Evening star., 1932-08-12

of our people, yet this democracy Of
ours has proved its ability to act.
Emergency Measures
OF Past Years Reviewed.
Our emergency measures Of the
past three years form a definite
strategy dominated in the back
ground by these American principles
and ideals, forming a continuous
campaign waged against the forces
of destruction on an ever widening
or constantly shifting front.
Thus We have held that the Fed
eral Government should in the pres
ence of great national danger use
It's powers to give leadership to the
initiative, the courage and the forti-
tude Of the people themselves; but it
must insist upon individual, COM
munity and State responsibility.
That it should furnish leadership
to assure the coordination and
unity of all existing agencies, gov
ernmental and private. for economic
and humanitarian action. That
where it becomes necessary to meet
emergencies beyond the power of
these agencies by the creation of
new Government instrumentalities,
they should be of such character as
not to supplant or weaken, but
rather to supplement and strength
en-, the initiative and enterprise of
the people. That they must, directly
or indirectly. serve all the people
Above all. that they should be set
up in such form that once the emer-
gency is passed they can and must
be demobilized and Withdrawn,
leaving our governmental, economic
and social structure strong and
whole.
We have not feared boldly to
adopt unprecedented measures to
meet the unprecedented violence of
the storm. But, because we have
kept ever before us these eternal
principles Of our Nation, the Amer
ican Government in its ideals is the
same as it was when the people gave
the presidency into my trust. We
shall keep it so. We have resolutely
rejected the temptation, under pres
sure of immediate events, to resort
to those panaceas and short cuts
which, even If temporarily success
ful. would ultimately undermine and
weaken what has slowly been built
throughout these $50 years.
It was in accordance with these
principles that in the first stage Of
the depression I called the leaders
Of business and of labor and agri-
culture to meet with me and in
duced them, by their own initiative,
to organize against panic with all its
devastating destruction; to uphold
wages until the cost of living was
adjusted; to spread existing en-
ployment through shortened hours;
and to advance construction work,
public and private, against future
need.
In pursuance Of that same policy,
each Winter thereafter assumed
the leadership in mobilizing all the
voluntary and official organizations
throughout the country to prevent
suffering from hunger and cold. and
to protect the million families
stricken by drought. When 1t be-
came advisable to strengthen the
States who could not longer carry
the full burden of relief to distress,
held that the Federal Government
should do so through loans to the
States and thus maintain the
fundamental responsibility Of the
States. We stopped the attempt to
turn this effort to- the politics Of
selfish sectional demands. We kept
it based upon human need.
1t is in accordance with these
principles that, in aid to unemploy-
ment we are expending some six
hundred millions in Federal con-
struction of such public works as
car be justified as bringing early
and definite returns. We have op-
posed the distortion of these needed
works into pork-barrel non-produc-
tive works which impoverish the
Nation.
1t is in accord with these princi-
Piles and purposes that we have
made provision for one billion five
hundred millions of loans to self
supporting works so that we may
increase employment in productive
labor. We rejected projects of waste
full productive works allocated
for the purpose of attracting votes
instead of affording relief. Thereby,
instead Of waSteful drain upon the
taxpayer, we secure the return Of
their cost to Government agencies
and at the same time we increase
the wealth of the Nation.
It was in accordance with these
principles that we have strength
ented the capital Of the Federal
Land Banks-that on the one hand
confidence in their securities should
not be impaired. and on the other
that farmers indebted to them
should not be unduly deprived Of
their homes The Farm Board by
emergency loans to the farmers CO.
operatives served to stem panics in
agricultural prices and saved hun
dreds of thousands of farmers and
their creditors from bankruptcy. We
have created agencies to prevent
bankruptcy and failure of their CO.
operative organizations, and we are
erecting new instrumentalities to
give credit facilities for live stock
growers and the orderly marketing
Of farm products.
1t was in accordance with these