Evening star., 1932-10-16

has reduced the numbers of people
coming into the United States seeking
employment to less than those who are
departing That order was issued two
years ago. Had the net immigration
taken place since the date OF that order
which took place in the two years prev
ious. we would have had 100000 jobs
taken from our people or had just that
many persons added to our unemployed.
That might have been worse.
10. There Is nothing in which the
American workman is more concerned
than in preserving the integrity OF the
American dollar The Democratic
party has at various times, and specifi-
cally by the passage Of the Patman bill
by the Democratic House OF Repre-
sentatives on June Is last, endeavored
to undermine the integrity Of the
American currency through the issue
of $4,000, 100000 of greenbacks-hark-
of 60 years ago. If any of you will
study what happened in Germany. or
France, or Austria, or any other
European country when they resorted
to these measures in order to meet their
immediate difficulties, you will find that
the major hardship fell upon the work
ing people. There was a time when the
value of the German mark was five to
the dollar They tried this plan of
relief. 1 have in my desk a 100000
mark note which before the entrance
into these processes would have been
worth Sl00O000, and yet, which 1
bought for actually 81. The effect of
heir experiment was subtle and steady
reduction of real wages right and left.
Have Fought Great Battle.
We have fought a great battle to
maintain the stability of the American
dollar, the stability of its exchange, in
order that we might protect the work.
ing people of the United States.
II. Over and above and of infinitely
more Importance than all these meas
ures 1 have mentioned is the problem
Of restoring the great mass of normal
Jobs In the coultry. Emergency jobs
have helped enormously, but the normal
Jobs are the permanent dependence of
the worker. Emergency jobs will never
heal the depression.
Obviously, the normal jobs lie in the
production and distribution of goods
and serVices-in other words, the fac
tories, the mills, the mines, the rail-
ways, the public utilities, the stores, the
Offices.
And every part of this mechanism
is fabricated by what We call credit
That Is, the ability Of the manager of
business to borrow money to buy his
raw materials and TO pay his labor.
This credit is the very hfeblood of this
whole structure. 1t is the lifeblood of
Jobs. If credit fails, the enterprise
dries up; it withers or it dies. And
jobs decrease or disappear.
S,,-;nr. aro D,sts os r-oa;.
And what is the source of credit? |
The savings of the people themselves |
These are gathered in a myriad of tiny
rivulets of their deposits in the banks |
their premiums to life insurance COM
panies, their dues to benevolent fra
ternal organizations, their payments
to building and loan associations, and
score of other ways. These rivulets
in total volume are a mighty river
Their waters are stored in credit reser-
voirS. These are the banks, mortgage
companies. the insurance companies,
investments in the services of industry
and business.
Thus credit is born Of the people
themselves. What the people give the
people can take away. the reservoirs
of credit are built upon the confidence
of the people in them. Fear is death
to credit.
When the great economic earth
quakes abroad struck directly at the
credit structures of those foreign
countries, the shocks reverberated to
us. I have already said foreigners
dumped their securities here at panic
prices and demanded gold in payment
They claimed their deposits from
American banks. They demanded cash
for all goods they had sold us. Our
own people in fear drew out 81 500 ,000.-
900 of their savings from our own
banks.
Fear Hampered Credit.
Thus credit began to dry up The
managers of business turned in vain
for the accustomed loans to buy raw
materials and to pay their labor
Beyond all this contraction Of credit
was the fear and panic through the
world, spreading its destruction into
the United States. 1t imperiled the in
StltutionS in which were the savings
of every flreSide-bank deposits or in
surance policies or investments. In
this contraction OF credit lay dangers
to every one who owed money. for upon
demand for immediate payment he was
compelled to sell his property in a
limited and vastly deprecated market
and so was threatened with ruin.
Faced with these unprecedented perils,
We took unprecedented steps. We re-
fused TO allow these destructive forces
10 run their course to chaos and ruin
We organized the cooperation of the
community; We thrust the strength Of
the Government as a shield before the
people as has never been done before
in the history of all time
l have referred to these gigantic
measures on other occasions. l will
not take your time to again describe
the weapons and instrumentalities We
have brought to bear in this battle. We
created them, and We created them to
preserve your savings deposits, your in
surance policies; to protect you from
foreclosure on your homes. We did 1t
to hold for you the jobs you have and,
finally, to recover the ground lost in
the battle and restore the jobs which |
have been lost. 1t has been battle |
II ina foI-1