The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-05-12
ROOSEVELT TO INTRODUCE SALES
TAX TO PAY FOR PUBLIC WORKS

cludsd in the so-called liberalization"
of the Reconstruction Finance Corp.
This will be used, as heretofore other
billions have been used, to salvage in
dustries and enterprises that are on
the verge OF bankruptcy. In other
words it means further mobilization
of the resources of the United States
government to aid those who run the
goyernment-th finance capitalists.
Scrap All Laws Against Trusts
The bill puts in legal form that
which has been practiced for years
the complete scrapping of all anti
trust laws and openly places at the
disposal of the biggest corporations
the full power of the government in
wiping out competition, by authoriz-
ing the scrapping of all non paying"
units Of industry.
Cost of carrying out the program
will not be borne by industry or the
banks but will be gouged out of the
public by a special federal taxation
plan on a large number of articles of
consumption.
Includes Black Bill Provisions
The proposed bill includes in addi-
ton to the appropriation and the set
ting up of special governmental strike
breaking machinery, all the provi-
sions of the Black 30-hour bill that
are OF advantage to the eXploiters of
labor. The legalization of the stag
ger system, which brings in it's train
new and more drastic wage cuts is
part of the provisions of the Black
Bill carried over. This makes I'M
necessary the passage Of special bill,
hence the Black Bill is to be scrapped.
Wage Cutting Scheme Approved
The provisions that were in the
Black Bill cutting down wages meet
with approval of the big industrialists.
The Iron Age states how it would re-
duce wages. 1t points out that the
present base rate for workers in the
steel industry in 80 cents an hour. If
he works ten hours a day. six days a
week he would get 1890. But Eu-
gene @. Grace, president of the Beth
lehem Steel Corporation, points out
that those steel workers still en-
ployed all day work on an average of
% hours a week, which makes his
pay about 80. These figures show
that the provisions that were in the
Black Bill and are carried over in the
new bill will not put to work one adj
ditional worker in the steel industry.
Public Works" Is Military Scheme
The public works feature of the
bill simply enables the government to
find more funds with which to carry
out the authorization of young work
ers in forced-labor camps, where they
are placed in prison garb and forced
to work at less than one dollar a day.
At the same time these labor re
cruits," who are really conscripted
with the whip of hunger, are receiv-
ing military training under special
drill officers, so they can be herded
into the armed forces and quickly
sent into any action deemed advan-
tageous to the imperialist war mon
gers.
This shows the hypocricy of the
Roosevelt pretense to be cutting down
the armed forces by some few thou
sand when in reality there is already
in effect measures to recruit 10000
young workers under special corps of
army officers.
Fight for Unemployment Insurance
The capitalist press tries to aid in
weakening the mass movement for
unemployment insurance at the ex-
pense Of the government and the en-
ployers by depicting this bill as an
attempt to put workers into Jobs"
AS a matter of fact it will in no way
aid In decreasing unemployment. The
wage cutting provisions cut down still
further the purchasing power of the
masses and thereby leads to still fur
Their curtailment Of production with
consequent increased unemployment.
AS against this there needs to be an
1ntensification of the mass struggle
against hunger all along the line.