May 7, 1933: Fireside Chat 2: On Progress During the First Two Months a speech from President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Please enjoy May 7, 1933: Fireside Chat 2: On Progress During the First Two Months a great episode of the legendary Franklin D. Roosevelt - A Classic Old Time radio Show.

This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
On a Sunday night, a weekafter my inauguration, I used the radio
to tell you about the banking crisisand about the measures we were taking to
meet it. In that way,I tried to make players of the country
various facts that might otherwise have beenmisunderstood, and in general to provide a
means of understanding, which I believeddid much to restore confidence. Tonight,

(00:25):
eight weeks later, I come forthe second time to give you my report
in the same spirit and by thesame means, to tell you about what
we have been doing and what weare planning to go. Two months ago,
as you know, we were facingserious problems. The country was dying
by inches. It was dying becausetrade and commerce had declined dangerously low levels.

(00:51):
Prices for basic commodities were such asto destroy the value of the assets
of national institutions such as banks andsavings, banks and insurance companies and others.
These institutions, because of their greatneeds, were foreclosing mortgages, they
were calling loans, and they wererefusing credit. Thus there was actually in

(01:11):
process of destruction the property of millionsof people who had borrowed money on that
property. In terms of dollars,which had had an entirely different value from
the level of March nineteen thirty three. That situation in that crisis did not
call for any complicated consideration of economicpanaceas or fancy plans. We were faced

(01:38):
by a condition and not a theory. There were just two alternatives at that
time. The first was to allowthe foreclosures to continue, credit to be
withheld, money to go into hiding, thus forcing liquidation and bankruptcy of banks
and railroads and insurance companies, anda recapitalizing of all called business and all

(02:00):
property. On a lower level,that alternative meant a continuation of what is
loosely called deflation, the net resultof which would have been extraordinary hardship on
all property owners and all bank depositors, and incidentally, extraordinary hardships on all
persons working for wages through an increasein unemployment and a further reduction of the

(02:24):
wage scale. It is easy tosee that the result of that course would
have not only would have not onlyeconomic effects of a very serious nature,
but social results also that might bringincaculable harm. Even before I was inaugurated,
I came to the conclusion that sucha policy was too much to ask

(02:46):
the American people to burrow. Itinvolved not only a further loss of hounds
and farms, and savings and wages, but also a loss of spiritual value,
the loss of that sense of securityfor the present in the future that
it's so necessary to the peace andcontentment of the individual and of his family.

(03:07):
When you destroy those things, youfind it difficult to establish confidence in
any sort in the future. Andit was clear that mere appeals coming out
of Washington for more confidence and themere lending of more money, the shaky
institutions could not stop that downward cast. A prompt program a pride as quickly

(03:30):
as possible seemed to me not onlyjustified, but imperative to our national securities.
The Congress, and when I saythe Congress, I mean the members
of both political parties, fully understoodthis and gave me generous and intelligent supports.
The members of the Congress realized thatthe methods of normal times had to

(03:53):
be replaced in the emergency by measuresthat were student to the serious and pressing
requirements of the moment. There isno actual surrender of power. Congress still
retained this constitutional authority to legislate andto appropriate, and now one has the
slightest desire to change the balance ofthese powers. The function of Congress is

(04:15):
to decide what has to be done, to select the appropriate agency to carry
out its will that policy it hasstrictly adhered to. The only thing that
has been happening has been to designatethe President of the United States as the
agency to carry out certain of thepurposes of the Congress. This was constitutional

(04:36):
and is constitutional, and it isin keeping with the past American provision.
The legislation that has been passed oris in the process of enactment can properly
be considered as part of a wellgrounded, well rounded plan. First,
we are getting opportunity of employment througha quarter of a million of the unemployed,

(05:00):
especially the young men who have defendants. Let them go into forestry and
flood prevention work. That is abig task because it means feeding and clothing
and caring for nearly twice as manymen as we have in the regular army
itself. And in creating the civilianconservation cars, we are killing two birds
in one stone. We are clearlyenhancing the value of our natural resources and

(05:25):
at the same time we are relievingan appreciable amount of active express this great
group of men, young men whohave ended upon their work on a purely
voluntary basis. No military training isinvolved, and we are conserving not only
are natural resources, but also arehuman resources. One of the great values

(05:45):
for this work is the fact thatit is direct and requires the intervention of
variable machinery. Secondly, all requestedthe Congress and a secured action upon a
proposal will put to great properties ownedby our government. That muscle shows the
work after long years of graceful inaction, and with this goes hand in hand

(06:10):
a broad plan for the permanent improvementof the bias area included in the fall
of the Tennessee's Island. It willadd to the comfort into the happiness of
hundreds of thousands of peoplets, andthe incident benefits will reach the entire nations.
Next, the Congress is about thepast legislation that will greatly ease the

(06:30):
mort each repress among the farmers andamong the homeowners of the nations by providing
for the easing of the burden ofdebts that now bears so heavily upon millions
of our people. Our next stepin teaching immediate reliefs is a granted paper
billion dollars to help the states andthe counties and the municipalities in their duty

