The producers news., 1927-03-25
AMERICAN LABOR YEAR BOOK
Reveiewed by LELAND OLDS

Unparalleled prosperity for the business classes
coupled with poverty, low wages, increasing ex-
ploitation of women and children and general in
security for the workers-these, according to the
American Labor Year Book for 1927. character
lied the year just closed. Such conditions. it
points out, sounded a call to organize the unor-
ganized and to press for higher trade union stand
ards
The year book is a mastery compilation of
facts which illuminate this thesis. But underly-
ing the record prosperity of the owning classes
IN America it reveals an instability which fore
casts the eventual decay of capitalism.
The event of the year from the labor viewpoint
was the British general strike in support of the
coal miners, termed by the year book, "undoubt-
edty the most gigantic trade union struggle vet
conducted" From the capitalist viewpoint the
event of the year was probably the formation in
October of the European continental steel trust
including France, Germany, Belgium and Luxem-
burg. Other important international trusts form
ed in 1926 are listed as an aluminium trust, an
iron and steel wire cartel and metal tube trust.
The formation of these European trust fore
shadows perhaps the last great competitive battle
OF the capitalist system, Europe pitted against
America for the right to levy tribute on the world
The year book quotes the manager of German
General Electric as saying: European industry
will be sick as long as the commercial United
State of Europe is not formed as means of
competing with the United States of America,
with its vast treasures of raw materials. its mass
production and its protective tariffs"
The year book shows that American wealth NAV
be interested in both sides of this final STRUGGLE
as it IS investing heavily in Europe The COM
petition may eventually be simply between Euro
pean workers and American workers for starva-
ton wages, unless they get together to defeat
such exploitation under some one of the banners
OF international labor listed in chapter 12 of the
book
The statistics are, as usual, well handled bv the
editors. Production prices, profits, distribution
OF wealth and income employment, wages cost
oil living, trade union organization, the growing
emphasis on union-management cooperation. the
more radical branches of American labor the 1926
strikes, labor education, labor and government al
these are outlined in figures and Interpretation
so well done that even workers unaccustomed r.
statistics will find them interesting and useful
The book also contains directory of labor or
ganizations, a photography and an internationa
labor diary for 1926. In fact the only omission
apparent affects the labor press. Is there labor
press? Is theere any attempt to combat the ire
mendous antilabor power of the capitalist press
The editors of the year book apparently didn'
recognize any labor papers important enough ever
for brief mention.
! In spite of this omission we heartily recommen,
the Labor Year Book both as a reference book anc
as basis for courses in labor economics.
Tho Amaricau abo~ Voo~ uoo1 1ooz ~
Rand Book Store. New York, $1.5O.