Evening star., 1941-11-10
Thirteenth OF a sertes.J
By RALPH INGERSOLL.

average American ABOUT lie III tile
Soviet Union. One is what the Rus
slams have got out of their new way
of life-the cold turkey facts on
"the good life" that Socialist and
Communist propaganda talks so
much about.
The other is the matter Of in
centive. If every one shares every
thing with every one else, what is
there to work for? The American
works to improve himself so that
he and his wife may dress better,
have snugger roof over their heads.
more security-and so that his chill
dren will have a better opportunity
than he. That is why he works and
why he joins a trade union TO see
that he gets paid fair price for
; his work.
He votes for one politician as
against another because he thinks
the former may make his job more
secure. protect his right to get on IN
the world. All right. how we'll can
the common man do for himself in
Soviet Russia?
I will come back to answer that
query-it's a good one. But mean
while one thing at time: How
good is the good life?
Potentially Rich Country.
Such general questions are hard
to answer, and the answer to this
one is even harder to understand.
Russia is rich country. Its nat
ural resources have been under in
tensive development for over 20
years No one has got rich out of
this exploitation-as foreigners have
got rich out of, say, the exploitation
of natural resources in the Belgian
Congo. The exploiters of the Soviet's
resources have worked on a rational
plan and they have been advised
by some of the foremost scientists
and engineers of our time Moreover,
| they have had the use of the whole
worlds inventive genius. Other peo-
pies inventions, formulae, new ap-
plications of scientific principles,
refnements. etc, they have appro-
prlated as capital.
They did not have to wait to de-
velop steam engine or cotton gin
an electric generator or an auto
mobile. They went into business
with knowledge it took other nations
generations to acquire. And, finally
the people of Russia have worked
hard-with a kind OF heroic desper-
ation-to put this knowledge to work
rapidly.
Yet. for all of these things. they
are poor. From q material point OF
view-and theirs is materialist
society-they are so poor that a
dishwasher in an American hash
house would not trade his life for
that of an average Soviet workman
Not on the basis Of what he would
get to eat, where he would live, how
we'll he could clothe himself ano
what he might be able to buy with
the money left over. Even the rich
est Russian hasn't the command
over life an income of S10O a week
gives family in America.
Outs
The Soviet workman is a man liv.
ing on black bread and cabbage. witt
only one suit to his name, jammet
with five or six other human
beings into single room. It is no
simply matter Of statistics On,
cannot travel for day in the Sovie
Union, or shop or walk in the street,
or observe how they must live. ever
casually-without being impressed
by the peoples poverty 1t is a CO.
lossal fact that stands out In relief
from whatever angle you approach
it.
But you wholly fail to understand
the Soviet Union if you close you,
mind at this point and write it of
as bankrupt experiment in polite!
simply because there are not enough
shoes to go around.
For if their poverty is no secret
neither is the reason for it. It i!
self-imposed. For over 20 years tn,
Russians have consciously skimpec
and starved themselves to buy twt
fantastically expensive capital as.
sets:
The first is an industrial plant. 1
now stands, half finished.
The second is their army.
Worked to Build Army.
For 20 years every bushel of grair
that the people could get along with
out was sold abroad to buy the ex
change to buy piece of machinery
For 20 years every new machine tina
was bought-and every new me
chanic who learned to use it-wa
put to producing either more ma
chinery or equipment for the army
For 20 years people lived four ant
five in a room so that their arm,
might have the latest type Of ma
chine gun, the best anti-aircraf
rife.
: Yet I saw no Russians whit
thought their government had mad,