The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-08-28

to the 1881 level, But what about
consumption?
The latest figures on the retail
buying Of autos shows that Overpro-
duction is increasing in the auto in
duStry as well as in the textile in
dustry. The following figures are OF
the greatest significance:
Since March, the first month of the
New Deal, to June, the last month
available, 253,283 autos were reg
iStered for retail financing, compared
with 241,9S5 for the same period last
year. In other words, while auto pro-
ductiOn increased 35 per cent, retail
consumption of cars increased only
per cent. Excess supplies of autos are
piling up with no one to buy them
It is no wonder then, that the Fed
eral Reserve reports that "a slight
decline is beginning to be observed in
auto production. 1t is no wonder
that the Iron Age" leading steel ma
gazine reports in its latest issue that
Seasonal reaction in steel demand is
most noticeable in the auto industry,
with current purchases virtually COM
pleted 49," Such is the flinsy char
acter of one of the main supports of
the recent steel boom"
Present textile and auto production
are, thus, obviously based on rotten
foundation-on infationary fears of
higher prices, not on real consumer
demand by the workers who are too
poor to buy.
AND now We come to that phase of
n the steel boom" that Roosevelt
was altogether silent about-war pre-
parations, building Of battleships
Where is all the steel going to? 1t is
not going into construction Of houses
or buildings, since the latest figures
show that building operations are at
practically the low point of the four
year crisis. Nevertheless, the news
papers featured prominently the news
that the index for building construc-
ton has at last shown some improve
ment. A close examination of the re-
port shows that the improvement has
not even touched residential and
commercial building, which continue
their decline, but has been confined
largely to public works"
But what is the character of these
public works? Here is the answer
given in an item from yesterday
paper;
The Navy Department awarded
two contracts for the construction
of two 10000 ton aircraft carriers
and two 10000 ton light cruisers
The complete cost Of the four ships
will be S61,350,0 900 :"
So this is the character of tbs
public works" which is responsible
for the recent slight upturn in build
ing construction
War preparations! That is what is
behind good part of the boom
in steel production in which Roose-
welt sees the end of the crisis
In addition to the silence about this
war basis for the advance in steel
production, Roosevelt was altogether
Silent about other significant develop
ments in the crisis. He did not men,
ton, for example, that the report OF
the National Industrial Conference
Board last week shows the sharp ad
vance of 4 points in the cost of living
index. Roosevelt did not mention that
while light advances in the wages are
taking place in a few factories (and
on the basis Of murderous speed up
at that, except in those prices OF
everyday necessities, such as bread
milk, eggs, ETC., are shooting upward
for the whole working class as a re
suit Of the Roosevelt price raising
program.
In his hypocritical optimism, Roose-
welt chose to disregard all these facts
But leading capitalist economist
Colonel Leonard P. Ayres, writes in
the latest bulletin of the Cleveland
Trust Company Of Ohio:
1T is apparent that the increases
of industrial production have been
running ahead of the advances of
the purchasing power of the factory
workers. Probably, they will con-
tfnue to do so, so long as the fear
OF initiation impels people to buy
goods they do not need before their
dollars evaporate further"
inferred .hlme- -hiher0v etaoi shrdI dl
Here we have the real situation
Production based on nothing but in
f1ation fears and war preparation.
The living standards of the workers
driven down even further by cheaper
ing OF the dollar and rising prices.
Deeper ENHANCEMENT Of the capital
ist contradiction of "oyerproduction''
side by side with starvation and suf-
ferlng of the workers.
Behind the feverish boom of in
hationary spurts in production, it is
already beginning to become clear
even to the capitalist economic ex-
perts themselves that the Roosevelt
program has so far not only failed to
solve any of the problems of the
crisis, but has, through artiflcially
stimulated production, laid the basis
for an even more devastating crash
than has yet been seen.
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