Evening star., 1934-10-13
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH C. BOWERMAN.

AMERICAS CAPACITY TO CON-
SUME. BY Maurice Leven. Harold
G. Moulton and Clark Warburton.
THE HOUSING PROGRAM OF THE
CITY OF VIENNA. BY Charles o.
Hardy, assisted by Robert r.
Kuczynski.
WHEAT UNDER THE AGRICUL-
TURAL ADJUSTMENT ACT. BY
Sherman johnson.
COTTON UNDER THE AGRICUL-
TURAL ADJUSTMENT ACT. BY
Henry I. Richards.
All published by the BrookingS In
stitution, Washington, D. c.
Americas Capacity to Consume" !"
is the second in a series Of Brookings
Institution publications on the gen.
eral subject, The Distribution OF
Wealth and Income in Relation to
Economic Progress; the first Of the
series, published earlier in the year,
was Americas Capacity to Produce"
1t is q satisfaction TO take up book
by Brookings Institution economists,
| after looking over many Of the books
| on the present economic situation
hastily rushed through the press and
frequently biased by emotion or par
tisanship. Facts are the basic ma
terial Of the authors Of these two
books in this study Of Americas
wealth; theories are examined coldly
In the light Of facts. In the present
volume on consumption, an investi-
CATION is made Of the division Of ma
tional income among groups Of So
ciety, the character of consequent ex-
penditures made by families at the
different income levels, and the sig
nificance Of income distribution in
connection with its ALLEGATION between
spending and saving.
Some Of the facts, as given in text
and charts, are worthy OF deep study.
In 1929, nearly 5000. 900 families had
incomes less than $1,000; about l2,-
600 900 families had incomes less than
81 500; nearly 10000, 900 families had
incomes less than 81 500; little over
1000 900 families had incomes in ex-
cess OF $1,000; only about 100000
| families had incomes in excess Of
$4,000, and $4,000 families had in
comes In excess Of $4,000. The au-
thors do not, however, hastily jump
| to the popular conclusion that "the
rich are growing richer and the poor
are growing poorer" Their study also
shows that the share Of employees in
income from current production in
creased from 53.2 per cent in 1900 to
65.1 per cent in 1929. An interesting
fact Is that the highest savings in
the country for families with income
| in excess Of So, 400 are shown among
village and urban families in Mimi
sofa and urban families in the North
Central and Middle Atlantic States;
| the lowest among the University of
California faculty and residents Of the
Amalgamated Apartments Of New
York City. The general conclusions
of the authors are moderately stated:
That during the gay 20s" the
United States did not live beyond its
means; that during the last decade
there has been q tendency "for the
| inequality in the distribution Of in
come to be accentuated"; that vast
potential demands" for commodities
still exist in the wants Of the rural
and urban masses; that the United
States has not yet reached the stage
in which it 'is possible to produce
more than the American people as a
whole would like to consume; that
the working day cannot be materially
shortened and production to meet po-
| tential consumption be maintained,
and that increasing consumption ard
expanding production must go tc-
gether.
The book on 1.-THE Housing Pro-
gram OF the City of Vienna" has
direct and helpful bearing on the
questions Of public housing policy now
| before the United States and its
States and municipalities. Initiated
by the Social Democratic party, an
ambitious program Of construction
and operation at low rentals of dwell
ing houses was undertaken in Vienna
during the postwar years. Large
| apartment houses were first built but
later cottage settlements with gardens
were undertaken. Official figures show
that, by 1888, q total of 58,667 dwell
ings had been constructed by the
city of Vienna. The detailed account
of the construction and financing in
volved in this building project, with
illustrations and plans Of exteriors
| and interiors makes a valuable hand
book which will have wide use among
students Of housing problems.
The two pamphlets on wheat and
cotton are the third and fourth in
series of preliminary publications
In connection with o Concurrent
Study OF the Operation Of the Agri-
cultural Adjustment Act" by the In
stitute Of Economics.
- $50
THE HARVESTING. BY irving Bach
eller. New York: Frederick A.
Stokes Co.
Northern New York, In the Adiron-
dack region, like Vermont, has in the
past produced many rugged characters,
limited in outlook but Of tough fiber.
Much Of that stern solidity has disap-
peared in the generation recently ar
rived at adult years. The outer world
Of jazz and opportunism has pene-
trated into the once isolated mountain
forests and valleys. Irving Bacheller
has chosen for this new novel Of the
North Country the period following
the Civil War, when the panic Of 1873,
one Of its dire results, had settled upon
the United States. Cyril Barrett, 10
years old. Of Cotton, N. Y, is the hero,
a hero Of O type not often seen today
| either in life or in fiction. He as
sumes responsibility for a misdeed of
his father, and, with the exception Of
few friends who esteem him in spite
of appearances, social ostracism is put
into operation against him. Finding
all opportunity in the town closed to
him, he rents the farm (his father
has diedD and in the Summer OF 1874
takes his 12-year-old brother Bill and
small brother and sister and goes on
the road to make living. His stock in
trade consists Of COW, a dog, violin,
a voice, good health and s5 cents in