Washington D.C. - 1932

I found that the reason that Dorothy had wired me to send her money was that when she had written me telling me that she was not coming back she had signed a new contract to teach school the next year. She was paid on a twelve month basis, and had expected to use the money she would have been paid for the summer months upon resigning, to come back to Washington. Having signed up for another year this money was not paid to her and she had no other money with which to pay her railroad fare. As the months passed she was paid this money and that helped us through the summer months. Nevertheless we learned the names of every kind of canned goods that could be'purchased for 5 cents of which there were many. I remember in particular, Phillips spagetti.

Since coming to Washington I had made quite a few friends. In addition one of Dorothy's close friends came back (Verna Reeve) after she was married and before long there was a crowd of us all in the same boat - that is, young married couples trying to get work and go to school.. We had a really great time together - picnics in Rock Creek Park or down on the Point, Sunday evening get-togethers in each others' apartments and just lots of fun at very little cost.

As soon as we were settled down Dorothy started looking for work. It was really hard to find and there was many a day when she would sit in an employment agency all day long and finally get a job addressing envelopes at $2 a thousand.

It was not long after we were married that Congress, in an effort to reduce federal expenditures, cut all government salaries by 15%.. Thus the $105 a month I was getting was reduced to about $89 a month.

LETTERS
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(L320719) John Griffin to Mother / Washington D.C.
(L321019) Dorothy Griffin to Maude / Washington D.C.
(L321216) John Griffin to Mother / Washington D.C.

As fall approached it became time to think about school. I took the credits that I had earned at Junior College and at the University of Paris down to the George Washington University and after checking them over, they decided that I would have to have another year of undergraduate work before I could be admitted to Law School. They refused to give me any credit for the work I did at the University of Paris which was really the hardest school work I have ever done. I was very much tempted to go to one of the so-called "quickie" law schools of which there were several in Washington D.C. Dorothy talked me out of the idea and thought that it would pay in the long run to go to a good accredited school. Time has proved that she was right. However, I later learned that had I gone to Georgetown University, a good accredited school, a full year's credit would have been given for my work at the University of Paris.



YEAR (FILE ) SUBJECT
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1932 (1348) Guthridge Apartments, Oct 32 to Oct 33

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