The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-01-11
|. Introduction

The main outlines of the deep-going
omie crisis now gripping United States capital
ism are already clear. We witnessing
cyclical economic crisis of capitalism which,
in. the conditions of the third period of the
general crisis of capitalism with sharpening
of all contradictions of capitalism, and espe-
cially sharp clash between markets and pro-
ductve forces, and all the consequences flow
ing therefrom), is already very deep and will
become one of the most far-reaching econ
omic crises in the history of capitalism, in
volving the whole capitalist world. 1t is the
outstanding event since the Plenum of the
Executive Committee of the Communist In
ternational, fully bearing out the correctness
of the analysis of the Penum, which said
despite the prophesies made by the social
democrats and echoed by the right wing and
conciliatory elements, the sterilization of cap
italism has not only become no firmer, but on
contrary, is becoming more and more under
mined. The correctness of the estimation made
by the VI Congress of the present period of
postwar capitalism is being ever more obvious
ly demonstrated period of the increasing
growth of the general crisis of capitalism and
of the accelerated accentuation of the funda-
mental external and internal contradictions of
imperialism leading inevitably to imperalst
wars, to great class conflicts, to an era of
development of new upward swing of the
revolutionary movement in the principal cap
italist countries, to great anti-mperiaist re-
volutions in colonial countries
The crisis substantiates the resolution of the
October Plenum of the Central Committee Com
munist Party of the United States of America,
which pointed out the beginnings of the crisis,
and said
"The present economic situation in the U. s.,
a thp clp IF on
crisis *The present economic situation in
the U. S., is that we are before break in the
curve of 'hochkonjunktur,' in the beginning of
a pre-crsis situation" (Oct. 5, 1929
In its manifesto to the workers on the econo-
mic crisis, on Nov. %, the Central Committee
correctly estimated it as the first open demon
stration of "the deep-going nature of the eco
nomc crisis into which American capitalism is
plunging," correctly indicated its necessary
consequences, and laid down the main line of
struggle for the party and for the working
class.
However the party as whole has not yet
fully realized the tremendous Importance and
consequences of the crisis, has not drawn it's
full national and international implications, has
only begun to adapt its methods of work to the
developing situation. The Party press especially
reflects this underestimation. There is required
teH-fold concentration upon those tasks,
which are first upon the order of the day.
i. Factors and Consequences of the Crisis
2. The first clear manifestation of the econ
omic crisis was the stock market crash begin
ming at the end of October. This crash had
certain immediate causes (inflation of securit-
les, etc. However, the fundamental cause of
the stock market crash was the beginnings of
the decline in production. The decline in pro-
duction resulted in repeated blows to the stock
market, which in three weeks wiped out about
so per cent of the market value of securities.
The downward trend in production began in
May, and by October had become pronounced
in certain lines. The business index of The
Annalst' for the past months gives a picture
of the main line of development. Beginning
with May which was the peak the index for
which stood at 1888, the development is: June
1918; July s10S.5; August, 1868; Sept. 1858;
October, 1885; November, 954 December con-
tinues the downward trend quite sharply, with
the steel industry showing the following course.