Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: The Constitution wisely provides that the Chief Executive shall report to the Congress on the state of the Union, for through you, the chosen legislative representatives, our citizens everywhere may fairly judge the progress of our governing. I am confident that today, in the light of the events of the past two years, you do not consider it merely a trite phrase when I tell you that I am truly glad to greet you and that I look forward to common counsel, to useful cooperation, and to genuine friendships between us. We have undertaken a new order of things; yet we progress to it under the framework and in the spirit and intent of the American Constitution. We have proceeded throughout the Nation a measurable distance on the road toward this new order. Materially, I can report to you substantial benefits to our agricultural population, increased industrial activity, and profits to our merchants. Of equal moment, there is evident a restoration of that spirit of confidence and faith which marks the American character. Let him, who, for speculative profit or partisan purpose, without just warrant would seek to disturb or dispel this assurance, take heed before he assumes responsibility for any act which slows our onward steps. Throughout the world, change is the order of the day. In every Nation economic problems, long in the making, have brought crises of many kinds for which the masters of old practice and theory were unprepared. In most Nations social justice, no longer a distant ideal, has become a definite goal, and ancient Governments are beginning to heed the call. Thus, the American people do not stand alone in the world in their desire for change. We seek it through tested liberal traditions, through processes which retain all of the deep essentials of that republican form of representative government first given to a troubled world by the United States. As the various parts in the program begun in the Extraordinary Session of the 73rd Congress shape themselves in practical administration, the unity of our program reveals itself to the Nation. The outlines of the new economic order, rising from the disintegration of the old, are apparent. We test what we have done as our measures take root in the living texture of life. We see where we have built wisely and where we can do still better. The attempt to make a distinction between recovery and reform is a narrowly conceived effort to substitute the appearance of reality for reality itself. When a man is convalescing from illness, wisdom dictates not only cure of the symptoms, but also removal of their cause. It is important to recognize that while we seek to outlaw specific abuses, the American objective of today has an infinitely deeper, finer and more lasting purpose than mere repression. Thinking people in almost every country of the world have come to realize certain fundamental difficulties with which civilization must reckon. Rapid changes—the machine age, the advent of universal and rapid communication and many other new factors—have brought new problems. Succeeding generations have attempted to keep pace by reforming in piecemeal fashion this or that attendant abuse. As a result, evils overlap and reform becomes confused and frustrated. We lose sight, from time to time, of our ultimate human objectives. Let us, for a moment, strip from our simple purpose the confusion that results from a multiplicity of detail and from millions of written and spoken words. We find our population suffering from old inequalities, little changed by vast sporadic remedies. In spite of our efforts and in spite of our talk, we have not weeded out the over privileged and we have not effectively lifted up the underprivileged. Both of these manifestations of injustice have retarded happiness. No wise man has any intention of destroying what is known as the profit motive; because by the profit motive we mean the right by work to earn a decent livelihood for ourselves and for our families. We have, however, a clear mandate from the people, that Americans must forswear that conception of the acquisition of wealth which, through excessive profits, creates undue private power over private affairs and, to our misfortune, over public affairs as well. In building toward this end we do not destroy ambition, nor do we seek to divide our wealth into equal shares on stated occasions. We continue to recognize the greater ability of some to earn more than others. But we do assert that the ambition of the individual to obtain for him and his a proper security, a reasonable leisure, and a decent living throughout life, is an ambition to be preferred to the appetite for great wealth and great power. I recall to your attention my message to the Congress last June in which I said: "among our objectives I place the security of the men, women and children of the Nation first." That remains our first and continuing task; and in a very real sense every major legislative enactment of this Congress should be a component part of it. In defining immediate factors which enter into our quest, I have spoken to the Congress and the people of three great divisions: 1. The security of a livelihood through the better use of the national resources of the land in which we live. 2. The security against the major hazards and vicissitudes of life. 3. The security of decent homes. I am now ready to submit to the Congress a broad program designed ultimately to establish all three of these factors of security —a program which because of many lost years will take many future years to fulfill. A study of our national resources, more comprehensive than any previously made, shows the vast amount of necessary and practicable work which needs to be done for the development and preservation of our natural wealth for the enjoyment and advantage of our people in generations to come. The sound use of land and water is far more comprehensive than the mere planting of trees, building of dams, distributing of electricity or retirement of sub-marginal land. It recognizes that stranded populations, either in the country or the city, cannot have security under the conditions that now surround them. To this end we are ready to begin to meet this problem—the intelligent care of population throughout our Nation, in accordance with an intelligent distribution of the means of livelihood for that population. A definite program for putting people to work, of which I shall speak in a moment, is a component part of this greater program of security of livelihood through the better use of our national resources. Closely related to the broad problem of livelihood is that of security against the major hazards of life. Here also, a comprehensive survey of what has been attempted or accomplished in many Nations and in many States proves to me that the time has come for action by the national Government. I shall send to you, in a few days, definite recommendations based on these studies. These recommendations will cover the broad subjects of unemployment insurance and old age insurance, of benefits for children, form others, for the handicapped, for maternity care and for other aspects of dependency and illness where a beginning can now be made. The third factor—better homes for our people—has also been the subject of experimentation and study. Here, too, the first practical steps can be made through the proposals which I shall suggest in relation to giving work to the unemployed. Whatever we plan and whatever we do should be in the light of these three clear objectives of security. We cannot afford to lose valuable time in haphazard public policies which cannot find a place in the broad outlines of these major purposes. In that spirit I come to an immediate issue made for us by hard and inescapable circumstance—the task of putting people to work. In the spring of 1933 the issue of destitution seemed to stand apart; today, in the light of our experience and our new national policy, we find we can put people to work in ways which conform to, initiate and carry forward the broad principles of that policy. The first objectives of emergency legislation of 1933 were to relieve destitution, to make it possible for industry to operate in a more rational and orderly fashion, and to put behind industrial recovery the impulse of large expenditures in Government undertakings. The purpose of the National Industrial Recovery Act to provide work for more people succeeded in a substantial manner within the first few months of its life, and the Act has continued to maintain employment gains and greatly improved working conditions in industry. The program of public works provided for in the Recovery Act launched the Federal Government into a task for which there was little time to make preparation and little American experience to follow. Great employment has been given and is being given by these works. More than two billions of dollars have also been expended in direct relief to the destitute. Local agencies of necessity determined the recipients of this form of relief. With inevitable exceptions the funds were spent by them with reasonable efficiency and as a result actual want of food and clothing in the great majority of cases has been overcome. But the stark fact before us is that great numbers still remain unemployed. A large proportion of these unemployed and their dependents have been forced on the relief rolls. The burden on the Federal Government has grown with great rapidity. We have here a human as well as an economic problem. When humane considerations are concerned, Americans give them precedence. The lessons of history, confirmed by the evidence immediately before me, show conclusively that continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fibre. To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit. It is inimical to the dictates of sound policy. It is in violation of the traditions of America. Work must be found for able-bodied but destitute workers. The Federal Government must and shall quit this business of relief. I am not willing that the vitality of our people be further sapped by the giving of cash, of market baskets, of a few hours of weekly work cutting grass, raking leaves or picking up .papers in the public parks. We must preserve not only the bodies of the unemployed from destitution but also their self-respect, their self-reliance and courage and determination. This decision brings me to the problem of what the Government should do with approximately five million unemployed now on the relief rolls. About one million and a half of these belong to the group which in the past was dependent upon local welfare efforts. Most of them are unable for one reason or another to maintain themselves independently—for the most part, through no fault of their own. Such people, in the days before the great depression, were cared for by local efforts—by States, by counties, by towns, by cities, by churches and by private welfare agencies. It is my thought that in the future they must be cared for as they were before. I stand ready through my own personal