The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1923-08-31
PROFTTEER MUST PAY 100 TIMES
AS MUCH RENT IN GOLD AS
WORKER,
GOVERNMENT OWNS ALL BUILD
INGS.

Moscow.-A ppofiteer, or man who
lives without working, by specializing,
may be charged in Russia one hunderd
times as much rent for his room as a
lOw-paid worker would pay. In ex-
ceptional cases it may evens amount to
two or three hundred times as much.
The new housing regulations put
the payment of rent on gold basis.
This was done because past rents,
based on rubles, went down so fast
that by the end of the year they were
not worth collecting and had to be
supplemented by all sorts of extra
charges. 1t is not expected that the
new rents will be enough yet to pay
for the upkeep of the houses in really
good condition, but they will provide
major repairs to the buildings.
The ultimate ownership of houses
rests with the municipal government,
which gives out its nights under var
ious terms to different workers COM
munes or to the house committees in
large mixed apartment houses. These
committees collect the rents and use
them for repairs and upkeep. The re-
cent housing code prescribes the rates
which may be charged in city dwell
ings.
A square sajene (seven feet square)
is taken as the unit of measurement.
For every square sajene a man Giving
with working" may pay from 3 to 10
gold rubles monthly (S1.50 to $50.
For the same space, man of the lib
eral professions pays from so cents
to 81 month
Workers are divided on the basis
of their wages. Men getting less than
SIS a month wages pay only to 1C
cents q square sajene, while workers
/ getting over $50 a month, of whom
there are now an increasing number
pay so cents for the same space.
People who take large apartments
for a small number of people are pen
allied in another way. Every person
! is allowed square sajenes for each
member of his family, on the above
! basis Of rent; but any space above
/ this minimum must be paid for al
double the rates. Hence, a worker
with a family of five, living in a fiat
which had 500 square feet Of fOo1
! space, would pay only so cents {
month for all this space; while a prof
iteer, occupying the space alone, might
paw as much as $50.
The unemployed and the families Of
red soldiers and other persons on the
list of public help, may get rent free
and can in no case be charged more
than the minimum rate.
The "nepman" or prOfiteer has {
hard time in Russia I discussed the
question of the fairness of these rents
with several Russians and received
the following answer:
"All countries discriminate in rents
against some class. Usually it is the
working class The big tenementS
/ crowded with workers families-thest
/ pay the highest rent on the actua
building investment Of any property
son ships, it is the third class thai
pays the real expense of the boat
The men forced to travel that way
pay much higher in proportion to the
space they get than the first class
! passengers do. The luxurious Pull
man sleeping cars are carried at a loss
on the American railroads, While the
fares of the workers, travelling crowd
ed In ordinary cars, make up the loss
"In Russia we have reversed this
we also discriminate, but against tn;
people who have the most money"
According to this basis, the Russian
profiteer pays even higher for a bare
unfinished room, than foreignel
pays for hotel room at the best no
tells in town. The Peasants House i!
one Of the outstanding examines o.
fine hotel run at a basis of less thar
10 cents a bed for peasant delegation
sent to the city. The variations IL
the rentals, supplemented by simila,
variations in the cost of heat, igh
and water, make possible this discrim
ination in favor of peasants ant
workers.