The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-01-04
BY D. SASLAVSKY

Immediately the results-they are
evident here, in this workers house
of Culture, a palatial edifice in the
Yyborg district of Leningrad, fam
GUS for its revolutionary role. A
few steps from here stands the me-
mortal to Lenin at the Finnish
Railway Station, Here Lenin STEP
ped for the first time on Russian
soil in 1917. Here was the rallying
place of the main forces of the Oc-
tober uprising. Here every stone is
history. And here, Is years later,
they have met-the academicianS
and the workers. Most of the peo-
pie on the platform are old, and
most Of the people in the hall are
young. The president of the acad-
envy, the well known Savant, Kar-
pinsky, is considerably over 80
years. His white hair reaches his
shoulders. He is a live chip of the
Russia of old. And he shouts now
with youthful enthusiasm: I'VE
greet you, Vyborg workers; We are
glad to meet for our XIV. Anniyer-
Sary among you"
Old workers, delegates from the
factories, ascend the platform.
They speak of the enormous signi-
ficance Of theoretical science for
Communism. They are proud of
the fact that the greatest saYantS
of the Soviet Union are with them.
After them, academicians address
the audience, and speak of the
enormous significance of the prole-
tartan revolution and socialist con-
Struction for science. These are
not only speeches on special oc-
casion. They are summary of
the work which has been accom-
plished by the new Soviet Academy
of Science.
TIVE or six times year the acad-
L emicians meet. They have an
exchange Of the cir scientific
achievements, they speak about
new discoveries. Two Of these
sessions are generally held in public.
at public meetings. with visits to
factories, and excursions to the
distant borders of the Union. The
Academy of Science informs the
whole country about its work, and
The first years Of dissertation
from and distrust of the proletarian
revolution on the part of acadeni-
clans are a thing of the past. The
working class has been able to win
over the academicians to its side.
Some of them have joined the
Communist Party, and the ma
jority march willingly and con-
Scientiously with the working class,
while remaining non-Party.
How did the working class win
over these people? BY its relation
to science, first of all. Second,
through socialist construction. The
savantS have been able to see for
themselves that socialist industrial
ization opens up unlimited possibi-
lities for science, just at the time
when science declines everywhere
in the capitalist west. Under
Tsarism, the Academy Of Science
was a negotiating landlord estate.
Ibl1cAldlL NNiClIOC 4NOhOA ny n4OAA
envy and respect to the rich scien-
tito institutions of the capitalist
countries. The Academy itself was
in wretched state Only about
ten badly equipped institutes were
attached to the Tsarist academy.
Scientific collaborators could be
counted only by the dozen.
The Soviet Academy of Science
is surrounded by 80 institutes, mu-
seuns and laboratories of its own,
set up under the Soviet regime. 1t
has up to 1000 scientific collabora-
tors. The magnificence of the
equipment is the envy of the in
stitutes of the wealthiest capitalist
countries. New scientific cadreS
| have sprung up and half of them
consist OF workers and peasants.
Ex-blacksmiths, shepherds, and
tailors successfully master vneoreti-
cal knowledge. There is, for in
stance, Bendetzky. He is 30 years
old; not so long ago he sat in a
! tailoring workshop and cut out
! waistcoats. At present he is one
/ of the most intimate assistants of
| the famous professor of chemistry,
! Kurnakov, AZratian, an Armenian,
the son of worker, a refugee from
Armenia during the world impe-
rialist war. His family was murdered
by the Turks. He, himself, led a
wandering life. was street Arab
! and bootblack in the streets. He
/ is now an aspirsnt of the Academy
Of Science for physiology, and his
! works, translated into German, can
be found on the booksfelyes Of even
well known foreign professors. +.
Reports follow exports. Today the
scademicians are the guests Of the
Vyborg workers, tomorrow they will
be received by the workers of the
Red Putilovetz" The audience be-
comes familiarised with many fields
Of knowledge. These are not popular
lectures. The Academy of Science
Is not an evening university. The
latest achievements of Science, the
most important scientific problems
become common property. Here are,
for example, the reports made at
one Of the sessions: Academician
Baikov-"How to obtain Iron direct
from Ore" The young savant
Fraenkel-"Tne Theory OF Metals"
Academician Konarov 49, 1.-THE New
In the Teaching about the Form of
Plants" OF course, not everything
is understood by the hearers. But
through intercourse with working
! c1aes audinpcaS tha ara der1iriauS
learn to explain the most difficult
questions in language accessible to
ALL AcademicianS part company
with the special learned compli-
Gated language which is not at all
required for genuine science, and
snrtrnr In rar,itn lis4 cnnrntrinr o,,,lu