President Hoover Acts 23 
“It has long been agreed by both business men 
and economists that this great field of expenditure 
could, by acceleration in time of need, be made into 
a great balance wheel of stability. It is agreed that 
its temporary speeding up to absorb otherwise idle 
labor brings great subsequent benefits and no lia- 
bilities. 
“A very considerable part of our wage earners 
are employed, directly and indirectly, in construction 
and the preparation and transportation of its ma- 
terial. In the inevitable periods when the demand 
for consumable goods increases and labor is fully 
employed, the construction and maintenance can 
slacken and we actually gain in stability. No one 
would advocate the production of consumable goods 
beyond the daily demands that in itself only stirs up 
future difficulty.” The President further reported: 
“Our railways and utilities and many of our 
larger manufacturers have shown a most distin- 
guished spirit in undertaking to maintain and even 
to expand their construction and betterment pro- 
gram. The state, county and municipal governments 
are responding in the most gratifying way to the 
request to cooperate with the Federal Government 
in every prudent expansion of public works. Much 
construction work had been postponed during the 
Past few months by reason of the shortage of mort- 
gage money due to the diversion of capital to specu- 
lative purposes, which should soon be released.” 
The purpose of the conference, the President 
stated, was to systematize this movement in all