National Affairs: State of the Union

The President of the U. S. "shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." So says the U. S. Constitution. President Hoover last week obeyed the injunction for his third time in 21 months of office. He did not go to the Capitol himself. Instead, clerks intoned his Message from the Nation's rostra. The Nation's legislators take an opportunity like this to go and eat their luncheons, gossip in the lobbies.

To legislators eager for immediate action on pet subjects, the Message seemed, when they read it. a rather vague, long view of the Union's state. The President said: "Substantial progress has been made during the year in national peace and security; the fundamental strength of the Nation's economic life is unimpaired; education and scientific discovery have made advances; our country is more alive to its problems of moral and spiritual welfare. . . ."

Depression. "During the last twelve months we have suffered with other nations from economic depression. . . . The extent of the depression is indicated by the following approximate percentages of activity during the past three months as compared with the highly prosperous year 1928.*

Value of department-store sales 93% of 1928

Volume of manufacturing production 80% of 1928

Volume of mineral production 90% of 1928

Volume of factory employment 84% of 1928

Total of bank deposits 105% of 1928

Wholesale prices—all commodities 83% of 1928

Cost of living 94% of 1928

"Economic wounds must be healed by the action of the cells of the economic body—the producers and consumers themselves. Recovery can be expedited . . . by co-operative action. . . . The co-operation of public utilities, railways and other large organizations has been generously given in construction. . . . The volume of this type of construction work, which amounted to roughly $6,300,000,000 in 1929, instead of decreasing will show a total of about $7,000,000,000 for 1930. . . . The Federal Government is engaged upon the greatest program of waterway, harbor, flood control, public building, highway, and airway improvement in all our history. This, together with loans to merchant shipbuilders, improvement of the Navy and in military aviation, and other construction work . . . will exceed $520,000,000 for this fiscal year. This compares with $253,000,000 in the fiscal year 1928. . . .

"I feel warranted in asking the Congress for an appropriation of from $100,000,000 to $150,000,000. In connection therewith we need some authority to make enlarged temporary advances of Federal-highway aid to the States. I recommend that this appropriation be made distributable to the different departments upon recommendation of a committee of the Cabinet and approval by the President. . . . "The Congress will have presented to it numbers of projects, some of them under the guise of, rather than the reality of, their use of employment during the depression. . . . I can not emphasize too strongly the absolute necessity to defer any other plans for increase of Government expenditures. . . .