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farming and industry and transportation, not partnership in
profits, for the profits still go to the citizens, but rather a
partnership in planning and partnership to see that the plans are
carried out.
Let me illustrate with an example. Take the cotton goods industry.
It is probably true that ninety percent of the cotton manufacturers
would agree to eliminate starvation wages, would agree to stop long
hours of employment, would agree to stop child labor, would agree
to prevent an overproduction that would result in unsalable
surpluses. But, what good is such an agreement if the other ten
percent of cotton manufacturers pay starvation wages, require long
hours, employ children in their mills and turn out burdensome
surpluses? The unfair ten percent could produce goods so cheaply
that the fair ninety percent would be compelled to meet the unfair
conditions. Here is where government comes in. Government ought to
have the right and will have the right, after surveying and
planning for an industry to prevent, with the assistance of the
overwhelming majority of that industry, unfair practice and to
enforce this agreement by the authority of government. The so-
called anti-trust laws were intended to prevent the creation of
monopolies. That purpose of the anti-trust laws must be continued,
but these laws were never intended to encourage the kind of unfair
competition that results in long hours, starvation wages and
overproduction.
The same principle applies to farm products and to transportation
and every other field of organized private industry.
We are working toward a definite goal, which is to prevent the
return of conditions which came very close to destroying what we
call modern civilization. The actual accomplishment of our purpose
cannot be attained in a day. Our policies are wholly within
purposes for which our American constitutional government was
established 150 years ago.
I know that the people of this country will understand this and
will also understand the spirit in which we are undertaking this
policy. I do not deny that we may make mistakes of procedure as we
carry out the policy. I have no expectation of making a hit every
time I come to bat. What I seek is the highest possible batting
average, not only for myself but for the team. Theodore Roosevelt
once said to me: "If I can be right 75 percent of the time I shall
come up to the fullest measure of my hopes."
Much has been said of late about federal finances and inflation,
the gold standard, etc. Let me make the facts very simple and my
policy very clear. In the first place, government credit and
government currency are really one and the same thing. Behind
government bonds there is only a promise to pay. Behind government
currency we have, in addition to the promise to pay, a reserve of
gold and a small reserve of silver. In this connection it is worth
while remembering that in the past the government has agreed to
redeem nearly thirty billions of its debts and its currency in
gold, and private corporations in this country have agreed to
redeem another sixty or seventy billions of securities and
mortgages in gold. The government and private corporations were
making these agreements when they knew full well that all of the
gold in the United States amounted to only between three and four
billions and that all of the gold in all of the world amounted to
only about eleven billions.
If the holders of these promises to pay started in to demand gold
the first comers would get gold for a few days and they would
amount to about one twenty-fifth of the holders of the securities
and the currency. The other twenty-four people out of twenty-five,
who did not happen to be at the top of the line, would be told
politely that there was no more gold left. We have decided to treat
all twenty-five in the same way in the interest of justice and the
exercise of the constitutional powers of this government. We have
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