Evening star., 1940-02-11


portico to congress delegates ga
more humane rate to people who had
to borrow money for themselves in
dividually or for themselves as par
Elephants in many varieties of busi-
ness.
Finally, I said last Monday-and
this was the part that was most
seriously mangled and garbled by
certain types of papers and certain
types of politicians-that the total
debt of all of the people Of the
United States-private debt, State
and local government debts, and the
debt of the Federal Government
was less in 1889 than it was in 1892.
That is a simple fact-somewhere
around two billion dollars less-in a
Nation which had six or seven mil
lion people more in 1t than eight
years ago.
Words of Warning "
To the Voters.
Why am I giving you all these
figures? First, to remove fears
fears which are subtly instilled in
your minds by a propaganda OF
which you are we'll aware. The
other day I saw an old friend, born,
If you like, with a silver spoon in
his mouth; moving, If you like. in
so-called social circles; a decent
citizen who, while he has never
held public Office, has tried to
understand the tendencies Of the
times. He said to me, Il have come
to the conclusion that there Is no
use in my trying to argue with Ger
tain types of the older generation
because all they do is to hope that
some miracle will restore the period
OF 30 years ago when they did not
have to think about social prob
lens, when taxes on the rich were
comparatively low, when nobody
was worrying about social security
or organized labor or wages and
hours or the supervision Of security
offerings or the regulation Of the
management Of banks" He said
Il am past so, but I recognize full
well that those days, thank God
viii never come again-and, fur
thermore, that q great majority Of
the people today who want to see
a liberal administration Of govern
ment turned out and replaced by q
conservative administration of gov
eminent are really wishing down
in their hearts for a return Of the
social and economic philosophy OF
1910"
And now word of warning to
you who are voters and you who
will soon be voters--several words
Of warning.
Don't seek Or expect Utopia over
night. Don't seek or expect a pana-
cea-a. grand new law that will give
you q. handout-a guarantee of per-
manent remunerative occupation OF
your own choosing. I told one OF
your members couple Of weeks
ago, somewhat to his surprise, that
ever since I became Governor o1
New York in 1929 I have been re.
ceiving in every mail a sincere, hon.
est proposal of some panacea, one
of them. two of them, three of them
every day. These plans have moi
been put in the waste basket-they
have been subjected to the closest
scrutiny by honest liberals who have
hoped that somebody would hit or
so nething that would save us all q
lot OF time and a lot of worry. Il
is clear that no such plan exists.
Take. for example, the question o1
the employment of old people anc
the employment of young people
You young people must remember
that the problem of the older work.
ers is just as difficult as yours
that when people slow up, wher
they have reached the age wher
one can reasonably expect no great
improvement or imagination in theil
work, they find it very difficult tt
get a job. We have not solved the
problem Of older people and tht
solution Of that problem is evolu-
tionary. We have made beginning.
with the Old Age Pension Act, but
we know that it is only a beginning
and that through the next 10 o.
20 years the system must be. ex-
tended and improved. Ham ant
eg IS and other plans will not do II
because they are all. open to thu
simple objection that they eithe,
print so much paper money tina,
the money would soon be worthless
or that the whole burden would be
placed on the shoulders Of the
younger workers.
Work Opportunities
May Be No Worse.
In the case of jobs for you young
people, let me make it very clear IL
the beginning that it is not at al
certain that your opportunities fol
employment are. any worse today
than they were for young people ter
years or twenty years or thirty year,
ago. The problem Of Jobs for young
people is vastly more dimcult thar
it was one hundred years ago be.
cause in 1910 the great open spacel
Of the West were crying aloud TO,
willing hands, but today the physfca
frontiers are gone.
Yes, you and have q very distinc
problem. You and I know that In
dustrial production calls for fewel
hands per unit because Of the i'm
provement of machinery. hav'
given you the figure showing tina
weekly pay rolls are 146 per cen
bigger than in December, 1882. Tha
does not mean that 145 per cen
more people ate employed. Obvi
ously not. Fewer people are needet
to produce the same volume o
goods. And one Of the Things tina