The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-09-03
BY ERIK BERT


IN the current reviews by the capitalist finan-
cia1 press of economic conditions we find a
rather frank admission of the perspective of a
still further deepening of the crisis during the
next several months at the very least While
they we're quite adept at finding signs Of i'm
provement in almost any industry several months
ago, they are now forced to admit that the turn
for the better, which they hope for, is so distant
that they no longer want to make futile guesses
as to when it will occur
In the New York Evening Post for August 90
we find sketch of number of the basic in
dustries which 1t is well to summarize. They
give us an idea of the present depth of the crisis
and Of the prospects Of the immediate future.
Steel production has been falling rather steadily
for the past several months and it is now at
somewhat above 30% of capacity. While the
steel companies have been forced to reduce
prices they have held back longer than most
other basic industries and now they contemplate
holding prices at their present levels or even
increasing them.
Usually an increase in prices means that there
Is already an improvement in the industry or
one Is in view in the not too distant future. The
Post points out that neither is the case in steel
at the present time "It is due to no sangline
feeling as to the future that mills are now
standing out for full prices and even contem-
plate making advances In some lines. Rather
1t Is the other way, that a demand far below
capacity is expected for an indefinite time, and
something therefore has to be done to make ex-
penses out of the limited tonnage"
The steel industry, which is often used by cap
itaGst economists barometer of industrial
conditions, expects no improvement from the
present crisis depths of production for an "in-
definite time" The Post brings this out in the
following also: There Is no hope now that steel
demand will average much above the recent
volume within the discernible future"
While the steel workers must face the coming
winter with the prospect of even greater unem-
ployment than at present, the steel trust is pre-
pairing to attack their living standards in a more
wholesale scale than has yet taken place. This
has already been pointed out in the Daily Work
er many times during the past several weeks.
The financial press is getting more and more
insistent on the prospect of general wage cuts in
addition to those that have already taken place.
Says the Post "Rumors seem to have substan-
tial foundation that mills contemplate reducing
wage rates in the not very distant future" This
is the prospect that faces the steel workers
increased unemployment, together with a gen.
eral attack on the already starvation wage rates.
In examining the steel industry the Post has
found that Mills experience difficulty in pick
ing out classes Of steel buyers who should need
HluCIl more SCeel IMAM tney nave peen taxing OF
late" The absence Of a perspective for greater
activity in the steel industry results from the
absence Of an improvement of the major indus
tries using steel. Among these the automobile
industry is one Of the most important Auto
mobile executives" says the Post, "have ceased
predicting near future conditions for the indus
try" And why? Careful estimates show the
present year will rank probably lower than any
twelve-month period for the last ten years and
that the probable production will be in the
neighborhood Of 100000 units
The depth Of the crisis is shown by this fact
that despite the tremendous growth that has
been made in the productive capacity of the
industry in the ten years since the last crisis,
production will be lower than in any of these
years. With such critical depths to contemplate
and not even glimmering of an improvement,
1t is not altogether any wonder that the auto
capitalists have ceased predicting the immediate
future OF the industry. .--..
The steel and automobile industries give in
general way the perspective for unemployment
this coming winter-substantial increases over
the 100000 that now on the streets be-
aa&Ae ~ 4he capitalize azisiA On the basis Of