Evening star., 1952-08-21
The Communist Conoress

In keeping with decree signed by
Generalissimo Stain, the Communists of Russia
will convene on October S for their first Party
Congress since 1939 Their failure to hold such
meeting at any time during the past IS years
especially since the end of the war-has been one
of the battling facts of Soviet political life and
the Kremlin has Enthusiastically declined to
offer an explanation.
Unofhcially, however, the long delay in
convoking the meeting Ca new Soviet statute
proclaims that such congresses are to be held
mot less often than once every four years") has
been attributed to internal economic and political
troubles. According to this theory, the Kremlin
has felt impelled to clear away numerous diff
cultieS-including decline in party discipline
resulting from the war-before calling the
faithful" together for great public display of
unity and for formal adoption of program for
the future.
The faithful" convening on October S will
be made up Of the picked representatives of the
Communist Party throughout the Soviet Union
a party whose estimated six million members
constitute only slight fraction of the Russian
population. This minority is the sole ruling
power of the u. S. S. r., with absolute dictatorial
control vested in Stain and the dozen or so
other men who run the Politburo. It Is this
top little band that will call the signals at the
forthcoming congress, and all the delegates in
attendance will do exactly as they are told. The
Red totalitarianS do not put up with such silly
and inefficient things as the debates that
characterize our Senate and House of Representa-
tives or our Republican and Democratic national
conventions.
To say this however, is not to minimize the
significance of the impending Communist con-
gress. Even though essentially rubber-stamp
operation, the meeting will mark the beginning
of a meaningful new phase in Soviet political,
economic and military development. In addition
to approving propaganda proclamations regarding
war, peace and foreign policy in general, the
assembled delegates are scheduled to adopt
organizational changes Gncluding new name
for the Politburo) designed to give more power
than ever to the dictatorship at the top. They
will also pass upon five-year plan for 10 per
cent increase in Russian production by the end
Of 1855.
This economic program may well be the
most important item on the agenda of the Red
congress. Russian statistics being completely
vague, it is difficult to figure out just what
70 per cent increase in output would mean in
concrete terms, sbut it is interesting to recall
these words of Stain, spoken in February 1916:
1--WE must achieve situation where our industry
can produce annually up to so million tons of
pig iron, up to go million tons of steel, up to 500
million tons of coal and up to go million tons
of oil. Only under such conditions can we con-
slider that our homeland will be guaranteed
against all possible accidents. That will take
three more hve-year plans, I should think,
if not more. But it can be done and we must
do it."
Since the setting of these goals, Russia has
completed one fve-year plan. Hence, by Stalns
estimate, it has about decade to 60 before it
can achieve what he has called for. More is
likely to be heard on this subject at the partys
congress in October. Meanwhile, although the
output envisioned here is much smaller than our
own, point that needs to be kept in mind Is
that until mid-1950, while the Kremlin was
devotng the great bulk Of its resources to building
up a huge military machine, we were using
practically all of our steel and similar materials
for the manufacture of television sets, autos,
washing machines and other civilian COM
modities. Accordingly, despite our productive
superiority, we have no reason whatever to feel
complacent.