The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-07-23

mately during my nine months study IN Tue
medical and sanitary survey made for the puf-
nose of gauging the work of relief planned ~
the Joint Distribution committee.
People Unhappy.
The soviet system works, but not perlecIi!'
And the people are not happy. ,na,,a.r;.l
Civilians in cities, 1ncludlng lhdusIllei
workers are the real sufferers under the Sys-
TEN. They actually haven't got enough 1000
The people generally are not happy because
they are in a mental chaos Ihey oon hho"
what is going to happen next.
Local governments are constantly changing
The city of Kiev had 10 different governments
in two years -. g
The national government shows no signs OF
breaking down-in spite of three great evils,
the hopeless condition OF railroad transporta-
ton, the lack of machinery, and the conflict
between the cities and the rurai distriets III
which the latter have by far the best OF It.
Government Trust.
Soviet Russia resembles huge government
trust Trotzky has applied American methods.
Successful? Well partly. l saw soviet Russia
as social laboratory, an experiment IN
humanity. .
They have abolished money as a medium
of exchange. Everybody must work the gov
eminent pays the individual in food and cloth
ing and living quarters.
The middeman is out of luck. He has been
abolished. Peasants must give share OF the
produce they grow to the government That
is the only tax.
Everybody is paid alike-after the soldiers
and the children have been taken care Of
mean that the skilled worker gets no more
than the unskilied worker. Manual labor,
tai labor.
The ironworker gets more than the writer.
Recently, however, under protest from the lat
ter, special ration was devised for the literary
worker. Now he gets bit extra in chocolate.
cocoa, condensed milk, nuts and fruit-brain
food.
Each person is registered by his employer.
With the latter's endorsement on his registra-
ton card, he gets two living cards-one for
food and one for clothing. The employer sends
a requisition once every two weeks to the ra-
ton depots-armories turned into grocery and
clothing stores. A truck delivers the supplies
for the entire force. Each person carries his
allotment home. Even theatre tickets are
The civilian food ration is insufficient
only about Is per cent of the food value essen
tial to health and strength. This is because
the peasants first skim the cream" and after
the produce reaches the city the richest part
OF it is again skinned off for the soldiers and
children.
The ratiops-for-work system operates to the
workers advantage in some ways. hat,
drawn by ration card, would be on cost basis
OF only cents in American moRey-speakiBg
reatj3 eiy-w lille in the open market it would
cost 50 IN the value of food that would be de-
maaded BY snepkeeper in exchange for it,
The clothing YOU can draw on ration de-
Ponds upon the supply available The same
is true of houses. a city is divided into dis
tricts and all the houses and flats listed by
rooms. First come first served is the rule
You pay no rent
No Utility Quarrels.
There are telephones but the service is
poor. There is electric light and steam heat
and no public utility quarrels
Hotels exist for those whose business neees-
states travelling. The hotel Superintendent"
draws rations for guests as an employer does
for workers.
Russia has plenty of motor trucks and auto
seized from Wrangel, Kol-
chak and DeBskin. They tell you with smile
that they got them from England. Plenty
Of gasoline tas---issued as fations. When they
seized Baku they got SO much it spilled out OF
the reservoir tanks.
Sick people are cared for by the state. If
you are too sick to work you get physicians
certificate and you get invaiids ration.
Workers can't strike. Unions are a part of
he state. An individual or group that strikes
doesn't eat Promotion isn't a lure in the
sense of more wages; promotion means more
responsibility, more authority, greater respect.
1t stimulates the pride, not the poeketboek
The government can and does assign work
ers to certain tasks. If they could get maehin-
ery-the crying need OF RHssia-they claim
hey could rehabilitate their brokea-down in
1ustry in year. l believe they could. The
same is true of the railroads. They need rails
chiefly. So far they have obtained little from
outside. The British trade treaty is a mere
paper agreement.
/ found the people were not happy. Bat 1
,hink they are loyal Maxim Gorky explained
t like this: Russia is like ship in a storm
vou can't leave the ship!"
Copyright, 1921, by Newspaper Enterprise)
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