Evening star., 1938-05-27
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Continued From First Page.)

pioneer ventures such as this rep
resents development cost which we
justifiably charge off as the inevitable
cost Of all progress-just as we have
in the past charged off the huge Gov
ernment share in the development
costs Of the railroads, the cables. the
airplanes and the improved highways
that made the automobile possible
But what is equally important to me
the lessons learned from this first bold
Government venture will save human
lives and human happiness as well As
dollars in this march Of progress
ahead Of us.
This is a high school graduation and
I am speaking just as much to you
who graduate today as to your parents
and your groWn-up friends. You are
citizens of tomorrow-not just this
graduating class but thousands OF
other high school graduating classes
in every State of the Union.
When you, today's graduates, were
of grade school age We. your elders in
the United States. were asleep at the
switch and your Government also was
asleep at the switch. For many years,
other nations of the world were giving
serious consideration to and taking
definite action on social problems
while we we're pushing them aside
with the idea that some day we would
get around to meeting them.
Makes Dreams Come True.
We have heard of the ideals of end
ing child labor, of initiating a flve-
day week. of shortening working hours
Of putting a floor under wages, OF
clearing slums. of bringing electricity
into homes and of giving families the
chance to build or buy home on easy
terms. of starting old-age pensions
and unemployment insurance. But
all these things were in the greater
part beautiful dream-a dream until
Government, five years ago, tiled OF
waiting, stepped in and started to make
the dreams come true.
Government has done little more
than to start the ball rolling. Gov
ernment knows how much more there
remains to be done. But Government
hopes. now that it has taken the first
risks and shown the way, that private
capital and business men will see how
much it is to their own advantage
and profit-to keep the ball rolling
and keep it rolling so well that the
inevitable wider improvement IN
American social conditions will come
about in normal course of private
enterprise without compelling Govern
ment to use large amounts OF tax
payers money to keep America up
to-date.
Many sincere people-good citizens
with influence and money-have come
to West Virginia mining towns IN
the past two or three years to see
the conditions under which American
families lived, conditions under which,
unfortunately, many American FAM
lilies still live. Many Of these people
have come to see me after their visit
to Scots Run or similar places ana
have expressed to me their surprise
and their horror at things they have
seen. They have said: 4 did not
imagine that such conditions could
exist in the United States"
Have Wanted to Help.
They have wanted to help at the
particular spot they have seen-but
the lesson which I have found 1t
difficult to get across to them has
been the fact that they have seen
only one spot or two spots-tiny.
single spots on a map of the United
States, map which is covered over
with hundreds and even thousands OF
similar spots. Unamerican standards
exist by no means in . few coal
towns only. They exist in almost
every industrial community, and they
exist in very many Of the farming
areas. .c..
Now, of course. pending the time
that private capital and private en-