The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-11-21

schools deIuded the children and
grown-ups with the capitalist slogans
of industry and thrift. 1t was Con
servation and Thrift Day"
This slogan contains the most sub
tie, menacing poison for the working
class. AS means of mentally stupe-
flying the slaves in industry in ranks
with religion and patriotism. Hun
dreds Of thousands Of workers actu-
ally believe that the solution of la
boris ills lies in practicing those capt.
talist virtues of industry and thrift.
Day after day this illusion is care
fully fostered In the columns OF
newspapers, from the pulpits, on the
moving picture screens, on screech-
ing cards in the street cars, on the
backs of pay envelopes, in the house
organs of the slave pens OF industry,
by every conceivable means of public
ity the workers are implored to work
industriously and save portion of
their earnings each week, 'for that
is the road that leads to prosperity
On every hand the sovereign work
ers in this unsurpassed democracy
are RECALLED with the wondrous tales
of industry and frugality After the
worker has received his wages and
has paid for the necessaries of life
for himself and family he is told that
he can save a part of his income by
placing it in the bank where it can
draw interest. This is called max
ing money work." or making money
make money"
r EFT us see how this thing works
IL out in practice. ALI banks claim
that their greatest desire, as benefac-
tors of the American people, is to see
the entire population open savings &C.
counts and draw interest on their
money. Of course there is no posi-
bility of any such thing happening
because of economic facts we shall
presently set forth. But let us, for
the sake Of getting to the bottom of
the question, assume that such a
thing did happen. When all the work
ing class has deposited a certain
amount of it's earnings in savings
banks, who then would produce the
surplus-value with which to pay in
terest on this money? Since money
itself possesses no properties that en-
ables it to increase in value, and with
every person in the nation depending
upon income from savings, it is clear
there would be no income for anyone.
Everyone would starve to death ex-
cept those who proceeded to apply
their labor power to machinery and
raw material in order to produce the
necessaries of life. In fact nation
of savings bank depositors would be
the greatest calamity that could be-
fall the banks for the simple reason
that they never could. by any STRAIT
egg, devise a method whereby the
100000 people in this country
could realize interest off savings,
therefore the whole banking system
would collapse.
Apologists for savings banks will
charge that we have reduced the thing
to absurdity and that there are GER
tain benefits to be derived by the
working class establishing small saw
ings accounts. We shall examine this
claim in the light of economics and
see where it leads US. The average
worker receives the value of his la
bor.power--that is sufficient to enable
him to recuperate the strength he ex-
ponds in production from day to day
and to raise and educate offspring
that will take the place OF this gene
ration Of wage-slaves. In order to
save money the workers proceed to
practice thrift. They economic on
the necessities of life. The result is
that those industries producing neces-
sites are forced to curtail production
The decreased demand forces the cap
italist to decrease the number of his
workers. These workers eventually
food the labor market and thru fierce
competition the wages of labor sink.