The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-08-24
Class Friction Looms Again
 In Russia
By ANNA LOUISE STRONG International News Service Stan
 

Correspondent
 Moscow Aug. 24.-'.The oJd c1o.. struggle begins again in Moscow now that we have the new economic pol icys said Me1nichanski, Chairman of the Moscow Trade Unions "The man sitting in that chair as you entered was a factory boss, and was telling him how to arbitrate his trouhles with his union-
 "As long as the government ran the industries and the workers ran the government there wasn't any class struggle. But now we have it all bargaining wage scales, arbitration even strikes and picketing.'
 "Just like the United Statese" T asked, for I knew that Melnichanslsi Melcher-had lived and worked six years in New York as a. member of the Brotherhood of Metal Work CTS. He knows unions in America and Russia, also. Now he sits in Moscow. in the beautiful buiIdine which was once a noble mems e1,,b and is now the Hall of Unions. T passed through rooms upholstered in silk and velvet to reach his simple. comfortable office, as brisk and busi. United States.
 Americans Aid Unions
 Russia has thousands of these ..re turned Americans, and she owes them a great debt. They bring American ization. American speed. They are organizing Russia's industry. labor unions and even parts of Russia's gov ernment. You can tell them when and orderly punctuality.
 Not like the old United States quite" smiled Melnichanski "In the United States we always expected the government. to take the side of the 1<& for there are settled here by law al ready. Eight-hour day-the factory inspector can put a man in jail who violates that. He does so every little while. We have safety regulations and working conditions and minimum wage established by law. But, of course. we have to have a bigger wage that that hare minimum, which will scarcely buy bread-so there our con tests start-mostly over wage scales. course, in government industries these things get settled by arbitration though arbitration is voluntary, not compulsory. But in the private shops remember was in, a meta1-working shop, and the boss brought in some scabs. Not professional scabs, for there are no such creatures in Rus sla; but simple village boys who didn't know a thing about labor or ganization. Our pickets simply went over to them and explained what the strike was about. It didn't take long to convince these boys. When the strike was settled the boss had to pay us the eight days wages we lost in striking.'
 Organization Differs
 Are your unions organized the same way as in American" I asked
 We have industrial unions here instead of craft unions. if that is what you mean. Instead of the hundreds of unions there were in New York there are only 21 in Moscow province, with S00,000 members. The textile workers lead, with over 100000
 That wasn't what meant" I said We hear outside that membership in unions is compulsory and that unions are governed from above-in short, that you are a sort of labor army"
 'The unions are governed by their members" said Melnichanski, and membership is voluntary. It has never been what you could really call compulsory in the sense of a decree compelling men to have 'cleanings' to get rid of members who were not real workers. Lots of bourgeois joined the unions to get the privileges of work CTS and had to be weeded out every little while"
 How about unemployment? ] asked in closing.
 Lots of 1t in Moscow" said Me1ni- chanski, ''from demobilization, reor- SeaHA1elL1oI oA lIlouSIFy ana the fan- inc. We are flooded with unskilIed workers. But no skilled mechanics are out of work.
 ''Then, of course, we have unem- p1oyment benefit-enough municipa. work, so that man need not starve And our law gives free to the unem- ployed all municipal services, such as rent and light and heat. We hope that good harvest will absorb some of these people, there are 37,0OO o1 them this month."