Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-05
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM

NEW RUssIA's PRIMER: The Story
of the Five-Year Plan. BY M. hin.
Translated from the Russian by
George S. Counts and Nucia p.
Lodge. Boston: Houghton Mimin
Co.
The world is now sitting in, so to
speak. before the greatest political ex-
pertinent that has. so far. maSSed itself
TO anv considerable bulk against the
commonly accepted theories and prac-
tees of government among advanced
peoples.
This Is the complete Specialization Of
Russia This is the creation of a Com
munistic state for $50, 600, 900 Russians,
born into a despotism and. until yes
terday, living under that form Of gov
eminent.
Now Communism has been sought
and preached from very ancient times
AS L recall, the Bible itself advocates
such mode Of life. From time to time.
also, 1t has been practSced in narrow
areas by small groups. inadequately pre-
pared to carry forward toward material
and practical issues. Enthusiasm and
faith, the chief equipment of these
scattered and unorganized idealistS.
Here is different thing. Since the
Revolution of 1917, capped by the brut-
ish murder of the Gear and his family.
Russia has been in social and political
turmoil. One leader, or another, has
come to the front has spoken his piece
with more or less of oratorical fervor
and gesture. He has then moved of
the stage, usually not by his own free
will, to make way for another prophet
OF Communistic vision and promise.
Yet, much beyond mere political elo-
uuence has marked the dozen years or
so since this great country began to de-
clare its purpose Of a new social and
political order.
Within the period an immense
amount OF progressive work has been
done by leaders, clearly able TO trans
mute theory into practice, to convert
a program into action, to herd an
enormous confusion OF scattered, unre-
lated parts into unity OF response, into
harmony Of action. A seemingly superb
example Of organization appears here.
A single motivating energy seems to
have taken possession Of 150,000,00
Russians under the promise Of the Com
munistic state.
Everywhere outside this huge area In
Its new activity rumor is, naturally, on
tiptoe. Ideas are catching like measles
and mumpS or. looking the other way,
like good deeds whose object is the
well-being Of bodies polite by way OF
expanding the liberty and its sequent
obligations of the individuals composing
these. Just now the air is thick with
stories OF what Russia Is doing, Is not
doing. People on the outside are anx-
ious over Russia. A general menace,
many declare The human is by in
stinct conservative on the side Of his
own safety. He breads the new, the
untried Here he Is clearly afraid Of
1.-The bear that walks like man." A
state of mind not mollifled by such
scraps of knowledge as rumor offers.
Definite and specific information is the
present need. And here it Is. Here Is
THE Story Of the Five-Year Plan"
about which so much Is being said and
imagined.
A little book Truly q "primer" in
scope, simplicity, clarity and practical
statement. Its purpose, to give even
the average reader picture OF Russia
under the plan" of completely indus
five years. 1t has taken the United
States several hundred years to ap-
proach even to that goal. However,
that is not important. not in this con-
nection. 1t is the primer" and the
plan" that count.
In the second chapter of this quite
phenomenal example of planning M. Hin
refers to the United States as the warn
ing which his own country has needed
in that they did make minute plans for
the flve-year scheme where this coun-
try has been planless, sort of laundering
along from one grand achievement to
another one. 1t was by the grace OF
the good God, and the climate. and the
IL II, xYyA,,
way who insured the greatness Of
The other chapters of this amazing
book attend to their own business in
competent and convincing fashion.
From over a thousand pages of sheer
figures and charts and working graphs
M. Hin has drawn off the straight
course of turning Russia into work
shop.
Here is q picture: "a river appears
where none existed before, q river 100
kilometers long" "a swamp is sud
denly transferred into a broad lake"
"On the steppe, where only feather grass
grew, thousands of acres Of wheat wave
in the breeze" I'm the Kalmik region.
naked steppe, grow buildings Of steel
and concrete"
Scouts of the Five-Year Plan" is a
searching Russia, from Moscow to Man
churia, for natural resources. In ST.
IBERIA lakes rich in soda. In the desert
of Kara-Kum sands impregnate with
sulphur. In Yakut hills Of gypsum.
Coal in unsupported mines. Forests of
promise and so on in a tri-
umph of discovering the natural re-
sources of Russia. Then what? Why,
then, to summon workmen for the res
direction of these ancient life forms
for their impressment into the service
Of current life. Machinery, to be sure.
The day of pick and shovel and hoe
is gone by. SO the project of mechan-
ical workmen is met by this plan whose
inspiration is-upon looking into it-but
the inspiration of common sense applied
to the pursuit of whatever desired end
the progress of the plan" demanded.
And. following the scouts who go ahead
to spy out the land" are factories,
iron Workmen, trailing them to convert
on the spot into products of immediate
use the natural offerings Of the earth
itself.
Not a page here that is not revela-
ton. It's objective may be political so
cialism, but that just now is not the
point. Probably not the point at all
in respect to Western peoples. The rev.
elation lies in the perfect adjustment
of industrial means to the industrial
ends sought. intellectually worth while,
every page of it, for that alone. 1t reads
like some magician's story. Yet it Is the
plainest of practical directions toward
the ends desired.
And then at the last, after no more
than $50 pages Of such primer" in
struction, the author INDUCES himself
in making the picture of new peo-
pie" All this will be written about
us a few decades hence. OF the ma
chine age about which we hear so
much" M Hin says, I'VE need ma
chimes in order that we may work less
and accomplish more. BY the end OF
the five-year plan the working day in
a factory will be greatly reduced (fig-
,,-as ore odvenl and thE, wapae will 10