A Village of the Unemployed
Rubinow, Olga
By Olga Rubinow A Village of the Unemployed The Story of an Austrian Village Where No One Work.—And the Very Soul Goes Out of People. MARIENTHAL, a half hour's ride by train from Vienna, is a...
...And finally, what will the situation in Marienthal develop into...
...The "Confession" wrung from the mouths of Utility Companies' own representatives and agents constitutes a severe indictment against the Power Trust which one's faith in private ownership will hardly survive...
...The general reaction is one of idle, passive watching...
...It Is wholly unorganized, wholly unclassified and without an index...
...What it trut tf Marienthal it likewise trut tf a thousand Maritnthals in other countries —what will be trut of mart Maritnthals tf all sixes and nations if thit depression, tht full flower of Capitalism, eon-timet...
...One of the most telling indices of the child's acceptance of bis reduced standard of living is the actual price value of the gifts the children ask for Christmas...
...9) That investment bankers are making enormous profits playing with the utility interests as with losded dice at the expense of investors and the public...
...18) That tht utility industry is killing itself by treating public utilities as diet, cards, or chipa in a poker gama instead of a public trust to ba carefully, cautiously and economically administered in tht Interests of the public...
...the possibility that the tints could he spent for tht benefit of tht children—the making of toys, for example, as a substitute for the commercial product—is quite unrealized by tht adult population...
...7) That the taxes paid by privste plants do not account for the difference in the rates charged as compared with municipal plants and have little effect upon rates...
...They Give Up In the final group of Apathetic families all effort to maintain order in the household has long been given up...
...According to the author, the testimony shows: Inflation (1) That the utility companies do inflate their cspitsl accounts, something they have strenously denied until the facts were established in the hearings of the commission...
...The average demand totalled 12 schillings, In contrsst with the average demands of 37 schillings for children of the employed workingmen's families In a neighboring village...
...A Changed Population The reaction of the inhabitants to the extended period of unemployment, a period which reduced them to a state of abject poverty, is partially conditioned by the psychological attitudes of the families concerned, but the general affect on the standards of living, and especially of the prolonged continuance of this reduced standard, is characterised by the psychological state of "tiredness" or resignation, a general Impression given by the actual appearance of the village and the individual reactions of the inhabitants...
...By Louis Waldman How the Power Trust Maintains Its Iron Grip in the Industry Carl D. Thompson's "Confessions of the Power Trust" a Striking Analysis of Trusts' Own Testimony Before Federal Trade Commission...
...When I Grow Up" The psychological destructive influence upon values is experienced not only by adults, but, in a somewhat modified form, by children as well...
...21) That tht utilities block and prevent the patsagt of legislation helpful to municipal plants...
...Since Marienthal had been a politically alert village, contact with the atmosphere and activity of the various political organizations was considered of Importance, and students of the Vienna University (who were selected because of their affiliation with the Social Democracy) were sent to the political clubs in Marienthal, which made the procuring of otherwise Inaccessible material possible...
...What, one is compelled to question, will be the fate of Marienthal, as, with unemployment continuing the number of Broken families steadily IncreasssT yiEREWlTH it presented the ** story */ • worklets village by m young Antrim* ttudent in Vienna...
...2) That tht inflation of capital accounts forcet up rates, which they bavt always dsnitd and apparently seem atUl to persist in denying, (8) That utility rates ars too high...
...Most Interesting and characteristic was the tendency to allot in their time analysis a period of an hour or two for activities which could not lsst more than ten or fifteen minutes...
...19) That regulation is breaking down...
...6) Thst it is just ss logical for a community to own and operate light and gas plants ss it is for them to operate highways, schools, streets, sewers, end wster plants...
...This group is further characterised by disputes within the family, and between families...
...It was found possible to differentiate between four groups si rssetsesja...
...This loss of all feeling of the value of time manifested itself in the extreme an-punctuality at which they arrived at meetings, discussion groups or appointments—often arranged for their personal benefit...
...Finally, in February, 1930, the weaving establishment was closed, and several days later the working population was entirely liquidated...
...The investigation of Marienthal is valuable as a penetrating analysis of the psychological forces affecting the character of the inevitable adjustments in such a community...
...Of the 367 unemployed families nine were found to be fully disrupted or not entitled to state support, and 858 families were receiving an Insurance benefit amounting on an average to one schilling forty groschen a day, or IT.'jC...
...The "Confessions of the Power Trust" by Cad D. Thompson (Dut-ton) Is a digest of this report...
...It has been estimated that the potential domestic market could consume about 76,000,000,000 kilowatt hours of electricity compared with the 11,640,000,000 kilowatt hours consumed in homes in 1930...
...In school compositions telling of what they hoped "to be" some day, there occurred frequently aspirations of a distressingly csutious nature: "When I grow up, I shall become an Indian," or a "Robber—if I can And an opening...
