The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-06-27

Dook-SnelVeS, maps, CIlarJS anu
drawing of Lenin.
In Kalinin's Work Room
1.-THE men and women who come
here" he tells us, come to demand
of their own class. There's no feel
ing of humbing themselves-it's
their right and they know 1t.
They're not coming to any great
man. but one of themselves. For
merly, when we still had unemploys
ment, they came asking work.
Theirs was temporary difficulty,
which our developing socialist SOC
ciety has entirely abolished. Mean.
while they could rely upon not
starving, because of our govern
ment's system of social insurance.
Nevertheless, there we're hardships
its good those days are past
Now the main problems they bring
are personal ones, as you have seen.
Social problems, such as housing
and insurance, are handled else
where.
THE peasants coming here serves
more than one purpose. 1t corrects
any individual injustice that may
have occurred, and it helps us here
in the government to keep in close
touch with local developments. For
example, / notice complaints of a
certain kind from one region. Evil
IDENTIFY there's an inefficient or bu-
reaucratic person there in the COLI
lective farm or soviet. So we send
a member of the Central Control
Commission to aid the locality in
correcting the conditions" Kalinin
passes a newspaper. "The villagers
write hundreds of letters each
month to this, their peasants paper,
which has five million circulation.
All the questions and complaints
they send in, besides being an
swered, are carefully analysed and
charts prepared, so that the Party
and government can feel the pulse
of our masses, know their desires
and problems in each re non. That's
how we work"
For awhile he puffS energetically
on his cigarette, fixing on the three
of us. representatives of the work
ers' press from Germany, England
and the United States, that same
kindly, penetrating gaze. $50 you're
writing about the Soviet Union for
workers abroad? One thing, don't
describe this as land of milk and
honey To build socialism is not
easy. Your workers mYst know
that, for they have the same task
ahead of them Nevertheless, the
mood of our toilins masses is better
here than anywhere. They know
for what they struggle. They feel
confident of what lies ahead.
sharttst Self Criticism
because our press makes policy
of publishing the sharpest self
criticism, and the masses COM
plants of shortcomings in our work,
the bourgeois press abroad says this
means that the population here is
not satisfied with the Soviet power.
That is not true. Our workers
know they are making criticism Of
their own class and of course mis-
takes are made. But they know
that we are trying together to go
on new, independent road. Our
difficulties and our shortcomings
and victories we. share in common.
Il have such an impression that
ninety-nine and nine-tenths of the
population are not sorry about the
Soviet Power" Again that quick
grin. Perhaps one tenth Of one
per cent are dissatisfied. you'll
always find such people. I remem-
Der when I was small boy that
some older peasants would say, 1T
was better when we were serfs.'
Later the conversation turns to
developments in the village, under
the Second FiveYear Plan. Kalinin
uses his local village as an example
enthusiastically he pointed out to
us on the map, some hundred miles
north of Moscow, in the Tver dis
/ trict. Every year or oftener he
makes trips there, to visit with his
mother and village friends. Il can
see in my village how the peasants
whole outlook and manner Of living
| is changing since they've organized
their collective farm" he says I'm
the old d-ys, every peasant was in
darkness-dying. Now he has the
chance to develop, going the same
! road as the factory worker. In my
village, for instance, we have our
members of the national govern
ment. one is chairman Of the
Party's district organization COM
mittee, three are commanders in
the Red Army, two are managers
of cooperative stores, two others
have become managers of collective
farms in other villages. That's how
! it is.
Closer TO Communism
"The collectivized peasant Of to-
day is no longer the same man as
yesterday. + person who plows with
a horse on his small plot, for him.
self alone, is far different from our
modern farm workers who works
tractor on q jointly run farm.
This collective farm worker has
learned to put the interest of the
collective beyond all else. Maybe
he hasn't learned yet to think much