Professional Documents
Culture Documents
NOTE: The purposes and objec- labor and were generally of low
tives of the Civil Works Administra- efficiency.
tion (popularly known as C.W.A.) I came to the conclusion that by
were to provide some 4,000,000 un- shifting to this new C.W.A. pro-
employed persons with short-term gram 1,500,000 people employed in
employment on small public works local work relief activities, and other
projects during the winter months employables who were then on di-
of 1933-1934. rect relief, a great quantity of pur-
I decided to initiate this program chasing power could be injected
at this time for a number of rea- into the economic system in a short
sons: Relief needs continued with time; that the direct relief rolls
increasing seriousness as the winter would be greatly reduced; and that
months came on. The sharp busi- adequate wages for useful projects
ness revival of the summer months would be substituted for inadequate
had ceased; and, indeed, a reaction pay on work of little value. C.W.A.
had set in. The relief rolls which was to establish minimum hourly
had declined sharply from March, rates of pay; but was to pay pre-
1933, had begun to rise again in vailing rates where prevailing rates
October, 1933. The Public Works exceeded the minimum, although
Administration (P.W.A.) had not the hours of work in such cases
been able by that time to commence would be limited.
a very extensive program of large Accordingly, by means of the fore-
public works because of the una- going Executive Order, issued pur-
voidable time-consuming process of suant to Title II of the National
planning, designing and reviewing Industrial Recovery Act, I created
projects, clearing up legal matters, the Civil Works Administration.
advertising for bids and letting con- (See also Press Conference of No-
tracts. The local work relief activi- vember 3, 1933, Item 151, this vol-
ties being financed by F.E.R.A., ume.)
State, and local funds were too often Its organization and operation
concerned with projects of little or was essentially different from that
no value, were almost exclusively of the F.E.R.A. The F.E.R.A. was
undertaken by unskilled manual mostly a State and local program,
457
The delegation will sail from New York on the S.S. American
Legion on Saturday.
In approaching the problems of the conference, the Admin-
istration has given careful and hopeful study to means of con-
tributing some practical expression of President Roosevelt's
good-neighbor policy.
This study has brought the conviction that no matter what
advantageous arrangements are made ultimately, such arrange-
ments will lack full effectiveness in increasing neighborly con-
tacts and trade unless there is betterment in the rapidity of com-
munications and transportation. Such betterments will have an
actual value in bringing the two continents even closer together.
At present, for example, as long as the German dirigible now
travels from Europe on a regular schedule to South America in
sixty hours, while steamship travel to Montevideo from New
York requires more than two weeks, the United States will be
more and more at a serious disadvantage as air travel increases.
Therefore, it is the intention of the United States to urge upon
the conference that the section of the program relating to trans-
portation be taken up as one of the early subjects.
It will be the policy of the United States to work out, in col-
laboration with the other Governments, an exploratory program
looking to the immediate acceleration of improvements in all
46o
NOTE: This Conference was the proper application of the new good-
seventh International Conference of neighbor policy of the United
American States. This was the first States, but also to induce the other
time, however, since the inaugura- Nations of Central and South Amer-
tion of this series of conferences that ica to adopt and follow a similar
the Secretary of State of the United policy.
States was personally present as a I have already spoken of the at-
delegate. Not only did Secretary titude of mistrust and suspicion ex-
Hull attend this Conference, but on isting among the twenty-one Re-
his trip to and from Montevideo, publics in America before March
he took occasion to visit Brazil, 4, 1933. The first objective of our
Uruguay, Argentine, Chile, Peru, delegates at this Conference was
Ecuador, Colombia, and Panama. to tear down what was left by this
This Conference provided an ex- time of the wall of misunderstand-
cellent vehicle, not only for the ing and prejudice between our-
463
464
480
ARTICLE 1 1
FINAL PROTOCOL
Ad Article iI.
1. The Consul shall be notified either by a communication
from the person arrested or by the authorities themselves di-
rect. Such communications shall be made within a period not
exceeding seven times twenty-four hours, and in large towns,
including capitals of districts, within a period not exceeding
three times twenty-four hours.