efforts, and through the public influence of the office that I hold, to help these local agencies to get the means necessary to assume this burden. The security legislation which I shall propose to the Congress will, I am confident, be of assistance to local effort in the care of this type of cases. Local responsibility can and will be resumed, for, after all, common sense tells us that the wealth necessary for this task existed and still exists in the local community, and the dictates of sound administration require that this responsibility be in the first instance a local one. There are, however, an additional three and one half million employable people who are on relief. With them the problem is different and the responsibility is different. This group was the victim of a nation-wide depression caused by conditions which were not local but national. The Federal Government is the only governmental agency with sufficient power and credit to meet this situation. We have assumed this task and we shall not shrink from it in the future. It is a duty dictated by every intelligent consideration of national policy to ask you to make it possible for the United States to give employment to all of these three and one half million employable people now on relief, pending their absorption in a rising tide of private employment. It is my thought that with the exception of certain of the normal public building operations of the Government, all emergency public works shall be united in a single new arid greatly enlarged plan. With the establishment of this new system we can supersede the Federal Emergency Relief Administration with a coordinated authority which will be charged with the orderly liquidation of our present relief activities and the substitution of a national chart for the giving of work. This new program of emergency public employment should be governed by a number of practical principles. (1) All work undertaken should be useful- not just for a day, or a year, but useful in the sense that it affords permanent improvement in living conditions or that it creates future new wealth for the Nation. (2) Compensation on emergency public projects should be in the form of security payments which should be larger than the amount now received as a relief dole, but at the same time not so large as to encourage the rejection of opportunities for private employment or the leaving of private employment to engage in Government work. (3) Projects should be undertaken on which a large percentage of direct labor can be used. (4) Preference should be given to those projects which will be self-liquidating in the sense that there is a reasonable expectation that the Government will get its money back at some future time. (5) The projects undertaken should be selected and planned so as to compete as little as possible with private enterprises. This suggests that if it were not for the necessity of giving useful work to the unemployed now on relief, these projects in most instances would not now be undertaken. (6) The planning of projects would seek to assure work during the coming fiscal year to the individuals now on relief, or until such time as private employment is available. In order to make adjustment to increasing private employment, work should be planned with a view to tapering it off in proportion to the speed with which the emergency workers are offered positions with private employers. (7) Effort should be made to locate projects where they will serve the greatest unemployment needs as shown by present relief rolls, and the broad program of the National Resources Board should be freely used for guidance in selection. Our ultimate objective being the enrichment of human lives, the Government has the primary duty to use its emergency expenditures as much as possible to serve those who cannot secure the advantages of private capital. Ever since the adjournment of the 73d Congress, the Administration has been studying from every angle the possibility and the practicability of new forms of employment. As a result of these studies I have arrived at certain very definite convictions as to the amount of money that will be necessary for the sort of public projects that I have described. I shall submit these figures in my budget message. I assure you now they will be within the sound credit of the Government. The work itself will cover a wide field including clearance of slums, which for adequate reasons cannot be undertaken by private capital; in rural housing of several kinds, where, again, private capital is unable to function; in rural electrification; in the reforestation of the great watersheds of the Nation; in an intensified program to prevent soil erosion and to reclaim blighted areas; in improving existing road systems and in constructing national highways designed to handle modern traffic; in the elimination of grade crossings; in the extension and enlargement of the successful work of the Civilian Conservation Corps; in non-Federal works, mostly self-liquidating and highly useful to local divisions of Government; and on many other projects which the Nation needs and cannot afford to neglect. This is the method which I propose to you in order that we may better meet this present-day problem of unemployment. Its greatest advantage is that it fits logically and usefully into the long-range permanent policy of providing the three types of security which constitute as a whole an American plan for the betterment of the future of the American people. I shall consult with you from time to time concerning other measures of national importance. Among the subjects that lie immediately before us are the consolidation of Federal regulatory administration over all forms of transportation, the renewal and clarification of the general purposes of the National Industrial Recovery Act, the strengthening of our facilities for the prevention, detection and treatment of crime and criminals, the restoration of sound conditions in the public utilities field through abolition of the evil features of holding companies, the gradual tapering off of the emergency credit activities of Government, and improvement in our taxation forms and methods. We have already begun to feel the bracing effect upon our economic system of a restored agriculture. The hundreds of millions of additional income that farmers are receiving are finding their way into the channels of trade. The farmers' share of the national income is slowly rising. The economic facts justify the widespread opinion of those engaged in agriculture that our provisions for maintaining a balanced production give at this time the most adequate remedy for an old and vexing problem. For the present, and especially in view of abnormal world conditions, agricultural adjustment with certain necessary improvements in methods should continue. It seems appropriate to call attention at this time to the fine spirit shown during the past year by our public servants. I cannot praise too highly the cheerful work of the Civil Service employees, and of those temporarily working for the Government. As for those thousands in our various public agencies spread throughout the country who, without compensation, agreed to take over heavy responsibilities in connection with our various loan agencies and particularly in direct relief work, I cannot say too much. I do not think any country could show a higher average of cheerful and even enthusiastic team-work than has been shown by these men and women. I cannot with candor tell you that general international relationships outside the borders of the United States are improved. On the surface of things many old jealousies are resurrected, old passions aroused; new strivings for armament and power, in more than one land, rear their ugly heads. I hope that calm counsel and constructive leadership will provide the steadying influence and the time necessary for the coming of new and more practical forms of representative government throughout the world wherein privilege and power will occupy a lesser place and world welfare a greater. I believe, however, that our own peaceful and neighborly attitude toward other Nations is coming to be understood and appreciated. The maintenance of international peace is a matter in which we are deeply and unselfishly concerned. Evidence of our persistent and undeniable desire to prevent armed conflict has recently been more than once afforded. There is no ground for apprehension that our relations with any Nation will be otherwise than peaceful. Nor is there ground for doubt that the people of most Nations seek relief from the threat and burden attaching to the false theory that extravagant armament cannot be reduced and limited by international accord. The ledger of the past year shows many more gains than losses. Let us not forget that, in addition to saving millions from utter destitution, child labor has been for the moment outlawed, thousands of homes saved to their owners and most important of all, the morale of the Nation has been restored. Viewing the year 1934 as a whole, you and I can agree that we have a generous measure of reasons for giving thanks. It is not empty optimism that moves me to a strong hope in the coming year. We can, if we will, make 1935 a genuine period of good feeling, sustained by a sense of purposeful progress. Beyond the material recovery, I sense a spiritual recovery as well. The people of America are turning as never before to those permanent values that are not limited to the physical objectives of life. There are growing signs of this on every hand. In the face of these spiritual impulses we are sensible of the Divine Providence to which Nations turn now, as always, for guidance and fostering care.
Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: The Constitution wisely provides that the Chief Executive shall report to the Congress on the state of the Union, for through you, the chosen legislative representatives, our citizens everywhere may fairly judge the progress of our governing. I am confident that today, in the light of the events of the past two years, you do not consider it merely a trite phrase when I tell you that I am truly glad to greet you and that I look forward to common counsel, to useful cooperation, and to genuine friendships between us. We have undertaken a new order of things; yet we progress to it under the framework and in the spirit and intent of the American Constitution. We have proceeded throughout the Nation a measurable distance on the road toward this new order. Materially, I can report to you substantial benefits to our agricultural population, increased industrial activity, and profits to our merchants. Of equal moment, there is evident a restoration of that spirit of confidence and faith which marks the American character. Let him, who, for speculative profit or partisan purpose, without just warrant would seek to disturb or dispel this assurance, take heed before he assumes responsibility for any act which slows our onward steps. Throughout the world, change is the order of the day. In every Nation economic problems, long in the making, have brought crises of many kinds for which the masters of old practice and theory were unprepared. In most Nations social justice, no longer a distant ideal, has become a definite goal, and ancient Governments are beginning to heed the call. Thus, the American people do not stand alone in the world in their desire for change. We seek it through tested liberal traditions, through processes which retain all of the deep essentials of that republican form of representative government first given to a troubled world by the United States. As the various parts in the program begun in the Extraordinary Session of the 73rd Congress shape themselves in practical administration, the unity of our program reveals itself to the Nation. The outlines of the new economic order, rising from the disintegration of the old, are apparent. We test what we have done as our measures take root in the living texture of life. We see where we have built wisely and where we can do still better. The attempt to make a distinction between recovery and reform is a narrowly conceived effort to substitute the appearance of reality for reality itself. When a man is convalescing from illness, wisdom dictates not only cure of the symptoms, but also removal of their because. It is important to recognize that while we seek to outlaw specific abuses, the American objective of today has an infinitely deeper, finer and more lasting purpose than mere repression. Thinking people in almost every country of the world have come to realize certain fundamental difficulties with which civilization must reckon. Rapid changes—the machine age, the advent of universal and rapid communication and many other new factors—have brought new problems. Succeeding generations have attempted to keep pace by reforming in piecemeal fashion this or that attendant abuse. As a result, evils overlap and reform becomes confused and frustrated. We lose sight, from time to time, of our ultimate human objectives. Let us, for a moment, strip from our simple purpose the confusion that results from a multiplicity of detail and from millions of written and spoken words. We find our population suffering from old inequalities, little changed by vast sporadic remedies. In spite of our efforts and in spite of our talk, we have not weeded out the over privileged and we have not effectively lifted up the underprivileged. Both of these manifestations of injustice have retarded happiness. No wise man has any intention of destroying what is known as the profit motive; because by the profit motive we mean the right by work to earn a decent livelihood for ourselves and for our families. We have, however, a clear mandate from the people, that Americans must forswear that conception of the acquisition of wealth which, through excessive profits, creates undue private power over private affairs and, to our misfortune, over public affairs as well. In building toward this end we do not destroy ambition, nor do we seek to divide our wealth into equal shares on stated occasions. We continue to recognize the greater ability of some to earn more than others. But we do assert that the ambition of the individual to obtain for him and his a proper security, a reasonable leisure, and a decent living throughout life, is an ambition to be preferred to the appetite for great wealth and great power. I recall to your attention my message to the Congress last June in which I said: "among our objectives I place the security of the men, women and children of the Nation first." That remains our first and continuing task; and in a very real sense every major legislative enactment of this Congress should be a component part of it. In defining immediate factors which enter into our quest, I have spoken to the Congress and the people of three great divisions: 1. The security of a livelihood through the better use of the national resources of the land in which we live. 2. The security against the major hazards and vicissitudes of life. 3. The security of decent homes. I am now ready to submit to the Congress a broad program designed ultimately to establish all three of these factors of security —a program which because of many lost years will take many future years to fulfill. A study of our national resources, more comprehensive than any previously made, shows the vast amount of necessary and practicable work which needs to be done for the development and preservation of our natural wealth for the enjoyment and advantage of our people in generations to come. The sound use of land and water is far more comprehensive than the mere planting of trees, building of dams, distributing of electricity or retirement of sub-marginal land. It recognizes that stranded populations, either in the country or the city, cannot have security under the conditions that now surround them. To this end we are ready to begin to meet this problem—the intelligent care of population throughout our Nation, in accordance with an intelligent distribution of the means of livelihood for that population. A definite program for putting people to work, of which I shall speak in a moment, is a component part of this greater program of security of livelihood through the better use of our national resources. Closely related to the broad problem of livelihood is that of security against the major hazards of life. Here also, a comprehensive survey of what has been attempted or accomplished in many Nations and in many States proves to me that the time has come for action by the national Government. I shall send to you, in a few days, definite recommendations based on these studies. These recommendations will cover the broad subjects of unemployment insurance and old age insurance, of benefits for children, form others, for the handicapped, for maternity care and for other aspects of dependency and illness where a beginning can now be made. The third factor—better homes for our people—has also been the subject of experimentation and study. Here, too, the first practical steps can be made through the proposals which I shall suggest in relation to giving work to the unemployed. Whatever we plan and whatever we do should be in the light of these three clear objectives of security. We cannot afford to lose valuable time in haphazard public policies which cannot find a place in the broad outlines of these major purposes. In that spirit I come to an immediate issue made for us by hard and inescapable circumstance—the task of putting people to work. In the spring of 1933 the issue of destitution seemed to stand apart; today, in the light of our experience and our new national policy, we find we can put people to work in ways which conform to, initiate and carry forward the broad principles of that policy. The first objectives of emergency legislation of 1933 were to relieve destitution, to make it possible for industry to operate in a more rational and orderly fashion, and to put behind industrial recovery the impulse of large expenditures in Government undertakings. The purpose of the National Industrial Recovery Act to provide work for more people succeeded in a substantial manner within the first few months of its life, and the Act has continued to maintain employment gains and greatly improved working conditions in industry. The program of public works provided for in the Recovery Act launched the Federal Government into a task for which there was little time to make preparation and little American experience to follow. Great employment has been given and is being given by these works. More than two billions of dollars have also been expended in direct relief to the destitute. Local agencies of necessity determined the recipients of this form of relief. With inevitable exceptions the funds were spent by them with reasonable efficiency and as a result actual want of food and clothing in the great majority of cases has been overcome. But the stark fact before us is that great numbers still remain unemployed. A large proportion of these unemployed and their dependents have been forced on the relief rolls. The burden on the Federal Government has grown with great rapidity. We have here a human as well as an economic problem. When humane considerations are concerned, Americans give them precedence. The lessons of history, confirmed by the evidence immediately before me, show conclusively that continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fibre. To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit. It is inimical to the dictates of sound policy. It is in violation of the traditions of America. Work must be found for able-bodied but destitute workers. The Federal Government must and shall quit this business of relief. I am not willing that the vitality of our people be further sapped by the giving of cash, of market baskets, of a few hours of weekly work cutting grass, raking leaves or picking up .papers in the public parks. We must preserve not only the bodies of the unemployed from destitution but also their self-respect, their self-reliance and courage and determination. This decision brings me to the problem of what the Government should do with approximately five million unemployed now on the relief rolls. About one million and a half of these belong to the group which in the past was dependent upon local welfare efforts. Most of them are unable for one reason or another to maintain themselves independently—for the most part, through no fault of their own. Such people, in the days before the great depression, were cared for by local efforts—by States, by counties, by towns, by cities, by churches and by private welfare agencies. It is my thought that in the future they must be cared for as they were before. I stand ready through my own personal efforts, and through the public influence of the office that I hold, to help these local agencies to get the means necessary to assume this burden. The security legislation which I shall propose to the Congress will, I am confident, be of assistance to local effort in the care of this type of cases. Local responsibility can and will be resumed, for, after all, common sense tells us that the wealth necessary for this task existed and still exists in the local community, and the dictates of sound administration require that this responsibility be in the first instance a local one. There are, however, an additional three and one half million employable people who are on relief. With them the problem is different and the responsibility is different. This group was the victim of a nation-wide depression caused by conditions which were not local but national. The Federal Government is the only governmental agency with sufficient power and credit to meet this situation. We have assumed this task and we shall not shrink from it in the future. It is a duty dictated by every intelligent consideration of national policy to ask you to make it possible for the United States to give employment to all of these three and one half million employable people now on relief, pending their absorption in a rising tide of private employment. It is my thought that with the exception of