(06:53):
to care for those who at thistime need directing the mediate relief. In
addition to all, the Congress alsopassed legislation, as you know, authorizing
the sale of beer in such statesas desire that has already resulted in considerable
reemployment, and incidentally it has providedfor the federal government of the state a

(07:17):
much needed tax revenue. Now tothe future, we are planning within a
few days to ask the Congress forlegislation to enable the government to want to
take public work, thus simulating directlyand interrector the employment of many others is
well considered projects. Further legislation hasbeen taken up which goes much more fundamentally

(07:43):
into our economic provity. The farmyleave those speaks by the use of several
methods alan or together to bring aboutan increased return to farmers for their major
farm products. Speaking at the sametime, to prevent in the days from
disasters overproduction, a kind of overproductionthat so often in attack a step farm

(08:05):
commodity pricers far below a reasonable recurrence. This measure provides wide power for emergencies
and the extended a duke will defendentirely upon but the future has install well
considered in conservative measures will likewise bepropold within a few days that will attempt

(08:28):
to give to the industrial workers ofthe country a more fair waiged returns,
to prevent cutural competitions, to preventunduly long hours for labor, and at
the same time to encourage each industryto prevent overproduction. One other bill form
falls into the same pass, therailroad build. It seeks to provide and

(08:52):
make certain a definite planning by therailroads themselves, with the assistance of the
government, in order to eliminate theduplication and the weight that now result in
railroad receivership and in continuing operating deficits. I feel very certain that the people

(09:13):
of this country understand and approve thebroad purposes behind these new governmental policies relating
to agriculture and industry and transportations.We found ourselves faced with more agricultural products
than we could possibly consume ourselves,and with surpluses which other nations did not

(09:35):
have to catch to buy promise,except as prices ruinously lowed. We found
our factories able to turn out moregoods than we could possibly consume, and
at the same time we have beenfaced with a falling export demand. We
have found ourselves with more facilities totransport goods and crops than the word goods

(09:58):
and crops could be transport. Allof this has been caused, in large
parts by a complete lack of planningand a complete failure to understand the danger
signals that have been playing ever sincethe close of the World War. The
people of this country have been erroneouslyencouraged to believe that they could keep on

(10:20):
increasing the output a farm and afactory indefinitely, and that some magicians would
find rais and means for that increasedoutput to be consumed with reasonable profit to
the producer. But today we havereason to believe that things are a little
better than they were two months ago. Industry has picked up, railroads are

(10:46):
carrying more freight, Farm prices arebetter. But I am not going to
indulge in issuing proclamations of over enthusiasticassurance. We cannot not barry woo ourselves
back to prosperity, and I amgoing to be honest at all times with
the people of the country. Ido not want the people of the country

(11:11):
to take the foolish course of lettingthis improvement come back on another speculative way.
I do not want the people tobelieve that, because of unjustified optimism,
we can resume the rudeness practice ofincreasing our prop output and our factory
output in the hope that a kindprovidence will find buyers at high prices.

(11:37):
Such a course may bring us immediateand false prosperity, that it will be
the kind of prosperities that will leadus into another tail spare. It is
hardly wrong to call the measures thatwe have taken government control of farming,
or government control of industry, orgovernment control of transportation. It is ratherly

(11:58):
popernership. The partnership between government andfarming, a partnership between government and industry,
and the partnership between government and transportation. Not a partnership in profits,
because the profits will still go tothe private citizen, but rather a partnership
in planning and a partnership to seethat the plans are carried out. Let

(12:24):
me illustrate as an example, takefor instance, the cotton good industry.
It is probably true that ninety percentof the cotton manufacturers of this country would
agree tomorrow to eliminate starvation wages,would agree to stop long hours of employment,
would agree to stop child's labor,would agree to prevent an overproduction that

(12:48):
would result in unsaleable surpluses. But, my friends, what good is such
an agreement of the ninety percent Ifthe other ten percent of the cotton manufactor
pay starvation wages and require long hours, and employ children in their mills and
turn out biden some surplugy, theunfair ten percent would produce good so cheaply

(13:15):
that the fair ninety percent would becompelled to meet the unfair conditions. And
that is where government comes in.Government ought to have the right and will
have the right, after surveying andplanning foreign industry, to prevent, with
the assistance of the overfarming majority ofthat industry, all unfair practices, and

(13:39):
to enforce that agreement by the authorityof government. The so called anti trust
laws were intended to prevent the creationof monopolies and to forbid unreasonable profits to
those monopolies. That purpose of theanti trust laws must be continued. Those

(14:00):
laws were never intended to encourage thekind of unfair competition that results in long
hours and starvation wages and other production. And, my friends, the same
principle that is illustrated by that exampleappliers to farm products and the transportations and
wherever we have a feel and organizeprivate industry. We are working towards a

(14:24):
definite goal, a goal that seeksto prevent the return of conditions which came
very close to destroying what you andI call modern civilizations. The actual accomplishment
of our purposes cannot be obtained ina day. Our policies are fully within
the purposes for which our American constitutionalgovernment that established one hundreds and fifty years

