The Washington times., 1931-10-13

plishmentS are misleading because
the figures do not take into &C
count the quality of the produced
goods. Even Soviet officials ad-
NIT that the Russian goods at
present will not Compare favor
ably with finished goods from the
United States, Germany and
France.
The leaders are not particu-
larly worried about this. They in
sist that the Russian workers are
learning to work at a Western
tempo. They are willing to pay
the price as long as the workers
progress in industrial technique.
The workers themselves are not
so well satisfied. They see the
tremendous increase in produc-
ton month by month, yet cloth
ing, food and shelter are as diff
cult to obtain as in 1927 and 1928.
The reason for this is that the
present plan calls for the develop
ment of the basic, heavy, indus
tries, and not for plants produc-
ing consumers goods.
$4,000 Autos, Quota
How much of \ menace" the
present five-year plan is and why
the plan is a disappointment to
the Russian people can be de-
duced from the fact that the
quota for shoes in 1888 Is set at
80, 100000 pairs about One-haIf
pair per Russian. The American
per capita consumption Is three
pairs a year.
The quota for automobiles for
1888 is only $4,000 machines,
which the American Ford plants
could produce in less than 20
days.
The Russian just won't believe
that there are more than 26,000,-
900 automobiles in the United
States. This summer there was
great joy over the fact that the
Russian textile mills had made
80, 100000 pairs of socks and
stockings during 1880. There was
less than one pair for every adult
in the Union.
Build Many Tractors
But the oil production goal of
1888 had already been reached
early this summer and in July
the Soviet press announced that
the agricultural collectivization
program had progressed so far
that there should be no more at
tenlpts to get new members in
many of the richest agricultural
districts. The press also an
nounced that the Union had be-
come the second largest tractor
producing company in the world,
second only to the United States,
which is still far ahead. Trac-
tor production. however, is behind
the control figures.
Soviet Idea of Machines
The policy Of concentrating on
the heavy or primary industries
such as steel, coal, agriculture,
electric power, caused a split in
the Communist party itself.
The Right WingerS" wanted
to concentrate on consumers
goods-ligh5 industry, but Stain,
pursuing what he called Cen
ter" policy, insisted that the
primary industries must be de-
veloped first to make Russia in
dependent Of the rest Of the
world.
The ultimate aims of the Com.
munists and the reasons for the
sacrifices demanded Of the pres
ent generation in Russia through
the working out of the plans are
we'll expressed in the New Russia
Primer, a textbook in Russia and
a best seller in the United States.
People to Own Machines
The Primer points out that in
the United States comparatively
few persons own the machines
whereas in Soviet Russia all the
people will own the machines
and get the benefits.
"The more machines we have"
says the Primer, "the easier will
be the work, the shorter will be
the hours, the lighter and happier
will be the lives Of ALL"
The rich people of the United
States, according to the Primer,
build more factories merely to
make more money for themselves,
while in Russia they build fac
tories in order that there may
be no poverty, no filth, no sick
ness, no unemployment, no ex-
hausting labor-in order that life
may be rational and just"
Workers are Exploited
This attitude accounts for the
closing Of virtually all foreign
concessions in Russia. The
Soviet leaders are not willing to
allow foreign capitalists to exploit
Russian labor.
To be sure, the Russian state
is today exploiting Russian labor,
in fact the present form Of gov
ernment is closer to state cap
italism than it is to communism
or even socialism, but the Com
munistS say this exploitation is a
necessary preliminary for the
ultimate benefit Of the workers.
On the boat to Europe a
wealthy American told the writer
how he had started his fortune
by exploiting-he did not use
that term-the Yaqui Indians in
Mexico many years ago. When