Evening star., 1932-11-03
Text of Hoover's Speech to Far West
Against Opponntt Pacific

Cites Increased Oriental Trade
ruin: and we alone held the last fortress
Of stability in the world. The invasion
Of this army of fear destroyed conf
dence, sapping the defenses of our
financial system and. sitting our ex-
ports of goods to those nations, threat
ened to bring down our entire indus
trial and commercial structure.
The New World War.
This was the new world war, a war
of fearful and invisible enemies. Its
spectral hosts, recruited in Europe and
gathering allies from every land. turned
their final march of assault upon our
shores and even upon our Pacific Coast
States.
As the responsible head of the Nation,
I, following the historic policy of our
past, abjured partisanship. I called for
national unity in the face of national
danger; set before the leaders Of both
parties complete program of measures
for national defense and recovery. To
the credit of my countrymen, they an
swered this call with almost complete
unanimity; many patriotic Democrats
in the Congress aligned themselves with
patriotic Republicans under the banner
Of a united Nation.
] need not recite the long series of
more than 80 measures initiated by my
administration to sustain wages and
employment; to prevent hunger and
cold among millions of men, women and
children; to hold impregnable our Gov
eminent credit as the basis of all sta
bility to maintain the structure of pri-
vate credit system through the Federal
Reserve System, the Reconstruction
Corporation, the land banks, the agri-
cultural banks, home loan banks, the
Farm Board; the expansion in public
works; the mobilization of cooperation
in all parts of our country, and score
of other activities. Their whole purpose
was to hold the Nation steady in this
crisis and to maintain the validity of
the deposits of our people in the banks,
the savings, the insurance policies Of our
people, and to hold the jobs for those
who had work, to care for the distressed
and keep the economic machine func-
tioning until the hurricane had passed,
These actions saved this Nation from a
score of years of destructive degenera-
ton.
Nor were these dangers just general
to the Nation. These invaSionS swept
from State to State and from city to
city throughout the country. 1t was
battle not alone against nationwide
startling growth Of fear but against
local and separate dangers in which at
times each one of our Pacific Coast
States has been the object of acute
anxiety and direct action on the part of
the Federal Government in their de-
fense.
Blames Democratic House.
One great difficulty which arose to
halt our progress was the development
by the Democratic House of Represen-
tativeS and the allies which they had
secured to themselves of a series of
disastrous measures for vast raids on
the public Treasury the issuance of
greenback money and other interfer-
ences with the currency. The flank
attacks had to be fought, coincident
with fighting hundred battles on the
whole economic front, and they delayed
the effectiveness of our potent meas
ures for recovery until the Democratic
House OF Representatives and their
allies adjourned. Our opponents at no
time have proposed a single constructive
to meet this emergency.
Finally, confidence being restored, We
have been able to mobilize these meas
ures into counter-attack on the depres-
sion. Since the adjournment Of Con-
gresS a million men have returned to
work, new courage and enterprise have
come into the lives and souls of men,
and again America has begun the march
forward which she has moved over
these $50 years. The poignant question
which citizens are asking today is
whether We are going to check this
progress and subject harried business,
employment and agriculture to new
term of waiting and uncertainty by the
threat of new policies which are de-
structive in character both in the short
and long view of our Nation.
I cannot better illustrate the meas
ures Of defense and attack than to
point to few of their applications to
our Pacific Coast States.
Bear in mind that the head of a ma
ton has the obligation to exert equal
concern for the necessities of every
State. I use this illustration merely to
bring home to my neighbors and friends
in the West the practical application to
them of the vast program We have put
in motion.
No man can say I was unmindful of
the Pacific Coast States when immedi-
ately upon taking Office and in the face
Of every prophecy and every precedent
Of political disaster to Presidents who
demand tariff revision I called Congress
into special session for upward revision
Of all farm tariffs, including the prod
ucts of every farm. orchard, ranch and
garden in California and the other
Pacific Coast States. And, further, that
I secured the support of Republican
States not interested in the setting up
of the oil and lumber tariffs, so that we
gained for these industries and their
workers a much-needed relief to their
unemployment.
Dependent Upon Tariff.
There are no States in the Union
whose prosperity Is so dependent upon
the maintenance Of the protective tariff
as in those of the Pacific Coast. There
Is scarcely a commodity now produced
within your borders that could be pro-
duced on a commercial basis tomorrow
if We were to take down the barriers
which prevent a food of goods outside
our boundaries from the North. the
South, across the Atlantic and the
Pacific.
You are familiar with the proofs. I
need recite but few.
For instance, Southern California
should be interested that lemons can be
laid down in New York from Europe at
$3.50 a box, while through tariff pro-
lection California Is able to sell her
product for $3.50. Petaluma Is inter-
ested that the import Of more than
8 900, 900 dozens OF eggs has dropped to
800 900 this year under Republican tariff,
and through the recent order I signed
in connection with dried eggs upon the
n determination Of facts by the Tariff