The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-04-03
The Strange Philosophy
of Mrs. Solomon of Tulsa

I charts splashed in the nevspa pen
has not been due to a general i'm
/ provement but solely to government
money paid to local workers who
spend them in local stores.
Estimates Of local retail business
improvement range from 5 to 20 per
cent. In the opinion of the Cham
Der of Commerce. retailers lost more
than so per cent Of their business
since the depression and regsined
some 10 or IS per cent since the
C.W.A. OF this gain. ". A, Raison.
in charge of the Retail Merchants
Association here. said that most Of
it was attributed to the holiday buy
ing Just before Christmas. The gain
started in October but with the an
noUncement that the CW.A. would
be liqUidated. dropped Immediately.
we haven't detailed figures Mr..
Raison told me. The retail busi-
ness grew steadily worse since the
crash in 1929. How much it dropped
We do not know, but it dropped
enough so that practically every
thing was at standstill People
had no money with which to buy.
with the coming Of the holiday
trade business picked up bit.
guess it was mostly C.W.A. money
because everything's dropped again
now that the C.W.A. is being dis
banded"
How much have wholesale prices
increased"
Il don't know. We haven't any
details-but they have increased,
some a little and some good deal"
How much have retail prices in
creased here2"
Z don't know that either. 7
imagine they've jumped in the same
proportion"
WITH oil companies the same
W vagueness exists as to actual
percentage of the much hailed in
crease in business. There is no
doubt that there has been a small
increase, but everyone with whom
l talked attribute 1t to C.W.A.
money. But after reading the local
papers where 7 happen to be about
glowing increases and then asking
for facts. figures and percentages I
find in every instance-not almost
every instance, but every instance
that the very ones talking Of bust
ness increases have little except
vague and hopeful guesses.
I am inclined to think, Judging
from what I encountered so far.
that there has not been so great an
increase in business as the papers
and the leading, boosting business
lights in the community say. A gen.
eral, steady progressive increase is
not perceptible.
One of the interesting things
about my discussing business in
crease5 with business men and
American Federation Of Labor off,
Gals is that the labor officials in
evitably place higher increase
than the business men and the
Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber of Commerce is not
very hopeful that this business in
crease will last. Border frankly ex-
pressed his belief that retail as well
as wholesale business would drop
with the liquidating Of the C.W.A.
SO far as the N.R.A. is concerned
even the Chamber of Commerce be-
lieves it has been "a complete flop"
"The unemployment agreements
are rather thoroughly discredited,"
Border said to me. you know it
and know it. 7 was a member Of
the local compliance board and I
ought to know. The MIRA. didn't
accomplish great deal. 1t put very
few extra people to work but
brought in its wake q general de-
crease in wages. There are some
who think the NRA, helped but
1 don't see that it helped q damn
bit. The only help can see came
from the C.WA.
tn Re Canfsa,aIn