Economic depression can not be cured by legislative action or executive pronouncement.  Economic wounds must be healed by the action of the cells of the economic body—­the producers and consumers themselves.  Recovery can be expedited and its effects mitigated by cooperative action.  That cooperation requires that every individual should sustain faith and courage; that each should maintain his self-reliance; that each and every one should search for methods of improving his business or service; that the vast majority whose income is unimpaired should not hoard out of fear but should pursue their normal living and recreations; that each should seek to assist his neighbors who may be less fortunate; that each industry should assist its own employees; that each community and each State should assume its full responsibilities for organization of employment and relief of distress with that sturdiness and independence which built a great Nation.

Our people are responding to these impulses in remarkable degree.  The best contribution of government lies in encouragement of this voluntary cooperation in the community.  The Government, National, State, and local, can join with the community in such programs and do its part.  A year ago I, together with other officers of the Government, initiated extensive cooperative measures throughout the country.

The first of these measures was an agreement of leading employers to maintain the standards of wages and of labor leaders to use their influence against strife.  In a large sense these undertakings have been adhered to and we have not witnessed the usual reductions of wages which have always heretofore marked depressions.  The index of union wage scales shows them to be today fully up to the level of any of the previous three years.  In consequence the buying power of the country has been much larger than would otherwise have been the case.  Of equal importance the Nation has had unusual peace in industry and freedom from the public disorder which has characterized previous depressions.

The second direction of cooperation has been that our governments, National, State, and local, the industries and business so distribute employment as to give work to the maximum number of employees.

The third direction of cooperation has been to maintain and even extend construction work and betterments in anticipation of the future.  It has been the universal experience in previous depressions that public works and private construction have fallen off rapidly with the general tide of depression.  On this occasion, however, the increased authorization and generous appropriations by the Congress and the action of States and municipalities have resulted in the expansion of public construction to an amount even above that in the most prosperous years.  In addition the cooperation of public utilities, railways, and other large organizations has been generously given in construction and betterment work in anticipation of future need.  The Department of Commerce advises me that as a result, 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.  There has, of course, been a substantial decrease in the types of construction which could not be undertaken in advance of need.