Opening scene shows a man holding fast to the mast of a boat that contains a huge rotating two-bladed propeller instead of a sail. The propeller-rotor is geared to a drive shaft (unseen) turning the boat's underwater propeller (screw). Several men are in the boat as one sets the controls. Next, two men are seen in the boat as it speeds over the water with the big rotor turning rapidly.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt speaks at the dedication of Techwood Homes (Techwood was a slum clearance project to build twenty-three brick and concrete buildings to house 604 families and 308 Georgia Tech students. It also included forty-two concrete buildings with 677 apartments at Atlanta University) at Georgia Tech University. The President is seen delivering his dedication speech, entitled, “The Meaning of Progress," at Grant Field on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta, Georgia, before an audience of 50,000 people. He remembers the day, eleven years ago, in 1924, when he first came to Warm Springs, Georgia. He speaks about those days of so-called prosperity in America, when speculators profited and there was a "fool’s paradise” before "the crash", and the citizens were left "holding the bag." He reflects on the disaster and gloom from 1929 to March 3,1933, and reminds the audience of his administration’s subsequent actions to re-open closed banks and establish insurance for bank depositors. He speaks of the efforts of Government to find gainful employment for people out of work.
President Roosevelt delivers a speech reflecting the failure of World War 1 to be the "war to end war." He addresses a crowd at the Arlington National Cemetery Amphitheater in Arlington, Virginia, gathered for Armistice Day, commemorating the 1918 armistice ending World War I. Roosevelt reflects upon the role of United States in the world (as seeds of World War 2 are being sown). He upholds the ideals of peace and importance of being a good neighbor. He declares that the aim must be to avoid war and to remove the causes of war.
Vietnam under French occupation and working for the Indochinese Society of Rubber Plantations. Rural family hut with straw roof and children sitting on the ground outside. Still image of a wood plank road. Vietnamese laborers carrying loading sacks of food onto a boat. Vietnamese families in hills and fording a stream. A woman with baby on her back is pulled up an embankment. The people assemble to camp and view the body of one of their dead comrades. Still image of baby and mother viewing body. View of the jungle with a flowing river. Rubber tree being tapped. A sign reads: SOCIÉTÉ INDOCHINOISE DE PLANTATIONS D’HÉVÉAS
Aerial view of Washington Monument, mall, Lincoln Memorial, Memorial Bridge, across the Potomac River, in distance. Repairs are being undertaken, on the Washington Monument, including replacement of lightning rods on its top. Scaffolding surrounds the structure and working facilities can be seen at the base.
Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Horses run to the finish line. Winner Omaha and Jockey William Saunders presented with bouquet. Huge crowd gathers to watch the race.