The Washington times., 1935-05-21

IolDing article:
BY H. r. KNICKERBOCKER
Copyright, 1885. by international
News Service)
RIGA, Latvia. May 81 Q.N.SO.
Capitalism in the Baltic States
has rebuilt society since the war
faster and better than Commun-
ism has rebuilt Russia.
Grant the Soviet Union all the
progress claimed and in part actu'
ally accomplished by its two five
year plans, nevertheless the record
of reconstruction in those little
states which used to be part OF
Russia, and which broke away
from Communist Russia and stuck
to capitalism, is even more impress
sive.
Hampered BY War
Communists insist their whole
attempt to rebuild society in Rus
STA was hampered by war, in civil
war to a degree unknown in any
other country, and therefore you
cannot properly compare the
standard of living in the Soviet
Union with that in countries
which suffered less in the period
1914-1920.
Russia did suffer incredibly, and
certainly more than any other
great power. But how about these
little powers? Did one-third of
Russia's population die or flee the
country? No. Was Russia's en-
tire industrial equipment, every
machine in every factory in the
country, removed to another coun.
try and never returned? No.
But it happened to Latvia. Her
population before the war was
1850, 900; in 1920 it was 1900, 900.
Nearly 1000, 900 of her inhabitants
were killed in action, died or fled.
Besides losing virtually all her
industrial equipment, physically
dismantled and moved to Russia
when the Germans attacked, one
fourth of all the farm buildings
in Latvia were destroyed, about
one-fifth of her livestock died, and
land under cultivation diminished
by a third to one-half.
Trenches Still There
They still break saws on the
bullets in the trees near Riga.
You can still see the trenches on
the road from Riga to Libau.
Long after the war stopped in
the West, 100000 Let's had to go
on fighting Russian Reds and
German bandits, and in 1890,
5000 Let's fell in battle. Twelve
thousand Let's were killed in the
Russian civil war. Seventy thou
sand fell in the World War, a
total of $500.
This would compare proportion
ately with Russia's losses.
Moscow's Communism exists to
do everything possible for poor
people. Moscow declares capital
ism exists to do everything for
the rich and nothing for the poor.
What does Riga do for its poor?
A good beginning would be to find
out what this capitalist state does
for it's poor children.
Thirty-one babies in 81 beds
breathed one answer as We stood
in the door of their sleeping room
in the Municipal kindergarten at
Ludzas Sc. They were full of
beef and spinach soup, fellow and
milk, and they slept like babies
are supposed to sleep. The capt.
talist city of Riga was their mama
for the day.
Every day 5000 Riga children
toddle through the doors of 80
kindergartens where the city and
its capitalist inhabitants feed
them, clothe them, and keeps
them busy from 8 o'clock in the
morning to o'clock in the eve
ming.
City Supports 1900
Altogether the city supports
1900 children from Z months to 8
years old. They are the children
of working class parents, and for
the most part it costs their par
ents nothing.
In Moscow we also visited a
nursery, in the Freezer factory. It
was exactly comparable. 1t took
care of 40 children from 3 to z
years old, from 1880 a. m. to $50
p. m. and fed them three meals
a day. The only differences were
that the Riga nursery was better
equipped and that each and every
Moscow child had to pay!
The average Riga wage is 80
lats a month, equivalent to $26.
The average Moscow wage is $50
roubles a month, equivalent in
purchasing power to SIS.