The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-10-09
HOw Soviet Textile Workers Eat
In Huge PrOIetarka Cotton Mil

SO it was possible for the udarnik
to eat for As kopeks.
The room of the wasteless" was
the pride of the place. 1t was on
a corner, with windows and bay
windows on three sides. In the
center was fountain of running
water. It's buffet glistened with
nickel and glass. It's ported plants
we're bigger and more colorful.
Here, to the sound of splashing
fountain, throwing rainbow colors
on the floor when the sun caught it,
the "wasteless" ate: Schee, a soup
of cabbage and other green vege-
tables cut fine. Then, a choice of
"betochki," which to me was indis-
tinguishable from outlets except
for the different shape of the loaf,
or pancakes or fish, or all of them,
but that would cost more.
Free Food Items
The soup, coffee and bread went
with the meal free. The betochki
dish also had meat and potatoes in
it, and this dinner cost so kopeks.
The pancakes, with cottage cheese,
cost IS kopeks. Fish and potatoes
cost IS kopeks. Dessert was ten or
fifteen kopeks.
1t was possible for the "wasteless"
to eat a three-course meal for as
little as as kopeks, or to pay as
much as IS. A four-course meal
might cost 80 kopeks or more.
Engineers Pay More
The engineers had much the same
meal as the "wastelelss," but they
paid % kopeks for their schee, 81
kopeks for their betochki, 81 kopeks
for their fish, A kopeks for their
pancakes, 16 kopeks for their coffee.
1t is significant that the assistants
to the engineers eating in the same
room and the same identical meal,
got everything for about two-thirds
the price the engineers paid, be-
cause the assistants get less salary
Here YOU have an example Of the
two currents that run through all
Soviet wage economy: higher pay
for the more skil1ful worker, and at
the same time, special concessions
to the beginner, the lower paid
groups, to ensure that they get the
necessities of life in good measure.
In another article the process by
which the lower paid worker trans
forms himself quickly into the
higher paid groups is described-he
does it by acquiring skill, and he
not only has every facility placed
at his disposal for that purpose,
but is the center Of whole cam
paign intended to enduce him to
gain skill
Workers Food Sources
The food for the textile workers
breakfast and dinner comes from
three main sources: the ORS stores,
the kitchen gardens and the
peasant market. They rank in that
OTQGT Oh lllpOIGdIlCS
The ORS is the main source
The name is made up of the initials
of the Russian words meaning
Workers Supply Department" anc
these departments are run by the
administration of the factory. They
are watched over, supervised, in.
spected, and checked on by union
Communist Party, and City govern.
ment, each of which involve com
mittees elected by and from the &C.
tual workers who buy their goods il
the ORS to help in the inspection
The ORS stores sell not only food
stuffs but clothing, household uten'
sis and articles of general use
They sell at considerable reduction
below the prices in the commercial
store, that is on the open market
and the worker normally buys al
his standard food stuffs in them.
Local ORS Stores Among Best
The ORS stores in Kalinin ar
among the best arranged and hes
stocked in the country. Particula
attention is paid to display of arti
cles for sale both on counters ant
in windows saw things lik
boxes of matches arranged il
arches and geometric figures
match boxes built up like castles.
1t is little thing, but it show