FDR

Some of our bankers had shown themselves either incompetent or dishonest in their handling of the people's funds.

They had used the money entrusted to them in speculations and unwise loans.

It was the government's job to straighten out this situation and do it as quickly as possible--and the job is being performed.

I do not promise you that every bank will be reopened or that individual losses will not be suffered, but there will be no losses that possibly could be avoided; and there would have been more and greater losses had we continued to drift.

We shall be engaged not merely in reopening sound banks but in the creation of sound banks through reorganization.

I can never be sufficiently grateful to the people for the loyal support they have given me in their acceptance of the judgment that has dictated our course, even though all our processes may not have seemed clear to them.

After all, there is an element in the readjustment of our financial system more important than currency, more important than gold, and that is the confidence of the people.

Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan.

You people must have faith; you must not be stampeded by rumors or guesses.

We have provided the machinery to restore our financial system; it is up to you to support and make it work.

That situation in that crisis did not call for any complicated consideration of economic panaceas or fancy plans.

We were faced by a condition and not a theory.

It is easy to see that the result of this course would have not only economic effects of a very serious nature but social results that might bring incalculable harm.

Even before I was inaugurated I came to the conclusion that such a policy was too much to ask the American people to bear.

It involved not only a further loss of homes, farms, savings and wages but also a loss of spiritual values--the loss of that sense of security for the present and the future so necessary to the peace and contentment of the individual and…

It was clear that mere appeals from Washington for confidence and the mere lending of more money to shaky institutions could not stop this downward course.

A prompt program applied as quickly as possible seemed to me not only justified but imperative to our national security.

First, we are giving opportunity of employment to one-quarter of a million of the unemployed, especially the young men who have dependents, to go into the forestry and flood prevention work.

In creating this civilian conservation corps we are killing two birds with one stone.

We are clearly enhancing the value of our natural resources and we are relieving an appreciable amount of actual distress.

This great group of men has entered upon its work on a purely voluntary basis; no military training is involved and we are conserving not only our natural resources, but our human resources.

It will add to the comfort and happiness of hundreds of thousands of people and the incident benefits will reach the entire nation.

Our next step in seeking immediate relief is a grant of half a billion dollars to help the states, counties and municipalities in their duty to care for those who need direct and immediate relief.

We are planning to ask the Congress for legislation to enable the government to undertake public works, thus stimulating directly and indirectly the employment of many others in well-considered projects.

Well-considered and conservative measures will likewise be proposed which will attempt to give to the industrial workers of the country a more fair wage return, prevent cut-throat competition and unduly long hours for labor, and at the…