The Connecticut labor press. (New Haven, Conn.) 191?-1921, 1920-01-24
Regime of Lenine and Trotsky
Has Proven Total Failure as
Far as Improving the Lot Of the
Worker Is ,concerned-Nation-
alism Responsible for Lowered
Production and Closing OF
Factories-Situation Bad.
By William English Walling.

By William English Walllng.
The most powerful leader of the
Bolsheviki after Lenine and Irotsky
one Zinoviev in comprehensive Ions
article ("Izvetia," April 18th, 1919, No
81) asks:
"Has the Soviet government, has ou'
party done everything that can be done
for the direct Improvement of the daily
life of the average workingman and hi:
family? Alasl We hesitate to answer
this question in the affirmative.
"Let us look the truth in the face
We have committed quite number OF
blunders in this realm"
Zinoviev is not the only leader of the
Bolsheviki who has admitted the tota
failure of their labor policy. About
year ago in a whole series of speeches
Lenine warned the Soviets that the fail
ure of their labor policy was SO com
plete as to threaten his entire dictator.
ship-pleasantly known as the dictator
ship of the proletariat.
Numerous other writer's of Bolshe.
vik newspaper articles admit the same
thing and give full details.
The failure of the economic and labor
policy of Sovietism is closely connected
with their policy of naturalization. MOI
only did they nationalize such industries
and services as are claimed by progress
sives in many countries to be ripe for
naturalization, but proceeded to make q
clean sweep, as is evidenced in the fol-
lowing quotations from the Bolshevik
press:
Nov almost all the large and me-
4. 4 y,n1
ized.' (See No. 40 of Economic
heskaya Zhizn"- Economic Life"1.
"a year ago there were about sc
per cent. of nationalized establishments
throughout Soviet Russia. At the pres
ent time 90 per cent. of industrial estab-
lishments are nationa1ized.' (No. 49 of
Economic Life" 1912
"This process, at first a revolutionary
one. and actively carried out in life by
the Bolsheviki, now takes its course by
its own momentum, and it may be, even
against the will of those who started it.
The shortage of fuel and raw materials,
the low efficiency of the worklngmen,
the disorganized exchange of commo-
dities create conditions that make enter
prises yield only losses to the owners.
Hence these owners abandon tehir fac
tories and establishments to their fate,
preferring that they be nationalized.
"The only salvation for Russia's in
dustry lies in the naturalization of large
enterprises and the closing of small and
medium.sized ones" From an article
by the Bolshevik, Bazhenox, No. So
Economic Life" March, 1o19.)
Along with this naturalization went
the labor policy to be further described
below.
The result was the closing of an
overwhelming majority of the factories
and the cutting down of production OF
those remaining in operation to a fourth
or fifth of the normal.
"The number of industrial establish
ments in the City of Moscow had
shrunk to 173 by the first of March
1919. from 681 in 1917" (No. 81
Economic Life" Report of the Coun-
Gil of National Economy of the City OF
Moscow.)
"In the government of Novgorod lol
large establishments have ceased to op-
crate (three-fourths of the total num-
ber) for lack of raw materials" (No
81, "Severanaya Kommuna.
The Soviet newspaper, Trud" (No
%, April 28, 1919, an organ of the
trades unions, telling about the closing
of 10 textile mills, attempts thus to ex-
plain the causes of the crisis:
"In our textile crisis a prominent
part is PLAYED also by the bad utilization
of that which we do have. Thus, the
efficiency of labor has dropped to al
most nothing, of labor discipline there
is not even trace left, the machinery
on account of careless handling, has de-
Perforated and its productive capacity
has been lowered"
IN THE NEVSKY FACTORY.
/. Previous to the Revolution, the
productivity of workingman, express.
ed in locomotive units, was ooO@
(1o16)."
an 1918 it amounted to 0,0004." Ir
other words the efficiency of the work
ingman has declined to one-ffth.
2. Electric power spent for one To-
comotive in kilowatt-hours
In l9lo. ........... oS,OuO
In 1918 188, ,743"
an increase in power spent-of three
times.
5. Amount of labor power for one
locomotive:
In 1916. .......... .15,60O
In 1918. .63,o20'
an increase in labor power-of five
times.
locomotive:
In 1916. about 100000 roubles
In 1918. about 100000 roubles"
that is, an increase in the cost of labor
--of Ia times.
Such are the factsl They show
graphically that one of the main factor;
at the bottom of the lowered productiv'
ity of factories and mills in Soviet Rus
sia, is the decline of efficiency on the
part of the workers; the former is the
result of the latter"
A year ago this coming spring a new
policy was instituted and the most hate
full anti-labor policies of reactionary en-
ployers were introduced: the Taylor
system, piece wages, premiums, bonuses
etc. In order TO introduce these hated
methods it was necessary completely te
abolish any interference of the factory
or labor "Soviets" with the industry ane
also to completely abolish whatever re-
NAMED of the labor unions. Lenint
easily explained this change to his fan.
attic and gullible followers by the hokus-
pokus of few words. He said a die
tatorship was dictatorship and OF
course had to be extended into the fac
tories. Having accepted the dictator