Unemployment in the United States

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 1828236179

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-226169

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Unemployment in the United States

Place of publication:: Washington

Publisher:: United States, Government Printing Office

Year of publication:: 1930

Scope:: II, 193 Seiten

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Statement of Mr. William Green, president of American Federation of Labor

Collection:: Economics Books

50 UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE UNITED STATES Mr. Hammer. Mr. Green, about how long, about how much testimony, about how much time, would it occupy for the proponents of the bill, or are you in a position to say? Mr. Green. I am not in a position to say. We have some very distinguished people here who have come a long ways. Mr. HamumeR. The point is this: If this committee is going to have hearings, they will have to sit almost continuously, if there is much testimony from the proponents and the opponents of the measure; because I think Congress is going to adjourn next week and it is very important that we have hearings here even during the sessions of the House, if we expect to try to get this bill through. Mr. Green. I think we appreciate that. Mr. Hammer. Another thing: While it is very important to have this kind of legislation, there 1s a great deal of legislation that does bear upon the cost of living. For instance, for the past 8 or 10 years, there have been efforts of the Patents Committee to get out a patent bill giving a patent on women’s shoes, children’s dresses, furbelows and flounces, and everything that children and women wear. That bill has been reported two or three times and emasculated to a great extent so that it was not so very harmful, but it was reported yesterday and came up in the House and there was objection to it. The whole pur- pose of the legislation is te increase cost. I have received dozens and in fact hundreds of letters in the last few years from opponents of that measure. The newspapers are full of it. They want to copyright roses, flowers, potatoes, and everything of that kind. That legislation is very questionable as to whether it 1s of value to the country. You can pass all of the legislation of this kind you want to; but, when you pass legislation of that kind, you increase the cost of everything we enjoy. Mr. Green. I am not prepared to go into that. Mr. Hammer. It is a very important matter. The CHAIRMAN. But it is not related to this matter, Judge. Mr. Hammer. I think it is, very greatly. SaLes ConpiTioN PropUCTION Industries are beginning to realize that sales policies condition profits equally with production economies. Salesmanship and markets are essential to satis- factory disposal of articles on the market. Wage earners have been stating in emphatic terms that they would like to live better and if they had the money there would be no surplus of bathtubs, shoes, dentists’ services, books, automobiles, good clothing. Higher wage rates and more stable employment would increase wage earners’ incomes so that they might buy those things they want and need. There is at our very doors a hugh potential market for American products which should be used to turn the tide of business upward toward prosperity. Over 7,000,000 families in the United States have no automobile; about 20,000,000 have no adequate radio set. In our cities alone, without counting Farm population, there were in 1928 over 4,000,000 families who had no bathtubs in their homes, and over 3,000,000 who had not even a kitchen sink with running water, and probably no plumbing of any kind in their houses. Over 13,000,000 families in our cities have no telephones; over 4,000,000 live in homes not wired with electricity.! About 5,000,000 families ? in America today are living below the minimum of health and efficiency level; they need furniture, clothing, food, better housing. And the 4% million 2 who have barely enough to support themselves at a mini- mum of health level are only too eager to raise their standard of living by buying industrial products. All these are eager to be customers of our industries. t Figures from “ Recent Economic Trends’ National Bureau of Economic Research. 1 Figures quoted by Paul Nystrom in ¢ Economics of Consumption,’

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