The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-11-09
BY L. r. wINow.

'TAE economic foundations in the whole world
1 are shaking No President of Bank Of
Issue or finance minister In the whole world
can see with certainty more than a month ahead
:" that is how no other than the new iron
Chancellor" in Germany, Heinreich Bruening,
characterizes the present situation Of the CAPT
ta1iss world
1.-The economic foundations in the whole capt.
talist world are shaking" Not SO very long ago,
French capitalism still described itself as an
"island OF prosperity" In the sea Of the world
economic crisis. And where Is 1t today? One big
bank after another collapses. And If 1t has been
able for the time being to conceal the growing
unemployment by expelling from the country the
great masses OF foreign workers who have become
unemployed, 1t is already clear today that In
France the number Of completely unemployed al
ready exceeds million and the number working
on short time Is over three million. In the course
Of one year production has declined about Is per
cent or more.
The avalanche Of currency coilapses which was
started by the abolition OF the gold standard in
England, has swept over a whole number OF
countries. There are countries as England and
the Scandinavian countries which have openly
admitted the depreciation Of their currency.
There are governments however which are still
making strenuous efforts in order to maintain
the appearance Of stable currency austria,
Hungary Germany. But even in these coun-
tries the gold standard" has In reality been
abandoned.
The capitalist world stands bewildered In face
of this situation The cleverest OF the world
bankers are puzzling their brains how to pre-
vent general collapse of the currency. One
proposes that the gold cover Of the bank notes
be reduced at one stroke by 20 per cent, others
wish to abolish the gold cover altogether.
The first result already to be seen of the first
open steps to depreciate the currency is the ham
pering of international trade and commerce. 1t
is forbidden to send money from one country
to another Importers are refused the necessary
foreign bills in order to pay for the imported
goods.
Unscalable tariff walls set up. The i'm
perialist economic war is intensified. AS the last
solution of imperialist antagonisms imperialist
war is not only being prepared, but is already
being waged in the Far East The capitalists
wish to abolish the gold basis but to maintain
the prices which taken altogether are only the
expression Of the value Of commodities reflected
in the value of gold-with the exception Of one
single commodity, the commodity known as la
Dor power. There lies the true meaning Of the
open and concealed manipulations Of currency
extension of wage reductions and cutting down
Of unemployment benefit far beyond those limits
which the capitalists hope to reach by direct
wage and unemployment benefit cuts, put
through with the help Of the reformist trade
unions. Capitalism thereby intensfies the dam
gerous contradictions of its system. The constant
wage cuts are bound to intensity to the utmost
the proetaran class struggle. Capitalism thus
tempers the weapon of the united revolutionary
class front of the unemployed and the workers
in the factories, the weapon which will give it
the death stroke.
In almost all countries the standard Of living Of
the workers still In employment has been de-
clining for a decade. In Germany part OF the
already inadequate unemployment benefit is be-
ing replaced by plate Of soup and few
crumbs Of bread Whilst capitalism in its early
days commenced by forcing the hardy rogues
and sturdy beggars" into the factories today 1t is
driving the workers out of the factories and
forcing them to beg.
! Does there exist for toiling humanity any way
out Of the situation? Many biologists see the
only solution In reducing the standard Of living
| of humanity (they mean of course the working
people, to what 1t was SO or 100 years ago. They
Intentionally look back into the distant past In
order to divert the workers from that real way
out which was shown already IA years ago on Z
| sixth part Of the globe, and which is broaden