PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES Herbert Hoover Containing the Public Messages, Speeches, and Statements of the President JANUARY 1 TO DECEMBER 31, 1931 1931 UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1976 PUBLISHED BY THE OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL REGISTER NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS SERVICE GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION _________________________________________________________________ For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $14 Stock Number 022-003-00920-5 PREFACE IN THIS VOLUME are gathered most of the public messages and statements of the President of the United States that were released by the White House during 1931. Similar volumes covering 1929 and 1930 are available. The final volume of the Hoover administration, covering January 1, 1932—March 4, 1933, is under preparation. Annual volumes for the years 1945 through 1974, containing the papers of Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford, are also available. The series was begun in 1957 in response to a recommendation of the National Historical Publications Commission. Until then there had been no systematic publication of Presidential papers. An extensive compilation of the messages and papers of the Presidents, covering the period 1789 to 1897, was assembled by James D. Richardson and published under Congressional authority between 1896 and 1899. Since then various private compilations have been issued but there was no uniform publication comparable to the Congressional Record or the United States Supreme Court Reports. Many Presidential papers could be found only in mimeographed White House releases or as reported in the press. The National Historical Publications Commission therefore recommended the establishment of an official series in which Presidential writings and utterances of a public nature could be made promptly available. V Preface The Commission's recommendation was incorporated in regulations of the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register issued under section 6 of the Federal Register Act (44 U.S.C. 1506). The Committee's regulations, establishing the series and providing for the coverage of prior years, are reprinted as Appendix F. CONTENT AND ARRANGEMENT The text of this book is based on historical materials held in the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library at West Branch, Iowa. In a few instances, when the Library had no official copy of a statement known to have been made public, the text has been supplied from news accounts or other contemporary sources. President Hoover's news conferences are published for the first time in full text in this series since, at the time they were held, direct quotation of the President's replies frequently was not authorized. Transcripts by White House stenographers were used in this publication. The news conferences have been numbered in sequence on the basis of existing transcripts. For some addresses by the President, varying texts are in the files, and newspaper clippings point to additional departures from his official text. Because of the scarcity of sound recordings of the speeches, it has not been possible in every instance to verify and print "as delivered" transcripts. Accordingly, the editors have used, when available, official texts printed by the Government Printing Office. When no such official printing was found, they have selected the "best available" version from those VI Preface in the Library's holdings. When stenographic records were kept of textual changes during the delivery of a public address, the "as delivered" version is used. For researchers interested in possible changes between the prepared text, and the version actually delivered, President Hoover's file of public statements, containing a large number of reading copies with changes in his handwriting, is available for examination at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library. An addition to this volume is the inclusion of a diary account of the President's involvement in negotiating the moratorium on intergovernmental debts. This diary account appears in Supplement I. Another addition is the inclusion of statements made by the President during an interview with correspondent Frazier Hunt. Excerpts from this interview appear in Supplement II. Certain Presidential materials issued during the period covered by this volume have not been printed as items but are listed in Appendix A. Routine messages to Congress, not included as items, are listed in Appendix B. Proclamations and Executive orders appear in full in a companion publication, Proclamations and Executive Orders, Herbert Hoover, 1929–1933, published in 1974, and are therefore merely listed in Appendix C. The President is required by statute to transmit numerous reports to the Congress. Those transmitted during the period covered by this volume are listed in Appendix D. A selected list of the President's calendar of activities for 1931 appears in Appendix E. VII