Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-09-01
Communism in Action
Reds Found Profit Incentive
indispensable, Report Shows

SnOdoy ana inferior character OF
Soviet civilian production. One pos
sible explanation of this puzzling
paradox is that the war industries
enjoyed Al priority as to engineers,
skilled workers and material"
This same chapter makes a fur
ther comment on housing as fol-
lows: Houses not privately owned
are administered by housing depart
ments OF state agencies. Big apart
ment houses furnish the most COM
mon type of housing in cities, former
large six-room apartments being al
lotted to workers on the basis of one
family per room, with common use
of the bathroom and kitchen
| Agriculture.
Farmers will be especially inter-
ested in the chapter devoted to agri-
culture because it deals in detail
with the ownership and use of the
land, the work done and the income
permitted.
This comment from the report will
be interesting in that respect. Each
able-bodied member of a collective
farm) is obliged to perform a spec
flied amount of work for the collec-
tive. The governing body of the
collective determines the amount
each year subject to certain mini
mum standards prescribed for all
collectives. The specified amount of
labor to be devoted to the collective
is expressed in terms of 'workdays.
A workday is measured, not in
terms of time, but in terms of the
type of work performed and the
quality of the performance. Pro-
duction quotas are established for
certain kinds of work. The num-
Der Of workdays credited for one
actual days work may vary from
one-half to two, depending on the
type of work and on performance
in relation to the program. Skilled
work, such as tractor driving, Is
given a higher evaluation then I'M
skilled work. In other words, one
member may earn the number of
| workday credits prescribed for the
fyear in far less actual working time
than another
Transportation.
In the United States we esteem an
automobile to be necessity The
motor car has become available to
almost every American family be-
cause of mass production techniques
and moderate prices.
The following excerpt from the
report will prove highly interesting
with respect to motor car production
in the Soviet Union. Motor vehi-
Giles in 1941 numbered 100000 of
which the great majority were
trucks. Annual production of vehi-
cles in Soviet factories totaled about
200, 900 in 1888 and 1899, of which
nearly seven-eighths were trucks.
OF the passenger vehicles, most OF
the output has been for government
and industry, few being available
for private purchase. In the United
States, 1941 production totaled
4 1899 900 Of which 3,744, 900 were pas
senger vehicles and 1,094,000 were
trucks. Registrations in 1914 lex
Guiding public owned vehicles) to-
tailed 30,0S6,o00 of which 25,573,OOO
were passenger vehicles and 4,513,-
900 were trucks" The figures speak
for themselves.
=. EDUCATION.
People who have set such high
store on the American system of
free, undominated education should
be especially interested in the chap
ter devoted to Education"
The report recites that I'm every
phase Of education in the Soviet
Union, the doctrines of the Com
munist party are the only ones
which can be presented to or be
considered by the learners. If the
form Of government now existing
in the USSR should be established
in the United States, the Commu-
mist party would control education.
The free study Of other types of
political doctrines and theology
presumably would be prohibited. as
in the Soviet Union"
THE USE OF LEISURE TIME.
One highly significant chapter
deals with The Use of Leisure
Time Very little attention has
been given to this feature by most
authors who have dealt with the
Soviet Union. Americans generally
would abhor any effort to provide
a planned and controlled leisure.
The average American to whom
leisure means relaxation would re-
bel if he we're compelled to spend
that leisure according to some po-
litical plan.
On that point the following COM
ment in the report is extremely
significant. Leisure time use in
the Soviet Union Is strictly con-
trolled by the state and the Com
munist party. This fact is demon
strated in number of ways. The
amount of time allotted a worker
for leisure depends upon the type
Of work he is engaged in and the
quality of his performance. The
places to which he may 60 in
search of rest or recreation are like
wise determined for him.
THE groups within which his
- iCio0A tllAlC dStlSlUlCS oil pCl
are organized and activated by
Communist party members. The
sports in which he participates are
designed to strengthen his physical
power and skills for military and
for labor purposes. His cultural
activities during leisure time are
further conditioned by the political
control of newspapers and books,
plays or movies and radio programs
or musical concerts. Finally, it is
noteworthy that in some measure
the control of leisure time merges
into the actual taking Of leisure
! time for state purposes.
: Every early in the development Of
, the Soviet Union. during the critical
D time of the civil war between the
Whites and Reds. the railroad work.
ers of Kazan voluntarily donated
their rest days to the public welfare
by working at other socially impor-
tant employments. The workers on
Saturdays-the so-called Saturday
> ers-found their incentive in the
needs of the state for machinery
repairs and for maintenance of pub