The Washington times., 1935-01-09

QODGTmnIenES SDeeptn0 pL0n yOT
collectivizdtion OF farms? The COL
EectiOe farmer 1Dorks harder, 0iUes
more and gets less than any
other cldSSS of Souiet citizen, H.
u. Knickerbocker tDriteS in the
ei0hth article of his series, "De-
nlocrGcy us. Dictatorshtps."
By H. r. KNICKERBOCKER
KCopyright, 1885, by International News
Service. Reproduction in whole
or part fOrbidden)
IVAN VO-V o ZNESHENSK,
: Uan. 8 QN.SO.-A collective
Farmer in Russia today works
harder, gives more and gets less
than any other class of citizens
In the first workers and peasants
republic.
Hence the tale that, like all
Soviet anecdotes, illuminates the
current condition Of the union
better than any amount Of pro-
sale explanation.
One collective farmer came to
Moscow on a tour and they took
him to the radio broadcaSting sta
ton.
One WOrd-"Help"
He watched the man at the
anicrophone, and heard with
amazement that the man was
broadcasting to the whole world
Said the farmer:
"The whole world? I'd like
70 ask q favor. 1t would be 30
: wonderful If I could speak just
once to the whole world. Won't
you let me?"
They explained it was impoS-
Bible to change the program, but
reluctantly agreed he might do 1t
If he would speak just one word.
The collective farmer promised,
and his one word, shouted to the
whole world, was:
"Help!"
It does the Russian peasants
no good to yell "help'' any longer.
After five years Of bitter struggle
with them, the Government has
won irretrievably.
Peasants Beaten
The peasant who fought for
his individual liberty, his indi-
vidual property, is whipped. It
was a civil war. They called it
the "clasS struggle on the land"
It was as bloody as the civil war
Of 1917-1919. 1t cost both sides
dearly.
Today, Of 25,ooo,ooo peasant
households, nearly 100000 are
co1lectivized and by 1887 they will
all be driven in. Nearly 80 per
cent Of the sown area in grain
is on collective and state farms.
Results were so disastrous that
not until 1884 did Stain an.
nounce the figures. They show
that between 1929 and 1888 the
number of horses in the country
diminished from 34,000,000 to
16,600, 900; cattle from 68,100,000
to $500, 900; sheep and goats
from 147,200,000 to 50,6OO,0O
and pigs from 20,900,000 to 12,-
100000.
Government Collects
Continued diminution Of the
livestock after the initial period
of slaughter showed that the
peasants, even after they were
nominally collectivized, were re-
Sisting just the same.
What did the government do?
It continued to take it's quota
from the farmers no matter
whether they produced enough
for themselves or not.
Most enlightening are the sta
tistics compiled by DR.. o. Schil-
Ter, agricultural attache in the
German Embassy, showing that
whereas total milk production in
the Soviet Union, reckoned in
butter units, sank from 1,170,O00
tons in 1929 to 100000 tons in
1898, the amount delivered to the
government rose from 1880 tons
in 1929 to 100000 tons in 1898.
And whereas wool production
sank from 10000 tons in 1929
to $4,000 tons in 1888, the
amount delivered to the govern
ment rose from $4,000 to $4,000
tons.
Peasants Always Lose
Thus the peasants lost in every
respect. BY slaughtering their
cattle and refusing to raise more
they did not diminish either the
governments demands nor it's
actual acquisitions. All they did
was to diminish the amount they
had left for themselves.
Furthermore, these figures
clearly show that the principal
reason for the increase in the
supply of foodstuffs to the cities,
now so apparent in Moscow, is
n an absolute increase in the
production, but an increase chief
" in the amount taken by the
government from the farmers.
There can be no possible talk
general improvement of the
4dard of eating for the whole
~2ulation in the Soviet Union
'er that of 1929 until the live
stock level of 1929 is recovered
and surpassed.
The KulakS are gone. Half the
livestock is gone. The weaker ones
of the recalcitrant peasants in the
Ukraine and North Caucasus are
gone. Socialism on the land has
tr1umphed. The destructive phase
OF the revolution is now over, they
say. Construction can now begin