The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-08-25

s's 90
could and the more extreme wished abolish only prof
leerlng mddleman and provision merchant the So
the to preach holy against principle of Co-opera
operation had better and longer of social service
than had Communism itself could be abolished by
and could by degrees And the question
as to how this should be done divided Communists
soatons and those who wished new
obligatory communal organizations
Already decree of April 1918 an attack was made ON
the character and constitution of the decreen
that they must supply ponmembers in the in the
less provided with to sell food must also
be supplied by the cooperatves This task at
tempted by the cooperaves satisfaction of the
Communists who complained that only supplied
the rich farmers who could give exchange and would
not give 10 the starving aboers This curious charac
tersc criticism Illustrative both strength and
weakness OF War Communism The decree November 2nd
1910 We long step further IN requiring that everyone
be member either of of co-opera-
tive AS the former scarcely existed this practically
eryone into cooperative
Cooperation Communicated
Meantime the persistence of certain cooperatves
Communism enabled the Government to it's final
stroke The cooperative societies persent
by Communist agtators. By December 1918 Communist
majority secured the Congress
ers Co-operayes and the Supreme by
cree OF november SOth restricted voting in cooperative affairs
to the workers thus DISTINGUISHING the greater
m opponents Thereupon followed the main decree
OF March ZOth 1919 which pofessed Ito develop
complete the cooperative organization being only
available apparatus proved by of experience
matter of fact the decree radically changed principle
and the purpose of the cooperaves by converting societies
were Governmental organizations supplying
ers shareholders but the public Cooperation originally
the voluntary association of producers their
mutual benefit and profit The principle of the decree
distribution of the whole country municipal
communes in which all the inhabitants compulsory
rolled in their capacity The original co-opera
tive employees and
officials and continued managing the
far could be adapted to the
ing Cooperation Commssariat Ratonng the Com
munsts also much influenced by of the
made of certain of the coopeaves foreign nerventonss
during the critical years of the Civil Wars 1919-2O21
co-operatives and Intervention
The Entente policy of trying make co-opera-
uves for restoring trade relations with looked
enough appeared to be than attempt
commerce with Russia without the dsagreeabe diplomatic pre-
but transactions with real Russian co-operaes only
have been realized through ommissarats
nomc control Of external eventually
consumption from the Government authority organizations
in those regions occupied by reaconary armies the coopera
ves had served Intermediates supplying
But there no good in going into the darand longd
intrgues by which in the end British and British capital
found its into the pockets of reaconary generals
however, satisfactory that last year the
operatives although they had received these consgn
ments which had indeed been used by their
yading them with British Governmental support nevertheless
honored the debt to their British colleagues and repaid
100000 When intervention and Civil War stopped the
ment the danger and before the New
Policy was introduced.
Cooperation Restored
Already by Of September 7th 1921 the co-opera-
tves allowed to their productive without
restriction BY other DEGREES October and November
9th they were restored their naonazed factories and
ties and given the right to extend their enterprises with
out special permission This privileged position they have
Under the New Economic Policy the co-operaves rapidly
recovered not only their old segovernng voluntary
OF the War wanted them to do on
bureaucratic lines Thus they halfway house be-
tween State and private enterprise both production and dis
ribuon and both in foreign and internal developing
retail trade In the countryside they have business advantage