by Observers Pros Ov Owx Washington, Dec. 8 which mass production ultimately depends. Thanks to improvement in session of Congrens will be over the The biggest fight in the resent machinery and management. work which took fifty. chemployment siesation.. The only question which may rival it in the complish in 1919 can now be done 35. A group of Senators headed Sntensity of feeling which it arouses by Bob Lafollette of Wisconsin Is the problem of How to impose the Increased taxation which wilt believe in the establishment: of a necessary to Wipe out the huge "National Economic Council" to curb the extravay of unwise Budget deft, "The unemployment Tinee last winters, The number of eulem has. become more. acvle industrial "expansion and speculation. which hel preci-irate the present crisis. The Pre thave "aut, of work has neveascdy Sident and' the Chamber of Com-while their personal. private re-Noureesy "the savings of their merce have committees studying the problem while government spokes Tamilies_and relatives, have di men have frequently put forward ished, Far fewer of the unemployed suggestions for levelling out the Will be able to look after themselves differences between the fat and lean Bnd the public responsibility will years. "Business must learn to sit] be the greater, onthe bulge" the Secretary of There are tio di Commerce expressed it thought on the question. gency Relief Funds is meeting wit Meanwhile the rive for, Emer. Appropriation. to meet the emer reheal believer in, & hug "Zveral genes the other in charity. ThE Success. Contributions are fifteen per cent. higher than they were last] President. believes in charity (supplemented by. grants front local ear ani the $50,000,000 mark will toon lo passed. Pro wice as funds) while his. Democratic opE0n-much will have tovbe_ contributed ents on the whole believe in a from local taxes before the winter Federal appropriation. A. smal small over unless of course those section of this latter group ce in clamouring for Federal. appro favour of a federal insurance tions have their own way scheme of the English pattern, As For a long while the administrafeontrel' the tion refused to admit that it would de necessary to levy additional mine name Sh dor taxes. It was thought that a series of government bonds, rigid depertmental economy, and an improvement' in the economic situation Would take care of the matter, But grant. A compromise solution in the economic situation has taited to
pas on to the unemployed in worse, ut one time the dollar itself Improve, "haa if anything "grown was unsteady. Departmental econ-res have effected ite, while tax returns have fallen very mite Tclow their estimates, "While the iii es Matt stonishing efforts have been mass. of political opinion is now yelief through private effort. very convinced that. some taxation in-other day an unemployment wireferease is necessary there isn Jess concert is given in which)? agreement as to how it should be sed, Mr. Mellon favours broad-perform, and from. time. to. time!
een, and stage Har ike their rOle to urge gener-ims urging. the necessity of har sity upon. their audiences. Short ing are shown in the picture houses from time to time, while full page advertisements signed by Mr, Walter Gifford Dizector of the President's organization for Unemployment Relief appear in all the quality publications. The gen-feral appeal of the advertisrinents fr the same, A vigorous but withal respectable looking American worker through if you will" or some sianilar shown declaring "HM ave, Phrase, followed by letter press. of which this is a sample. "{f you think the good old U.S.A. is in a bad way tore than" teniporanily, just try to figure out, some other place you'd rather be" And spain HOE course we can do it, We dug the Panama Canal, didn't we, and they said we couldn't do that,' We pit an army into France" four months after we declared war Jidn't we and surprised the world. Now "we've tough nut to crack, right here in-out own, back yard." "The advertisements always trid. with the warning "There jo no National Agency through which you may contribute. The way for you to give is through your local welfare and. vellef organisations, Uhrough your community chest, through your emergency, unemployment committee if you have che, The main contention of the, Pre-rident is that relief fonds. should furnished by the locality which they will be spent and nct by national agencies. "In. fact, in this particular question you find the Republican "party supporting the sta) Democratic thesis of local Autonomy and states rights, and the Democrats supporting the usual Republican tendency" to greater federal centralisation.
But whether Federal or local, te or public funds are_used the unemployed this winter, they will appease the symptoms and ing to meet the underlying.
This will depend vu an. improvement in world conditions: (to which the American contribution inthe form of redueing war cents or facilitating their payment by means of reduced tariffs will be made tardily if at_all) and upon some readjustment within the 'American economic structure. The 'American Federation of Labour are in favour of spreading employment to include more workers by @ reduction of hours, which it is contended, will at' the same time increase the workers leisure and Tead him to spend more, thus restoring the mass demand upon ing the base on. which taxation levied. Mr. Hawley suggests that} Tuxuries should be taxed. Another group supported by the Hearst press favour the sales tax. This is a tax found very convenient in Canad [If there ix a sudden need for in. creased federal income the Canadian, government cannot increase, income fax as would be done in England for If the income tax in Canada ix mach higher than itis in. the United: States capital would migrate cross the border. An increase in, the ules tax, an assessment on whole: sale transactions, provides a simple fiternative and one. which is felt Very little bythe public.
The new House it must be re membered is Democratic and it the Toure which originates revenue measures, The Democrats probably dio" not. welcome the vesponsitility, but they cannot escape it.
"The new English tari measures came as a further blow to the much Tharrassed Republican administra~ ion, though they could. do. very.
tle officially ut welcome a new convert to the protectionist creed. The Democrats, however, made the est of the situation and their publicity mimeographs. were busy Turning" out statements to the effect that the British tariff was thut another example of the veral to ich they had warned the countr must. expect the Hawley Smoot bill were Tariff was of a retaliatory measure. but. was designed to redress the countrys unfavourable ade balance. There was, however, odium of truth in the Demo:
statements. for if the fs lad not been ish. exports, to, America ould have been greater. her trade balance not so unfavourable and the necessity' for restricting imports so" great, Incidentally "the speed with which the tariff mea: ures wore passed roused envious admiration.
'Americas stake in British trade is large. In round figures she sold $750,000,000. worth of goods in 1930 and in predepression years nearly. $1,000,000,000 worth. The main' itenis in Americas 1930 ports to Britain were roleum products $100.000.000 ing oil, cotton and tobacco wil
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.