Evening star., 1931-12-21
STAIN IMPROVES !.
LIVING STANDARDS.
1881 Viewed as Start of New
Deal for Humanity in
Five-Year Plan.
BY STANLEY p. RICHARDSON.

tCopyrlght, 1871, tHe Associated freSS.)
MOSCOW, December 21-The third
and decisive year" Of the five-year plan,
1881, probably will be recorded by his
torians as the beginning of a new deal
for humanity In the great political ex-
pertinent represented by Soviet Russia.
Under the impetus of Stains midyear
speech. far-reaching changes were ef-
fected in many phases of life both eco
nomlc and sociological. OF first i'm
portance was his edict that the people
were entitled to better living standards
after the huge sacrifices they were
called upon to make for the five-year
plan and that an immediate improve
ment should be Forthcoming.
Scores OF new stores have been
opened, and it is possible to buy almost
any necessity due to the quickaning of
the production of light industry, which
supplies commodities for home con-
sumption. Hand in hand have come in
creases in wages in several branches of
industry and adoption of the piecework
system Of wages. under which workers
are paid according to their productive
ability.
Food Prices Lower.
A 30 per cent decrease in the price
OF food In the so-called open" stores,
where any one may buy without a ra-
ton card. contributed to the general
improvement.
perhaps the most sensational de-
parture from the previous order was
the change in attitude toward the old
technical lntelligentSia, specialists of
the former regime, who formed an out
cast section Of the Soviet body polite
and who, next to the kulak, suffered
the greatest persecution.
Before Stains speech they were the
object OF suspicion and distrust In every
field OF endeavor In which they sought
TO participate. Disseminated against in
the matter Of food and lodging and
generally regarded as potential if not
actual counter-revOlutionary elements.
Stains new policy, dictated by the
necessity of more technical skill in in
duStry and also by confidence that the
more Subversive elements OF this group,
like the kulaks, definitely had been
crushed. changed all this. The tech
nical intelligentSia were invited to
participate actively in the work of So
cialiSt construction on an equality with
the proletariat. They were given spe-
cial privileges heretofore enjoyed only
by the workers and some even were
made eligible for membership in the
Communist party.
Ruthlessness Ended.
This significant step. perhaps, re-
fected more than anything else the de-
sire OF leaders here to dispense as
quickly as possible with the ruthless
ness which in their view necessarily
characterized the policy of blood and
IRON with which all class enemies of
the state were dealt.
The year also was marked BY au-
thoriZatlon to individual industries to
replace the five-day uninterrupted week
with the six-day week when it was con-
Sldered practical. Stain hinted that
this might be necessary in some cases
to reduce the lack of personal RESPONSE
blllty among employees, who often left
to their inexperienced reliefs the task
OF repairs. and the consequent enor-
nous breakage Of machines.
Under the new system everybody
would work five days instead of four
with one day off, but the working day
would be reduced from six and one-haif
to six hours and all would have the
same day of rest
Welcomed by Many.
This probably will be welcomed by
many II for no other reason than that
all members Of one family now would
be free on the same days, where hereto
fore virtually every individual had diff
ferent days of rest