The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-12-27
RUSSIA YIELDING.
RED SOCIALETIC
HUE, SAY,PAPERS
Changes in Government
Of. Soviet Show Gain
By Capitalism.

I'll
as rereHk The Soviet authorities
have ais6 feanirmed their willing
ness to ~&Sant to- foreign capital
coneesstcaG either FOR operating ex-
listing .en<erprises or for creating
new entefpriseG =
"Ente11ses stflf operated by the
State arctic adopt commercial prin-
ciples. paying private producers
and other State enterprises market
value for materials and selling
their products at market value.
Many other minor changes OF
policy have been announced. all
aiming at the partial re-establish-
ment of private trade And industry
and at increasing the incentives to
production. There are. however,
various important limitations with
regard to the degree of liberty
granted to industry.
1T Is too tariy to form a judg-
ment as 10 the economic and still
less the political effects OF these
new policies. The Bolshevist lead
ers themselves express uncertainty
as to how far these new tendencies
may lead Lenin, in the speech
above referred to. said:
present warfare. Who will take the
upper hand? Which side will get
ahead in this race-the capitalists
for whom we ourselves are opening
the door, in fact a number of doors,
a good many such doors which we
ourselves know nothing about as yet
and which open up independently
from us and against us-or, will IL
be the proletarian State? Who will
get there frst7 VIII the capitalists
have time to organize and CONSOLE
date their gains, In that case. they
will drive out the Compunists-
and then there will be nothing
more to talk about. Let us face the
thing soberly. Or. will the prole-
tarian nate be able, with the sup
port of the peasantry. TO hold the
capitalists firmly in hand so as TO
direct capitalism along the channels
laid down by the state and to create
a capitalism subservient TO tho in
gterests OF the slater
Thu 6o1shevist newspapers claim
that, very beneficial effects have al
ready followed the change of policy
vith respect to compensation or
fsbos They give numerous specific
reports Of Increased production,
which they ascrfbe directly to pay
nnent according 70 productivity ana
effictency. The production of coal
in the Donetz Basin for September
was reported as double that for
July, Ind that for october as dou-
Bile chat for September. In a leading
brick plant the number Of working
hours actually put in by the wage
earners In July was stated to be
11o,00oand the output 2o1 900 bricks.
By September, with little increase
in ths number Of employees on the
lists. the number of hours had in
creased to 311.0oo and the output to
$4,000 bricks.
VIII Study Lessees-
1T would appear from the Boil
Ehevist press that comparatively few
Important Industrial plants have yet
been leased. though a good many
small establishments have been
leased to former owners. to associa-
tions of workingmen, OF to others.
Perhaps one reason for the COM
psrsttvely limited extent of leasing
is the express statement of certain
communist leaders that the regime
is to be considered only temporary.
Eveh Lenin, who seems to contem-
plate a longer duration of the new
capitalism than some other leaders
said on October IS:
Alongside with you, you will
find' foreign and home capitalists
concessionaires and lessees. They
Will knock out 100 per cent divr-
dends; they will get rich off you.
let them, but you will learn their
methods of management from them,
and only then will you be able to
build up a Communist Republic.
Another commissar stated at
about the same time that 1t was the
duty OF every Provincial Economic
Coupoil to assign representatives to
make systematic observations of tn.
activities of the lessees with a view
to learning their methods.
''knbther factor which may cause
hesitation in taking leases is the
fear,of labor disturbances. The off,
cialf organ of the Russian Central
Soviet of Trade Unions stated that
in case of strikes in privately
leased enterprises the Communist
party will be on the side Of the
workers. where as in the cases of
enterprises which the Soviet author
ities continue to operate. the atti-
tude toward strikes will be sharply
prohibitive.'
trh'ahs "tt tohCc>sioh.
There have as yet been almost
no actual concessions to foreign en-
terprfsesa Certain OF the Bolshevist
leaders have, indeed, expressed the
opinion that little would be accom-
plished in this direction. The Russo
Asiztic Consolidated Gtd.), an Eng
lish concern which formerly owned
extensive mining and manufactur-
ing enterprises in Western Siberia,
has recently published a statement
that after extended negotiations lit
had declined to enter into agree
ment with the Communist authori-
ties for the resumption of operation
because the terms imposed, which
are set forth in detail in the state
ment, were such as to make profit
able. operation impossible.
Il. Martens, former Soviet repre-
sentative to the United States, in a
statement published in Moscow on
November Q, announced that the
first. concession to a foreign COM
pany on the territory of the Russian
Soviet Republic may now be con-
sidered an accomplished fact this
being a concession to an American
syndicate for the operation of GER
tain asbestos mines.
The most serious economic ques-