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1933 Fair
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THE NEW YORK TIMES, MAY 28, 1933.

President's Message to the Fair

CHICAGO, May 27.--The following message of President Roosevelt to the World's Fair was conveyed by Postmaster General Farley, who represented the President at the opening today:

I have already expressed my regrets to President Dawes of the exposition at my inability to fulfill my engagement to open the Century of Progress celebration, which I am sure will be one of the historic gatherings, and which I hope will be the inauguration of a century of even greater progress--progress not only along material lines; progress not only of my own country, but a world uplifting that will culminate in the greater happiness of mankind, and release all peoples from the outworn processes and policies that have brought about such a commercial and industrial depression as has plagued every country on the globe.

Certainly the human intelligence that has accomplished the industrial and cultural results displayed at your exposition need not fall short of devising methods that will insure against another perilous approach to collapse such as that from which we are now emerging.

The long and painful story of the progress of mankind to the development of what we term civilization is divided into chapters each of which marks the overcoming of a curse on humanity. Slavery, private wars, piracy, brigandage and wellnigh universal tyranny have in turn been conquered and done away with. Plagues which in past centuries decimated populations at frequent intervals have been studied and medicine has triumphed over most of them. Here and there appear, perhaps, sporadic vestiges of intolerance and cruel despotism, but what a change from the world conditions in which they were practically universal!

Yet all of these have in their time been deemed the inescapable crosses of mankind--beyond human power to ameliorate, much less cure. The advance of science and the evolution of humanity and charity made it known to us that whatever is the result of human agency is capable of correction by human intelligence. Who is there of so little faith as to believe that man is so limited that he will not find a remedy for the industrial ills that periodically make the world shiver with doubt and terror?

Every convention of the peoples of the world brings nearer the time of mutual helpfulness, so I welcome the celebrateion you are now beginning. It is timely not only because it marks a century of accomplishment, but it comes at a time when the world needs nothing so much as a better mutual understanding of the peoples of the earth.

I congratulate Chicago and its guests and wish the exposition unbounded success--success as a show but more success in helping to bring about a binding friendship among the nations of the earth.

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