The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which
we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.
Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money, it lies
in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.
The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer
must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits.
These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they
teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto
but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow-men.
Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard
of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false
belief that public office and high political position are to be values
only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit,
and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business
which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness
of callous and selfish wrongdoing.
Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty,
on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection,
on unselfish performance. Without them it cannot live.
Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone.
This nation asks for action, and action now.
Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is
no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously.
It can be accompanied in part by direct recruiting by the
government itself, treating the task as we would treat the
emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this
employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate
and reorganize the use of our national resources.
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