...Party newspapers are read only irregularly, and without any display of interest Corresponding to the reduction in political hostilities is a growth of personal enmities, which finds its most frequent outlet in threatening letters sent by individual family members to the village magistrates...
...With the same purpose in view, sewing circles were formed among the women, political meetings were called among the men, diaries and biographies were collected, and compositions of school children were gathered and studied...
...Up to August 1932, the commission's report consisted of 44 volumes, comprising 20,000 pages and 4,972 exhibits...
...8) That bankers are involved in the electrical industry...
...Resigned families had an average monthly income of 30 schillings ($8.76...
...Domestic light, heat and other electric services are below one-sixth of potential capacity...
...They control vast economic resources indispensible tu the life of the nation...
...The question arose: How do the people of Marienthal spend their time...
...During his absence the weekly was edited by Leo Somlo, but It waa found necessary to suspend publication shortly after election, "At Ember" (The Man) is a sixteen-page weekly supporting the principles of Socialism and the Socialist Party, and it has a vide influence among Hungarian workers, Gondor was one of the leaden of the anti-Horthy Hungarians in this country, and when he visited Vienna, It is reported thst tht legation in Washington headed by the Horthy henchmen, Count Laszlt Szechenyi, (married to a Vandsr-bilt heireet) sought to prevent hit return by representing him as t Communist and an incendiary...
...These owners wield great power...
...15) That the greatest of human rights, fret speech, is largely sur-rended by thoss in tht service of the utility corporations...
...Apathetic families had an average monthly income of 19 schillings ($2.38...
...By Olga Rubinow A Village of the Unemployed The Story of an Austrian Village Where No One Work.—And the Very Soul Goes Out of People...
...Though written In a simple readable style, it is not a book one can read as he runs...
...The members of the families of this group sttend dances or seek other amusement...
...Public grounds and parks are utterly neglected, buildings are permitted to fall Into decay...
...Desperate families had an average monthly income of 25 schillings (3.12...
...Tht fortword correctly tells us ; thst tht report of the Federal Trade Commission "is a bewildering mast...
...After th* power interests had waged, a spectacular fight to prevent a Senatorial investigation of the ramifications and the influence of the power interests, the Federal Trade Commission was directed to conduct such an investigation...
...A Bewildering Mtse Anyone attempting to look for facts In a huge unindexed government report will be grateful to the author of the Confessions of the Power Trust for analyzing, classifying, and indexing of this great mass of vitally important material, gathered by an important arm of the government at great expense...
...The Desperate families art characterized by extreme depret* sion, and a deep sense of the futility of any efforts to improve their condition...
...In order to enter the life of the Inhabitants without creating hostility a large supply of clothing was collected In Vienna and distributed among the Marienthal families...
...5) Thst municipal plant accounts srt properly kept, at laatt in many easss...
...It Is rsther an invaluable source book for tht...
...According to the Electric World of May 80, 1931, the market for electricity is still capable of wide expansion...
...For evidence to substantial this, tht reader must either wsm through the original 10,000 paf*1 and 4,972 exhibit* of the Federal Trade Commission or he will reel "Confessions of the Fewer Trust* an intelligent summary of tht evidence and exhibits...
...There are, however, at least two problems which necessarily remain unso|ved...
...stu-dejit...
...Nor is there any evidence of the tendency to spend the time in undertaking for schedule of the way in which they | social Improvement—such as ears erf public gardens, eg general improvement of the appearance of the village...
...What would the situation be if only a section of the population were jobless, and the remainder employed...
...in August the printing establishment...
...In the short time of twenty-two years the generation of electricity increased sixteen times from 5,-862,000,000 kilowatt houis in 1907, to 92,737,000,000 in 1929...
...Today it uses 5 horsepower...
...in September the bleaching establishment...
...In addition, statistical material was gathered from retail shops, dating back to a period preceding the shutting down of the factory...
...4) Thst municipal plants have lowtr rstts than private plants under similar and comparable conditions...
...The term* Vnbrohtn...
...About on-half of the populstion fall into this category...
...17) That in the service of tht industry is much "lying, faking, and downright evasion...
...The actual income of the families wat closely related to their psychological attitude...
...The influences of the destructive forces within the community may be summarized in the following formula: with the-sinking in the economic niveau...
...The dominating attitude in Marienthal is that of resignation...
...It it tignifUant %n that it shows tht steady deterioration that occurs when industry slows up and diet, when ambition dies, when hope dies...
...Railroads are being electrified...
...Gradually it became possible to gather Information concerning food consumption, and an analysis Of the daily activities of the unemployed...
...The home is allowed to fall into decay, children are neglected...
...much of the really vital material has not...
...10) That utility companies do not keep their promises thst they will not Incresse rates...
...The responses indicate that their activities consist principally in "talking with the wife," "conversation wjth the neighbors,*' or possibly, "taking the children to school...
