The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-11-09
THE WAY OUT
BY GRoPPER

ing out into the highway of victorious socialist
construction. Here, In Soviet Russia, there Is no
crisis or unemployment. Here the workers are
strenuously engaged in building up at an I'M
precedented tempo their world, the socialist
world.
Here there is no wage cutting. At the very
time when the last concentrated attack Of the
capitalist world commenced against the standard
OF living of the workers, the wages OF the most
important categories Of workers in the Soviet
Union were greatly increased. Let us take a few
examples: In the smelling industry, the wages
per shift in the various groups of factories we're
increased from $50 to 10, from $50 to $50 and
from ATS to $50 roubles. The rest Of the work
ers also received wage increases ranging from IS
to 100 per cent.
Is there way out OF the growing barbarism
of capitalism, which in the countries OF Euro
pean civilization" closes the schools, dismisses
the teacl ers wholesale and which wishes to
thrust the rising generation not only into still
greater material misery but into still greater ig
norance and illiteracy? Is 1t not way out which
the Soviet Union shows, which I'm a country
where formerly 10 per cent OF the broad masses
were illterate is every year building dozens OF
new high schools for the sons and daughters of
the workers, and is just about to introduce gen.
eral obligatory education up to the age Of 17a
But, 1t Is objected, there Is lack of shoes, of
butter, clothing and other necessary articles,
whilst in the capitalist countries the shop win
dows are simply full OF goods and, as a bourgeois
newspaper cynically expressed 1t, every worker
can buy what he wants provided he has the
money!
1t is true, all the workers in the Soviet Union
cannot with their wages, which are increasing
from year to year and from month to month buy
fIour Ero lie ef,o
age of Shoes another time shortage of butter,
another time shortage of eggs, although at the
time of the Tsars the shop windows in Moscow
were full of goods. The double-dyed scoundrels
the dirty hypocrites who wish to weaken the en-
thusiasm of the working class for the Soviet
Union by pointing to this contradiction know
very well themselves that the shortage of goods
in the Soviet cities is precisely a sign Of the in
creasing well-being Of the masses, while the
crowded shop windows in all the capitalist coun-
tries are sign of mass misery.
Why are the warehouses and shops of the
bourgeoise filled with unsaleable goods? Why is
there too much" corn, although great quantities
Of grain are used for feeding cattle and poultry?
! Why is there too much" coffee, although mil
lions Of sacks Of coffee are thrown into the sea?
Marx himself has answered this question:
There is not too much food produced In re-
lation to the existing population On the con-
| trary, there Is too little produced In order TO
| satisfy the human needs of the mass of the
population"
Nobody expected that production adapted to
the requirements of limited number Of CON
sumers" could at one stroke be made to suffice
| to meet the requirements of 100 millions But 1t
! is fact that to-day the pre-war production OF
shoes, sugar and many other commodities OF
which there still prevails shortage. has been
increased many times over.