Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-10

ton in order to service the slave
camps.
We prisoners lived in ITS
camps, a few hundred up to
Seventh in q Series OF 10 Articles.
$4,000 inmates in each. The
"free" people lived in downtown
Vorkuta, a cobblestoned town
built since World War II, in one
of the four villages outside the
city, or in one OF 80 posiyoloks-
little settlements next to the coal
mines and factories Each settle
ment had a store and a row OF
dreary one-story buildings-one
family to room with common
bath and kitchen.
had a rare opportunity to
make friends with these Rus
slams from the outside, and to
learn first-hand just what life is
like IN the Soviet Union. In our
mine, No. Is, we had 20 free"
people, 10 workers and as many
Communist executives-a chief
engineer. his assistants, depart
ment managers and chief me-
chanics.
At the time, in February. 1858,
I had been working underground
in the mine for IA months, coup
ling coal cars. 1t was a miserable
Job. Water from melting ice
constantly ran down the walls
and wet my clothes. The air
smelled badly, and the passages
for the cars we're cramped. Once
I broke d rib when / was pinned
between a rafter and an oncom-
ing car.
The mine wasn't safe. 1t had
primitive equipment. and there
were caveins regularly in which
slaves were crushed.
Naturally I was pleased when
Comrade Chumboritsa, Geor-
gian who was the department
manager of transportation, as
signed me to care for the free
workers Mushroom.
1t was a university education
in Soviet life. I worked there
"a hours on duty and "a hours
off for a year. The room was
next to the camp Office and the
young Communist executives
would come in to change their
good clothes. The Mushroom was
the cleanest and warmest room
in the mine. On the night shift
the Communists would often
come in just to keep warm.
They were intrigued that I
was an American. At first our
relationship was stiff but after
a few months. they talked with
me freely.
Free" People Dissatisfied
There are two kinds of "free"
people in Vorkuta. I learned.
Most are either Communist ex-
ecutives assigned there or ordi-
nary workers from all over Rus
STA who have come for the Arc
tic bonus pay. The others are
former slave laborers who have
completed their sentence but are
now in lifelong exile.
Many of these "free" people,
like the Red Army troops who
until last year got 80 kopeks
a day ($2.25 a month at the
official rate). are completely
dissatisfied with life not only
in Vorkuta, but the Soviet I'm
ion itself.
The average Soviet male
worker earns about 100000
rubles a month, but he needs
over 1900 just to give his fam
lily the bare necessities. In al
most every case, the women
who get 500 rubles a month
must work SO the family can
have enough to eat. There is
very little left over for any,
thing else. New clothes are pro-
hibitively priced for the aver
age worker. (The ruble is worth
rs cents at the official rate, but
its purchasing power is only
one-third or one-fourth this
amount)
In our camp. we had 10 free
women working in the mines
Most Of them turned to prosti-
tuition for extra money. The
standard fee was Is rubles. aft
er 1852, the slave laborers had q
little money!
Substandard Pay Is General
From my Communist wash
room companions. learned that
the economic situation is much
the same all over Russia. Ex-
cept for important executives, II
Is a nation of families living in
one-room apartments, barely
existing on substandard salaries
The Kremlin siphons or the
profits Of industry for industrial
expansion and ornaments. The
workers suffer.
The singular exceptions are
the large cities like Moscow and
Leningrad-where many workers
get double pay. although they,
too, live in one room. The
Kremlin remembers where the
revolution started and has no in
tention Of letting history repeat
itself.
There is q tremendous dis
parity Of pay in the workers
paradise. The director Of ouI