefully, this study has revealed the extensiveness of the work done in
Texas by the National Youth Administration.
Beyond these obvious impacts of the NYA during the 1930's, it
was important in changing the relationship between the government and
its citizens. The youths of the Great Depression were the first generation to view the federal government as an active agent in the lives
of individuals. The New Deal Administration stepped directly into the
lives of many Americans by providing them employment and financial assistance.
Although some people expressed a desire to return to the pre-
97
New Deal days, such a step backward proved to be impossible for the
nation.
Young people employed by the NYA were conditioned at an early
age to accept, for good or ill, the government as the ultimate problemsolver of social ills.
The National Youth Administration also was important in preparing the nation for World War II. Not only were many NYA projects
directly linked with national defense, but these young people, in a
sense, learned the meaning of large-scale group cooperation in the
various NYA programs. This was to serve them well later on foreign
battlefields. Some claim that this generation was forced to abandon
a portion of its individualism by working on government jobs rather
than for private entrepreneuers.
At any rate, when the nation mobilized
for war after the attack on Pearl Harbor, these young people did not
display the stubborn individualism which had made previous mobilizations
in America quite difficult.
Among the impressive contributions of the NYA to later generations of Americans were the political leaders who emerged from its
administrative structure.
leaders.
Lyndon Johnson ranks as one of these
He essentially began his political career as director of the
National Youth Administration in Texas. The impact of Johnson's Great
Society Administration on the nation has yet to be measured, but his
emphasis on social legislation was apparent. Without question, the
ideas for some of President Johnson's domestic programs date back to
his work as administrator of the Texas NYA.
Such concepts as the
Job Corps and the federally funded work-study programs were directly
linked with the NYA projects.
Not only did a future president emerge
98
from the NYA administrative ranks, but many of those involved in his
presidential administration had also been part of the NYA.
Thus, the
experience with the National Youth Administration was an influence upon Lyndon Johnson and his associates when they controlled the executive
branch of the United States government. The impact of the National
Youth Administration in Texas did not end with the abolishment of
the program.
Rather, it continued in the lives of those who adminis-
tered the program and of those who worked on its various projects.
APPENDIX I
TEXAS NYA STAFF, 1936
Name
Age
Lyndon Johnson
Jesse Kellam
L. B. Griffith
27
36
41
Willard Deason
Paul E. Dermin
31
33
W. S. Birdwell
28
Paul E. Spruill
Ray Roberts
Z. S. Armstrong
Ben Jackson
H. A. Ziegler
Hirshie Johnson
C. Hazelwood
W. O. Alexander
A. V. Bullock
C. P. Little
Fenner Roth
A. W. Brisban
25
24
49
24
34
27
25
24
34
25
29
27
Source:
Title
State Director
Asst. State Director
Works Projects
Supervisor
Asst, to Director
Asst. to Work
Proje(::ts Supervisor
Finance Director
Dist. Supervisor
Jr. Employment
Dist. Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Asst. Dist. Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Location
Austin
Austin
Austin
Austin
Austin
Austin
Fort Worth
Tyler
Dallas
Brownwood
Wichita Falls
San Antonio
Lubbock
Houston
Abilene
Austin
Palestine
Waco
Personnel Records of Texas NYA, July 1, 1936, NYA Papers,
Johnson Library.
99
APPENDIX II
TEXAS NYA STAFF, MAY, 1937
Name
Age
Jesse Kellam
Willard Deason
L. B. Griffith
37
32
42
Robert T, Gay
R. C. Williams
Paul E. Spruill
Ray Roberts
C. P. Little
V. Jaeggli
H, A. Zeigler
26
25
26
27
35
Ben Jackson
Hi.rshie Johnson
A. V. Bullock
Harvey Payne
W. 0. Alexander
A. W. Brisban
Fenner Roth
25
28
35
26
25
28
30
Source:
Title
State Director
Asst. State Director
Works Projects
Supervisor
Asst. Work Projects
Supervisor
Finance Director
Jr. Employment
Dist- Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Asst. Supervisor
Asst. Supervisor
Dallas District
Dist. Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
WPA Liason Officer
Location
Austin
Austin
Austin
Austin
Austin
Fort Worth
Tyler
Dallas
Dallas
Fort Worth
San Angelo
San Antonio
Lubbock
Austin
Houston
Waco
San Antonio
Chart "NYA State Administrative Staff Organization,"
May 6, 1937, NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
100
APPENDIX III
TEXAS NYA STAFF, OCTOBER, 1939
Name
Title
Jesse Kellam
Willard Deason
A. D. Grainger
Victor Jaeggli
C. P. Little
Ray Roberts
Dan M. Drinsby
H. A. Zeigler
Ben Jackson
Marvin Lamar
A. V. Bullock
Phil B. Wilson
Harold Green
Fenner Roth
W. S. Birdwell
W. O. Alexander
A. W. Brisban
Source:
Location
State Director
Asst. State Director
Finance Director
Works Project Supervisor
Jr. Employment
Dist. Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Asst. Supervisor
Dallas Dist.
