The belief is held by many that a revolutionary spirit has been growing since the end of the World War. Revolt is evidenced against many institutions and precepts of society which have, until this time, at least, been considered inviolate and safe. For hundreds of years these ideologies have been blindly worshipped, and their close examination has been forbidden. I would like to examine this spirit of revolt, or, to be more accurate, this sudden social consciousness of the people, and try to discover its roots and its probable harvest.

Just recently, American capitalists and millionaires have begun to feel a trifle uneasy. A great deal of their anxiety can be traced directly to Washington, D. C. Capital has begun to see "the handwriting on the wall" just 2as did the ancient Nebuchadnezzar [Biblical king who rebuilt Babylon]. Only they see it in the form of the N.R.A.

It is the opinion of various learned men that the capitalistic classes need not live in fear of a future revolution, because, in actuality, we are going through a period of revolution at the present moment. It is unfortunate that--despite the hours spent with their ears to the ground in an effort to determine the strength of their approaching doom--the capitalists were unable to realize that a social upheaval was on the way. The tragic certainty of their death has not yet penetrated their complacency. A social revolution that needs no guns and no bloodshed is gathering momentum on the horizon.

We cannot help but agree with this prophecy. However, those who desire to accuse the president of accelerating this war on capital should take a look at the past twelve or fifteen years. The neglect of presidents to give serious attention to the social problems of the nation was the real instigation 3of the so-called revolution. That which President Roosevelt did was to give greater impetus to the social and economic change brought on by a series of unbearable economic crisis.

This revolution--if you like to call it that--was actually started by the same capitalists who today are filled with apprehension. Ten or more years ago they began the practice of paying very high wages. In fact, people like Ford paid higher wages than any laborer or worker expected to receive. You may be quite sure that this was not done because of capital's love for labor. Oh, no! They realized that the more wages a man received, the more he would spend for the things produced by the capitalist groups--who, therefore, indirectly took back a large percentage of the national salary of labor. Of course, it is quite difficult for the average individual to understand this false generosity in the beginning; but, sooner or later, it becomes evident to all.

This course of action on the part of the employers was the greatest single 4movement on behalf of the revolt of labor that has occured in this century.

The wealthy manufacturers of America--and of every other nation as well--decided that if they were to sell large amounts of their commodities it would be necessary to increase the purchasing power of the great masses of the people. They hoped to accomplish this by increasing the wages of their employees and urging other employers to do likewise. After the start made by Ford, other great manufacturers followed suit. Not only did they follow, but they even carried the idea to an extreme degree by giving still higher wages and reducing hours.

Then a new plan was conceived to create greater markets and more buyers. Mass production was the new phenomenon of this mechanistic age, inaugurated by the capitalistic forces of America. But mass production called for mass consumption; and mass consumption depended, not upon the generosity of the capitalist 5group, but upon the attitude of the country; for the nation's statistics indicate that sixty-eight per cent of the people are in the laboring class; that is, they depend upon their weekly wage for existence.....

You see now how simple were the conclusions of capital. It could not be any other way, they said. However, we are all familiar with the tale by Jules Verne, "A Trip to the Moon". Just so did the balloon of the capitalists rise to the heights; but it failed to rise high enough, and it fell to the ground. The capitalists' plan did not succeed because the two angles of the supposedly equilateral triangle were not equal. Production, so rapidly carried forward, was so much greater than the ability of the sixty-eight per cent to consume it that a terrible situation of overproduction was developed despite the high wages paid to labor.

The reason for the lack of consumption was an obvious one. The laboring class had very little actual cash for purchases that were not actual necessities 6because the cost of living was so high. As a result a new kind of buying was devised--the installment plan of payment. Everyone bought on credit instead of paying cash. The weekly paycheck, regardless of whether it was for fifty or one hundred dollars, was mortgaged for as long as eighteen months of the future. This condition developed so rapidly that it grew to alarming proportions in a very short time. Finally prices began to drop, and drop drastically. Of course, this necessitated a correspondingly drastic reduction of wages. Here was the "Achilles' heel" of the system of Mass production. The wage reductions and the lay offs removed thousands of people from the purchasing market. Credit was destroyed and money was at a standstill. Those controlling vast wealth--and they were few--were not able to strike a balance between mass production and mass consumption.....

Now, under this experimental system called N.R.A., which was formulated by President Roosevelt, they are going to try to make mass production function correctly. This will be done by regulating and, in most cases, by raising the 7lowered wages, and by reducing the number of working hours per week, in order to enable more people to be put back to work in industry, thus restoring credit and purchasing power to a large number of people who have been without them for the last three or four years. If this is accomplished capital must again face the strength of the influence of Roosevelt, who has been chosen by a tremendous majority of the people.

But this plan, put into a code, is not Roosevelt's idea. We have proved in the first part of this article that it was the plan adopted by capitalism itself. But this time its purpose is to serve the laborer, and not to benefit the industrial giants of the nation. It is curious to note that the practice of their own idea has scared the capitalistic group to death, and is called "socialistic" by them now. They have finally realized that they have created a "Frankenstein" (sic) which was intended to demoralize and consume labor only to meet their own doom at its hands.

The problem does not stop here; for unless the entire industry of the nation is put under Federal control and regulation, and unless a dictatorship is formed, the same situation of unbalance will redevelop in the future. If this nation decides to return to the days when the plutocrats were the principle purchasing group of the nation, it will be necessary for them to buy thousands of identical articles every hour of the day, if mass production is to survive. Since this is not feasible, a social revolt seems necessary. Revolution does little to unbalance the average life. It destroys only those who fall in the battle to achieve it. In fact, history proves that revolutions have usually been beneficial to a country and advantageous to the masses. However, in order to have a successful social upheaval--even a peaceful one--leaders are essential; for it is not easy to destroy a system which has been the status quo for many centuries. It will fight for survival, and it always has a great many leaders. That is why it is so necessary for us to acquire strong capable leaders who have foresight and are loved by the people.