certain of the normal public building operations of the Government, all emergency public works shall be united in a single new arid greatly enlarged plan. With the establishment of this new system we can supersede the Federal Emergency Relief Administration with a coordinated authority which will be charged with the orderly liquidation of our present relief activities and the substitution of a national chart for the giving of work. This new program of emergency public employment should be governed by a number of practical principles. (1) All work undertaken should be useful- not just for a day, or a year, but useful in the sense that it affords permanent improvement in living conditions or that it creates future new wealth for the Nation. (2) Compensation on emergency public projects should be in the form of security payments which should be larger than the amount now received as a relief dole, but at the same time not so large as to encourage the rejection of opportunities for private employment or the leaving of private employment to engage in Government work. (3) Projects should be undertaken on which a large percentage of direct labor can be used. (4) Preference should be given to those projects which will be self-liquidating in the sense that there is a reasonable expectation that the Government will get its money back at some future time. (5) The projects undertaken should be selected and planned so as to compete as little as possible with private enterprises. This suggests that if it were not for the necessity of giving useful work to the unemployed now on relief, these projects in most instances would not now be undertaken. (6) The planning of projects would seek to assure work during the coming fiscal year to the individuals now on relief, or until such time as private employment is available. In order to make adjustment to increasing private employment, work should be planned with a view to tapering it off in proportion to the speed with which the emergency workers are offered positions with private employers. (7) Effort should be made to locate projects where they will serve the greatest unemployment needs as shown by present relief rolls, and the broad program of the National Resources Board should be freely used for guidance in selection. Our ultimate objective being the enrichment of human lives, the Government has the primary duty to use its emergency expenditures as much as possible to serve those who cannot secure the advantages of private capital. Ever since the adjournment of the 73d Congress, the Administration has been studying from every angle the possibility and the practicability of new forms of employment. As a result of these studies I have arrived at certain very definite convictions as to the amount of money that will be necessary for the sort of public projects that I have described. I shall submit these figures in my budget message. I assure you now they will be within the sound credit of the Government. The work itself will cover a wide field including clearance of slums, which for adequate reasons cannot be undertaken by private capital; in rural housing of several kinds, where, again, private capital is unable to function; in rural electrification; in the reforestation of the great watersheds of the Nation; in an intensified program to prevent soil erosion and to reclaim blighted areas; in improving existing road systems and in constructing national highways designed to handle modern traffic; in the elimination of grade crossings; in the extension and enlargement of the successful work of the Civilian Conservation Corps; in non-Federal works, mostly self-liquidating and highly useful to local divisions of Government; and on many other projects which the Nation needs and cannot afford to neglect. This is the method which I propose to you in order that we may better meet this present-day problem of unemployment. Its greatest advantage is that it fits logically and usefully into the long-range permanent policy of providing the three types of security which constitute as a whole an American plan for the betterment of the future of the American people. I shall consult with you from time to time concerning other measures of national importance. Among the subjects that lie immediately before us are the consolidation of Federal regulatory administration over all forms of transportation, the renewal and clarification of the general purposes of the National Industrial Recovery Act, the strengthening of our facilities for the prevention, detection and treatment of crime and criminals, the restoration of sound conditions in the public utilities field through abolition of the evil features of holding companies, the gradual tapering off of the emergency credit activities of Government, and improvement in our taxation forms and methods. We have already begun to feel the bracing effect upon our economic system of a restored agriculture. The hundreds of millions of additional income that farmers are receiving are finding their way into the channels of trade. The farmers' share of the national income is slowly rising. The economic facts justify the widespread opinion of those engaged in agriculture that our provisions for maintaining a balanced production give at this time the most adequate remedy for an old and vexing problem. For the present, and especially in view of abnormal world conditions, agricultural adjustment with certain necessary improvements in methods should continue. It seems appropriate to call attention at this time to the fine spirit shown during the past year by our public servants. I cannot praise too highly the cheerful work of the Civil Service employees, and of those temporarily working for the Government. As for those thousands in our various public agencies spread throughout the country who, without compensation, agreed to take over heavy responsibilities in connection with our various loan agencies and particularly in direct relief work, I cannot say too much. I do not think any country could show a higher average of cheerful and even enthusiastic team-work than has been shown by these men and women. I cannot with candor tell you that general international relationships outside the borders of the United States are improved. On the surface of things many old jealousies are resurrected, old passions aroused; new strivings for armament and power, in more than one land, rear their ugly heads. I hope that calm counsel and constructive leadership will provide the steadying influence and the time necessary for the coming of new and more practical forms of representative government throughout the world wherein privilege and power will occupy a lesser place and world welfare a greater. I believe, however, that our own peaceful and neighborly attitude toward other Nations is coming to be understood and appreciated. The maintenance of international peace is a matter in which we are deeply and unselfishly concerned. Evidence of our persistent and undeniable desire to prevent armed conflict has recently been more than once afforded. There is no ground for apprehension that our relations with any Nation will be otherwise than peaceful. Nor is there ground for doubt that the people of most Nations seek relief from the threat and burden attaching to the false theory that extravagant armament cannot be reduced and limited by international accord. The ledger of the past year shows many more gains than losses. Let us not forget that, in addition to saving millions from utter destitution, child labor has been for the moment outlawed, thousands of homes saved to their owners and most important of all, the morale of the Nation has been restored. Viewing the year 1934 as a whole, you and I can agree that we have a generous measure of reasons for giving thanks. It is not empty optimism that moves me to a strong hope in the coming year. We can, if we will, make 1935 a genuine period of good feeling, sustained by a sense of purposeful progress. Beyond the material recovery, I sense a spiritual recovery as well. The people of America are turning as never before to those permanent values that are not limited to the physical objectives of life. There are growing signs of this on every hand. In the face of these spiritual impulses we are sensible of the Divine Providence to which Nations turn now, as always, for guidance and fostering care.
president speaker members of the senate and of the house of representatives the constitution wisely provides that the chief executive shall report to the congress on the state of the union for through you the chosen legislative representatives our citizens everywhere may fairly judge the progress of our governing i am confident that today in the light of the events of the past two years you do not consider it merely a trite phrase when i tell you that i am truly glad to greet you and that i look forward to common counsel to useful cooperation and to genuine friendships between us we have undertaken a new order of things yet we progress to it under the framework and in the spirit and intent of the american constitution we have proceeded throughout the nation a measurable distance on the road toward this new order materially i can report to you substantial benefits to our agricultural population increased industrial activity and profits to our merchants of equal moment there is evident a restoration of that spirit of confidence and faith which marks the american character let him who for speculative profit or partisan purpose without just warrant would seek to disturb or dispel this assurance take heed before he assumes responsibility for any act which slows our onward steps throughout the world change is the order of the day in every nation economic problems long in the making have brought crises of many kinds for which the masters of old practice and theory were unprepared in most nations social justice no longer a distant ideal has become a definite goal and ancient governments are beginning to heed the call thus the american people do not stand alone in the world in their desire for change we seek it through tested liberal traditions through processes which retain all of the deep essentials of that republican form of representative government first given to a troubled world by the united states as the various parts in the program begun in the extraordinary session of the 73rd congress shape themselves in practical administration the unity of our program reveals itself to the nation the outlines of the new economic order rising from the disintegration of the old are apparent we test what we have done as our measures take root in the living texture of life we see where we have built wisely and where we can do still better the attempt to make a distinction between recovery and reform is a narrowly conceived effort to substitute the appearance of reality for reality itself when a man is convalescing from illness wisdom dictates not only cure of the symptoms but also removal of their because it is important to recognize that while we seek to outlaw specific abuses the american objective of today has an infinitely deeper finer and