Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-29

States, the Russian leaders find the
country empty of trained workers.
The revolution itself had the effect OF
driving out of Russia most of the trained
specialists. The story of Jack Cade's
rebellion in England centuries ago is re-
called to some extent by the effects OF
the Russian revolution. Cade and his
followers were peasants, little more than
oerfs. AS they marched on London in the
course of their uprising they captured
many persons. Each man captured
would be brought before Cade for
examination. He would ask the man II
he could read and write. II the man
answered that he could, that proved
his death sentence. The insurrectionists
wanted no educated people in their
ranks. Education carried with 1t that
faint of superiority against which the
workers had risen. Precisely the same
thing happened in Russia, II man
were a skilled technician, had any sort
of special training, he was suspected OF
sympathy with the old order and either
killed or driven into exile.
Technlcians and Engineers Needed.
The five-year plan has changed that
attitude The new Russian leaders have
discovered that reading and writing are
not shameful accomplishments and that
arithmetic may be tolerated: in fact,
must be, If Russia is to build factories
to enable her to compete with the rest
of the world or even survive as q self
reliant nation.
At the start of the five-year plan
the leaders rather grudgingly concluded
that $4,000 technicianS and engineers
would be required. This was raised to
Sc, 900, then to $4,000, then to 100000,
and the latest estimate at this stage
of the working out of the program calls
for It's, 900 trained technicians in adj
dition to the thousands already at work.
But, because of that decade during
which learning was despised and work
neglected, Russia has no fresh crop
OF technicianS of her own breed coming
on. The older ones have been driven
into exile or are dead. Large numbers
have been imported from the United
States, Germany and other countries,
but they are not enough.
So another step back toward the
capitalist system has been taken and
Russia now Is frantically trying to
recapture technical skill through educa-
ton. One of the first obstacles to over
come Is the lack of teachers. ConSe-
quently the training OF teachers is one
of the first items on the program.
Approximately $75,000,o00 has been
appropriated for the establishment Of
technical schools. The program for the
present. year Calls IOE ~ new SCHOOLS,
20 of which have already been opened.
Where workers have Jobs and attend
night school, their work-day Is short
ended by two hours with no reduction in
wages. Chief stress is laid on tech
nical education. The schools will pro-
vide, however, q four-month academic
course during which the students are
expected to master the classics and
acquire the heritage OF art and letters
which has been accommodating for 5000
years.
Altogether the new educational plans
call for the establishment of ITO en-
tirely new technical schools and, in
addition, rs new departments in exist
ing schools. Students are being rushed
through with as great rapidity as pos
sible in order that their knowledge can
be utilized by the state in connection
with the 1lve-year plan Of Industrial
ization. The Soviet leaders are anxious
that there be no delay in the compile
ton within the allotted five years of
the vast program of naturalization
which has been laid out.