The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-06-05
PRINTING
PRESSES
AS Mint.
Money is Being Turned Out
In Russia as Fast as
Wheels Can be
Turned.
WAGES ARE INCREASED
Financial Race Between High Cost Of
Living and Issue Of Paper
Money by Boishe-
WAGES ARE INCREASED
IBy Frank J. Taylor, United Press
Staff Correspondent

IBy Frank J. Taylor, United Press
Staff Correspondent
copyright 1919 by the United Press.J
PARIS, June 5.-The economic
planks in the bolshevik platform ap-
pear to be the weakest part of the
soviet structure.
Rebuilding Russia is almost
superhuman problem Even the boil
sheviki are beginning to wonder it
it can be done through bolshevism.
They are also beginning to realize
that bolsheyism stands or falls with
the results of their economic expert
ments, since communism has made
everyone dependent upon the state
for a livlihood The bolsheviki have
voluntarily shouldered the enormous
task Of feeding, clothing and financ-
Ing every one in Russia. So far they
have been able to meet the doubters
with the statement:
1--WE have had no chance to de-
velop the economic phases OF COM
munism owing to political and mill
tary opposition"
Soviet Russia is in the throes OF
A race between the money run on
the printing presses and the increase
of prices and wages. BY connscating
all the bourgeoisie's printing presses
the bolsheviki have kept pace and
they have increased wages almost
monthly to meet the rising cost OF
living.
Everyone has begun to wonder II
this financial marathon can be
stopped short Of an actual collapse:
The peasants have become skeptical
and refuse to sell food for roubles,
which the bolsheviki print in huge
pages like postage stamps. mum
her of times have seen a commits
sary reach into a desk drawer, pull
out a square yard of roubles and
hand 1t to someone, who would tear
off a string of a dozen or more with
ont bothering to separate the indl-
vidual twenty rouble pieces. Strings
like stamps are carried by everyone.
Stimulating factory production and
ran]acine individual initiative Is
nroblem that bothers the bolshev1Ri.
II is not difficult to take over num-
her of factories and run them by
means of soviets, but establishing
new Industries is another matter. A
new supreme economic mission mas
been appointed in an effort TO stimu-
late industry and replace capitalistic
initiative. SO far its accomplish
ments have been confined to plan
ming.
The greatest test OF bolshevism
will come when their army IS de-
mob;lized, necessitating their coping
with an enormous unemployed prob
lem. They are offering concessions
70 induce capitalists, foreign pre-
ferred, to build up the railways and
new industries, which the state
would take over at the end Of
number of years. But they want the
canitalists to grant the same labor
conditions as the nationalized indus
tries where the working day has
heen reduced to six or eight hours
and wages are decided by the unions
The capitalists declare 1t is lmpos-
s;hIe to meet these conditions since
the state makes up the deficits under
which the communized industries are
operating.
Getting food to the industrial CEN
ters Is a difficult problem owing to
the shortage Of locomotives, which Is
due to military demands.
There is plenty of food in Russia.
villages are overstocked while Pet,o-
grad and Moscow are starving On
rations though money buys anything
at exorbitant prices, from the street
markets, which the bolsheviki no
longer seek to control The govern
ment sells limited amount Of food
to these cooperative markets, recog-
nizing three official categories: Full
rations for manual laborers; light
rations for office workers and hunger
rations for the bourgeoisie.
Every one is obliged to patronize