The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-09-15


" correspondent Of the New York
Times, is getting worried about the
conditions in the Union of Soviet
Republics.
He is troubled by "the writing on
the wall" of clumsy peasant fin
gers" demanding "Give us goods!"
Yet Duranty admits that the So
Wet officials are not as much
troubled as he by the "assertive-
ness" of the peasantry. Duranty
says:
stain and his associates
do not ignore the growing clamor
and do not, believe, really regret
the increased political conscious
ness and self-assertiveness Of the
peasants, embarrassing as it is at
the preent juncture. Considering
that they have followed policy Of
trying to educate and stimulate the
peasants, it is quite illogical to sup
pose that they are unwilling to allow
the expression Of grievances which
they know are genuine enough"
Duranty is chiefly worried be-
cause agricultural production has
rapidly increased until now it has
reached 80 per cent of pre-war at a
general cost-which is an important
point-not much higher than pre-
war. Industrial production also i'm
proved satisfactorily enough, but
which is an even more important
point-by the time the manufac-
tured goods reach the peasant their
cost is three to four times pre-war"
Thus the whole attack of the cap
italist press has changed its front.
The charge is no longer made that
Soviet rule has plunged agriculture
and industry into chaos, from which
neither can be extricated. That
was the customary song of the anti
Soviet chorus. Duranty, a capitalist
journalist friendly to the Soviet
Union, now worries because agri-
culture is improving much more
rapidly than industry, claiming that
agriculture is making demands upon
industry that the latter cannot meet.
It was previously charged that
everything was disintegrating under
Soviet rule; now it is admitted that
construction is going forward rap
idly in both city and country, the lat
ter a little bit more rapidly than the
former. The only trouble is that
the city-country teammates are not
running abreast and pulling together
to the best advantage.
But Duranty offers no encourage
ment to the czarist emigres in the
western capitals Of reaction, in
Paris, Berlin and London. Instead
of attacking Soviet rule he pictures
the peasants as saying:
Hey, you comrades there In Mos
COW, don't forget that this is our
country, too. When We were slaves
to the car or the landlord we were
forced to suffer in silence, but this is
a free country nowadays-you have
said so, and you have made II so,
and we have helped you and be-
lieved you-now we can say what
we like, and we are saying it,"
Their demand is for cheap goods,
not cheap in quality but in price,
and plenty in quantity. To answer
that demand is the task Of the city
worker, who led the revolution to
victory. How well they are sue
ceeding is shown by statistics taken
from the September, 1926 (this
month"; Russian Review, published
by the Russian Information Bureau
at Washington, d. G.
The Russian Review states:
Industrial production in the So
Wet Union registered big gains dur
ing the first half OF the Soviet fiscal
year, Oct. to April /, according to
preliminary figures of the Supreme
Economic Council. AS compared
with the same period of last year,
production increased by 44.7 per
cent.
THE average number OF workers
employed in industry increased 30.2
per cent and the average output per
worker increased Ill. Advances
were particularly marked in the
heavy industries"
Here are four big facts: "a Pro-