The Washington times., 1935-05-25

hULCkGT OOCkGT W .LICC COICCLUUo
ing article of his series on the
Baltic rGtionSJ
BY H. r. KNICKERBOCKER
Copyright. 1895. by international
News Service)
WARSAW, Poland, May Is.
Ninety-five to SO per cent Of the
population Of the capitalist coun'
tries which fringe the western
border Of the Soviet Union are
materially better off today than
the 165, 100000 Russians who for
Is years have toiled under the
banner of communism.
This is the considered result Of
an investigation which has taken
your correspondent into scores OF
factories, workers h o mes and
farms, far more than could pos
sibly be recorded, all the way
from the forests of Finland to the
swamps of southeast Poland.
Soviet Has Made Progress
No fair observer can fail to note
that the Soviet Union has made
real progress in the last few years
towards raising the standard OF
living of its citizens and no or-e
can fix a limit to the upward
trend. But this observer has to
admit feeling of surprise at the
fact that even in those compare
lively poor countries, poor in IA
tional resources, and uniquely
crippled by the war, which border
the Soviet Union and used to be
a part of Imperial Russia, the
standard of living Of the masses
is still without question much
higher than that in the Soviet
Union.
No fair observer can also fail
to remember that the standard Of
living in these countries was al
ways higher than in the rest Of
Russia, even before the war. But
the war flattened all these
countries to a level comparable
with that of the Soviet union. In
respect of devastation they
started about even.
furthermore, the claim Of Com
munism, or of that form of in
duStrial economy which now pre-
walls in the Soviet union and
which the BolSheviks call State
Socialism. but which might also
be called State Capitalism, is that
it can produce much more eff"
ficiently and abundantly, can dis
tribute more equitably, can assure
an uninterrupted and theoretically
limitlesSly increasing output OF
wealth.
Not Accomplished Yet
It has not done so yet. The
standard Of living Of the people is
the touchstone. It is still clearly
higher in these little handicapped
countries, and it is higher for all
classes.
There are four to be consid-
cred: the so-called rich, the en-
ployers; the le-classes, inc1ud'
ing the white-collar employees, the
professional and technical men;
the workers and the farmers.
Obviously the employers in
these capitalist countries are bet"
ter off. There is no one with
whom they may be compared in
the Soviet Union.
But the middle-classes may
profitably be compared with the
new technical middle class which
has grown up in the last few years
under the regime Of Socialist in
equality" in the Soviet Union.
The fact is that the average mod
est middle-class engineer, doctor
or lawyer lives better in Finland.
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and
Poland than the highest paid in
dividual in Moscow. This is
chiefly due to the lack in present
day Russia of things for money
to buy.
The Real Criterion
The real criterion, however, is
the masses, the workmen and the
peasants, for whom the revolu'
ton in Russia was made. I have
visited 30 peasant homes in all
these countries from the best to
the worst. The worst were in
Poland. They were very bad. But
even in the mud villages Of South
east Poland the peasants were as
well clothed, housed and fed as
in the prize collective farm I Wis
tied in Russia.
Even Polish farm hands were
demonstrably better off materially
than the Russian collective
farmer. The majority of the peas
ants in these five countries were
incomparably better situated, not
only materially but culturally.
This leaves the workmen, prime
benefactors of BolShevism. I WIS.,
tied at least so workers homes in
this fringe Of Russia and a score
in Moscow. Only the very poorest
in these capitalist countries could
be compared with the best work
er's homes around Moscow's best
factories. In housing, food, cloth
ing and even in entertainment the
capitalist workman had a clear ad-
vantage.
Food Supply Compared
Lest this be disbelieved, it may
be useful to call in once more ollr
old friend, basket of provisions,
with enough food in it to feed an
adult male worker for week. How
many hours do these capitalist