more lasting purpose than mere repression thinking people in almost every country of the world have come to realize certain fundamental difficulties with which civilization must reckon rapid machine age the advent of universal and rapid communication and many other new brought new problems succeeding generations have attempted to keep pace by reforming in piecemeal fashion this or that attendant abuse as a result evils overlap and reform becomes confused and frustrated we lose sight from time to time of our ultimate human objectives let us for a moment strip from our simple purpose the confusion that results from a multiplicity of detail and from millions of written and spoken words we find our population suffering from old inequalities little changed by vast sporadic remedies in spite of our efforts and in spite of our talk we have not weeded out the over privileged and we have not effectively lifted up the underprivileged both of these manifestations of injustice have retarded happiness no wise man has any intention of destroying what is known as the profit motive because by the profit motive we mean the right by work to earn a decent livelihood for ourselves and for our families we have however a clear mandate from the people that americans must forswear that conception of the acquisition of wealth which through excessive profits creates undue private power over private affairs and to our misfortune over public affairs as well in building toward this end we do not destroy ambition nor do we seek to divide our wealth into equal shares on stated occasions we continue to recognize the greater ability of some to earn more than others but we do assert that the ambition of the individual to obtain for him and his a proper security a reasonable leisure and a decent living throughout life is an ambition to be preferred to the appetite for great wealth and great power i recall to your attention my message to the congress last june in which i said among our objectives i place the security of the men women and children of the nation first that remains our first and continuing task and in a very real sense every major legislative enactment of this congress should be a component part of it in defining immediate factors which enter into our quest i have spoken to the congress and the people of three great divisions 1 the security of a livelihood through the better use of the national resources of the land in which we live 2 the security against the major hazards and vicissitudes of life 3 the security of decent homes i am now ready to submit to the congress a broad program designed ultimately to establish all three of these factors of security program which because of many lost years will take many future years to fulfill a study of our national resources more comprehensive than any previously made shows the vast amount of necessary and practicable work which needs to be done for the development and preservation of our natural wealth for the enjoyment and advantage of our people in generations to come the sound use of land and water is far more comprehensive than the mere planting of trees building of dams distributing of electricity or retirement of land it recognizes that stranded populations either in the country or the city can not have security under the conditions that now surround them to this end we are ready to begin to meet this intelligent care of population throughout our nation in accordance with an intelligent distribution of the means of livelihood for that population a definite program for putting people to work of which i shall speak in a moment is a component part of this greater program of security of livelihood through the better use of our national resources closely related to the broad problem of livelihood is that of security against the major hazards of life here also a comprehensive survey of what has been attempted or accomplished in many nations and in many states proves to me that the time has come for action by the national government i shall send to you in a few days definite recommendations based on these studies these recommendations will cover the broad subjects of unemployment insurance and old age insurance of benefits for children form others for the handicapped for maternity care and for other aspects of dependency and illness where a beginning can now be made the third homes for our also been the subject of experimentation and study here too the first practical steps can be made through the proposals which i shall suggest in relation to giving work to the unemployed whatever we plan and whatever we do should be in the light of these three clear objectives of security we can not afford to lose valuable time in haphazard public policies which can not find a place in the broad outlines of these major purposes in that spirit i come to an immediate issue made for us by hard and inescapable task of putting people to work in the spring of 1933 the issue of destitution seemed to stand apart today in the light of our experience and our new national policy we find we can put people to work in ways which conform to initiate and carry forward the broad principles of that policy the first objectives of emergency legislation of 1933 were to relieve destitution to make it possible for industry to operate in a more rational and orderly fashion and to put behind industrial recovery the impulse of large expenditures in government undertakings the purpose of the national industrial recovery act to provide work for more people succeeded in a substantial manner within the first few months of its life and the act has continued to maintain employment gains and greatly improved working conditions in industry the program of public works provided for in the recovery act launched the federal government into a task for which there was little time to make preparation and little american experience to follow great employment has been given and is being given by these works more than two billions of dollars have also been expended in direct relief to the destitute local agencies of necessity determined the recipients of this form of relief with inevitable exceptions the funds were spent by them with reasonable efficiency and as a result actual want of food and clothing in the great majority of cases has been overcome but the stark fact before us is that great numbers still remain unemployed a large proportion of these unemployed and their dependents have been forced on the relief rolls the burden on the federal government has grown with great rapidity we have here a human as well as an economic problem when humane considerations are concerned americans give them precedence the lessons of history confirmed by the evidence immediately before me show conclusively that continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fibre to dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic a subtle destroyer of the human spirit it is inimical to the dictates of sound policy it is in violation of the traditions of america work must be found for but destitute workers the federal government must and shall quit this business of relief i am not willing that the vitality of our people be further sapped by the giving of cash of market baskets of a few hours of weekly work cutting grass raking leaves or picking up in the public parks we must preserve not only the bodies of the unemployed from destitution but also their their and courage and determination this decision brings me to the problem of what the government should do with approximately five million unemployed now on the relief rolls about one million and a half of these belong to the group which in the past was dependent upon local welfare efforts most of them are unable for one reason or another to maintain themselves the most part through no fault of their own such people in the days before the great depression were cared for by local states by counties by towns by cities by churches and by private welfare agencies it is my thought that in the future they must be cared for as they were before i stand ready through my own personal efforts and through the public influence of the office that i hold to help these local agencies to get the means necessary to assume this burden the security legislation which i shall propose to the congress will i am confident be of assistance to local effort in the care of this type of cases local responsibility can and will be resumed for after all common sense tells us that the wealth necessary for this task existed and still exists in the local community and the dictates of sound administration require that this responsibility be in the first instance a local one there are however an additional three and one half million employable people who are on relief with them the problem is different and the responsibility is different this group was the victim of a depression caused by conditions which were not local but national the federal government is the only governmental agency with sufficient power and credit to meet this situation we have assumed this task and we shall not shrink from it in the future it is a duty dictated by every intelligent consideration of national policy to ask you to make it possible for the united states to give employment to all of these three and one half million employable people now on relief pending their absorption in a rising tide of private employment it is my thought that with the exception of certain of the normal public building operations of the government all emergency public works shall be united in a single new arid greatly enlarged plan with the establishment of this new system we can supersede the federal emergency relief administration with a coordinated authority which will be charged with the orderly liquidation of our present relief activities and the substitution of a national chart for the giving of work this new program of emergency public employment should be governed by a number of practical principles 1 all work undertaken should be not just for a day or a year but useful in the sense that it affords permanent improvement in living conditions or that it creates future new wealth for the nation 2 compensation on emergency public projects should be in the form of security payments which should be larger than the amount now received as a relief dole but at the same time not so large as to encourage the rejection of opportunities for private employment or the leaving of private employment to engage in government work 3 projects should be undertaken on which a large percentage of direct labor can be used 4 preference should be given to those projects which will be in the sense that there is a reasonable expectation that the government will get its money back at some future time 5 the projects undertaken should be selected and planned so as to compete as little as possible with private enterprises this suggests that if it were not for the necessity of giving useful work to the unemployed now on relief these projects in most instances would not now be undertaken 6 the planning of projects would seek to assure work during the coming fiscal year to the