franklindelanoroosevelt:

　　firstfiresidechatthebankingcrisismyfriends:iwanttotalkforafewminuteswiththepeopleoftheunitedstatesaboutbanking--totalkwiththecomparativelyfewwhounderstandthemechanicsofbanking,butmoreparticularlywiththeoverwhelmingmajorityofyouwhousebanksforthemakingofdepositsandthedrawingofchecks.

　　iwanttotellyouwhathasbeendoneinthelastfewdays,andwhyitwasdone,andwhatthenextstepsaregoingtobe.

　　irecognizethatthemanyproclamationsfromstatecapitolsandfromwashington,thelegislation,thetreasuryregulations,andsoforth,couchedforthemostpartinbankingandlegalterms,outtobeexplainedforthebenefitoftheaveragecitizen.

　　iowethis,inparticular,becauseofthefortitudeandthegoodtemperwithwhicheverybodyhasacceptedtheinconvenienceandhardshipsofthebankingholiday.

　　andiknowthatwhenyouunderstandwhatweinwashingtonhavebeenabout,ishallcontinuetohaveyourcooperationasfullyasihavehadyoursympathyandyourhelpduringthepastweek.

　　firstofall,letmestatethesimplefactthatwhenyoudepositmoneyinabank,thebankdoesnotputthemoneyintoasafedepositvault.

　　itinvestsyourmoneyinmanydifferentformsofcredit--inbonds,incommercialpaper,inmortgagesandinmanyotherkindsofloans.

　　inotherwords,thebankputsyourmoneytoworktokeepthewheelsofindustryandofagricultureturningaround.

　　acomparativelysmallpartofthemoneythatyouputintothebankiskeptincurrency--anamountwhichinnormaltimesiswhollysufficienttocoverthecashneedsoftheaveragecitizen.

　　inotherwords,thetotalamountofallthecurrencyinthecountryisonlyacomparativelysmallproportionofthetotaldepositsinallthebanksofthecountry.

　　what,then,happenedduringthelastfewdaysoffebruaryandthefirstfewdaysofmarch?becauseofunderminedconfidenceonthepartofthepublic,therewasageneralrushbyalargeportionofourpopulationtoturnbankdepositsintocurrencyorgold--arushsogreatthatthesoundestbankscouldntgetenoughcurrencytomeetthedemand.

　　thereasonforthiswasthatonthespurofthemomentitwas,ofcourse,impossibletosellperfectlysoundassetsofabankandconvertthemintocash,exceptatpanicpricesfarbelowtheirrealvalue.

　　bytheafternoonofmarchthird,aweekagolastfriday,scarcelyabankinthecountrywasopentodobusiness.