Evening star., 1938-06-30
Text of Roosevelt Speeches
Tells Teachers History Will approve Long Range
Program-Backs Good -Neighbor Policy for
World at New York Fair Ceremony.

OF our national capital is likewise
problem of husbandry-the conserv-
ing of health, energy. skill and morale
OF our population, and especially Of
that part of our population which will
be the America of tomorrow
Teachers Ultimate Guardians.
This also is a problem of the fullest
use and development of precious re-
sources of ability which cannot be
stored and will be lost if they remain
unused. No. nation can meet this
changing world unless its people. In
dividually and collectively. grow in
ability to understand and handle the
new knowledge as applied to increas-
ingly intricate human relationships.
That is why the teachers Of America
are the ultimate guardians il the hu-
man capital Of America, the assets
which must be made to pay social divi-
dends If democracy is to survive.
We have believed wholeheartedly
in investing the money Of all the
people on the education Of the people.
That conviction. backed up by taxes
and dollars, Is no accident. for it Is
the logical application Of our faith in
democracy.
Mans present-day control Of the
affairs Of nature is the direct result of
investment in education. And the
characterization Of education has made
1t possible for outstanding ability,
which would otherwise be completely
lost, to make its outstanding contribu-
tion to the common veal. We cannot
Afford to overlook any source of hui
man raw material. Genius flowers in
most unexpected places: lit is the i'm
petus Of the undistinguished host that
hurls forth q Diomed or q Hector"
No government can create the hu-
man touch and self-sacrifice which
the individual teacher gives to the
process Of education. But what gov
ernment can do is to provide financial
support and to protect from interfer-
ence the freedom to learn.
No one wants the Federal Govern
ment to subsidize education any more
than is absolutely necessary. It has
been and will be the traditional pol
Icy Of the United States to leave the
actual management OF schools and
their curricula to State and local con.
troll.
But We know that In many places
local government unfortunately can
not adequately finance either the free
dom or the facilities to learn. And
there the Federal Government can
properly supplement local resources.
Wide Divergence in Standards.
Here Is where the whole problem of
education ties in definitely with nat
ural resources and the economic pic
ture OF the individual community or
State. We all know that the best
schools are in most cases located In
those communities which can afford
to spend the most money on them
the most money for adequate teachers
salaries. for modern buildings and
for modern equipment Of all kinds.
We know that the weakest educa-
tional link in the system lies in those
communities which have the lowest
taxable values. therefore the smallest
per capita tax receipts and, therefore.
the lowest teachers salaries and most
inadequate buildings and equipment,
We do not blame these latter COM
munities. They want better educa-
tional facilities. but simply have not
enough money to pay the cost.
There Is probably q wider divergence
today in the standard of education
between the richest communities and
the poorest communities than there
was 100 years ago; and it is, there.
fore. our immediate task to seek to
close that gap-not in any way by
decreasing tho facilities Of the richer
communities, but by extending aid
to those less fortunate. We all know
that If we do not close this gap 1t
will continue to widen, for the best
brains in the poor communities will
either have no chance to develop or
will migrate to those places where
their ability will stand q better
chance.
To continue the parallel between
natural and human sources, 1t is
well to remember that our poorest
communities exist where the land is
most greatly eroded, where farming
does not pay. where industries have
moved out, where flood and drought
have done their work, where trans
portation facilities are Of the poorest
and where cheap electricity Is un-
available for the home.
All Of this leads me to ask you
not to demand that che Federal Gov
ernment provide financial assistance
to all communities. Our aid for many
reasons, financial and otherwise, must
be confined to lifting the level at the
bottom rather than to giving assist
ance at the top. Today we cannot
do both. and we must, therefore,
confine ourselves to the greater need.
In line with this policy. the Federal
Government during the past five years
has given relatively far more as
sistance to the poorer communities
than to the rich. We have done it
through direct relief and through
work relief, through the Resettlement
Administration and the Farm Sc.
curity Administration, the National
Youth Administration and through