individuals now on relief or until such time as private employment is available in order to make adjustment to increasing private employment work should be planned with a view to tapering it off in proportion to the speed with which the emergency workers are offered positions with private employers 7 effort should be made to locate projects where they will serve the greatest unemployment needs as shown by present relief rolls and the broad program of the national resources board should be freely used for guidance in selection our ultimate objective being the enrichment of human lives the government has the primary duty to use its emergency expenditures as much as possible to serve those who can not secure the advantages of private capital ever since the adjournment of the 73d congress the administration has been studying from every angle the possibility and the practicability of new forms of employment as a result of these studies i have arrived at certain very definite convictions as to the amount of money that will be necessary for the sort of public projects that i have described i shall submit these figures in my budget message i assure you now they will be within the sound credit of the government the work itself will cover a wide field including clearance of slums which for adequate reasons can not be undertaken by private capital in rural housing of several kinds where again private capital is unable to function in rural electrification in the reforestation of the great watersheds of the nation in an intensified program to prevent soil erosion and to reclaim blighted areas in improving existing road systems and in constructing national highways designed to handle modern traffic in the elimination of grade crossings in the extension and enlargement of the successful work of the civilian conservation corps in works mostly and highly useful to local divisions of government and on many other projects which the nation needs and can not afford to neglect this is the method which i propose to you in order that we may better meet this problem of unemployment its greatest advantage is that it fits logically and usefully into the permanent policy of providing the three types of security which constitute as a whole an american plan for the betterment of the future of the american people i shall consult with you from time to time concerning other measures of national importance among the subjects that lie immediately before us are the consolidation of federal regulatory administration over all forms of transportation the renewal and clarification of the general purposes of the national industrial recovery act the strengthening of our facilities for the prevention detection and treatment of crime and criminals the restoration of sound conditions in the public utilities field through abolition of the evil features of holding companies the gradual tapering off of the emergency credit activities of government and improvement in our taxation forms and methods we have already begun to feel the bracing effect upon our economic system of a restored agriculture the hundreds of millions of additional income that farmers are receiving are finding their way into the channels of trade the farmers share of the national income is slowly rising the economic facts justify the widespread opinion of those engaged in agriculture that our provisions for maintaining a balanced production give at this time the most adequate remedy for an old and vexing problem for the present and especially in view of abnormal world conditions agricultural adjustment with certain necessary improvements in methods should continue it seems appropriate to call attention at this time to the fine spirit shown during the past year by our public servants i can not praise too highly the cheerful work of the civil service employees and of those temporarily working for the government as for those thousands in our various public agencies spread throughout the country who without compensation agreed to take over heavy responsibilities in connection with our various loan agencies and particularly in direct relief work i can not say too much i do not think any country could show a higher average of cheerful and even enthusiastic than has been shown by these men and women i can not with candor tell you that general international relationships outside the borders of the united states are improved on the surface of things many old jealousies are resurrected old passions aroused new strivings for armament and power in more than one land rear their ugly heads i hope that calm counsel and constructive leadership will provide the steadying influence and the time necessary for the coming of new and more practical forms of representative government throughout the world wherein privilege and power will occupy a lesser place and world welfare a greater i believe however that our own peaceful and neighborly attitude toward other nations is coming to be understood and appreciated the maintenance of international peace is a matter in which we are deeply and unselfishly concerned evidence of our persistent and undeniable desire to prevent armed conflict has recently been more than once afforded there is no ground for apprehension that our relations with any nation will be otherwise than peaceful nor is there ground for doubt that the people of most nations seek relief from the threat and burden attaching to the false theory that extravagant armament can not be reduced and limited by international accord the ledger of the past year shows many more gains than losses let us not forget that in addition to saving millions from utter destitution child labor has been for the moment outlawed thousands of homes saved to their owners and most important of all the morale of the nation has been restored viewing the year 1934 as a whole you and i can agree that we have a generous measure of reasons for giving thanks it is not empty optimism that moves me to a strong hope in the coming year we can if we will make 1935 a genuine period of good feeling sustained by a sense of purposeful progress beyond the material recovery i sense a spiritual recovery as well the people of america are turning as never before to those permanent values that are not limited to the physical objectives of life there are growing signs of this on every hand in the face of these spiritual impulses we are sensible of the divine providence to which nations turn now as always for guidance and fostering care
president speaker members senate house representatives constitution wisely provides chief executive shall report congress state union chosen legislative representatives citizens everywhere may fairly judge progress governing confident today light events past two years consider merely trite phrase tell truly glad greet look forward common counsel useful cooperation genuine friendships us undertaken new order things yet progress framework spirit intent american constitution proceeded throughout nation measurable distance road toward new order materially report substantial benefits agricultural population increased industrial activity profits merchants equal moment evident restoration spirit confidence faith marks american character let speculative profit partisan purpose without warrant would seek disturb dispel assurance take heed assumes responsibility act slows onward steps throughout world change order day every nation economic problems long making brought crises many kinds masters old practice theory unprepared nations social justice longer distant ideal become definite goal ancient governments beginning heed call thus american people stand alone world desire change seek tested liberal traditions processes retain deep essentials republican form representative government first given troubled world united states various parts program begun extraordinary session 73rd congress shape practical administration unity program reveals nation outlines new economic order rising disintegration old apparent test done measures take root living texture life see built wisely still better attempt make distinction recovery reform narrowly conceived effort substitute appearance reality reality man convalescing illness wisdom dictates cure symptoms also removal important recognize seek outlaw specific abuses american objective today infinitely deeper finer lasting purpose mere repression thinking people almost every country world come realize certain fundamental difficulties civilization must reckon rapid machine age advent universal rapid communication many new brought new problems succeeding generations attempted keep pace reforming piecemeal fashion attendant abuse result evils overlap reform becomes confused frustrated lose sight time time ultimate human objectives let us moment strip simple purpose confusion results multiplicity detail millions written spoken words find population suffering old inequalities little changed vast sporadic remedies spite efforts spite talk weeded privileged effectively lifted underprivileged manifestations injustice retarded happiness wise man intention destroying known profit motive profit motive mean right work earn decent livelihood families however clear mandate people americans must forswear conception acquisition wealth excessive profits creates undue private power private affairs misfortune public affairs well building toward end destroy ambition seek divide wealth equal shares stated occasions continue recognize greater ability earn others assert ambition individual obtain proper security reasonable leisure decent living throughout life ambition preferred appetite great wealth great power recall attention message congress last june said among objectives place security men women children nation first remains first continuing task real sense every major legislative enactment congress component part defining immediate factors enter quest spoken congress people three great divisions 1 security livelihood better use national resources land live 2 security major hazards vicissitudes life 3 security decent homes ready submit congress broad program designed ultimately establish three factors security program many lost years take many future years fulfill study national resources comprehensive previously made shows vast amount necessary practicable work needs done development preservation natural wealth enjoyment advantage people generations come sound use land water far comprehensive mere planting trees building dams distributing electricity retirement land recognizes stranded populations either country city security conditions surround end ready begin meet intelligent care population throughout nation accordance intelligent distribution means livelihood population definite program putting people work shall speak moment component part greater program security livelihood better use national resources closely related broad problem livelihood security major hazards life also comprehensive survey attempted accomplished many nations many states proves time come action national government shall send days definite recommendations based studies recommendations cover broad subjects