Evening star., 1934-11-18

of the precious greens they can grow.
The Socialist motto is From each &C
cording to his means, to each according
to his needs" The practical motto of
the Soviet Union is From each as much
as we can persuade him to do and to
each as much as he deserves"
Piecework, the bane of labor unions,
is established everywhere. Where piece
work cannot readily be applied definite
norm is established for each worker. If
he produces less than this norm he is
reduced to lower category of workers.
If he is unable to earn the minimum
wage the factory manager has the right
to discharge him. If he produces more
than the norm he is rewarded accord
ingly. In the leading lathe factory in
Moscow monthly wages range from 100
rubles for unskilled workers to 1000
rubles, the pay of the director. When
this plant had completed the demands
of the second five-year plan early this
year it received a premium of 10000
rubles. This amount was divided among
all the workers on the basis of their
wages.
COMPETITION between plants for
skilled workers is just as keen as
under a capitalist regime. There has
been steady tendency to pay higher
wages in distant Siberian plants, be-
cause they find it difficult to attract
skilled labor from those parts of the
Soviet Union where living is, on the
whole, more comfortable. Certain ex-
pert engineers in these plants are now
receiving as much as $500 rubleS a
month, while salaries of from 1000 to
1000 rubles for expert technicians are
common. One of the unsolved problems
ding one another for labor.
Communist party members are also
permitted to receive higher wages than
in the past. Formerly no member of the
party was paid more than $50 rubles a
month, although he had special privi-
legeS in the matter of housing. Today
practically all restrictions have been re-
moved for those party members who are
engaged in productive work. The aris-
who show enthusiasm and develop skill
out material essential to national de-
fense They receive the highest pay, get
the best food and are sent to the most
attractive rest homes for their vacations.
At the entrance to each important in
duStrial plant there is roll of honor
which carries the photographs of the
"Shock brigaders"-those who have
been doing the best work there.
The attempt to speed up machines and
to get more work out Of each individual
laborer is just as common in the Soviet
Union as in any capitalist country. At
the great machine-building factory at
Sverdlovsk, in the Ural Mountains, the
director has engaged an American en-
gineer to help him speed up production.
He is making a technical survey to de-
termine how all the machines of the
plant can be kept busy all the time.
The Soviet Union has invested enor-
nous sums in its new industrial plants
1t is beginning to sense the Importance of
getting full value out of this investment
Hence the constant effort to cut costs
and speed production. If some factory
manager goes too far, the workers have
the right to complain. Then a commit
tee composed of an equal number of
technicians and workers makes an in
vestigation and fixes the norm of labor
which the plant has the right to ex-
pect.
There was distinctly less evidence of
strain in Russia this year than last
Life is more comfortable for almost every
one The immediate danger of foreign
attack is less frequently stressed and the