The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1935-01-05


cent above the lowest Levels of
the crisis. In other words there
has been a transition from the
worst depths of the crisis to a
depression which is obviously not
the ordinary prelude to normal
upturn and boom period. The
present depression, due to the in
fluence of the general crisis of capt.
talism, is of a special kind, and is
characterized by the instability of
economic life. Every uptuIn, as the
New York Times admits, is fol
lowed as it was in 1888 by abrupt
reaction and falling markets"
1t is this feature of the economic
picture which is reflected in the
annual crop of financial reviews
and forecasts now being featured in
the press and economic journals. All
the forecasts are couched in terms
of extreme doubt. Every optimistic
statement is carefully balanced by
a perplexed and doubtful one. They
point to the Limited recovery of
five per cent over the 1888 level
Business Week., but refuse to COM
init themselves on the question as
to whether there will be a revival
in 1885. The trend of events is
not clear they say, and the only
concrete thing they all agree on, is
that 1885 will be IAN eventful
year"
Wan st. Alarmed
4 The truth of the matter is that
the bourgeoisie are profoundly dis
turbed by the failure of recovery to
emerge as they confidently expected
year ago. AS Colonel Leonard
Ayres, economist and vice-president
of the Cleveland Trust Company,
says, 1.-THE one essential shortconl-
ing of the recovery program Is that
It has not yet found out how to
induce a business recovery"
After printing the business pump
with billions of dollars and running
I'D the largest government debt in
the history of the country, the ad-
ministration finds that industrial
production was only slightly larger
in 1884 than in 1898. According to
Standard Statistics, Inc, the volume
of production this year was less
than go per cent of the 1929 figure.
Heavy industry, which is usually the
pace-setter for recovery, is still
stagnating despite all efforts to get
1t going again.
Heavy industry is over-equipped
In relation to the contracting CAPT
talist market. Even during the years
of the crisis, while it was operating
at a traction Of its capacity, the
steel industry was increasing its
potential output by over Is per cent.
But the high development of the
productive forces is fettered; declin-
ing capitalism can no longer abb
serb any great amount of capital
goods. There is no market for large
numbers of new machines or new
plant equipment although engineers
claim that so per cent of American
machinery and equipment is obso-
lescent and semi obSoleScent. This
holds true for the crisis-ridden
building industry which can find no
profitable market for new housing.
1t is because the administration
must protect $21, 000,000,000 in mort
cages that it will not clear the
slums or provide low-cost housing
for workers. Through the H.OL,C.
1t has given $2,0o0,0O0,000 to prop up
the real estate market. Chairman
Fahey, of the HOLC., has said
that more than 80 per cent of this
money has gone to the commercial
banks, savings hanks, insurance
companies, building and loan asso-
Citations and mortgage companies
and had the effect of strengthening
their resources in very important
way" By protecting the owners OF
rat-traps the administration has
made it improbable to build new
houses. IN this field as in all others
every measure employed by the
; Capitalists, even though it may
4 temporarily improve their position,
only leads to the intensification of
y those factors that made for the
economic crisis.
Misrepresentation Reflected
The state of chronic underproduc-
ton is reflected in the investment
market which for all practical pur-
poses has ceased to exist. New in
vestments for the first eleven
months of 1884 were less than in
1888. The Commercial and Finan-
cial Chronicle reported only $143,-
$4,000 for this period in 1884 as
compared with $4,763 ,532 900 in 1880.
Along with the disappearance of
the investment market has gone a
shrinkage of over $600,000,000 in
commercial loans; the banks con-
sidering the present situation as not
warranting the risks of lending
Overshadowing all other aspects
of the present stage of the crisis is
the permanent army of unemploy-
ed. The number of jobless men and
women is greater today than it was
a year ago. The bourgeoisie con-
ceal the actual figures but admit
that the volume of unemployment
is greater than last year. The f1f-
teen to sixteen million unemployed
make up almost half of the employ
able members of the working class.
For them capitalism has nothing to
offer in the way of Jobs. They are
indeed the forgotten men" of the
present social ORDER and the capt.
talists do not hold out anything but
forced labor On relief Jobs and a
bitter, hopeless life on subsistence
farms
Mass unemployment IS now per-
nanent because the capitalists have