unemployment insurance old age insurance benefits children form others handicapped maternity care aspects dependency illness beginning made third homes also subject experimentation study first practical steps made proposals shall suggest relation giving work unemployed whatever plan whatever light three clear objectives security afford lose valuable time haphazard public policies find place broad outlines major purposes spirit come immediate issue made us hard inescapable task putting people work spring 1933 issue destitution seemed stand apart today light experience new national policy find put people work ways conform initiate carry forward broad principles policy first objectives emergency legislation 1933 relieve destitution make possible industry operate rational orderly fashion put behind industrial recovery impulse large expenditures government undertakings purpose national industrial recovery act provide work people succeeded substantial manner within first months life act continued maintain employment gains greatly improved working conditions industry program public works provided recovery act launched federal government task little time make preparation little american experience follow great employment given given works two billions dollars also expended direct relief destitute local agencies necessity determined recipients form relief inevitable exceptions funds spent reasonable efficiency result actual want food clothing great majority cases overcome stark fact us great numbers still remain unemployed large proportion unemployed dependents forced relief rolls burden federal government grown great rapidity human well economic problem humane considerations concerned americans give precedence lessons history confirmed evidence immediately show conclusively continued dependence upon relief induces spiritual moral disintegration fundamentally destructive national fibre dole relief way administer narcotic subtle destroyer human spirit inimical dictates sound policy violation traditions america work must found destitute workers federal government must shall quit business relief willing vitality people sapped giving cash market baskets hours weekly work cutting grass raking leaves picking public parks must preserve bodies unemployed destitution also courage determination decision brings problem government approximately five million unemployed relief rolls one million half belong group past dependent upon local welfare efforts unable one reason another maintain part fault people days great depression cared local states counties towns cities churches private welfare agencies thought future must cared stand ready personal efforts public influence office hold help local agencies get means necessary assume burden security legislation shall propose congress confident assistance local effort care type cases local responsibility resumed common sense tells us wealth necessary task existed still exists local community dictates sound administration require responsibility first instance local one however additional three one half million employable people relief problem different responsibility different group victim depression caused conditions local national federal government governmental agency sufficient power credit meet situation assumed task shall shrink future duty dictated every intelligent consideration national policy ask make possible united states give employment three one half million employable people relief pending absorption rising tide private employment thought exception certain normal public building operations government emergency public works shall united single new arid greatly enlarged plan establishment new system supersede federal emergency relief administration coordinated authority charged orderly liquidation present relief activities substitution national chart giving work new program emergency public employment governed number practical principles 1 work undertaken day year useful sense affords permanent improvement living conditions creates future new wealth nation 2 compensation emergency public projects form security payments larger amount received relief dole time large encourage rejection opportunities private employment leaving private employment engage government work 3 projects undertaken large percentage direct labor used 4 preference given projects sense reasonable expectation government get money back future time 5 projects undertaken selected planned compete little possible private enterprises suggests necessity giving useful work unemployed relief projects instances would undertaken 6 planning projects would seek assure work coming fiscal year individuals relief time private employment available order make adjustment increasing private employment work planned view tapering proportion speed emergency workers offered positions private employers 7 effort made locate projects serve greatest unemployment needs shown present relief rolls broad program national resources board freely used guidance selection ultimate objective enrichment human lives government primary duty use emergency expenditures much possible serve secure advantages private capital ever since adjournment 73d congress administration studying every angle possibility practicability new forms employment result studies arrived certain definite convictions amount money necessary sort public projects described shall submit figures budget message assure within sound credit government work cover wide field including clearance slums adequate reasons undertaken private capital rural housing several kinds private capital unable function rural electrification reforestation great watersheds nation intensified program prevent soil erosion reclaim blighted areas improving existing road systems constructing national highways designed handle modern traffic elimination grade crossings extension enlargement successful work civilian conservation corps works mostly highly useful local divisions government many projects nation needs afford neglect method propose order may better meet problem unemployment greatest advantage fits logically usefully permanent policy providing three types security constitute whole american plan betterment future american people shall consult time time concerning measures national importance among subjects lie immediately us consolidation federal regulatory administration forms transportation renewal clarification general purposes national industrial recovery act strengthening facilities prevention detection treatment crime criminals restoration sound conditions public utilities field abolition evil features holding companies gradual tapering emergency credit activities government improvement taxation forms methods already begun feel bracing effect upon economic system restored agriculture hundreds millions additional income farmers receiving finding way channels trade farmers share national income slowly rising economic facts justify widespread opinion engaged agriculture provisions maintaining balanced production give time adequate remedy old vexing problem present especially view abnormal world conditions agricultural adjustment certain necessary improvements methods continue seems appropriate call attention time fine spirit shown past year public servants praise highly cheerful work civil service employees temporarily working government thousands various public agencies spread throughout country without compensation agreed take heavy responsibilities connection various loan agencies particularly direct relief work say much think country could show higher average cheerful even enthusiastic shown men women candor tell general international relationships outside borders united states improved surface things many old jealousies resurrected old passions aroused new strivings armament power one land rear ugly heads hope calm counsel constructive leadership provide steadying influence time necessary coming new practical forms representative government throughout world wherein privilege power occupy lesser place world welfare greater believe however peaceful neighborly attitude toward nations coming understood appreciated maintenance international peace matter deeply unselfishly concerned evidence persistent undeniable desire prevent armed conflict recently afforded ground apprehension relations nation otherwise peaceful ground doubt people nations seek relief threat burden attaching false theory extravagant armament reduced limited international accord ledger past year shows many gains losses let us forget addition saving millions utter destitution child labor moment outlawed thousands homes saved owners important morale nation restored viewing year 1934 whole agree generous measure reasons giving thanks empty optimism moves strong hope coming year make 1935 genuine period good feeling sustained sense purposeful progress beyond material recovery sense spiritual recovery well people america turning never permanent values limited physical objectives life growing signs every hand face spiritual impulses sensible divine providence nations turn always guidance fostering care
president speaker member senate house representative constitution wisely provide chief executive shall report congress state union choose legislative representative citizen everywhere may fairly judge progress govern confident today light event past two year consider merely trite phrase tell truly glad greet look forward common counsel useful cooperation genuine friendships u undertaken new order thing yet progress framework spirit intent american constitution proceed throughout nation measurable distance road toward new order materially report substantial benefit agricultural population increase industrial activity profit merchant equal moment evident restoration spirit confidence faith mark american character let speculative profit partisan purpose without warrant would seek disturb dispel assurance take heed assumes responsibility act slow onward step throughout world change order day every nation economic problem long make brought crisis many kind master old practice theory unprepared nation social justice longer distant ideal become definite goal ancient government begin heed call thus american people stand alone world desire change seek test liberal tradition process retain deep essential republican form representative government first give troubled world unite state various part program begin extraordinary session 73rd congress shape practical administration unity program reveals nation outline new economic order rise disintegration old apparent test do measure take root living texture life see build wisely still well attempt make distinction recovery reform narrowly conceive effort substitute appearance reality reality man convalesce illness wisdom dictate cure symptom also removal important recognize seek outlaw specific abuse american objective today infinitely deep finer last purpose mere repression think people almost every country world come realize certain fundamental difficulty civilization must reckon rapid machine age advent universal rapid communication many new bring new problem succeed