My dear Senator Smoot:
I have given thought to your request that I should express to you and the Senate Finance Committee my views upon the bill passed by the House of Representatives, increasing the loans to World War veterans upon the so-called bonus certificates. In view of the short time remaining in this session for its consideration I shall comply with your request. Continue reading
The following is a White House statement:
The conferences of the President during the last few days with the representatives of the Building and Loan Associations and the members of the Finance Committee of the Housing Conference relate to the consideration of better longview financing of home ownership and the present emergencies in small mortgages upon urban and farm property used for homes. No conclusions have yet been reached but in any event the projects discussed do not look to replacing the functions of the National Credit Pool among the banks as has been reported in some quarters. Continue reading
My dear Mr. Senator:
I thought you would like to know that a re-examination of our fiscal situation for the next year by the Director of the Budget shows that upon the indicated income of the Government and the expenditures to which the Government is already committed through budget proposals and legislation which has been completed, we are faced with a deficit of some twenty or thirty millions of dollars. This, of course is not as yet a very material sum, but it is obvious that further large amounts of expenditures will jeopardize the primary duty of the Government, that is, to hold expenditures within our income.
Something over one hundred and twenty-five acts have been passed by either the Senate or the House or favorably reported by different committees, which sould authorize an additional expenditure of three hundred or three hundred 50 million dollars next year. A good many of these proposals, are of course, for comparatively small sums, and some of them are necessary for the functioning of the Government, but I know you will agree with me that there is cause for real alarm in the situation as we can not contemplate any such deficit.
I am writing a similar note to Representative Wood.
Members of the American Bankers’ Association and guests:
I am glad to meet this assembly of representative bankers from every state in almost every county of our country. During the past year you have carried the credit system of the nation safely through a most difficult crisis. In this success you have demonstrated not alone the soundness of the credit system but also the capacity of our bankers in an emergency. Continue reading
The President said:
I have authorized the Attorney General to undertake an exhaustive investigation into the whole question of bankruptcy law and practice. It will be a most extensive and vigorous investigation. The work will be under the direction of the Solicitor General and he will be assisted by the Department of Commerce. Continue reading
The President reported that the following conclusions have been so far arrived at by the conference:
We have canvassed the information secured by state and national surveys as to drought conditions. While the extent of the damage cannot yet be determined, it is certain that there are at least 250 counties most acutely affected where some degree of relief must be provided. It was the view of the conference that the burden of effective organization to meet the situation over the winter in the acutely affected counties rests primarily upon the counties and the states themselves, supplemented by such cooperation and assistance as may be found necessary on the part of the Federal Government. Continue reading
The President said:
The drought situation has been the subject of several conferences between Secretary Hyde, Chairman Legge and myself. The Department of Agriculture has undertaken a detailed survey of the situation. They will report next Monday upon the condition in each area of the country. The information so far indicates great variation in the effect of the drought, both as between states, between counties in those states, and even between farms in the same counties. There can be no doubt as to its most serious character in many localities, and that unless relieved there will be real suffering. The maximum intensity seems to lie in a belt roughly following the Potomac, the Ohio, and the Mississippi Rivers. Continue reading
To My Fellow Countrymen:
There must be a very material increase in the resources of the American Red Cross to enable it to bear the burden which it has undertaken in the drought area and smaller communities over twenty-one states during this winter. Within the last ten days the Red Cross has had to increase the rate of expenditure to an amount greater than during the entire preceding four months.
The American Red Cross is the Nation’s sole agency for relief in such a crisis; it is meeting the demand and must continue to do so during the remainder of the winter. Continue reading
My dear Mr. Chairman:
In accordance with our conference during the past week I am glad, as President of the American Red Cross, to approve an appeal for public assistance to the Association in the relief work it has undertaken in the rural section. Continue reading
To the Officers and Members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America:
Our greatest economic problem is regular and stable employment. To secure it is the assurance of comfort and happiness to millions of men, women and children. Wages sustain not only workers and their families, but also industry and agriculture, whose products they buy. Continue reading