The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-04-24
BY JOSEPH STAIN.
(Continued)

Sixth question: How shall we Judge the
withdrawal of portion OF the peasants from
the collective farms?
Answer: The withdrawal of a portion OF the
neasants means that of late certain number
of unstable collective farms arose, winch are
now being purged of the non-perseverng ele-
ments That means that the inflated collective
farms are disappearing, while the stable re-
main and are being consolidated. l think that
that is perfectly normal phenomenon. Some
comrades however, fall into despair IN lace
of this phenomenon and cling franticaly to the
artificially exaggerated percentages. Others re-
ioice and prophecy the collapse of the collec-
tive farm movement. Both, however, are great
" mistaken. They are far from having any
Marxist understanding of the nature OF col
lective economy. The collective farms are be-
ing abandoned in the first place by the So
called "dead souls" This does not mean real
abandonment but an exposure of emptiness
Have we any use for dead souls? Of course not
I believe that the North Caucasians and the
Ukrainians are acting quite correctly when
they dissolve the collective farms with dead
souls and organize really living and stable col
lective farms. The collective farm movement
only gains thereby.
Secondly. alien elements, directly hostile to
our cause are leaving the collective farms 1t
is obvious that the more rapidly such elements
are elected, the better for the collective farm
movement.
Finally, certain vacilating elements, which
can be described neither as alien elements nor
as dead souls, are leaving the collective farms.
They are the same peasants whom today we
are still unable to convince of the Brightness
of our cause, but whom we shall certainly con-
vince tomorrow. The withdrawal of such peas
ants represents serious, even if only tenn
porary, loss for the collective farm movement.
Therefore the struggle for the vacillatlng ele-
ments of the collective farms is now one of
the most urgent tasks of the collective farm
movement
Thus it is to be seen that the withdrawal of
a part of the peasants from the collective
farms represents not only negative pheno-
menon Insofar as these Withdrawals from the
collective farms frees them from dead souls
and Immediately alien elements it represents
salutary process and consolidates the collective
farms.
A month ago we reckoned to have more
than so per cent collectivization in the corn
districts. 1t is now clear that this figure, If
one. keeps in mind the real and stable collective
farms, was obviously exaggerated. If the col
lective farm movement, after the withdrawal
of portion of the peasantry, is stabilized at
the figure of 40 per cent coectivization in
the corn districts-and that is certainly to be
attained-then that will be an enormous sue
cess for the collective farm movement at the
given moment l take the average figure for
the corn districts which have been colectivized
up to 80 and 80 per cent. DO per cent collec-
Invitation in the corn districts means that we
shall be able to double the original Five Year
plan ofc hy Snrinp 1890
Who will deny the decisive character of this
historical achievement of the socialist develop
ment of the Soviet Union?
Seventh question: Are the vacllating peas
ants acting rightly when they leave the collec-
tive farms?
Answer: No. By leaving the collective
farms they acting contrary to their own
interests, for it is only the collective farms
that offer the peasants way out of misery
and ignorance. By leaving the collective farms
they place themselves in worse position, for
they deprive themselves of those privileges
and advantages which the Soviet Power grants
to the collective farms. The fact that there
are mistakes and distortions in the collective
farms is no reason for withdrawing from them
The mistakes must be made good with united
forces, by remaining in the collective farms.
1t is all the easier to make good these mistakes
as the Soviet power is fighting against them
with all its forces. Lenin said:
''The system of small farms in the pro-
duction of commodities is not capable of
freeing humanity from the misery of the
masses and from their suppression" Vol
ume XVI, part 1, page 49)
ut is impossible to escape from misery
by means of the small farm" Volume
XVI. page 37S)
'If we stick in the old manner to the small
farm, even as free citizens on free soil, new
srtheless we are threatened with inevitable
ruin" Volume XVI, part 1, page 1897
"Only with the aid of common, comradely
work can we emerge from the blind alley
into which the imperiaist war has driven
u.s." Volume XVI, page 375)
"One must 60 over to common cultivation
of the soil on the big model farms, other
wise We cannot emerge from that devasta-
ton, that desperate situation in which Rus
STA is at present" Volume XVI, part /,
page 1897
What does all this mean? 1t means that
the collective farms are the only means which