The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-06-14
On the
World Front
Fascist Finances
Inevitable Plunge
Substitutes for Food
A Plot Gone Wrong
By HARRY CANNES

MAJOR financial ulIIlCQlJleS
IVA which are tearing at the
economic structure of Italian
and German fascism, this
week reached a critical stage.
The reason that fascism shows
its crisis most sharply in,
financial spheres is, first, because
the state budget is turned into A
swine trough at which the finance
capitalist swill freely. All relief and
other social expenditures are cut
down to benefit the big exploiters.
Secondly, the internal and external
sharpening of the contradictions by
the fascist dictatorship evokes tre-
mendous expenditures for war.
On the very day that the Italian
government reported a deficit in its
budget of over $S5,OOO,OOO, and a
concealed deficit in public debts of
another $90,O00,000, an official state
ment was made by the Mussolini
regime that two huge battleships of
$4,000 tons each are to be con-
structed Immediately at a cost Of
around 100000 900.
Every day the financial abyss
yawns deeper underneath faScism.
In Germany, while the NaI finance
expert, DR.. Schacht, has slightly
delayed imitation, the handwriting
on the counting houses of Europe
reads that imitation is inevitable
soon in Germany.
Nothing that Berlin can say,
however, will convince financial
circles here that the mark is des-
tined to stay on gold for many
months" says a cabled dispatch
from London to the New York
Herald Tribune. "The plunge may
be delayed, but all portents point
to its being taken ultimately.
RepercussiOns are likely to be
varied and preaching, and Bril-
fish financial circles therefore are
watching the situation with close
attention"
ALSO watching the impending
n financial collapse are the Ger
man masses. Admission of this fact
comes from the Nazi sheet, "Voel-
! kiSche Beobachter" In a recent
issue this Nazi mouthpiece, which
has been promising prosperity, was
forced to appeal and threaten
against a buying panic reminiscent
Of the imitation days of 1923, when
the people spent every available
penny for goods and food, to be
stored up against famine. "A gen
eral run on goods made with foreign
raw materials would give special
emphasis to foreign trade difficult
ties and would make them twice
as grave as they are" said this
paper. Another warned about lex
aggerated drought" and starvation
fears. At the same time, the Reichs-.
bank strictly limited all foreign
payments to so marks monthly.
That means still less food and
less raw materials will be imported
into Germany. 1t means more hum
ger and unemployment will come
in.
The German masses, even before
this critical situation had been
reached, were eating and wearing
less than before the advent of fas-
cism. On May 25 an official an
nouncement of the Hamburg stock
yards showed a decrease of Al per
cent in the amount of cattle de-
liyered. On May 20, the Berlin Shoe
Dealers Association reported that
for April of this year shoe sales
fell off per cent below last year.
This was regarded as "a favorable
development of the shoe trade be-
cause it meant the importation Of
less leather.
FACED with impending financial
L disaster, how do MuSsolini and
Hitler act? They undertake a ire
mendous offensive against the
standard of living of the toiling
masses, In Italy wages have been
cut. MuSsolini tells the masses they
do not realize their ascetic abilities:
that the human race is destined
to reach still greater feats of self
abstinence SO that capitalism can
be preserved.
Premier Mussolini has just an
nounced a new deflation program
involving a reduction of the Italian
standard of living" says a wireless
dispatch to the New York Times
from Berlin, "and the Nazis feel
they can go as far as II Duce." 1t
becomes a sort of fascist COMPETE
ton to see how much farther each
can shove down the workers living
standard.
In these circumstances Hitler and
Mussolini are going to get their
heads together to see what they
can hatch out for the rest of the
world in the way of new imperialist
war alliances.
japanese battleships were docked
at Marking, ready to repeat the
Chapel slaughter and incedniarism
japanese marines were ready to
land. In the Hongkong district of
| Shanghai, Japanese armored tanks
were parading the streets and the
"ronins' (gangsters) were ready to
begin new provocations. All pre-
saged new attack on the Chinese
people, due to the mysterious dis
appearance of one Kuramoto, Jap
anese Consular secretary in Nam
king. After sharp note had been
dispatched from Tokio-which would
have been followed with the slaugh-
ter of thousands of Chinese workers