The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1932-04-11
BY EUGENE LYONS
nv United Press stan Correspondent

MOSCOW, April lion It's eco
nomic eide, the Five-Year Plan is
more modest than generally is be-
lieved. The experience Of the last
three years has shown the enormity
OF the difficulties particularly In re-
lation to human problems.
II is easier to build factories than
to turn millions Of backward peas
ants into industrial workers. Never
theless. If the specifications OF The
second plan are carried out, Russia
will be second only to the United
States in a number Of the decisive
industries, such as coal, oil, steel,
machine building.
In Europe, 1t expects to outdis-
lance England, France, and Ger
many.
AS recently as November, 1880, the
Kremlin INDUCED in fight of
optimism, from which it has had to
retreat rapidly. 1t announced new
figures for the first Five-Year Plan,
which it since has been obliged to
ignore. That disappointment seems
10 have affected the new schedules,
at any rate, the second plan is less
optimistic.
Cut in Pig Iron
At that time, for instance, the
Kremlin called for 100000 tons
of pig-iron by the end of the first
Five-Year Plan. The figure now
has been reduced 10 100000 and
for 1897 it has been fixed at only
100000.
The same recession has been made
for steel: instead of 100000 tons
by the end of the first plan, it will
be only 100000 tons; the amount
for the second plan has not been
specified
In November, 1890, coal production
for the last year of the first plan
was specified as 10000 900 tons. The
official figure now is 100000; in
1887 1t is to reach 250,00000O.
Other Goals Set
Among other essential industrial
detectives for the second half decade
are 100000, 900 kilowatt hours OF
electrical energy; nonferrous metals
sufficient to meet the needs of the
country; $4,000 to 10000 kilometers
of new railroad lines.
The party asserted that the chief
task of the second Five-Year Plar
is to complete the reconstruction oil
the whole Of national economy, tc
provide new technical base for all
branches of economy"
To do this will require headlone
enlargement Of machine building in
dustries.
Since the 1882 figures schedule
800,000,000 rubles worth Of ma
chinery manufactured at home, thu
output of this industry by 1851
should reach over 20,000,000,O0C
rubles. The plans are based on
prices of 1o26-27, when the ruble was
stable.
OF special Importance is the
promise to increase per capita corr
sumption of food, clothes, and other
products of light industry by two OF
three times.
The living levels even then would
be considerably lower than in Ger
many, England, or the United States
for employed workers.
The Kremlin knows this and GER
tainly will concentrate upon making
more consumption goods.
Cattle raising on state owned
ranches, a huge canning industry
heavy investments in the textile in.
dustry are provided in the SECOND
Fve-Year Plan.
For agriculture, complete mech.
anization is planned, on the basis ol
total collectivi7ation, or the wipine
out of private farming entirely.
Acreage to BE Doubled
Heavy industry must provide the
tractors, combines, fertilizers, etc.
Tor this. Cotton and fax acreage
at least will be doubled, sugar beet;
treblcd and the grain harvest in 1893
must reach 130,000,000 metric tons.
The impression to an onlooker j;
that the second Five-Year Plan ha;
been met lukewarmly by the masses
The enthusiasm which greeted it;
predecessor is not in evidence.
Economic plans are no longer
credited with wonder working pow
crs. The Russian knows what it viii
demand from him in hard labor
discipline and sacrifices of all luxu-
ries and many necessities.
Not until the plans begin to give
him moro of lifPe 11erpSSitiaS will
that earlier enthusiasm return.