Evening star., 1934-08-12
BY WILLIAM HARD.


i midst of all our contemporary
novelties, there might be bit of
after while toward
orthodox" economics and toward old
fashioned ideas of the best way to
make the nations living.
I am delighted now to observe that
my audacious prophecy has already
been verified by actuallyl - the
American Federation Of Labor.
The American Federation of Labor
has been till now quite enthusiastic
new deal organization. II has gone
right along with price-lifting devices
and with production-restriction de-
vices submissively and hopefully. /
was amazed. accordingly, to note its
abrupt departure from the fundamen-
tails Of the new deal faith in its cur
rent monthly analysis Of American
business trends.
Sadly and reprovingly in this snaly-
sis the American Federation of Labor
says of its fellow new dealers in the
national administration:
I'VE have attempted to restore the
economic balance by stopping produc-
ton and reducing the living standards
of all"
Others Saying Same Thing.
Think of that Production re-
stricted, as practiced in (for instance)
the lumber industry and the cotton
textile industry under the N. r. A
codes is wrong. The orthodox" pro-
fessors Of economics on our college
campuses have been saying so from
the beginning. Benjamin Anderson
jr., fearless and unashamed liberal
and free" economist of the Chase
National Bank of New York City, has
vigorously and vehemently been say
ing so from the beginning. Now the
American Federation Of Labor says so
too.
OF course, I doubt If the American
Federation of Labor owes its conver-
sion to Mr.. Anderson. Probably II
loathes Mr.. Anderson. The thing that
has converted the American Fedora
ton of Labor, I calculate, is certain
set of statistical figures. 1t mentions
them itself. They are these:
In October, last, the number Of un-
employed In the United States was
10, 100, ,000 Now the number of un-
employed in the United States Is TO-
100000. Up by 200,000
Those figures would seem to indi-
cate that when you try TO reduce pro-
duction you do not thereby increase
the number of the producers. What
a discovery
1t drives the American Federation
of Labor on into additional "ortho-
doxy." The federation says that II
is true that working hours have been
shortened and that hourly wage rates
have been raised. 1t then. however
proceeds to make the following as
toundingly conservative" and even
"reactionary" observation:
There has as yet been no corre-
spending increase in creation 81 wealth
sufficient to pay all the costs of these
gains. We cannot go on increasing
buying power without a general ex-
pansion of production and consump-
ton. Industry cannot pull itself up
by its own boot straps"
Industry cannot pull itself up by
its own boot-straps" We must have
more wealth If we are going to have
more wages. We must increase pro-
duction if we mean to increase buying
power. The increase of production
comes really first. The expansion
of buying power comes afterward
Where did I hear such sentiments
before?
! heard them from the orthodox
economists at just about this time a
year ago when the N. r. A. was start
ing in to expand buying power before
doing anything to expand production
and in fact while preparing to sane
tion the restricting of production. ]
heard 1t then from quarters called
'anti-labor" Now I hear it from the
premier labor institution of the United
StatesI
I am thereupon inspired to suggest
that the American Federation OF
Labor, which profoundly respect for
many of its fights against ultra greedy
autocratic capital, should tell us, in It's
next monthly business bulletin. Just
what it is that induces a capitalist to
go ahead and increase production
There is only one answer. 1t is the
hope of profit.
Logically, therefore, william Green,
president of the American Federation
of Labor, should make a pilgrimage
through the streets of Washington to
the residence of Franklin Delano
Roosevelt, President of the United
States, and say to him:
I'VE labor people want more en-
ployment. We see now that we for
that reason want more production
We realize that more production
hinges on the hope of profit. Mr..
President, We urge you to 90 back and
begin your recovery program now at
the beginning. Do everything you can
to hold out to the business men OF
this country hope of profit"
And the President might say:
Well, Mr.. Green, hasn't the N.
r. A. held out to them a beautiful
hope OF profit by enabling them to
swim through the meshes OF the anti
trust laws and concertedly to restrict
and to raise prices without
fear Of getting netted into jail?"
Find Consumption Reduced.
And Mr.. Green would have to say:
But, Mr. President. we now find
that lowered production and height
ened prices tend to reduce consump-
ton and tend to reduce employment
What We want you to do is to abolish
these artificial 'stabilizations' and to
free competition. What
We want you to do is to compel all
our would-be business conspirators TO
cease from their conspiracies and go
to work and compete again"
That is the position to which Mr..
Green would ultimately be driven in
his conversation with Mr. Roosevelt
And Mr.. Roosevelt might con-
sympathize with him. He
might even sympathize with him to
a degree that might turn out to be
really uncomfortable for Mr.. Green.
Mr.. Roosevelt might point out to
Mr.. Green that the new deal ad-
in its own business af-
fairs, has never been thoroughly in
flexibly committed to the new deal
economic philosophy, either in the
matter of prices or-mark you, Mr..