The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-12-11
The Origin and Personal Composition
of the United Sabotage Centers.


of the United Sabotage Centers.
The chief person in the centre of the coun-
ter-reVolutionary organizations, Leonid Kon-
stantinovitch Ramzin, professor at the Mos
COW Technical College, in statement writ
ten with his own hand on September 21st.
1890 states:
Il admit being guilty of taking part in the
nter-revolutionary organization Engineer
! ing Centre Cor Council of the United En-
cheering OrganizationsO, and now cease
finally and irrevocably, all struggle against
the Soviet power; lay down my arms once
and for all, and repent sincerely and openly
of the crimes which have committed.
80 far as I am able to Judge from dis
| connected information, the origin of the En-
! glneering Centre may be taken to have been
IN 1926. l do not possess any more exacter
or detailed knowledge on this question. as I
did not begin to participate in the Engineers
ing Centre until the beginning of 1927
The originator, inspirer, and most impor-
tant organizer in the creation of the En-
| gineering Centre is P. A Paltchinsky. and his
most active collaborators have been L. c.
Rabinovitch and I. L Federovitch" y
| The defendant Rarzin describes the most
| important prerequisites for the origin of the
Engineering Centre" in its original form as
follows:
/ a. "One of the initial causes of the crea-
ton of the counter-revolutionary organiza-
ton was, above all, the political trends exist
ing among the old engineers, varying as a
rule from the convictions of the 'constitu-
| tlonal democrat to the convictions of the
extreme monarchist Right Hence, the older
engineers did not, as rule, turn politically
to the Soviet regime and adopt the prin-
ciples of the Communist Party.
b. These political trends were further
strengthened by the difference in the work.
ing and living conditions of the engineers
| before and after the October revolution; the
natural miStrust felt by the Soviet power
| towards the engineers, the politics.. ard So
| clal control exercised over their work de-
| prIyed the engineers of that commanding
position held by many of them before the
revolution, and besides this the manner and
standard of living of the leading engineers
were greatly WorSened after the revolution
g The influence of the former factory
owners upon the old engineers, who possessed
and at times maintained contact with these
| former owners was again a constant stimulus
Tor the struggle against the Soviet regime,
struggle aiming at the restoration of the
undertakings to their former owners or the
payment of compensation for their expropria-
ton
d. The commencement of the transition
from the New Economic Policy to the socialist
offensive was again an additional cause stim-
ulating active measures against the Soviet
power as the hopes of gradual merging
and increased extension of the NEP we're
y Palchinsky was sentenced by the COM
mittee of the OGPU for participation in the
sabotage in the gold and platinum industry,
and shot Federovitch was sentenced for
sabotage activities in the coal industry. Rabbi
novitch was sentenced to six years imprison-
ment at the Shakhty trial, and to further
ten years in connection with the gold and
platinum sabotage affair. These two last
have not been called to account in the pres
ent affair, since they have not taken part in
the work of the counter-revolutionar or
ganization during the last two years, and the
worst crimes have been committed during
this period