Show acono economic mic highlights As dorothy rh thompson ompson wrote a few weeks ago the capacity ot of this country to weather another depression before the serious so ao vial economic and political effects of the last one have worn off is one great big question mark it is hla question mark which la is perhaps the most unsettling factor in ili the current situation industrial production has widely declined securities are combing cOlub lug tho the price depths business sent amOnt Is even worse than the business production figures principally because of doubt as to the future and tear fear of what the tea coming coining in months may bring in other words the statistics are bad but bu the imponderables ponde such as investor psychology ch are a great deal worse it la Is this tremendously important factor which makes the post sep Sel drop something different than just another recession lu in a long pull recovery movement and it la Is th tills is which is responsible tor for tho the amazing variety of present day forecasts as to the trend of coming events one school including government officials aud and other new deal partisans tends to minimize tho the i recession occasion so tar far as possible and to make it ii seem scorn less severe than it actually Is another school which includes those who are arc exceedingly opposed to oil 11 of tho the acts and objectives of the ad adi i ministration tries to make the picture even darker than it Is to try to strike the happy medium bedlum be twedell the apostles of sweetness and light on oa the one hand and the bearers of the blackest tidings on tho the other la is tho the tough job that confronts any annalist today airet some facts the ane country has not yet felt the full brunt oi of the drop though mo more roand and more of 0 the impact Is I 1 s becoming visible dally the employment situation will be grave grato this winter during october about workers were laid off during daring november the number laid off reached according to the best estimates obtainable tai fai at me time thia Is writ ton ten during daring december it seems inevitable that a still larger number of workers will be divorced from payrolls and forced to look for non existent exi stant jobs to subsist for a time on vay savings ings which in the great ma orlay bority of instances aro are pitifully small and finally to seek relief or charity the christmas buying lod with its acceleration in retail trade will keep the unemployment rolls from growing on a big scale this mouth month in all probability but the full effects will be felt inlall in january loss of has not occurred evenly in all industries ac cording to a U 9 news survey the personal service industries which la clude domestic and professional help hell employ today about as many as in 1020 29 A major continued drop la in industrial production would obviously be felt in ii A sharp reduction of emPlOY employment in this bracket trade distribution anil and finance today employ more workers than in 1029 construction however has mano made tip lip only one fifth of its losses since 1029 10 09 on the basis of figures which do not take fully into account the current recession the transportation industries are far under theli their arc emp employment ament levolt the public utilities have recovered only about one third of their depression pres slon employment tosses losses figures for the manufacturing industries are too uncertain to be quoted quo t the employment total oi of even a week or two ago Is likely to be extremely high as aa against the employment total of even a we week ek or two hence as its it Is manufacturing which first boels a drop in consumption and Is able to io first trim its sails to meet the storm in all industries mentioned with the exceptions except lons of transportation and the utilities employment will continue to drop until the recession Is ended some for forecasters e are pessimistic enough to foresee a rise lisa la in unemployment to tho the worst depress depression loa level when it touched one thing seems certain vertaim it will be impossible for the federal government t to 0 stay out of the relief field on a big scale and to continue the retrenchment trench ment policy begun in the early fall the effects would be too severe the feeling Is growing in industrial quarters abat much asa na a balanced budget Is needed the time for relief economy must be put off now some theories how long will the recession last alfew A few economists fear that it cannot be check he C it 4 ed and ancl will result in another long major depression perhaps culminating in an actual panic the bulk of the experts think that the tho downturn can bo be checked early this winter and turned into an upturn up turn in lato late Jan january ilary or early feb february auary it if congress will take certain reme i 1 dial steps in the direction of tax reform and a more friendly attitude toward industry this was waa also the opinion of the nations nation ts loading leading bankers la in replying to a recent they ney forecast that the slump would run on tour four months but not develop into another depression proposals to turn thee ude tide are now brewing la in congress whether this tats trend comes to anything win will be seen shortly congress cant do it allbut it Is generally believed bell eved that tangible legislative action especially PeC ally lallY in the tax field would provide the necessary steam to get the industrial engines turning a gain |