The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1932-12-21
Construction Also Faulty,
Due to Constant Call for
Speeding Up.
SOVIET RULES BY FEAR
Terror of Attacks From
Other Nations Spurs
Nation to Haste.
This is the third of our Moscow cor
respondents series of six articles on
Inherent phases of the Five-Year Plan.
BY EUGENE LYONS
United Press stan Correspondent

MOSCOW, Dec. 21.-The chief
Shortcomings and failures of the
tive-year plan may be summed up
in the words low quality"
This applies not alone to the
structures built and the goods pro-
duced, but to the human material
labor and management.
That much of the construction ia
shoddy is evident even to a lay
man, and is readily admitted by
Communists. Haste in construction
and shortage of materials and tech
meal skill, help explain this.
But the explanation is not COM
plete. A basic indifference to quail
ity in the panicky rush to accom-
plish grandioSe plans is at the bot
tom of it. Over-rapid amortization
CT the industrial edifice produced
under the Piatiletka is certain to
become an increasingly serious prob
lem.
Spoiled Goods Loss Huge
The proportion of spoiled goods
in the industrial output is incredi-
bly, high. Productivity per worker
is extremely low and overhead costs
enormous.
These factors, taken together,
have raised the cost of the five-year
plan far above expectations. That is
the fundamental failure of the plan.
Where it was thought to draw
100000 additional workers into
industry, about 100000 were need
co. Where it was planned to in
vest 13,500,000,000 rubles, twice as
much actually was invested.
The additional production costs
and the losses through spoilage and
low quality are being paid for in
tragic deprivations for the masses,
in a lowered standard of living
i'll greater strain than had been
foreseen, and in the application of
more official coercion than was
originally intended.
Cost Is Enormous
In another form the national evil
TO low quality asserts itself in agri-
culture. The greatest victory of the
plan, it would seem, is the socializa-
ton of about two-thirds of the
peasantry.
But its greatest defeat is in the
enormously exorbitant cost of that
victory 1t depleted the livestock
resources Of the country and re-
moved several hundred thousand
of the most effective agrarian work.
ers, the best-to-do element.
This year melted the largest crop
OF weeds III Russian history-a clear
proof of negligent work. Half the
sugar crop was choked by weeds
and devoured by insects.
The Soviet urge toward size and
speed, in detriment to quality. is
understandable. Fear of attack
from outside is one of the causes.
Driven by Threats
The Impotence of the revolution
airy mentality is another. In addi-
ton, objective reasons for low quail
ity are tremendous.
The national sores or bureau
cracy and red tape-are they not
further aspects of bad quality in
the domain of government?
The fact that unrelenting coer-
cion, threats, death penalties must
be used in the fifteenth year of the
revolution, hardly speaks well for
the quality of government and Off
cia1 propaganda.
The dogma that the end justifies
the neans-whether in building q
factory ineficiently and extensively.
or IN building Socialism at too great
a human sacrifce-is a dangerous
one.
Factories built in that fashion
are sure to have serious inner weak
neSSeS.