Evening star., 1947-12-21

final belt-tightening before a gen.
eral relaxation of Soviet policy,
That may seem startling con-
lecture in view of the breakdown
of the London Conference and un-
broken Soviet intransigeance all
along the diplomatic front. Yet 1t
is virtually certain that when the
Kremlin decided to do job (and
what a job on the ruble, it made,
at the same time, number OF other
important, not yet announced, de-
cisions-simply because no action
as shaking as currency reform can
be undertaken by any government,
and least of all by totalitarlan-
minded one, without complete
evaluation of future policy in all
fields.
Measure of Sacrifice
1t would be foolish to read into
the Soviet action any evidence OF
coming collapse. Weak, frightened
governments do not go in for
drastic money purges. What the
action does do, though, is to strip
the rags of propaganda from the
Soviet system to bare some OF the
pressures under which the Kremlin
finds itself and how the minds OF
the Soviet leaders operate when 1t
comes to meeting these pressures.
For example, the 1O-to-1 rate is
exactly the rate which the Allied
Control Council in Berlin has been
considering for the depreciation OF
the German reichsmark. Since
the Soviet and German economies
are enormously different, this hardly
can be mere coincidence. The Krem-
lin appears to want yardstick,
sharply impressed upon the Rus
sian people, for measuring the COM
parative sacrifices imposed upon
Germany and Russia.
In the arguments in Berlin over
plans for reforming Germany's cur
rency, both the United States and
Russia have favored exchanging to-
dav's reichsmarks on l0-to-l basis,
while the British have wanted a
7-to-1 redemption. A new currency
for Western Germany will be issued
soon. Should the United States and
Britain compromise their differences
and give the Germans better than
1O-to-1 change. Soviet propagandists
can be expected to seize upon this
action as proof of the vests IN
difference to Russia's war sacriflces
and of the vests intention to re-
build Germany against Russia.
Emphasis on Industry
That has been the theme behind
Vishinsky's "warmongering" accusa-
tions, behind the propaganda OF the
new Cominform, behind MolotoV'
insistence upon 10 billions in repa-
rations. Significantly the deprecla-
ton of the ruble was timed SO 1T
NOIlQ IuIl III IbOooAdAA
alongside of reports from London
of the rejection of Molotov's repa-
rations demands by the Americans,
British and French.
It seems safe to conclude that the
Kremlin finds itself under great and
continuing domestic pressure to steel
the Russian people to continue the
severe sacrifice required by the
Soviet five-year plan. The principal
emphasis of the plan is on building
up heavy industries like steel and
engineering, on which RusslaS S
potential military strength rests, at
the expense of production OF con-
sumer goods and housing which are
so desperately needed.
The traditional justification for
hardship at home is an enemy
abroad and that has been the Soviet
"line." It would be shreWd coun-
terstroke of propaganda if the
Americans and British used a 10
to-1 conversion rate in Germany,
stating this was the figure to which
the Soviet government had agreed.
Another revealing feature OF the
deprecistion of the ruble is that
current wages are left untouched.
The brunt of the depreciation falls
upon savings and accumulated earn
ings-past wages which were paid
out for work already done. The net
brutal effect of the depreciation is
really like writing off whole gen.
Grafton of Russian people.
Promises Written Off
In Russia, as in other countries,
money represents claim on future
production. Through the 20s and
'3os and on through the war, the
Soviet people toiled and sweated,
accommodating promises of what they
would be able to buy when the war
was over. Unable to redeem those
promises, the Soviet government now
has Cancelled them. Since many OF
the Russians hit hardest are past
the ages when they could recoup
through fresh labor what has been
taken from them, one can say the
value of their lives has been depre-
ciated accordingly.
The real depreciation, of course,
was In the immense destruction
Russia suffered during the war.
Since the physical wealth for which
the past generation toiled has been
lost, the Kremlin' appears to have
reasoned that the money which was
paid out to build that wealth should
also be wiped out. The logic is
brutally ruthless. 1t reveals that
after 80 years of Communist power
the Kremlin still regards the Rus
sian people as, expendable.
For the bulk of Russians past 40
certainly for those over 50-little is
left but to end their days in dreary
toll, lightened somewhat perhaps by
sharing the dreams of their chill