The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-07-12
Moscow, June 6, 1880.

- >~~A ~'Ae~AAs
Continue where l left off in my
last letter.
Now a few remarks about re.
ligion and the church. When we
left the States this question was
in full swing; and so when we ar.
rived here every one of US ran to
the churches. There are very many
churches here, some very beautifully
designed and well-constructed (there
are 1900 churches in Moscow alone)
They are very spacious, too, but we
all found them empty.
The priests still sell the amounted
oil, but there are few to buy it
The churches are attended only by
beggars, old women, and a few ole
men. Imagine Carnegie Hall at.
tended by SO people and you have q
good idea of how the attendance in
the churches is here. Any talk
about not permitting prayers is plab,
humbug.
l have seen old men and old won.
en- stopping in front of churches
crossing themselves and mumbling
their prayers and then walking on
| have seen priests at the head OF
funerals-true, not many, but / have
seen them. l have seen priests in
the streets and they sure do make
an ugly sight. They are old, long
haired and bearded; they wear big
hats and long coats. They are tat.
tered, unshorn and dirty. The work,
ers don't pay any attention to them
When one tries to talk to a work.
er about religion, he just laughs
There is nothing to talk about. He
does not believe and he refuses tt
be philosophical about it too. l car
readily understand this attitude
Here the church and religion were
still shrouded with the most back
ward superstitions and contrary t.
the most elementary principles Of
science. 1t did not take long fol
the worker to realize that. He there
fore logically had to abandon the
church and religion. Church anc
religion were one to him, so he
dropped both.
You can't find here people who
like so many Americans, have aban
doned the church and still embrace
religion "as an ethic" or a "phil
osCphy." To the Russians, religion
was neither ethics nor philosophy
To those in America who yell
against the turning of churches int
workers clubs and storehouses, LEI
them come here and witness tn;
empty churches and they will shut
up-perhaps.
The old life is thoroughly revo
lutionized Old beliefs, habits, Gus
toms, manners, laws, ETC., are cas-
overheard. mother example of Thu
which also shows the potentialitie'
of the proletariat after the revolu
tio.l is the five-day week. Here il
a complete revolution in itself. Ye
it works without hitch. The work
ers have accepted it, adopted it ant
in short period made it part ant
parcel of their life.
In America, it is hard to conceiv,
how all this works. I know that ever
many Communists wonder at it, ant
do not understand it. This is nj
wonder. l was told that when tn,
Party members here were first toll
of the plan, some of them went hom
wondering, too. And so they wer,
called to another meeting and i
was explained tc them again.
But to the workers it is simple
Russian literature tells US of tn
Russians as a people who compla;l
much. Well, | heard various com
plants, but l have not heard anyon
complain about the four days o
work and the fifth day rest. Il
fact, I venture to say that the work
ers like it so much that they woul,
stubbornly oppose return to tn
oil seven-day week with the regula
Sabbath day.
Now the five-day week is beinl
pushed rapidly into the villages. AL
collectives, communes and Sovie
farms are on that basis. When yo1
realize that millions of peasants ar
in these collectives, you can ais
realize the stride the revolution i
making among the most backwar
sections of the peasantry.
Not long before l left the States
remember how Abramovich tn
socialist" wrote to the New Yor
Times that there are ten million I'm
employed in the Soviet Union.