Letter from President Herbert Hoover to Herbert S. Crocker

264 May 21, 1932. Herbert S. Crocker, President, American Society of Civil Engineers, New York, New York. My dear Mr. Crocker: I am in receipt of your kind letter of May 19th, and I have also the presentation of the sub-committee of the Society suggesting that the depression can be broken by a large issue of federal govern- ment bonds to finance a new program of huge expansionnof "public works" construction, in addition to the already large programs now provided for in the current budgets. The same proposals have been made from other quarters and have been given serious consideration during the past few days. The back of the depression cannot be broken by any single government undertaking. That can only be done with the cooperation of business, banking, industry, and agriculture in conjunction with the government. The aid the government may give includes: (a) The quick, honest balancing of the Federal budget through drastic reduction of less necessary expenses and the minimum increase in taxes; (b) The avoidance of issue of further Treasury securities as the very keystone of national and international confidence upon which all em- ployment rests; (c) The continuation of the work of the Reconstruc- tion Corporation which has overcome the financial strain on thousands of small banks, releasing credit to their communities, the strengthening of building and loan associations, the furnishing of credit to agricul- ture, the protection of trustee institutions and the support of financial stability of the railways; (d) The expansion of credit by the Federal Reserve Banks; (e) The organized translation of these credits into actualities for business and public bodies; (f) Unceasing effort at sound strengthening of the foundations of agriculture; (g) The con- tinuation of such public works in aid to unemployment as does not place a strain on the taxpayer and do not necessitate government borrowing; (h) Continuation of national, community and individual efforts in relief of distress; (i) The introduction of the five day week in government which would save the discharge of 100,000 employees and would add 30,000 to the present list; (j) The passage of the Home Loan discount bank legislation which would protect home owners from foreclosure and would furnish millions of dollars of em- ployment in home improvement without cost to the Treasury; (k) Financial aid by means of loans from the Reconstruction Corporation to such states as, due to the long strain, are unable to continue to finance distress relief; (1) The extension of the authority of the Reconstrution Corporation not only in a particular I called at- tention last December, - that is, loans on sound security to industry where they would sustain-and-expand employment, - but also in view of the further contraction of credit to increase its authority to expand the issue of its own securities up to $3,000,000,000 for the purpose of organized aid to "income producing" works throughout the nation, both of public and private character. 586