Scope and Contents Materials documenting the conflict between Eccles and Senator Harry F. Byrd of Virginia over economic policy during the New Deal years. Eccles advocated deficit spending during times of high unemployment to stimulate business and provide for the needy. Byrd believed the economic solutions should have included a balanced budget and reductions in taxes and social programs. The controversy became a matter of public interest after Eccles, in a public letter dated December 23, 1938, accused Byrd of...