generation attempt keep pace reform piecemeal fashion attendant abuse result evil overlap reform becomes confuse frustrate lose sight time time ultimate human objective let u moment strip simple purpose confusion result multiplicity detail million write spoken word find population suffer old inequality little change vast sporadic remedy spite effort spite talk weed privilege effectively lift underprivileged manifestation injustice retard happiness wise man intention destroy known profit motive profit motive mean right work earn decent livelihood family however clear mandate people american must forswear conception acquisition wealth excessive profit creates undue private power private affair misfortune public affair well build toward end destroy ambition seek divide wealth equal share state occasion continue recognize great ability earn others assert ambition individual obtain proper security reasonable leisure decent living throughout life ambition prefer appetite great wealth great power recall attention message congress last june say among objective place security men woman child nation first remain first continue task real sense every major legislative enactment congress component part define immediate factor enter quest spoken congress people three great division 1 security livelihood well use national resource land live 2 security major hazard vicissitudes life 3 security decent home ready submit congress broad program design ultimately establish three factor security program many lose year take many future year fulfill study national resource comprehensive previously make show vast amount necessary practicable work need do development preservation natural wealth enjoyment advantage people generation come sound use land water far comprehensive mere plant tree build dam distribute electricity retirement land recognize strand population either country city security condition surround end ready begin meet intelligent care population throughout nation accordance intelligent distribution mean livelihood population definite program put people work shall speak moment component part great program security livelihood well use national resource closely related broad problem livelihood security major hazard life also comprehensive survey attempt accomplish many nation many state prof time come action national government shall send day definite recommendation base study recommendation cover broad subject unemployment insurance old age insurance benefit child form others handicap maternity care aspects dependency illness begin make third home also subject experimentation study first practical step make proposal shall suggest relation give work unemployed whatever plan whatever light three clear objective security afford lose valuable time haphazard public policy find place broad outline major purpose spirit come immediate issue make u hard inescapable task put people work spring 1933 issue destitution seem stand apart today light experience new national policy find put people work way conform initiate carry forward broad principle policy first objectives emergency legislation 1933 relieve destitution make possible industry operate rational orderly fashion put behind industrial recovery impulse large expenditure government undertaking purpose national industrial recovery act provide work people succeed substantial manner within first month life act continue maintain employment gain greatly improve working condition industry program public work provide recovery act launch federal government task little time make preparation little american experience follow great employment give give work two billion dollar also expend direct relief destitute local agency necessity determine recipient form relief inevitable exception fund spend reasonable efficiency result actual want food clothing great majority case overcome stark fact u great number still remain unemployed large proportion unemployed dependent forced relief roll burden federal government grow great rapidity human well economic problem humane consideration concerned american give precedence lesson history confirm evidence immediately show conclusively continue dependence upon relief induces spiritual moral disintegration fundamentally destructive national fibre dole relief way administer narcotic subtle destroyer human spirit inimical dictate sound policy violation tradition america work must find destitute worker federal government must shall quit business relief willing vitality people sap give cash market basket hour weekly work cut grass rake leaf pick public park must preserve body unemployed destitution also courage determination decision bring problem government approximately five million unemployed relief roll one million half belong group past dependent upon local welfare effort unable one reason another maintain part fault people day great depression care local state county towns city church private welfare agency think future must care stand ready personal effort public influence office hold help local agency get mean necessary assume burden security legislation shall propose congress confident assistance local effort care type case local responsibility resume common sense tell u wealth necessary task exist still exist local community dictate sound administration require responsibility first instance local one however additional three one half million employable people relief problem different responsibility different group victim depression cause condition local national federal government governmental agency sufficient power credit meet situation assume task shall shrink future duty dictate every intelligent consideration national policy ask make possible united state give employment three one half million employable people relief pending absorption rise tide private employment think exception certain normal public building operation government emergency public work shall united single new arid greatly enlarge plan establishment new system supersede federal emergency relief administration coordinate authority charge orderly liquidation present relief activity substitution national chart give work new program emergency public employment govern number practical principle 1 work undertaken day year useful sense affords permanent improvement living condition create future new wealth nation 2 compensation emergency public project form security payment large amount receive relief dole time large encourage rejection opportunity private employment leave private employment engage government work 3 project undertaken large percentage direct labor use 4 preference give project sense reasonable expectation government get money back future time 5 project undertaken select plan compete little possible private enterprise suggest necessity give useful work unemployed relief project instance would undertake 6 planning project would seek assure work come fiscal year individual relief time private employment available order make adjustment increase private employment work plan view taper proportion speed emergency worker offer position private employer 7 effort make locate project serve great unemployment need show present relief roll broad program national resource board freely use guidance selection ultimate objective enrichment human live government primary duty use emergency expenditure much possible serve secure advantage private capital ever since adjournment 73d congress administration study every angle possibility practicability new form employment result study arrive certain definite conviction amount money necessary sort public project describe shall submit figure budget message assure within sound credit government work cover wide field include clearance slum adequate reason undertaken private capital rural housing several kind private capital unable function rural electrification reforestation great watershed nation intensify program prevent soil erosion reclaim blight area improve exist road system construct national highway design handle modern traffic elimination grade crossing extension enlargement successful work civilian conservation corp work mostly highly useful local division government many project nation need afford neglect method propose order may better meet problem unemployment great advantage fit logically usefully permanent policy provide three type security constitute whole american plan betterment future american people shall consult time time concern measure national importance among subject lie immediately u consolidation federal regulatory administration form transportation renewal clarification general purpose national industrial recovery act strengthen facility prevention detection treatment crime criminal restoration sound condition public utility field abolition evil feature hold company gradual taper emergency credit activity government improvement taxation form method already begin feel brace effect upon economic system restore agriculture hundred million additional income farmer receive find way channel trade farmer share national income slowly rise economic fact justify widespread opinion engage agriculture provision maintain balanced production give time adequate remedy old vexing problem present especially view abnormal world condition agricultural adjustment certain necessary improvement method continue seem appropriate call attention time fine spirit show past year public servant praise highly cheerful work civil service employee temporarily work government thousand various public agency spread throughout country without compensation agree take heavy responsibility connection various loan agency particularly direct relief work say much think country could show high average cheerful even enthusiastic show men woman candor tell general international relationship outside border united state improve surface thing many old jealousy resurrect old passion arouse new striving armament power one land rear ugly head hope calm counsel constructive leadership provide steady influence time necessary come new practical form representative government throughout world wherein privilege power occupy less place world welfare great believe however peaceful neighborly attitude toward nation come understood appreciate maintenance international peace matter deeply unselfishly concern evidence persistent undeniable desire prevent arm conflict recently afford ground apprehension relation nation otherwise peaceful ground doubt people nation seek relief threat burden attach false theory extravagant armament reduce limited international accord ledger past year show many gain loss let u forget addition save million utter destitution child labor moment outlaw thousand home save owner important morale nation restore view year 1934 whole agree generous measure reason give thanks empty optimism move strong hope come year make 1935 genuine period good feeling sustain sense purposeful progress beyond material recovery sense spiritual recovery well people america turn never permanent value limit physical objective life grow sign every hand face spiritual impulse sensible divine providence nation turn always guidance fostering care