Evening star., 1940-05-29
Soviet Concerned
Over Begging Down
OF War Industries
Machine, III-Fed,
Badly Missing Fire,
Economists Soy
BY LELAND STOWE,

-WNaG is Lne present SCaCe OF IN
dustrial and raw material produc.
tion in the Soviet Union? Is it suff1-
cient to make an action of the Red
army possible within this calendar
year and something less than des-
perate gamble on the part of the
Kremlin's political strategists?
Let us admit that you cannot
inspect steel mills and oil fields dur
Ing a one-week visit in Russia, nor
probably, during a two-month So
journ, but you can talk with the
only people who will really talk with
a foreigner in the U. S. S. r. nova
days-with other foreigners who
have lived there long enough te
know quite lot about conditions
Better still, and in the interests OF
fairness, you can confine yourself
chiefly to the testimony of Soviet
publications and Soviet economic
writer's.
On this latter basis alone, here
Is summary of Soviet RuSSia's
production report on general indus
trial conditions during the first foul
months of 1910:
Coal-Production down, and q
widely felt shortage.
Iron ore-Production consistently
poor. as through the last months
of 1899.
Oil-Output poor and declining
further in several important fields.
Crude oil-Radically downward.
Inferior Copper Output.
Copper ore-Production up nearly
80 per cent in the first quarter, but
quality inferior.
Sugar and tobacco industries-be-
low estimates.
Steel-Output limited by insuf1-
cient scrap and reports decidedly
unsatisfactory.
Aluminum-Produc cut sharp
ly by lack of bauxite.
Machine tools, tractors, locomo-
tives and automobiles-All below
their 1910 quotas.
Although this could be enlarged,
as it stands, it covers key products
and industries. Over period OF
three months the Moscow press has
contributed the mosaicS which form
a convincing picture of what would
be called a general slump In any
capitalistic country, and the Soviet
economists have made no effort to
conceal their concern over industrial
conditions which are almost univer-
sally unsatisfactory and in some in
stances, seriously begged down. Ac-
cording to their reports, the pain
fully constructed Russian machine
is ill-fed and missing fire on many
cylinders. BY no stretch of optimism
is this the kind of machine with
which to face Nazi Germany which
might be victorious in the west.
Race for Self-Preservation.
But the Kremlin is now confronted
with this dangerous possibility. In
view of that fact, one can under
stand why Soviet smelters and in
dustrial plants are working seven
days a week. and at top speed,
wherever schedule railroads
somehow manage to feed them with
raw materials.
For the Soviets this is nothing
less than a race for self-preserva-
ton. Despite that fact, their in
dustries are sadly crippled for such
q race.
Some of the reasons for their be-
ing crippled are easily ascertained.
Russia is suffering from an acute
shortage of skilled labor which has
been accentuated by the mobiliza-
ton of millions of workmen to swell
the Red Army to strength of near
ly 100000 men. Many key indus
tries are still partially paralyzed
from the purges which eliminated
experienced and irreplacable engi-
neers and administrators. Finally,
there Is the persistent .disorganiza-
tion of railroad transportation which
was apparently increased by the
pronounced strain of the Russo
Finnish war.
In March the Soviet economic
publication, Industriya, called at
tention to the general lag of pro-
duction behind the government S
1910 quota. With undeniable au-
thority 1t declared, This lies not
only In the shortage of raw mate
rails but also in the bad operation
of the railroad transport system,
which was unable to supply the
mills with even those raw materials
which were ready for shipment" F"
Last weeks marked curtailment of
railroad passenger trains out of
Moscow would not appear to indi-
cate any genuine improvement in
this critical situation between March
and the present time.
Excessive Waste Assailed.
In the same month of March
1zvestia, Soviet official organ, stated
that "the country Is receiving thou
sands OF tons less than it should
receive of oil, coal, metal and other
important products" Shortly be-
fore that time the same Moscow
daily charged lack "of even ele-
mentary order in the operation of
oil, fuel and power construction in
dustries" and attacked the excessive
waste of war materials in the non-
ferrous metals and steel plants.
Later reports failed to point toward
anything more than a possible slight
amelioration.
During the Finnish War the Soviet
lost an enormous amount of tanks
and very large quantities of air.
planes and guns. AS result they
are now striving to replace these
vital weapons with the greatest pos