Dist. Supervisor
Asst. Supervisor
San Angelo Dist.
Dist. Supervisor
Asst. Supervisor
Lubbock Dist.
Dist Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Dist. Supervisor
Austin
Austin
Austin
Austin
Fort Worth
Marshall
Dallas
Fort Worth
San Angelo
El Paso
Lubbock
Amarillo
Laredo
San Antonio
Austin
Houston
Waco
Texas National Youth Administration, "Some Facts About
Youth and the NYA." Austin, Texas, 1939, (Mimeographed).
101
APPENDIX IV
TEXAS NYA COLLEGE AID
College
Abilene Christian College
A. & M. College of Texas
Amarillo College
Austin College
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Baylor University
Bishop College
Blinn College
Brownsville Junior College
Butler College
Clarendon Junior College
Clifton Junior College
College of Marshall
College of Mines
Corpus Christi Junior College
Dallas Theological Seminary
Daniel Baker College
Decatur Baptist Junior College
East Texas State Teachers College
Edinburg Junior College
Gainsville Junior College
Guadalupe College
Hardin Junior College
Hardin Simmons University
Hillsboro Junior College
Houston College for Negroes
Houston Conservatory of Music
Howard Payne College
Incarnate Word College
Jacksonville College
Jarvis Christian College
John Tarleton Agricultural College
Kilgore College
Lamar College
102
Quota
Monthly Allotment
69
351
34
35
4
223
38
11
14
28
8
7
43
61
15
11
33
15
118
18
15
11
20
60
22
27
30
63
51
22
15
85
20
45
$1,035
5,265
510
525
60
3,345
570
165
210
420
120
105
645
915
225
165
495
225
1,770
270
225
165
300
900
330
405
450
945
765
330
225
1,275
300
675
103
Lee Junior College
Lon Morris College
Mary Allen Junior College
Mary Hardin Baylor College
McMurry College
North Texas Agricultural College
North Texas State Teachers College
Our Lady of the Lake College
Our Lady of Victory College
Paris Junior College
Paul Quinn College
Port Arthur College
Prairie View State College
Randolph Junior College
Ranger Junior College
Rice Institute
St. Edwards University
St. Mary's University
St. Phillip's Junior College
Sam Houston State Teachers College
Samuel Huston College
San Angelo College
San Antonio Junior College
Schreiner Institute
Southern Methodist University
Southwestern University
Southwest Texas State Teachers College
Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College
Sul Ross State Teachers College
Temple Junior College
Texarkana College
Texas Christian University
Texas College
Texas College of Arts and Industries
Texas Dental College
Texas Lutheran College
Texas Military College
Texas State College for Women
Texas Technological College
Texas Wesleyan College
Tillotson College
Trinity University
Tyler Junior College
University of Houston
University of Texas
Victoria Junior College
Wayland College
12
27
19
60
46
109
190
40
12
25
17
20
79
10
15
153
17
37
8
79
27
21
21
34
167
36
111
76
36
11
15
78
40
67
7
20
11
199
259
44
21
40
15
54
820
16
17
180
405
285
900
690
1,635
2,850
600
180
375
255
300
1,185
150
225
2,295
255
555
120
1,185
405
315
315
510
2,505
540
1,665
1,140
540
165
225
1,170
600
1,005
105
300
165
2,965
3,885
660
315
600
225
810
12,300
240
255
104
Weatherford College
Wesley College
Westminster College
Westmoreland College
West Texas State Teachers College
Wiley College
Graduate Aid
A. & M. College
Hardin Simmons University
Rice Institute
Southern Methodist University
Texas State College for Women
Texas Technological College
University of Texas
Source:
18
42
6
33
102
56
270
630
90
495
1,530
840
7
1
6
10
3
5
67
70
10
160
100
30
50
1,080
Letter, Richard Brown to Lyndon Johnson, October 16,
1936, NYA Papers, Johnson Library.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Manuscript Collections
Allred, James V. Papers. Special Collections Library, University of
Houston. Houston, Texas.
