March 12, 1930: The Mahatma Gandhi and his followers begin the "Salt March" in IndiaMarch 31, 1930: U.S. film industry adopts the Hays Code for film censorshipMarch 11, 1930: Former U.S. President and Chief Justice Taft mourned at U.S. Capitol rotunda after March 8 death
German PresidentPaul von Hindenburg recommended that German centrists support theHermann Müller government as it attempted to impose a "national sacrifice tax" to eliminate the deficit and pay doles to the unemployed.[1]
The British government reconsidered the idea of aChannel tunnel to overcome France's demands to maintain a huge navy that had left the London Naval Conference deadlocked.[2]
A letter byJoseph Stalin appeared in Moscow newspapers warning communist officials to ease their campaign ofcollectivization. "We cannot collectivize farmers by force", Stalin wrote. "This is foolish and reactionary. Healthy collectivization must be based upon the active support of the bulk of the peasantry."[4] The letter was published amid reports that thousands of Russian peasants were fleeing across the border to Poland.[5]
London stockbrokersBuckmaster & Moore caused a stir in the British banking world when they issued a circular to clients advising them to sell their shares in British industry and invest in the United States and Canada instead. It expressed the opinion that England's business depression was part of a permanent decline, while "the economic, the political and climatic advantages of the United States and Canada in the next few decades will be so overwhelmingly great that these countries offer the most attractive field for investment."[13]
Packagedfrozen food was sold in supermarkets for the first time, with an introduction of Birdseye products in 18 stores inSpringfield, Massachusetts United States.[15]
Communists staged an international day of protest against hunger and unemployment. Police and demonstrators clashed in Berlin, New York, London, Paris, Washington, and other cities.[16][17]
Hjalmar Schacht resigned as President of Germany'sReichsbank, explaining he could not agree to the ratification of theYoung Plan in its present version because it had been "adulterated by politicians in the last fourteen months."[19]
U.S. PresidentHerbert Hoover said that all evidence indicated "that the worst effects of the crash upon unemployment will have been passed during the next sixty days with the amelioration of seasonal unemployment, the gaining strength of other forces, and the continued cooperation of the many agencies actively cooperating with the government to restore business and to relieve distress."[20]
A fire in Japanese Korea killed 105 people, most of them the children of Japanese naval officers, who had gathered at a warehouse at theChinkai Guard District to watch a film commemorating the 25th anniversary of Japan's victory over Russia in theBattle of Mukden. The 105 were part of 600 who had assembled to watch the film.[26]
Died: RCAF Lieutenant ColonelWilliam G. "Billy" Barker, 35, Canadian ace fighter pilot and the most decorated serviceman in Canadian history, killed in a plane crash while demonstrating a biplane trainer.[32]
Nine U.S. Navy sailors were injured inManila during race riots with Filipino residents resentful of news of U.S. discrimination.[38]
Died:Miguel Primo de Rivera, 60, the former premier and dictator of Spain, of diabetes, six weeks after being forced out office. He was found dead by his daughter in a Paris hotel room, where he had been preparing to go to the Germanspa town ofWiesbaden to seek treatment.[39]
The U.S. Senate restored provisions for censorship of imports of foreign literature.[43]
British Ministry of Labour figures showed that 1,563,800 people were out of work in the UK during the week ending March 10, an increase of over 15,500 over the previous week.[44]
Pope Pius XI opened his campaign of prayer against religious persecution in the Soviet Union before a capacity crowd inSt. Peter's Basilica. Similar services were held in Catholic churches worldwide.[45]
The Mahatma Gandhi arrived inKareli (now part of India'sMadhya Pradesh) state during the Salt March and instructed villagers to refuse to fetch water for the British government tax collector or any other holders of the office in India.[46]
Born:Willie Thrower, American football player and the first African-American quarterback in the NFL (for the Chicago Bears in 1953); inNew Kensington, Pennsylvania (d. 2002)
A memorial service was held for Arthur Balfour inWestminster Abbey while he was buried inWhittingehame, Scotland. A rough farm cart decorated with leaves and ivy served as his hearse.[48]
Stephen Sondheim, American musical composer and lyricist for stage and film (includingWest Side Story), winner of eight Tony Awards, eight Grammy Awards and an Academy Award; in New York City (d. 2021)
Fascist Italy abolishedcustoms laws dating back to medieval times which had given municipalities the right to levy a tax on farmers entering city gates with their produce.[50]
Dino Grandi, head of the Italian delegation at the London Naval Conference, proposed that negotiations be adjourned for six months due to talks being deadlocked.[51]
American Federation of Labor PresidentWilliam Green published a report saying that the rise of unemployment had been checked, but in eleven American cities unemployment was "still at a very high figure of 20 percent or more out of work."[53]
Hermann Müller resigned asChancellor of Germany following disagreements within his coalition government on the issue of unemployment insurance for Germany's 3 million jobless.[54]
The British government decided to abolish capital punishment for four crimes in the British army: misbehaviour before the enemy in such a manner as to show cowardice, leaving a guard, picket, patrol or post without orders, intentionally sounding a false alarm and leaving a post when acting as a sentinel. The death penalty for mutiny, treason and desertion was maintained.[57]
In a speech in Toronto, theGovernor General of CanadaViscount Willingdon suggested that Canada take over theBritish West Indies, explaining that the West Indies had a "feeling of enormous gratitude for the steps taken by Canada following the recent trade agreement" and that they wanted to be "linked directly with Canada."[58]
Australian Prime MinisterJames Scullin laid out the seriousness of the country's economic problems, including a 13% unemployment rate, at a conference of state premiers inCanberra. "Australia must realize she must export in the next few years as much produce as she can", Scullin said. "This means Australia must do with fewer luxuries and with less of foreign-made goods."[61]
^"Reds Arrested, Many Injured in Petty Riots".Chicago Daily Tribune. March 7, 1930. p. 3.
^Scheck, Raffael (1998).Alfred von Tirpitz and German right-wing politics, 1914-1930. Atlantic Highlands, N.J: Humanities Press. p. 208.ISBN9780391040434.
^Ralph, Wayne.William Barker VC: The Life, Death & Legend of Canada's Most Decorated War Hero. Mississauga, Ontario: John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd., 2007.ISBN978-0-470-83967-6.
^"British Abolish Death for Four Crimes in Army".Chicago Daily Tribune. March 29, 1930. p. 4.
^"Canada Urged to Take British Islands off U.S.".Chicago Daily Tribune. March 29, 1930. p. 4.
^Grand, Alexander (1995).Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany: the "fascist" style of rule. New York: Routledge. p. xiv.ISBN9780415105989.
^Allen, Jay (March 30, 1930). "French Ratify Young Plan by Huge Majority".Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 7.
^Dailey, Charles (March 31, 1930). "Australia Told 'Do or Die' Spirit is Business Hope".Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 13.
^Murrells, Joseph (1978).The book of golden discs. London: Barrie & Jenkins. p. 125.ISBN9780214204807.
^Doherty, Thomas Patrick.Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema 1930–1934. New York: Columbia University Press 1999;ISBN0-231-11094-4.
^Mockler, Anthony (2002).Haile Sellassie's War. New York: Olive Branch Press. p. 10.ISBN978-1-56656-473-1.
