The Washington times., 1938-03-23
GAINESVILLE, Ca, March %

and visible commemoration o.
the rebirth of Gainesville, is NOR;
than a symbol of the fine cour
age which has made it possible
for this city to come back after
it was in great part destroyed
by the tornado of 1896
These ceremonies touch the
interest and life of the whole
nation because they typify a
citizenship which is latent in
the American character but
which too often remains quies-
cent and too seldom expresses
itself. You were not content to
clear away the debris which +,
myself, saw as passed through
Gainesville a couple of days
after the disaster. You were
not content with rebuilding
along the lines of the old COM
munity. You were not content
with throwing yourselves on
the help which could be given
to you by your State and by the
Federal Government.
"a BETTER CITY"
On the contrary, you deter
mined in the process of rebuild
ing to eliminate old conditions
of which you were not proud;
to build a better city; to replace
congeSted areas with parks; to
move human beings from SlumS
to suburbs. For this you, the
citizens of Gainesville, deserve
all possible praise.
It is true that in the planned
work Of rebuilding you received
Federal assistance. Chairman
Jesse Jones of the ReconStruc-
tion Finance Corporation tells
me that they invested nearly
one million dollars in Gainesville
with the objective Of helping to
rebuild the city and that ne
knows of no similar. sum which
has been used to better advan-
tage.
The Public Works AdminiStra-
ton aided in the projects for
schools, for an almhouse, for a
court house, for water works
and for a Jail, and the WPA as
sisted not only in cleaning up
the wreck and taking care Of
destitute people but also in re-
pairing sewers and sidewalks,
street lighting, repaving and
parks and schools. But all of
this would have been wholly in
sufficient If you had not pro-
vided far greater help from your
own ranks in the form of money
and in the form Of unselfish CO.
operation.
NEEDS WERE MET
IN the task, there has been
an essential unanimity in the
gift Of personal interest and per-
Sonal service. Few among your
citizens have held back. You
had needrgreat needs. They
were met in accordance with the
democratic principle that those
needs should be filled in pro-
portion to the ability of each
individual to help.
I tell you that this has a
national significance and want
to give you a few illustrations
of where and how the applica-
ton Of this principle to national
problems would amply solve our
national needs.
Today, national progress and
national prosperity are being
held back chiefly because Of self
iShnesS on the part Of a few.
If Gainesville had been faced
with that type of minority self
ishness your city would not
stand rebuilt as it is today.
The type Of SelfishnesS to
which I refer is definitely not
to be applied to the overwhelm-
ing majority of the American
public.
Most people, if they know both
sides of a question and are ap-
pealed to to support the public
good, will gladly lay aside self
iShneSS. But we must admit
that there are some people who
honestly believe in a wholly diff
ferent theory Of Government
than the one our Constitution
provides.
You know their reasoning.
They say that in the competition
Of life for the good things of life
some are successful because
they have better brains or are
more efficient; the wise, the
swift and the strong are able to
outStrip their felloWmen. That
is nature itself, and it is just too
bad if some get left behind"
It is that attitude which leads
such people to give little thought
to the one-third Of our popula.
ton which I have described as
being ill-fed, ill-clad and i'll.
housed. They say, II am not
my brothers keeper"-and they
pass by on the other, side.
Most Of them are honest people.
Most of them consider them.
selves excellent citizens.
But this nation will never
permanently get on the road to
recovery if we leave the methods
and the processes Of recovery to
those who owned the Govern
ment of the United States from
1921 to 1888.
They are the kind Of people
who, in 1896. were saying ooh
yes, we want nobody to starve,
but at the same time insist that
the balancing Of the budget il
more important than making
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