Evening star., 1930-11-30


IN expected within five years to render
~ home cooking obsolete. They will at
least destroy the power Of the notorious
Sprimus" the one-burner oil stove which has
furnished material for unending ridicule on the
part of Soviet and foreign critics
To American housewives with their roomy,
modern kitchens, socialized cooking may not
seem very desirable, although American fam
Tlies "eat out" much more than formerly.
But in Russias crowded cities, whole families
live in one or two rooms where they prepare
their meals. or several families use ones COM
munity kitchen. II a dozen families occupy one
nat, then q dozen one-burner kerosene stoves
stand on the rarely-uSed brick oven In the
community kitchen. Housewives and maids
prepare the family meals while the vicious lit
tie stoves sputter and smoke; If it is more
modern kitchen, they stand in line waiting for
places on the four-burner gas range Perhaps
each of the women has already stood in other
lines for hours that day in order to buy the
products necessary for the meal.
Life in Moscow is just one line-or queue
after another-queues to board a street car,
and to buy galoshes, butter and vodka, and
queues at the registry offices to get married
and divorced. 1 have noticed that a con-
tented expression settles down on the face of q
Muscovite when he takes his place in line, as
II to say: ''Wel, here am, waiting along with
the rest; don't need to worry-my turn win
come some time!"
NOTHING win have q more practical effect
in dissolvng queues than public dining
rooms, since they will eliminate the necessity
Of individual marketing.
The makeshift Of communal life to be found
In the usual community kitchen has been
created not 50 much as matter of principle
as by the lack OF housing space and equipment;
there is the same grim necessity, perhaps, be-
hind the avowed principle of sex equality and
economic independence for women.
Women are needed to help carry out the
rapid industrialization of the country, and
leaders say that women cannot do justice to
their social work" If they have the double
burden at home. Hence the government has
from the first been bending its efforts toward
the abolition of private cooking and house,
keeping, by opening public dining rooms for
workers. and day nurseries for their children
And the latest and most scientific result Is
the kitchen factory
- The Peoples Commissariat of Food, known
graphically as 'Narpeet," has an important role
to play in the execution of the stupendous five
year plan by which the Soviet government
hopes to induStriaize Russia by 1884. Mar
peet" has for this purpose budget of ,70o,-
600. 600 rubleS-almoSt a billion dollars. At the
end Of the fiveyear period, "Narpeet" is pledged
to feed daily rs per cent Of the workers and
50 per cent Of their families in public eating
places, preparing a total of SO, 600, 900 day!
These ambitious builders Of a new society
admit that the greatest drawback to the carry
ing out Of their program, next to the shortage
OF food. is the shortage Of trained cooks; they
have only 5000 at present. But schools have
already been opened to train culinary en-
gineers"
nRECTORS Of kitchen factories are the
instructors. The sum allotted to the
training of cooks Is quoted at 20,0 900 900 rubes
and already more than 10000 persons are en-
rolled in the schools of "Narpeet"
"'In order to prepare good soup for our din
ing rooms" declared one instructor, 'it is
necessary to be active In our social life.
cook who Is Indifferent to our construction pro-
gram can never feed the workers well"
So now everywhere are labor union schools
for training cooks, all no doubt first examined
for their political reliability" and their SYM
pathy for and participation In the new life.
Today. giant kitchen factories are springing
up all over the vast Soviet land.
In far-away mountain villages in the agri-
cultural collectives. and In every city-in