Evening star., 1935-03-05
2-YEAR RECOVERY
ISC|TED BY ROPER
Commerce Head, on Forum,
Declares 80 Indexes
Show Progress.

No period Of recovery in the his
tory Of the United States has shown
a degree OF improvement comparable
with that since March, 1888. Secre-
tary of Commerce Roper said last
night in addressing the National Ra-
dio Forum, arranged by The Star and
broadcast over a Nationwide hookup
Of the National Broadcasting Co.
Reporting on two years OF Roose-
welt progress, Mr.. Roper said that
gains are shown by 80 major economic
indexes.
Credits Recovery Policies.
He attributed the improved condi-
lions to recovery policies put into ef-
feet by the Roosevelt administration
in accordance with campaign pledges.
"The significant fact" he said, "is
that with the ship of state at its half
way mark on the recovery voyage, a
majority of these promises have al
ready been translated into action. I
cannot recall a comparable record in
the first two years Of any previous
President"
The Commerce Department chief
declared that it has become evident
that chaos was averted" and that We
now know that this Nation in major
fundamental, economic respects Is IN
. thoroughly sound and healthy con-
dition."
The text of Mr.. Roper's address is
rs follows:
The four-year voyage OF the ship
Of state, which set forth upon an ad-
venturous and challenging journey
on March 4, 1888. with Franklin D.
Roosevelt at the helm, today has
reached the halfway point in its
time schedule. I have been asked to
read the ships log for the first part
of the voyage. to interpret the ship
charts, to report on whether the ship
is behind or ahead Of schedule. the
direction in, which the vessel is now
moving, the condition Of the pas
sengers and crew and, finally, the
distance to and the probable time OF
arrival at the ports of destination.
Let us remember the terrific storm
In which the ship set sail. the rela-
lively uncharted waters through
which it had to pass. the constant
danger Of hidden reefs and shoals
and the serious state Of desperation
and panic among the passengers.
There was no time to remain IN
port to make vitality needed func-
tional repairs. That job had to be
done while the ship was under way
and in the midst of battle with the
forces of a violent storm
The outline chart for the course OF
the voyage was presented in 1882 by
Roosevelt as nominee for Presi-
dent The people expressed their
confidence overwhelmingly in the
course as he charted it, and as the
ships log for the first two years
is read and interpreted brief refer
ence will be made to the promises
set forth and the extent to- which
shey have been fulfilled.
Applies to Medical Principle.
In the field of medicine the ques-
ton is sometimes asked as to whether
. patient would have recovered with.
out the application Of rational treat.
nent by a competent doctor. After
the treatment has been applied and
the patient is on the road to re-
covery no question could be more
beside the point than to suggest
that the recovery would have taken
place without the help of the doctor
The same principle is applicable in
relation to our nationa' economic re-
covery. Psychologically, from a view
point Of national welfare, we recog-
nize the utter futility of even rails
ing the question as to whether re-
covery would have been possible with
out the New Deal program. We do
know that no period of recovering in
our history has shown the degree of
improvement and betterment that has
taken place since March 4, 1888, when
the ship Of State set forth upon its
recovery voyage. In q letter re-
ceived recently from a prominent
business man I quote bis appraisal
as follows:
II do not hold with those critics
who maintain that the upturn was
bound to come anyway and that the
administration is in no way RESPONSE
BILE for it. There is too close a CORE
lation between the beginning Of the
upward trend and the inception Of
the Presidents policies to admit Of
anything but the fact that they are
directly responsible" This unsolicited
comment is typical Of q great many
communications received from busi-
ness men who analyze the recovery
program from the broad viewpoint Of
general results and benefits. It goes
without saying that any one can
lind in every city and section Of the
country individual business enter
prises which are wonderfully i'm
proved and also others which are in
q worse position today than they
were in the early Spring of 1893.
Thus. We cannot properly depend for
our conclusions and appraisals about
recovery results solely upon the lin
tied basis of individual experience
and individual observation. We must
seek to visualize the entire Nation
wide scope of recovery purposes. meth
ods and results. A program for re-.
covery which none would criticize, q
program perfect in conception and
application and productive of maxi
mum possible results would be di-
vine In origin and in execution.
Quotes Lord Bacon.
"A little philosophy" said Lord
Bacon. "inclineth mans mind to
atheism. but depth in philosophy
bringeth mems minds about to re-
lgion." In a similar way a little in
formation may incline a mans mind
to skepticism, while a breadth Of in
formation leads the mind to convic-
ton. I invite you to examine with
me briefly this evening the general
record Of experiences and results.
what has been accomplished and what
still remains under the program to
be done.
As I read the log Of the first two
years Of the recovery voyage, vis-
ualize q balance sheet which con-
tains both assets and liabilities. This
balance sheet is expressed in terms
of factlIal and statistical MEASURE.