Evening star., 1949-03-21
Text of Presidents Address to MAYORS

S to Mayors
would be greatly increased if rent
controls were removed now.
The point Is, however. that most
cities have neither the legal au-
thority nor the financial resources
to carry out successful program
of rent control. The real estate
lobby knows this perfectly well
1t wants us to turn rent control
over to local authority-not in
order to strengthen local author
ity, but in order to destroy rent
control.
Another very serious matter
facing our cities is the funda-
mental problem of finances.
Many cities are paying now
in crime, in disease and in blight
ed areas-for the haphazard way
their land has been developed.
Whole areas now need to be
cleared out and put to good uses;
utilities need to be improved and
rearranged; schools and public
buildings need to be rebuilt, and
future expansion must be prop
erly guided in the interest of the
whole community. You all know
how necessary, and yet how slow
and expensive, this job is. Many
cities today have inadequate A.
nancial resources to achieve the
large-scale improvements that are
required.
Tax Policies Studied.
Here Is q problem at the very
core of American life. A solution
is required not only in the in
terest of the cities. but also in
the interest of the State and Fed
eral Governments.
One OF the most important first
steps Is to bring some order out
of the tangle among cities. States
and the Federal Government in
the field of taxation and financial
relations. This question has, ]
know, been high on your agenda
for many years. In the near fu-
ture, the Secretary of the Treasury
is inviting representatives OF State
and local officials to meet with
him and other Federal officials
In a preliminary conference to
work toward a program for action
in this field.
I have asked the Secretary to
report to me on the progress Of
this work. I hope that we can
work out some guides not only for
Federal policy with regard to tax
alton and related matters but also
for the policy Of the States and
localities. In these matters, as
In so many others, the three types
Of government-Federal. State and
local-must act together in a
spirit Of cooperation for the COM
mon good.
dkt ~ L 1Ctu1Cs
The financial health OF the
cities. however, is more than q
matter Of tax policy. Cities can
be financially sound only If the
general economic health Of the
Nation Is sound.
Many Of you know this from
first-hand experience. This or
ganization Of yours was formed to
meet the crisis Of the great de-
preston, when the cities were told
by the national administration
then in Office that they must pro-
vide for the unemployed out Of
their local resources. We have
since grown to understand that
unemployment is q national as
we'll as a local problem. but we
still have far to 60 in perfecting
the democratic instruments by
which we can maintain high en-
ployment and insure a progress
sively growing economy.
In this connection. I hope that
you are all familiar with the pro-
posals I have recently made to the
Congress for helping us achieve
economic stability. I hope that
you will acquaint yourselves with
the facts Of the case, and not just
the propaganda. am sure that
you will find that those proposals
are no more radical than the con-
cept Of preventive medicine.
Efforts to Prevent Depression.
In the old days we used to con-
centrate on curing the sick. But
now. as you Mayors know. we rely
increasingly on public health and
sanitation measures to prevent
disease. In the same way we are
moving from the idea Of curing
depressions after they happen to
the concept OF preventing them.
That Is what my proposals are
intended to do.
The spirit Of democracy is to
find new ways Of doing things for
the common good. A few years
ago 1t used to be popular to talk
about the closing Of the Western
frontier in this country. as II that
meant we had come to the end Of
our growth and change. We know
now that nothing could be farther
from the truth. We have bigger
frontiers ahead of us now-greater
possibilities for democratic growth
than we have ever had. To f1nd
practical, realistic ways to afford
q better life for our people Is the
great challenge which faces our
Federal. our State, and our city
governments.
I am sure that the Conference
of Mayors will continue to lead the
way in achieving greater prosper
ity and greater freedom for all
through the confident and pro-
practice of democracy.
mid Club came when 1t. Roy Blick.
vice squad head. picked him up at
and B streets NE.
when he was making q call collect
iro foy ffA r1I,h