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Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 1882-1945

"The Fireside Chats of Franklin Delano Roosevelt"


So far, we have not been able to keep the prices of some
necessities as low as we should have liked to keep them. That is
true not only in coal towns but in many other places.
Wherever we find that prices of essentials have risen too high,
they will be brought down. Wherever we find that price ceilings are
being violated, the violators will be punished.
Rents have been fixed in most parts of the country. In many cities
they have been cut to below where they were before we entered the
war. Clothing prices have generally remained stable.
These two items make up more than a third of the total budget of
the worker's family.
As for food, which today accounts for about another third of the
family expenditure on the average, I want to repeat again: your
government will continue to take all necessary measures to
eliminate unjustified and avoidable price increases. And we are
today taking measures to "roll back" the prices of meats.
The war is going to go on. Coal will be mined no matter what any
individual thinks about it. The operation of our factories, our
power plants, our railroads will not be stopped. Our munitions must
move to our troops.
And so, under these circumstances, it is inconceivable that any
patriotic miner can choose any course other than going back to work
and mining coal.


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