Evening star., 1933-09-08
8 Address of President
Human Need, Conference Told Responsibility Of
Federsl, State md Local GOVERNMENTS in
zone Of Greatest Crises"

RoosEvErs ad-
l. drsas today to the Mobilization
for Human Needs confsrencs
i follows:
"Mr. Secretary Of state. and
you who are the leaders In this cause
for the alienation OF human needs:
II have been somewhat occupied dur
ing the past - hours With human
needs In other parts Of the world, out
the hope that the United States would
not have to act outside Of its own
borders, In the hope that another re-
public win be able to solve its own
dimculties just a. We afe seeking to
solve, our own difficulties. And. 30,
have no set speech to deliver to you
today.
II want r.. talk 70 you very simply
and very briefly In regard to what
might be called the whole Of the pic
ture.' You are not the whole Of the
picture and neither am I. but the Ma
ton Is. Our task, think, Is to COM
plete the whole Of the picture and not
leave any diminished portion thereof.
Governments Deing Best.
"As you know, the many governments
in the United States, the Federal Gov
ernment, the - State governments
and the tens Of Thousands Of local
governments are doing their best to
meet what has been In many ways
one Of the most serious crises in his
tory. On the whole, they have done
well. The Federal Government can
not, by any means. accomplish the
task alone. The Government has, dur
ing these past months. entered into
many fields Of human endeavor that
1t has never participated in before.
"I believe we Americans do not wish
to see q permanent extension Of purely
Government operations carried to the
extent Of relieving US Of our individual
responsibilities g citizens. and 1t II
with that thought In mind that very
early in this administration We laid
down In regard to one portion OF this
great picture q somewhat simple rule:
when we came to the problem OF
meeting the emergency Of human needs,
We did not rush blindly In and say, The
Government will take care OF it. We
approached It from the other angle
first. We said to the people OF this
country, When you come to the prob
lem Of relief, you face the individual
family, the individual man, woman and
child, who lives in . particular locality,
and the first objective and the first
necessity Is that the citizens Of that
community. through the churches. the
Community Chest, the social and char
liable organizations Of the community.
are going to be expected to DO their
share to their utmost extent first. Then
We come to this second need or obtec-
tive, and that IL the participation Of
local government in the additional need.
Local Government's Duty.
I'VE demand that local government
shall do its share to the utmost, and
then, II that u not gufncieht. II those
two features did not meet the needs.
we come to the next unit, the State,
and il that still Is not enough. II the
State has done everything it reason
ably should do. then obviously the
Federal Government should step IN,
because, while 1t isn't written IN the
Constitution. nevertheless. it Is the In
herent duty Of the Federal Govern
ment to keep its citizens from sarva-
tion. OF course, In an organization
Of that kind. suppose that there is
q certain tendency to feel, II we don't
w bA4F C0CAaA SOvCAA AAAAs<As wa
Municipalities or counties feel, II we
don't do it, the State government will.
or local organization, private organiza-
ton and individuals say, Well, IL We
don't do It, the municipalities will In
other words, putting the burden on
somebody else with the general thought
in the back of our heads, II We don't
do it, somebody else will And. IN the
last analysis, the kindness Of Uncle Sam
will see to 1t that we don't fail.
Sinking Extensive.
I'VE have had . great many examples
Of late of areas in this country, area.
which have not done their share and
are coming. hat in hand. to the Fed
eral Government and saying. We want
Federal relief There have been States
which have not done their share
States where the problems Of relief
have gotten mixed up with politics;
legislatures that are thinking In polit-
ical and not in human terms. There
are municipalities which are going
ahead with the spending Of the taxes
for political purposes and then hnd
they haven't any money left Tor re-
lief purposes.
II am glad to say that those In
dividual cases are diminishing IN num-
Der because the people Of this coun-
try understand It and are telling the
government bodies, local or State, that
they have got to play ball and not
shirk. There are lot of cases wn1cn
are 80 close to the border line Of emer-
gency that they do not belong 70 the
border relief problem.
yesterday, the Governor Of South
Dakota came to my once with some
extraordinary pictures OF farm lanos
where arasshoppers had devoured every
thing down to the roots. Where there
isn't anything left for man or beast
to eat; where many Thousands OF
farmers are not faced Just with the
temporary problem Of being helped OUT
A little here and q little there, but
with the fact that neither they nor
their live stock have any chance OF
peting anything to hive on until next
SUMMER some time-there is an emer-
eency. We are going to try to take
care Of 1t - an emergency. It comes
very close to the border lhe-wnere
the Red Gross has got to step m Pc
cause It Is Q peculiar kind Of disaster
and does not result from dood OF fire.
Starving Mine Families.
There are cases IN tO1ue Va s&se V0eA
mining sections Of this country where
families have been starving week IN and
week out over . long period Of time and
where the community or the State iail
to do their lhare. These are not ois.
asters in the same sense or with the
same results that grasshoppers and
floods are responsible. The point !
want to make is this: You have very
great opportunity, not merely to keep
people from starving. You have fur-
ther opportunity Of inculcating the un-
derstanding that we have to build from
the bottom up-nct merely 70 supply
food from the top down. There will be
. tendency this year In obtaining the
wherewithal for local relief for people
TO say, We can't do IT, .
II believe they can do, It. BisSer
this year and more generously, more
successfully this year than they could
last. Taxing 1t BY and large, the coun-
try Is in Q much more hopeful frame
Of mind. People have more money to
mend and more time in which to do