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LADDIN'S lamp has been rubbed. Three billion slaves have sprung from the earth, at its command. The power of that many human beings is represented in the energy resources of this country, thanks to the Machine. "The use of energy materials gives to each man, woman and child in this country the equivalent of 30 servants."

And yet, Aladdin's lamp has failed to give much good from out of this great advance in the way of doing things. "What return in terms of livelihood, comfort, leisure and beauty do we get from the labor of 3,000,000,000 mechanical slaves?" asks Mr. Stuart Chase in his "Tragedy of Waste". And the answer: "Among other things we get Pittsburgh, New York's East Side, back of the Yards in Chicago, the tenant farmer, and cemetery sculpture."

"Waste," is the summing up, in the rough, of the offsets to the mechanical progress that has been made. Vicious or useless goods are one source of loss-patent medicines, opium, super-luxuries, the bulk of advertising, war. Unemployed man power is another. Failure to use the technical arts is a third. Wasting natural resources is a fourth.

Through these "four main channels of waste" Mr. Chase carries us, vividy and attractively describing with valuable figures the extent of our losses from this unnecessary cause of causes.

The facts presented are startling, indeed-especially for those who have been regaling themselves with the propaganda of "prosperity". Take the idle man power through unemployment. In so-called normal years, a standing army of unemployed-the "surplus" always in the labor market -number at least a million, according to the Federated Engineering Societies and run up to 1,800,000, according to the National Industrial Conference Board. That is the "standing army" only. Idle man power arises from a number of other causes. Mr. Chase gives the main sources of unemployment as four in number: 1. Intermittent losshalf days, two or three days, etc. This amounts to about 5 per cent of the 20,000,000 workers in manufacturing, mechanical, mining and transportation industries, or about 1,000,000 workers always unemployed from this source. 2. Seasonal unemployment, affecting 2,350,000 workers. 3. Cycical business depression unemployment. High in "panic years", it averages only about 300,000 per year when spread out over the years. 4. Turnover of labor unemployment, affecting the equivalent of 1,200,000.

To the workers unemployed from the above causes, the "standing army" cannot be added in toto, as it overlaps these figures in some instances. But Mr. Chase concludes that there are at least 4,000,000 workers out from all these causes. When to that he has added preventable accidents, preventable sickness, unnecessary idleness (idle rich and hoboes), laying off, and strikes and lockouts-the total figure of 6,000,000 unemployed, all the time, stares us in the face.

Although the author does not make the point, we think

it well to call attention here to the figures on strikes and lockouts. Industrial warfare is the product of our present system. The workers do not want it; but fight they must, if they are to make headway and gain control of their industry and destiny. Big Business propaganda has regaled this country with the "high cost of strikes" as though the worker were to blame for these battles! This propaganda has been one of the most potent publicity weapons used against the unions.

Now, when we look at the figures presented by Mr. Chase, we see that the average unemployment from both strikes and lockouts is but 200,000 always idle. Compared with the 6,000,000 always out from all other causes, this is a small amount indeed. A thing worth remembering for publicity purposes, at the proper time!

The tremendous accumulation of waste which Mr. Chase gradually piles up, as the product of our present ways of doing things, are not merely astounding. They are tragic in their outcome. A national income which should, as a result of our high pressure production, be more than adequate to cover all, becomes hopelessly inadequate to provide even a living wage for all workers. When the unequal distribution of this income is considered, the situation becomes a national crime. The "dying wage" is the prevailing rate in America, as Prof. W. F. Ogburn has said. The loss in education, in acquaintance with beauty, in spiritual qualities-from out of this cannot be measured. And yet as the author notes again as he closes this stunning indictment of the present system-we have the equivalent of these 3,000,000,000 slaves, busily hammering and driving and working for all of us. Why do not all of us reap the fruits of their labors? Why?-should be labor's demand. As the workers grow in power, they can meet much of this problem-joining hands with these engineers and other experts who will help serve the Movement.

For education toward that end, and for the purpose of having many figures which can serve toward numerously other useful ends, every trade union should have this little gem of Stuart Chase's in its libraries. The book is published by the Macmillan Company of New York, and its price is reasonable.

J

A LOST LABOR LEADER'S DRIVEL

OHN DYCHE was a labor leader. He broke bread too frequently with the employers. He became an employer himself.

From a man of such a varied career, a valuable if biased account of trade unionism might be expected. In his book-BOLSHEVISM IN TRADE UNIONS-he has, however, merely resorted to cheap gossip and drivel. How the editors of Boni and Liveright could have accepted such a manuscript is a mystery-save that the anti-union employers may have guaranteed to buy a number of copies.

3 West 16th Street, New York City

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