Preface The items published in this volume are presented in chronological order, rather than being grouped in classes. Most needs for a classified arrangement are met by the subject index. The dates shown at the end of item headings are White House release dates. In instances where the date of the document differs from the release date, that fact is shown in brackets immediately following the heading. Textnotes, footnotes, and cross references have been supplied where needed for purposes of clarity. Remarks or addresses were delivered in Washington, D.C., unless otherwise indicated. Similarly, statements, messages, and letters were issued from the White House in Washington unless otherwise indicated. Dr. Ellis W. Hawley, professor of American history at the University of Iowa, served as consultant in the preparation of the volume. Materials to be considered for inclusion were compiled by Dwight M. Miller, senior archivist of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library, who also assisted in their selection and annotation. Thomas T. Thalken, Director of the Library, provided his support for completion of the volume. The planning and publication of the series is under the direction of Fred J. Emery, Director, and Ernest J. Galdi, Deputy Director, of the Office of the Federal Register. Editors of the present volume were Faye Q. Rosser, Michael J. Sullivan, and Carol L. Minor. Design of the volume was developed by the Government Printing Office's Division of Typography and Design. Rudie Diamond of that Division provided continuing consultation. VIII Preface The frontispiece is from an oil painting by Douglas Chandor which was commissioned by Time magazine. Completed in 1931, the original work remained the property of the artist and his heirs until it was acquired in 1968 by the National Portrait Gallery where it is now a part of their collections. JAMES B. RHOADS Archivist of the United States JACK M. ECKERD Administrator of General Services October 1976 IX CONTENTS Page PREFACE . V LIST OF ITEMS . XIII THE CABINET . XLIV PUBLIC PAPERS OF HERBERT HOOVER, 1931 . 1 SUPPLEMENT I—The President's Diary of Developments of the Moratorium 657 SUPPLEMENT II—Excerpts From an Interview With the President . 681 Appendix A—Additional White House Releases . 685 Appendix B—Messages to the Congress . 693 Appendix C—Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders . 701 Appendix D—Presidential Reports to the 71st and 72d Congresses During 1931 723 Appendix E—The President's Calendar . 725 INDEX . 829 XI LIST OF ITEMS Page 1 The President's News Conference of January 2, 19311 1 2 Statement About the Resignation of George E. Akerson as Secretary to the President. January 2, 1931 4 3 Message of Sympathy on the Death of Hugh Campbell Wallace. January 2, 1931 5 4 Message to President Gaston Doumergue of France on the Death of Marshal Joseph Joffre. January 3, 1931 5 5 Message to the Congress Transmitting the Final Report of the Yellowstone National Park Boundary Commission. January 5, 1931 6 6 Letter to the Speaker of the House Transmitting a Supplemental Estimate of Appropriation for the Relief of Farmers in Drought Stricken Areas. January 5, 1931 6 7 The President's News Conference of January 6, 1931 7 8 Telephone Remarks to the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce. January 6, 1931 8 9 Letter to the Speaker of the House Transmitting a Supplemental Estimate of Appropriation for the Bureau of Immigration. January 9, 1931 9 10 Message to the Congress Transmitting Report of the American Samoan Commission. January 9, 1931 10 11 Message to the Congress Requesting an Appropriation for the International Water Commission, United States and Mexico. January 9, 1931 10 XIII List of Items Page 12 Message to the Senate Refusing to Return Senate Resolutions of Advice and Consent for Appointments to the Federal Power Commission. January 10, 1931 11 13 Statement About Refusal To Resubmit Federal Power Commission Appointments to the Senate. January 10, 1931 13 14 Statement on the Death of Nathan Straus. January 11, 1931 16 15 Letter to the Chairman of the American National Red Cross on the Drought Relief Campaign. January 12, 1931 17 16 The President's News Conference of January 13, 1931 18 17 Message to the Nation Urging Support for the Drought Relief Campaign of the American National Red Cross. January 13, 1931 20 18 Message to Felix M. Warburg on His 60th Birthday. January 13, 1931 21 19 Message to Viscount Willingdon, Governor General of Canada, on His Departure From Office. January 14, 1931 21 20 Message to the Association of Community Chests and Councils About the Red Cross Drought Relief Campaign. January 15, 1931 22 21 Letter to the Speaker of the House Transmitting a Supplemental Estimate of Appropriation for the District of Columbia. January 15, 1931 23 22 Letter to Governor Harry G. Leslie About the Indiana Conference on Child Health and Protection. January 16, 1931 24 23 Remarks on Presenting a Special Congressional Medal to Lincoln Ellsworth. January 16, 1931 25 24 Message to a Luncheon Honoring George E.