...Attendance at political meetings is reduced to a minimum...
...Whstever energy they still possess is used for tht maintenance of a minimum stand ard of decency and order in the home, and for the care of the children...
...Privste Property The ownership, control and management of the electric Industry, with negligible exceptions, is in private hsnds...
...Resigned, Desperate and A patketit were chosen ae beet characterising the psychological attitude of the families, In the Unbrtht* families there is order in tht household, tht children are eared for, and a general atmosphere of hope for the future prevails, with a corresponding attempt to procure work of some sort In contrast tt the activity of this group is tat hopelessness and planlessness of the Resigned familiss...
...Drinking, begging and stealing are not infrequent...
...And instead of lying down on the job, as the power lobbyists had hoped, the Federal Trade Commission startled friends and foe alike with their comprehensive and sesrehing investigation...
...With the exception of the men ever fifty years of age, the msls population gsve as their occupation, not "textile worker," bit "unemployed...
...20) That the utilities are determined to destroy municipal owner* ship and acquire every municipal plant...
...Following out the idea of setting forth a "confession," the author adhered closely to the testimony and exhibits...
...The more sensational part of the testimony has appeared in the press...
...18) That it ia the greed tot profit that works havoc in the utility as in other fields...
...Industrial and commercial activity rests increasingly on power...
...Free Opinions Silenced (12) That efforts on the part of men in the industry who have declared themselves against extortion and exploitation in the hope of reducing it were silenced and repudiated by hired publicity men...
...While tht children are not neglected, and some order is maintained in tbt homt, the reduced claims and altered attitude towards life It characterised by a lack of tht •lightest expectation of improvement The present situstion It accepted as final, and one liven from day to day...
...ECONOMISTS describe this as the Power Age...
...The Broken down state enters in at that point where the claims of the family can no longer be reduced, while the economic standard continues to fall...
...so that in its present form it is so formidable and involved as to be quite beyond the reach of the ordinary individual and its essential facts almost inaccessible...
...Even the legs remote opportunities for the utilisation of enforced leisure are overlooked...
...A later investigation of the financial status of the four groups brought the following interesting correlstion to light...
...Incidentally, there is an important job for the unemployed...
...There are still some 5,000,000 homes without electricity...
...The day had lost its normal landmarks, and a delay of an hour or two in no way disturbed the otherwise timeless routine of life...
...He received a visa, how-evei, when Otto Bauer, Friedrich Adler and other leaders of Austrian Socialism called upon tht American legation in Vienna and pointed out .that he la a leading Social Democrat and opposed tt Bolshevism...
...As far as public life if concerned, the decrease in political activities and enthusiasms is striking...
...11) That corporations make huge profits in the purchase and resale of their properties, s practice resulting in further Increases in rates to the public...
...14) Thst there is much in the service of tht Utility corporations that breeds hypocrisy, dishonesty and insincerity...
...In July, 1929, the spinning mill was closed down...
...As long as the claims of the family can be adjusted to the falling economic level, the family still remains in the category of the Unbroken...
...Then is, to be sure, no hope for tht future, but there it also no great fesr...
...While the duties of the women of the household have not essentially altered—if anything, they have grown more arduous, due to the necessity for better management—-the daily life of the men has undergone a radical change...
...At the time the invesligatiqn was made Maricn-thal had been unemployed for almost two years...
...One-sixth of the families still make plans, still display an active hope in the future...
...Electrification of the nation's homes would place tens of thousands to work...
...That there is no inclination to use leisure for "cultural development" is clear from the survey of the figures of the public lending library of Marienthal, which showed a reduction of 60% in the circulation of books...
...The entire community of Marienthal is unemployed...
...AZ EMBER" REAPPEARS WITH tht return to the United States of Ferenc Gondor, who arrived February 20th after a long sojourn In Vienna, the Hungarian weekly "Az Ember", published st 352 East 79th Street, New York City, will resume publication...
...And yet, a eer* tain degree of cheerfulness pro-vails...
...MARIENTHAL, a half hour's ride by train from Vienna, is a village with a population of about 1,500, whose past industrial life centered about a large textile factory founded in 1830...
...At Mast one characteristic Indication Was the general response to the inquiry referring to occupation...
...the attitude is indolent, apathetic, rather than desperate...
...In 1913, American industry used 1.5 horsepower of electricity for every worker employed...
...The average monthly income of the four groups shows a very striking correlation between the size of the income and the psychological status: Unbroken families had an average monthly income of 34 schillings (|4.26...
...there takes place a corresponding reduction of actual claims on life...
...16) That the great boast of patriotism on tht part of tht utility companies is often a mere hypo* critical pretense, a fake and delusion...
...Just Killing Time The men were asked for a time spend their day...
...The rest are desperate or spathic...
Vol. 15 • February 1933 • No. 8