(14:46):
ago. I know that the peopleof this company will understand this, and
that they will also understand the spiritsin which we are undertaking that policy.
I do not deny that we maymake some mistakes of procedure as we carry
out this policy. I have noexpectise of making a hit every time I

(15:11):
from the bat. Huh, ButI'll seek is the highest possible batting average,
not only for myself, but forthe teens held all resident wants to
get to me. If I canbe right, seventy five percent of the
time I shall come up to thefullest measure of my hopest. Much of
them set of late about federal financesand incletion about the gold standard and flanks

(15:37):
and pounds and so forth. Iwould like to make the fact very simple,
and to make my policy very clear. In the first place, government
credit and government currency are really oneand the same things. Behind government bonds,
there is only a promise protect beforedepay pent. Behind government currency we

(16:02):
have an addition to the commits topay a reserve of goals and a small
reserve of silver, neither of themanything like the total amount of the currency.
And in this connection it is requireremembering that in the past, the
government has agreed to redeem nearly thirtybillions of its debt and its currency in

(16:25):
goals, and private corporations in individualsin this country have agreed to redeem another
sixty or seventy billions of securities andmortgages in gold. The government and the
private corporations and individuals were making theseagreements, then they knew so well that
all of the gold in the UnitedStates amounted to only between three and four

(16:51):
billions, and that all of thegold in all of the worlds amounted to
only about eleven billions. If theholders of these promises to play were all
of them to start into the mind'sgoals, the first comers would get goals
for a few days, for afew hours, and those first comers who

(17:14):
would get the goals would about dothe month to about one twenty fifth of
all of the holders of the securitiesand the currences. The other twenty four
people out of twenty five, whodid not happen to be at the top
of the line would be politely toldthat there was no more goals left.
And so we have decided in Washingtonto seat all twenty five people in the

(17:40):
same way. In the interests ofjustice and in the exercise of the constitutional
powers of this government, we placedeveryone on the same basis, in orders
the general good may be deserved.Nevertheless, goals and to a partially sent
silver also are put pfically good basesfor currencies. And that is why I

(18:03):
decided not to let any of thegold now in the country go out of
it. A series of conditions arowthrough three weeks ago, which very readily
might have meant first a drain onour goal by foreign countries and Secondly,
as a result of that drain aflight of American capital itself in the form
of gold out of our country.And it is not exaggerating the possibility to

(18:29):
tell you that such an occurrence mightwell have taken promise the major part of
our goals reserved, and might wellhave resulted in such a further weakening of
our government and private credits as tobring on actual panic conditions and the complete
stoppage of the wheels of industry.The Administration had the definite objective of raising
commodity prices to such an extent ofthose who have borrowed money will, on

(18:53):
the average be able to repay thatmoney in the same kind of balla which
they borrowed. We do not seekto lection get such a cheap sella that
an effect, they will be ableto pay a great deal less facts than
they borrow. In other words,we seek to correct the wrong, and
not to create another wrong in theopposite direction. That is why powers are

(19:15):
being given to the Administration to provideis necessary for an enlargement of credits in
order to correct the existing law.These powers will be used when, as
and if it may be necessary toaccomplish the purpose hand in hand with the
domestic situation, which it cosses.Our first concern is the world situation.

(19:38):
But I want to emphasize to youthat the domestic situation is inevitably and deeply
tied in with the conditions in allthe other nations of the world. In
other words, we can get inour probabilities some measure our return of prosperity
in the United States, but itwill not be permanent unless we can get

(20:00):
in a return to prosperity all overthe world. In the conferences that we
have held and are holding with theleaders of other nations, we are seeking
for great objectives. First, ageneral reduction of armaments and through this the
removal of the field of invasion andof armed attack, and at the same
time a reduction in armament cost inorder to help in the balancing of government

(20:25):
budgets and in the reduction of practation. Secondly, are cutting down of the
trade barriers in order to restart theflow that changes props of goods between nations.
Word we seek the setting up ofthe stabilization of currencies in order the
trade and commas can make contracts ahead. And for we seek the re

(20:47):
establishment of friendly relations and greater confidencebetween all nations. Our farm visitors these
past three weeks have responded to theseservices in a very helpful way. All
of the nats have suffered delights inthis great depression. They have all reached
the conclusion that each can best behelped by the common action of all.

(21:08):
And it is in this spirit thatour visitors have left with us and discussed
our common problem. The great internationalconference of this summer, the lies before
us, must succeed, but hefeel the world demands it, and we
have each of us pledged ourselves tothe best joint effort to that end.

(21:29):
To you, the people of thissubtry, all of us in Washington,
the members of the Congress, fromthe members of this administration, always profound
beat of gratitude without the depression.You have been patient, You have granted
us wide powers. We have encouragedus with the right squad approval of our

(21:51):
purposes, every ounce of strength,every resource at our commands. We have
the voted, and we are thevoted for the and of justifying your company.
We are encouraged to believe that awilent and principle beginning has been made
in the present spirit of mutual company. In the present spirit of virtual encouragement,

(22:15):
we go forward, and in composion, my friends, may I express
to the National Broadcasting Company and tothe Columbia Broadcasting System my thanks for the
facilities that they have made available tome to night