The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1919-07-05
Starting Industry
Greatest Problem
Of Bolsheviks
By FRANK j. TAYLOR
Omitted Press Staff Correspondent.

UNITED Press Staff Correspondent.
NEW YORK, July Starting the
industrial wheels going and keeping
them moving is the greatest problem
confronting the bolsheviks at present
The task is made doubly difficult by
the fact that the bolsheviks fell heir
to a defunct induStrlal organization
left over from the old regime.
Factories erected by the Russian
capitalists were on the verge of col
lapse and were built for exploitation
mainly. The railroads were in poor
condition and were short of rolling
stock.
Add to this the lack of manage
ment an dthe abolition of individual
initiative which followed the over
throw of the capitalistic system, and
one realizes some of the difficulties
the bolsheviks face.
Industrial commissions have been
formed to plan reconstruction of fac
tories, but so far plans have not ad-
vanced much beyond the discussion
stage. The bolsheviks claim they
cannot accomplish anything while
they are at war with the world and
cannot get supplies and machinery
they need, and their men at the front
As the result of experiments con-
Quoted so far, the bolsneviks are com
ing to realize that individual initia-
tive is hard to substitute and that all
men are not of the same value. A
commission of so-called experts is
planning new industries for the gov
ernment.
In addition the bolsheviks have de-
cided they must make concessions to
capitalistic enterprise to encourage
new development. Consequently they
are offering concessions to capitalists
who will build certain railroads and
factories.
The concessions as yet are not ac-
ceptable, since capital must comply
with the Russian code of labor, limit
ing hours of labor and giving the
workmen the right to set their own
wages.
Industries operated by the state
have been dunning under this system,
but at loss, which the state makes
up by printing money. Capitalists
hesitate to accept concessions under
these conditions, though handsome
offers are made of alternate strips of
timber land on both sides of a rail
road to be built across northern Rus
5ia.
According to the bolsheviks, they
we're forced to seize the Russian in
lustries after the revolution. In an
interview with Grigori Melnitenanzky, |
Moscow labor chief, who formerly was
Known in New York as George N. |
Melcher, labor leader and agitator,
he following explanation of the early
evolutionary situation was given the
United Press:
when the war with Germany end
ID the Russian capitalists just closed
heir shops" said Melntenanzky.
They had made enough money and
we're ready to retire. The workmen
we're out of work and out of luck.
eve demanded, work, and insisted
hat they pay us while they waited to
eopen the factories. The capitalists
eplied that they had no intention of
'pening the shops again. We could
tarve.
"If it had been in America, it
lever would have happened that way,
American capitalists would have been
eadv to start peace time production
he day after the war ended. But
ot the Russian capitalist.
"The workmen in Moscow held
leetings and finally decided they
yould have to seize the factories and
perate them. That was before the
olsheviks overthrew Kerensky in
etrograd. So you see we industrial
were the first to declare
Olshevik tactics.
"Of course, when we decided to {