The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-08-10
MISSPENT MILLIONS

NOU may recall the story of "Brewsters
Millions"
Monty Brewster's grandfather and uncle
hated each other. Grandfather died and left
Monty a million Then uncle died. leaving
Monty seven millions. under the condition
that Monty must spend the first million with
In a year
II he failed he wouldn't get the seven.
Certain rules we're set up to assure that the
million actually should be spent. not gambled
or given away.
Monty went to work Without going into
all the details of how he got rid of the mill
lion he die it, But he was wan wreck at
the end of the year.
In 1929. more than 500 men in the United
States had net incomes, each. larger than the
million tat Monty labored so hard to dis
pose of; thirty-six had incomes of more than
five millions each. and several thousand other
rich men throughout the nation had incomes
greater than any human being could spend
without long and painful and intense struggle.
But there the concentration of wealth stopped.
What happened? Not having either the
tlons. those exceedingly rich men ploughed
most of their incomes back into the further
expansion Of the businesses from which the
incomes had been acquired And what hap
pened then? More factories than there were
customers to support more office buildings
than there were tenants. more oil wells than
there was market to consume. and so on
along the line.
And thus did that rugged individual, the
temporarily successful rich man. hoist himself
on his own petard: thus did his apparent sue
cess invite more and more competition against
him: thus did he find what he considered ire
mendous assets transformed suddenly into
massive liabilities for want of people who
could buy: thus came the crash; and therein
lies the explanation of why the militia gets
into the oil business.
Combining the argument strictly to enght
ened seltishness. how much better it would
have been for the rich man himself. as well
as society as a whole. to have paid more in
wages. which would have increased consump-
ton and have worked toward that better bal
anca Of production and consumption. which,
If and when achieved. will make the sky the
limit so far as the future comfort of the hu-
man race is concerned.
And let lis make no mistake in our under
standing Of those terms overproduction and
underconsumpton about which there has
been SO much confusion OF thought This is
not depression due to overproduction. 1t is
a depression due 10 lack Of balance.
So long as there is a Stun in a city. so
long as there is an implanted house on a
prairie or 10 carry il farther until every
home as well as every railway car is both
I aforementioned and operating. so long as there
is ugliness anywhere on any landscape. so
long as a peon in Mexico ekes out a sordid
existence on a few pesos day. or Chinese
coolie subsists on his pitful ration of rice. the
human market for mass production is there.
eager to consume. but as yet not possessed Of
the wherewithal 10 buy
A dollar a day added to the purchasing
power Of every inhabitant of two countries
alone. China and India would add nearly a
billion dollars day to the demand for those
things which the inventive and productive
genius Of this generation is able 10 supply and
put every factory in the world on a twenty
four hour-a DAY production schedule.
But. instead Of that. the factories are idle,
their owners are broke, and the industry that
should thrive so prosperously is paralyzed All
because Of that mal-distribution. All for the
cant OF far-sighted social consciousness All