SOVIET RECONSTRUCTION

Chronicle (Levin), 29 March 1947, Page 5

SOVIET RECONSTRUCTION

(Special Correspondent.)

Demand For Higher Worker Output

Received Friday, 7.25 p.m. LONDON, Mar. 28. The special correspondent of The Tinies, reviewing reconstruetion in Russia, says the ordinary Russian citizen is iittle coiicernea with the ups and downs of the Moscow Conference and foreign policy. He is much more eoncerrfed with the food situation which is at present the major preoecupation of Russian doniestic policy.

All over the Ukraine, which is still the main granary of the Soviet Union and is the most fertile of the regions of the Volga, the land has had to be reclaimed, fertilisers supplied, houses rebuilt, the popiiiation resettled and the collective farni system reestablished. This is due to the thorough manner in which the Oermans destroyed farm equipment and obliterated all tracesof the collective fa'rms. . Much of this reorganisation has had to be carried out in the face of active and passive resistance of the stubborn peasant population who when they reoceupietl the land reverted to individualism. In most fields the task is onnot so much of reconstruction but of complete rebuilding.. Coal is also a major problem in the Soviet Union The Council of Ministers recently announced that the lag in coal production was retarding the recovei'y of other industries, yet in spite of this the target for 1947 is only 13 per cent. flreater than that fot last year. The greatest progress appeai'S to have been made in the revival of heavy industry, and particulariy of electric power generation. The grcat. Dnieprostoi plant is reported lo have resumed the supply of eur.vnt from one of its gonerators early this month and a high target linore has been set for this year's production of generat in g m a ch ih-o "y. The limiting factor a'd over tho Soviet Union, howe\ er, is iii'shortage of manoower. and in order to counteract fhic strou:; elTorts are being made to increase Ihe productivity of the workors. Efforts are als.i bmng made to recruit more women wo rkevs, but in doing this tho SoHit lraders are obviously clotorm m«:l to strike a careful balance between the present demands for laboor and th: long-torm probLni of luture population.