The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-09-12

house where l received hot bath
and shampoo. Then l was present
ed with the garment which was to
be my most comfortable friend for
the rainy weather which unfortunate
ly followed, large cloak of warm
fuzzy material which you wear
around the park after taking your
various baths.
The dinner bell rang and we all
trooped into the dining room, which
consisted of large veranda support
ed by great white pillars and closed
on three sides. On the fourth it looks
out towards avenues Of tall trees, I'M
der which you stroll after lunch or
sit on benches. There were seven long
tables in the dining veranda, each
with a different diet A doctor who
was specialist on diets arranged the
menus; and if you needed more milk
or more acid or more or less of any
thing in your system, you just sat at
the proper table and got it.
There are 225 guests at Sverdlov,
which is only one of a dozen OF more
sanitariums opened this summer by
the Sostrak. 1t must not be suppos-
ed that these are all the sanitariums
for workers. There are many more.
Five minutes walk away is a special
sanitarium owned by the Oil Workers
of Baku; they have quite a number
of sanitariums and vacation houses
in these mountains. For Baku has a
hellish climate in summer, and these
are the nearest mountains; so large
numbers of them come here for their
vacations.
Unions Have Sanitarlums.
Other large unions have also their
own sanitariums and vacation hous-
es; for the first two night of my stay
in Essentuki stopped at the House
of the Trade Union of Educational
Workers, the union 1 belong to. We
have half dozen vacation houses of
our own scattered around Russia. So
have all the other organizations. But
the Sostrak is the special organiza-
ton of the Department of Labor,
which care for the health of workers.
1t is supported by special taxes on
all employers; q myself, for instance,
have to pay into it an amount equal
to 16 per cent of my interpreters s,
salary because am to that extent an
employer Of labor. But 1t is admin
istared by the Department of Labor
in close cooperation with the unions.
Next to me at table sits a worker
from Siberia. He makes felt boots,
He is here because of rheumatism &C.
qgired by standing many weeks in
water during the civil war, and by
keeping on standing in water during
his work. asked him why he didn't
wear rubber boots if the place where
he worked was so wet. He laughed.
Hope for Better Technique.
ION Monday when they heat up"
be said, ut is so full of steam that
you can't see the next worker six
feet away. II you changed your I'M
derwear fifty times it would be al
ways wet. 1t drips into any boots
you have and makes pools Of water
inside. Some day Wen get better
technical methods, and the factory
will be improved; but Russia is still
poor; we haven't the money for prop.
or technique"
But he told me that he liked max
ing boots, in spite Of the fact that he
knew II gave him rheumatism. II
changed once to typographical work."
he said, but didn't like 1t. want
ed to get back to the felt boot fac
tory"
who'll Do The Dirty Work7v
"Why?" I asked. He looked a trife
nonplused for a moment and then re-
piled that he supposed II was be-
cause he was skilled at the job +. :.
There you have the answer to a lot
OF fake questions that have been
raised for generations about the pos
sibility Of socislistic work. who will