Evening star., 1937-11-07
BY JOHN C. HENRY.

The specter of new backslide in
business, already haunting leaders Of
Government, industry and labor, was
looming today as the greatest poten-
tial force in efforts to bring peace
between the American Federation of
Labor and the Committee for Indus
trial Organization.
While negotiators for the two fac
tions were in recess over the week end,
1t was an open secret that their chief
tains were viewing with more than
casual concern recent indications of
another major slackening of business.
In the steel industry, for instance,
where some 100000 men have enlisted
during the past 18 months under the
banner of the Steel Workers Organiz-
ing Committee, key affiliate of the
c. /. o., operations have dropped from
more than 80 per cent of capacity to
less than so per cent in period of
only few months. Thousands of
the new unionists, just becoming dues
conscious, have been cut down to par
tial unemployment or none at all.
Textile Industry Slump.
In the textile industry, where the
Textile Workers Organizing Commit
tee has been successfully carrying on
a whirlwind campaign % recruit men,
bers and sign employer contracts, SIM
ilarly alarming signs of decreasing
employment are found. Only yester-
day q spokesman for the industry esti-
mated that Northern cotton manu-
featuring had dropped in recent weeks
to 80 per cent of capacity and other
portions of the industry have shown
similar trends
In the building trades, a backbone
department of the A. F. of L., the sea-
sonal lag in construction is becoming
noticeable. On top of the disturbing
inability of this industry ever to bring
itself back to the pre-depression nor
NAL, any new recession is bound to
have an effect.
Just now putting out their new mod
els, the automobile industry has not
yet displayed a falling off in activity
but this and all other major lines of
business must necessarily fall in line
with any extended economic trend.
Labor Department Statistics.
From the Department of Labor only
recently came pay roll statistics re-
fiecting the trend between August and
September, months when the slowing
down was just becoming evident. In
that period, all manufacturing showed
a pay roll drop by weighted index from
1898 to 1901.
In iron and steel the drop was from
1904 to 113, in machinery manu-
featuring it was from 1871 to 134.3,
In transportation equipment, from
112.8 to 1043; in railroad repairs,
from 67.3 to 63.1; in lumber and allied
products, from TIA to 68.1; in textiles,
from 92.1 to 87.1; in leather, from
1877 to 71.6. A few industries, of
course, bucked the trend at that time
but virtually all have weakened in
the last six weeks.
That leaders of labor are fully aware
OF the implications of such portents
Is apparent in remarks such as the
following by John L. Lewis, C. I. o.
chairman.
THE United States, economically
speaking, is not out of the woods. In
nve years Of experimentation no prog
ress has yet been made toward COM
posing what is one of Americas
greatest economic questions, namely.
the question of unemploynoent roch-
noloeical displacement of labor in
America is proceeding space.
THE very increased prosperity, in
creased sales, increased profits which
corporate industry has been enjoy-
ing the last year or more carry with
them the seeds of greatly increased
unemployment, because as these cor
porations increased their credit rat
angs they were able to place into ex-
ecution plans Tor undermining plant
(see LABOR, Page A-4)