In reviewing the growth of the organized labor movement here ill Salem; in the past 20
years, just briefly and offhand, as I remember it, we
had two depressions during this period, the one from
which we are just emerging and the other about 1924
or 1925. This one left us about $250 on the red side of
the ledger. However, as is always the case after a depression, we grew rapidly and before we were engulfed
in the recent depression we had our treasury built up,
supported two business agents and had a real labor
paper, "The Wage Earner." We had to dispense with all
this when we were convinced, after the business men of
this city had buried Old Man Depression several times
and he had failed to stay put, that the depression was
going to be a long drawn out affair, since Big Business
was helping the thing along by taking its money out" of
circulation, * ".'.''.
We did our best to keep the Old Man down. At one
time We spent nearly $500 to decorate our temple for the
express purpose of putting idle painters to work. Many
locals gave financial aid to their members as long as
possible. After many workers had spent their rainy
day savings, lost their homes, cashed in on their life
insurance, bought bread with the pennies in the baby's
bank and could spend no more, it then dawned on employers and those with wares to sell,, that working people
were not merely employes but were consumers as well,
and the more they earned the more they consumed. This