Evening star., 1933-05-06
DRASTIC CHANGES
lF0RU S, DEMANDED
AT SESSIONS HERE
Socialist, Farm and JobIess
| Leaders Warn Nation
Disaster Near.
|EvILS STILL REMAIN,
| THOMAS SAYS IN PLEA
Money Changers Are Back in Tenn
pie Despite Roosevelt's Work,
He Declares.

Demands for the return Of the Gov
ernment and the wealth of the Nation
| to the people to avert imminent disaster
| to the Government and the capitalistic
system were made before about 5000
delegates at the opening session Of the
Continental Congress for Economic Re-
construction at the Washington Audi
torium this morning.
The demands were made by leaders
Of the Socialist party and radical rep
resentatives Of farmers and jobless In
6ustrial workers. Speakers included
Norman Thomas, Socialist candidate
| for President in the last election; Sem
ator Lynn ]. Frazier of North Dakota
and John A. Simpson, president Of the
National Farmers Union.
| The demands went out over the "blue"
network of the National Broadcasting
Co. through Station WMAL as part of
the opening session of the congress.
The congress will meet today and to-
morrow.
The main floor Of the Auditorium was
jammed with delegates long before the
formal opening Of the conference, while
on the ground floor more than 1000
delegates waited to be registered. Cheers
| went up as delegation after delegation
paraded into the Auditorium with ban
| ners and placards.
I'VE have come" Thomas said, Ito
write a new declaration Of independence
against evils infinitely worse than they
suffered at the hands of a British
monarch, and to organize for the strug-
gle from which we shall not rest until
we have made that declaration effective
for ourselves and our children.
Declares Time Short
I'VE have no time to lose. War is
today more likely than peace. The
machinery which should be our slave
to create universal abundacy threatens
us with almost universal destruction.
There are things which have been
done in Washington In these last
would approve; yet on the whole, the
economy power of government has not
been used to bring In the new day, but
to advance us on the road to state
capitalism. The money changers were
chased out Of the temple long enough
to have their faces washed and their
Sunday y-go-to-meeting clothes put on.
Then back they came and soon they
will own the temple. The Government
patched up the banking system and
handed it back to the bankers who had
wrecked it.
1T is about to coordinate the rail-
roads, still under private ownership, not
for the workers, who run them or use
them, but for the bondholders. The
farmers, whose need for aid cannot be
exaggerated, are to be helped under
the dictatorial power of the Secretary
of Agriculture by a subsidy at the con-
sumerS' expense for artificial scarcity
without coming to genuine grips with
L. "a ntyNrY
unfair and unscientiflc taxation, or the
intolerable burden of debt.
Believes Appeal Futile.
Imitation, made actually inevitable
by the capitaliStic breakdown and the
final deflation of the tie-up of $4,000,-
O00,0 900 in banks not opened since the
bank holiday-threatens to come on
workers at the precise moment when
their wages have been reduced to sweat
shop levels. Surely there is none who
does not know that it will take far
more than an appeal to the Chamber
of Commerce to prevent this new
tragedy to workers"
He urged Government ownership of
the banks, railroads, mines, a tax on
wealth, recognition Of Russia, disarma-
ment, Federal maintenance allowance
of $40 a week for unemployed families
and 81 q week for unemployed single
persons for period of six months Ito
prime the pump" of industrial recovery,
and unemployment relief through
Sc, 900, 100000 public works program.
Senator Frazier said the capitalistic
system "has been the cause of bankrupt
ing the Nation" Capitalistic control
must be broken, he added.
He attacked the banking system Of
the country, declaring it must be re-
organized and "all national banks oper-
ated by the Government for the benefit
Of the people and not for their ex-
ploitation. Let the Government issue
coin and currency and determine the
value of money. Cut out tax-exempt
bonds; pay off and retire our existing
Indebtedness"
Referring to the decision reached at
the farmers mass meeting at Des
Moines to go on strike, he said:
This strike could easily be avoided
If Congress would pass legislation that
would provide for payment of average
cost of production and fair profit for
the farmers products, for lower rates of
interest on their Indebtedness and for
an imitation Of our currency that would
put money into actual circulation and
give work to the unemployed"
Attacks U. S. Wealth.
Simpson attacked the concentration
Of wealth among a comparative few
In this country, declaring:
THE greatest menace to the life of
| this Nation is the concentration of
wealth in the hands Of q few. In 1000
| years no nation has reached the degree
| Of concentration of wealth that we
have in the United States today. We
have reached the point where less than
per cent Of the people own more than
| 80 per cent Of the wealth of the Nation.
This condition has brought about a
monopoly of income that absolutely pre-
vents general prosperity.
Just to the extent that the national
income at the end of the year Is In
the hands Of few, there Is adversely,
hard times and suffering among the
100000 common people Of the Ma
| ton.
There is no question selfishness has
been crowned king of the United
| States"
| The congress, during the two days
1t will meet here, proposes to draw up
a program Of economic and legislative
demands and create q permanent ma
chinery to press for their realization.
This mornings session, following the
principal addresses, was devoted
largely to setting up q permanent or
| ganization, appointment Of committees
and working out the remainder of the
| program.
Tonight's session win be mass meet
| ing open to the public.
The session adjourned for causes and
committee meetings Immediately after
naming Emil RieVe preSident of the