Show READER BLAMES BIG DIG FOR DEPRESSION Ogden Utah October 23 23 1932 Dear Editor Like Lilee most moat other big business businessmen men the average big banker is as ignorant of economics as the law allows If this were not the case the In- In and the epidemic of bank failures might have been ended quite a while ago Both of these calamities have been prolonged prolonged prolonged pro pro- longed by the stupidity of big bankers At the time tune when the depression came on in the fall of or 1929 President PresIdent President Pres Pres- ident Hoover called together a representative group of big industrialists industrialists industrialists indus indus- and big financiers financiers together er with a few labor men The industrialists promised that j I there would be no wage cutting and the labor men that i there would be no strikes These promises were tolerably well kept I the big bankers began to butt buttin in and mess up the situation I You will remember that the first ominous arguments In favor of wage cuts came In an address address ad ad- I ad-I dress of statements made by big eastern bankers They said that wages would have to be deflated that overhead costs would have to be cut that payrolls would have haye to be or similar pro pro- It was reported that the bankers bankers banki bank bank- i ers became very specific in telling 1 the industrialists that their loans would be called in if they did not reduce their overhead by cutting wages It was about that time when the storm of wage cutting broke and it continued until it became a regular hurricane Of course the results were dis dis- dis- dis Anyone but a big banker bank bank- er or a big stupid and ignorant would have known they would be worse receiving lowe wages could not buy so much goods at atthe atthe atthe the stores The stores did not need to order so much goods and the factories did not need to produce produce produce pro pro- duce so much Workers were laid off destroying their purchasing I power altogether This vicious circle circIe circle cir cir- cle cIe has one on and on naturally n making the depression ly worse It could not do otherwise otherwise otherwise other other- wise than bring trouble to the banks just as it brought trouble to everybody else There was a perfect epidemic of bank failures Solvent banks t took ok care to make very liquid refraining I from making loans to industry or encouraging it to expand and I thereby still further deepening and prolonging the depression I IThe The government came to the aid of the banks It would Under the control contro of the Republican and the patios it naturally would sympathise more with distressed distressed distressed dis dis- dis- dis bankers than with distressed distress distress- ed working men and farmers and their wives vives and children It has helped the banks a lot and has undoubtedly undoubtedly undoubtedly un un- un- un prevented many bank failures and saved large numbers numbe s of depositors from losing their de de- de- de posits But it could not wholly stem the tide of failures Each failure deepened the depression tying up the funds f of many people who might otherwise have spent some money and thereby helped I to work out of the depression Thus the back chickens have come home to roost We end as we began Like most I other big business men the average average average aver aver- age big banker is as of economics as the law allows I E. E E M. M WEBBER |