New-York tribune., 1920-02-26
Red COnscript
Army Of Labor
Is Put i'm Fields
$4,000 Soldiers Begin Prac-
tical Experiment in Trot-
zky's Theory of Enforced
Assistance to All Industry
May Ease Economic Woes
Success Will Mean Impor-
tant Changes in Internal
Affairs of Soviet Land
From The Tribunc's Exropeam Bureou
Cee,-xA.A4 fooa k>a. Yoxsx 1asIi..ua Ina

0ONOOANt rcU. co. Hc RuSsiAu COI
respondent of 1.-THE Manchester Guard
ian" gives to-day for the first time tht
details of Lenine's program Of indus
trial conscription as a means of re
viving production and the industrie:
In Russia. He writes:
II believe the methods with which
Russia is attempting to fight advanc
ing ruin. to rescue her war-worn in.
dustry and to feed the world manu-
factured goods-in word, to prevent
that country from slipping back into s
primitive state and enable it to be, as
it once was, the source of supply fol
the world and not for itself alone
will, as they should be. of interest te
Socialists and capitalists alike.
"The moment that civil war slack
ened the heads of the republic turned
70 this task which until then had been
perforce subordi ated to the needs OF
se'f-defense. Even now the first ex-
pertinent is being tried in an area as
big as England, which, if it succeeds
may show the speediest way to end
Russia's econom c distress, and, if it
fails, it may bring the collapse of or a
radical alteration in the government
which dared to try it.
Result of Collective Thought
"If such an experiment were tried
elsewhere few would predict anything
bur failure. In Russia it is being
tes ted with much msgiving. 1t is. how
ever, the result of collective brain
work and has been discussed and
counter discussed and is now in force
because no easier method seems pos
sib,o.
1.-THE general principle of industrial
conscription is recognized by the Rus
slan con titutior, which reads: The
Russian Socialist federated soviet re-
public recognizes that work is an OBJ
legation of every citizen of the republic
and procla;ms that he who does not
work shall not eat
"However, Il is one thing to pro
cln'm such principle and quite an
other to put it into effect. On Decem
Der II, 1919. the moment it became
clear that there was real possibility
that the civil war was drawing to an
end. Trot2ky allowed the 'Pravda' to
print a memorandum of his consisting
Of hosos or uNre.sNned notes abNu' -
dustria] conscription and the militia
system. He points out that the So
cialist state demands q general plan
for the utilization of all the resources
of the country, including its human
energy. At the same time, in the pres
ent economic chaos in which are
mingled the broken fragments of the
past and the beginnings of the future,
he says that jump to complete central
ized authority in the country as q
whole is impossible. Local initiative
and local effort. he says, must be
sacrificed for the SAKE of the plan. In
time industrial cons .ription will be
necessary for the &C mplete~ socialza-
tion of the country, he continues, but
It cannot be regardless of individuality,
like military conscript1on.
Labor Battalions Displace Militia
"Trotzky suggests the division of the
state into territorial productive dis
tricts which should coincide with the
territorial districts of the militie sys-
TEN, which shall replace the regular
army. A registration OF labor is neces-
sary, he says. 1t is also necessary to
coordinate the military and industrial
ments. divisions, etc. should form the
skeleton of the militia. instruction
toward this end should be included in
courses for workers and peasants, who
by training will become officers in
every district.
"Trotzky's twenty-four theses or
notes must have been written at odd
moments, on the way from one front
TO another. They do not form con-
nected whole. Contradictions jostle
one another. 1t is clear that he has no
very definite plan in his head, but his
memoranda annoyed and stimulated SO
9TH hot hox,
haps precisely the work they were in
tended to do.
"The 'Pravda' printed them with a
note from the editor inviting discus
sion.
"The 'Ekonommitcheskaya Jizu'
printed letter after letter from work.
men, officials and others, attacking
and approving the theses and bring
ing new suggestions. Larin, Semashko,
Pyatakov and Bacharln all took hand
IN the discussion. Larin saw in the
proposals the beginning of the end Of
the revolution, being convinced that
authority must pass from the democ-
racy of workers into the hands Of
specialists. Rykov fell upon them with
spirited blows on behalf of the trade
unions
"All agreed, however, on one point
that something was necessary. On
December q commission to carry
out the proposals was named by
Jrot7ky. This commission included the
people commissars, or ministers Of
labor, ways, communication, supply,
agriculture and war, and the presidents
or central councils trade unions and
OF the Supreme Council of Public
Economy. The members complied list
or the principal questions before them
and invited anybody interested to bring
suggestions and material for considera-
tiOn.
'"On January 23 the central commit.
tee OF the Communist party after a
prolonged discussion on Trotzkv's
rough memorandum finally adopted and
published new edition of the theses.
expanded and altered to an almost
u,n!nrrecognizable body of theory, entirely
odiTerent from the bundle Of arrows
ioosed at venture by Trotzky. Thev
nennltely accept the principle of indus
trtal conscription, pointing out imme-
date reasons i'll the fact that Russia
cannot look for much help from With
out and must somehow or other heJr
herself. '''' neip
something resembling these finn,
,I ,neses OF the party will no doubt he
sa;u oeiore the central executive COM
m'stee OF the All Russian Assembly
now sitting and undoubtedly fore,
msnt. - sne most important develop
Army Used in Experiment
But industrial conscription in Rr.-
sia already is being tested at wori,
very early in January, when aro,'.
ment was at its height, the Soviet Th7rd
Army addressed itself tn tho corna;i