481
483
484
486
NOTE: The foregoing address was Georgia. Since 1926 I had been in
made on my trip to Warm Springs, the habit of spending some parts
493
496
498
NOTE: After the flight of General opinion. During this period our
Machado from Cuba on August 12, Government was unwilling to ac-
1933 (see Items 86 and 114 of this cord recognition to the Grau San
volume), a Provisional Government Martin administration in Cuba be-
in Cuba was established, headed by cause of the lack of general support
Dr. Carlos Manuel de. Cespedes. of public opinion in Cuba and also
This Provisional Government was because it seemed unable to main-
in turn overthrown on September tain order or to carry out many
5, 1933. Thereupon the military other normal and necessary func-
forces in Cuba assisted in the in- tions of government.
stallation of a provisional regime The foregoing statement was is-
composed of a committee of five sued by me on November 23, 1933,
civilians, responsive to the authori- primarily in order to inform the
ties of the army, to the students of general public, both in the United
the University of Havana and to a States and in the rest of the Ameri-
small group of agitators who had can continent as well as in Cuba, of
entered governmental activity. the reasons for our failure to recog-
The new regime was not success- nize the Grau San Martin regime.
ful in obtaining any support from On January 18, 1934, Colonel
other bodies of public opinion in Carlos Mendieta was installed as
Cuba. The governmental system Provisional President of Cuba, and
was thereupon modified, and the promptly designated the Cabinet of
presidential system was again the Provisional Government.
adopted. Dr. Ramon Grau San Mar- The Government of Colonel
tin, one of the committee of five, Mendieta was supported by all of
was selected as Provisional Presi- the recognized political parties in
dent of the Republic by the rest of Cuba, and there were immediate ev-
the committee, by the Directorate idences of overwhelming popular
of the student body of the Univer- support. Because of these facts and
sity of Havana and by the Chief of because of the apparent ability of
the Cuban Army. his Government to maintain public
This regime, headed by Dr. Grau order, the United States extended
San Martin, also endeavored to ob- recognition to the Government of
tain the support of general public Cuba on January 23, 1934.
NOTE: This corporation was or- ers. It was dissolved as of August 14,
ganized to expedite the housing pro- 1935. (See Item 117, this volume,
gram of P.W.A. but was not utilized for a discussion of the housing pro-
because of adverse rulings by the gram of P.W.A.)
Comptroller General as to its pow-
507
509
JOINT RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House
concurring therein), That the following article is hereby proposed as
an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be
valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when rati-
fied by conventions in three-fourths of the several States:
ARTICLE
" 'Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitu-
tion of the United States is hereby repealed.
"'Section 2. The transportation or importation into any State, Terri-
tory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of
intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby pro-
hibited.
"'Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the
several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from
the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.' "
NOTE: The 72d Congress, which asked for united cooperation, that
convened following the 1932 elec- this return of individual freedom
tion, passed the Twenty-first would not be accompanied by anti-
Amendment to the Constitution to social conditions, such as the saloon
repeal the Eighteenth Amendment. and the other evils of the pre-prohi-
Within ten months after the first bition era. (See also Press Confer-
proposal of the Twenty-first Amend- ence of October i1, 1933, Item 137,
ment, it had been adopted by the this volume.)
requisite number of States, and the At the time of repeal the Con-
Eighteenth Amendment had been gress was not in session. It was rec-
repealed. The thirty-sixth State to ognized that the individual States
ratify the Amendment was Utah, on would not be able, by State or local
December 5, 1933; and immediately legislation, adequately to supervise
thereafter the foregoing Proclama- and regulate the liquor industry,
tion was issued. which would evidently soon become
I there expressed the hope, and again one of the largest in the
512
515
NOTE: The foregoing Order added Executive Order No. 6173, June 16,
all of the members of the Special 1933 (see Item 79, this volume), to
Industrial Recovery Board which the membership of the National
had been set up under N.I.R.A. by Emergency Council.
532
NOTE: The Democratic National Item 54, this volume) the President
Platform of 1932 provided for "an was authorized to fix the weight of
International Monetary Conference the silver dollar as well as the gold
called on the invitation of our dollar; to provide for unlimited
Government to consider the re- coinage of silver; and for a period of
habilitation of silver and related six months from the date of the pas-
questions." I also referred to our sage of the Act to accept silver in
objectives and aims in my campaign payment of any debt due from any
speeches at Butte, Montana, and foreign Government to the United
Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1932 (see States at a price not to exceed 500
Vol. I). an ounce.
By the Act of May 12, 1933 (see This legislation, so far as silver
538
COMPRE
Shall Be Changed to Peace by Peoples."
December 28, 1933
must be the soil in which shall
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570
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579
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6o8
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