The daily worker., 1930-05-24
Soviet Spurs
Inventions OF
Shot Workers


of inventions by workers in the
Soviet Union is a smashing blow at
all the parasites and lackeys who
argue that Socialism destroys all
initiative. Many workers still be-
lieve that the boss class is neces-
sary because they supply the brains
and keep the wheels of industry
going. But the building of social
ism in the Soviet Union by the eff
forts of the workers themselves
knocks the bottom out of this propa-
ganda of the bosses.
In this country, it is useless for
the worker to invent anything, be-
cause he is either tricked out of it
by the big corporations, or he hasn't
the money to develop the invention
that he has made. And when it is
developed, it only serves to increase
the exploitation of the working
class and the profits of the bosses.
In addition, there are not enough
markets to absorb all that the capi-
talist-owned machinery can produce
today-that is, with profit to the
capitalists, so that instead of allow
ing the forces of production to de-
velop to their fullest extent, capi-
talism now strongly tends to limit
and hinder their development.
In the Soviet Union, on the other
hand, where the workers run the in
dustries for their own benefit and
not for the benefit of a class of
parasites, the revolution has re-
leased a vast creative energy with
in the widest sections of the work
ing class. Inventions ard the de-
velopment of the productive forces
are encouraged and stimulated.
AS matter of fact, inventions by
workers on the job in Soviet fac
tories have become 50 numerous
that in some factories almost every
worker is busy working out some
new process Ok tool. The Briansk
Locomotive factory, "Krasnye Prof
intern" offers one of the most strik-
ing examples. During 1928, the
workers Of this factory submitted
over d thousand inventions, and
those that were accepted saved the
plant 328,000 rubles in operating
economies. Not a single process
Of production, not single detail of
the works escaped the eager atten-
tion of the worker inventors" ac-
cording to a report in tie May issue
of the "Soviet Union Review"
During last October alone four
hundred proposals were submitted
to the administration by the work.
ers, So great is the flood of in
ventions by the workers in this fac
tory that the department to which
the inventions are referred could
not hanlle all of them. and three
special commissions had to be or
ganized to consider the different
types of inventions, and also a spe-
cial bureau to examine new pro-
posals. OF the $4,000 workers in
this factory, 600 have become in
ventors. :. =. A system of prem
iums for inventions has been estab-
lished and during the past year
10000 rubles have been paid out to
workers in the form of premiums. :"
The Press" factory in Moscow
which makes different kinds of tin
ware, is another example. Here,
tens of thousands of rubles have
been saved by the workers inven-
tions and the whole process of pro-
duction has been entirely reorgan-
lied. AS result, many processes
formerly done by hand are now
done automatically by machinery.
One workers invention of method
of automatic fabrication increased
the output of one press from $4,000
to 10000 articles day. Auto
matte methods of cutting and stamp
ing invented by worker increased
the output of another machine from
$4,000 to 10000.
These two factories, we are told
in the report, are no exception. "The
Five-Year Plan and the competition
between the different factories and
different sections within a factory,
has given a tremendous impetus to
creative activity among the work
ers, which is being supported in
every way by the factory admins
trations and the government"