The Washington times., 1931-10-19

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Moscow, the ..=|
rugged colonel
puffed away at
\ cigar-he was r,n D-.-a4
the only cigar ""'""n"
smoker the writer saw in Russia
as he outlined his views on Rus
sian-American trade. He had
just returned from Kichkas
where he and his American engi
neers are experimenting the con
struction of the $100,000,000 ny
droelectrict project on the DniepeI
River.
He observed:
Every country has the ideal
Of seIf.Sufficiency. We have
It In the United States, France
has it, Germany has it. Eng
land hasn't it because she is
q: small island nation. Instead
she maintains a fleet to keep
the sea lanes open to her. Yet
no advanced nation has at
tanned complete self-sufficiency.
Gas the ideal applies to Soviet
Russia, my answer is: Look
at Stalingrad.' Now there is
q great tractor plant, the build.
ing of which was supervised
by a capable American engi-
neer. 1t was equipped almost
entirely with American ma
chinery. At one time there
were as many as 800 American
engineers, technical advisers
and skilled wOrkmcn hired at
the .pIc yet it is far behind
in ifs quota of tractors.
Troubles Only Beginning
"The Russians don't realize
that when they have built a
huge factory their troubles have
Just begun. It will be eight
or ten years before Stalingrad
will produce good quality trac-
tors in large numbers. BY that
time they will be as Out-Of-date
as q 1928 automobile is today.
1--WE in America will have
discovered new materials and
worked out new inventions.
The Russians can't exject to
learn all there is to know
about tractor construction in
eight Of ten years. They
haven't the ingenuity to keep
up with us, and they are build
ing in such large units that
they won't be able to change
quickly their large scale pro-
"Even IL they train men in
o few plants these same plants
win not be able to get the ma
teriaIs they need. With the
rapid increases in Russian
population there will be an un-
der supply Of goods for a long
time to come.
Individual Rewards
cat present the planned econ
Omy of the government is
making gigantic strides in the
basic industries, but the cost
il terrific. The leaders are
pioneering boldly and are will
ing to makes mistakes as long
as they can learn from expert
ence. But as the planned
economy raises the standard Of
living Of the people the people
in turn will demand more COM
forts and Iuxuries.
''The leaders have already
compromised with pure Marx.
ian communism. They will be
compelled by the workers to
continue the compromises. Pri-
vate initiative and individual
rewards are bound to come
more and more into the pic
ture.
MANY people claim to see a
trade menace in, Soviet Rus
sia. No thinking person can
visit Russia and see q trade
menace that is not visible in
every other great country.
These people have q new slant
ON life. They are trying to
work out a philosophy that has
never been tried before on such
Q large scale. / think they
win discover that bureaucracy
cannot compete with private
initiative in all lines of pro-
ductiOn. Where there is no
inspiration and no rewards the
bulk Of the people will not
work.
People Will Demand More
"The government here must
continue to compromise with
pure communism because hu.
man nature will mot permit q
person to be stable unless that
person owns something. PeO.
pie may be cOntented in an
apartment for a while, but in
o short time they will want
to know Why they cannot have
something permanent for their
Own.
AS II has been in Russia a
workman had little or nothing
to lose by changing jobs. The
labor turnover on new and old
work has been tremendous.
Now the government is seeing
the benefit Of having men stay