Maverick, Maury,
Texas.
Sr., Papers.
University of Texas Archives. Austin,
National Youth Administration Papers. Lyndon Baines Johnson Library.
Austin, Texas.
Texas Tech National Youth Administration Papers. Southwest Collection,
Texas Tech University. Lubbock, Texas.
Texas Tech President Bradford Knapp Papers. Southwest Collection,
Texas Tech University. Lubbock, Texas.
Texas Tech School of Agriculture Records. Southwest Collection,
Texas Tech University. Lubbock, Texas.
Newspapers
Austin American.
Austin Statesman.
June, 1935 - May, 1936.
June, 1937 - December, 1938.
Dallas Morning News.
June, 1935 - December, 1936.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Houston Post.
June, 1935 - December, 1937.
September, 1935 - March, 1936.
Lubbock Morning Avalanche.
The Daily Texan.
June, 1935 - December, 1939
September, 1935 - May, 1936.
Interviews
Deason, Willard, By telephone, Washington, D. C. to Lubbock, Texas,
March 26, 1974.
105
106
Johnson, Lady Bird.
Kellam, Jesse C.
Roth, Fenner.
1974.
Austin, Texas, June 6, 1974.
Austin, Texas, February 14, 1974, and June 5, 1974.
By telephone, Houston, Texas to Lubbock, Texas, March 18,
Unpublished Materials
Patenaude, Lionel V. "The New Deal and Texas." Unpublished Ph.D,
dissertation. University of Texas, 1953.
Roberts, Ray H.
Letter to Deborah Self.
April 2, 1974.
Texas National Youth Administration. "Some Facts About Youth and
the NYA," Austin, Texas, 1939. (Mimeographed.)
Zeigler, H. A.
Letter to Deborah Self.
March 31, 1974.
Books
Henderson, Richard D. Maurey Maverick; A Political Biography.
Austin: University of Texas Press, 1970.
Hopkins, Harry L. Spending to Save. New York: W. W, Norton and
Co., 1936.
Johnson, Lyndon Baines. The Vantage Point. New York: Holt,
Rinehart, and Winston, 1971.
Johnson, Sam Houston. M;;^ Brother Lyndon. Edited by Enrique Hank
Lopez. New York: Cowles Book Co., 1969.
Kearney, James R. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.
Co., 1968.
Lash, Joseph P. Eleanor and Franklin.
Co., 1971.
Boston:
Houghton Mifflin
New York: W. W. Norton and
Leuchtenberg, William E. Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal.
New York: Harper and Row, 1963.
Lindley, Betty and Ernest K. Lindley. A New Deal For Youth. New
York: The Viking Press, 1938,
Mitchell, Broadus. Depression Decade From New Era Through New Deal.
Vol. IX of The Economic History of the United States. 10
vols. New York: Rinehart and Co., 1947.
107
Pool, William C., Emmie Craddock, and David E. Conrad. Lyndon Baines
Johnson The Formative Years. San Marcos: Southwest Texas
State College Press, 1965.
Rosenman, Samuel T . The Public Papers and Addresses of Franklin D^,
Roosevelt. 8 vols. New York:, Russell and Russell, 1938.
Steinberg, Alfred.
1968.
Sam Johnson's Boy.
New York:
MacMillian Co.,
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. The Politics of Upheaval. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Co., 1960.
Wecter, Dixon. The Age of the Great Depression, 1929 - 1941. New
York: MacMillian Co., 1948.
Periodical Articles
Johnson, Lyndon B. "A Helping Hand For Youth," Texas Municipalities,
November, 1935, p. 299.
. "Government Making It Possible For Young Men and Women
to Attend College." Texas Press Messenger, September, 1936,
p. 4.
"Texas Turns To Its Youth." Texas Outlook, November, 1935,
pp. 36-37.
"National Youth Administration."
"NYA Has New Director."
"NYA Youths at Work."
Texas Outlook, March, 1937, pp. 15-16,
Texas Outlook, March, 1936, p. 43.
Texas Outlook, March, 1936, p. 24.
The Alcalde, February, 1936, p. 106.
"The NYA and the Student." Texas Outlook, September, 1936, p, 26.