LENIN’S LABOR SLAVES

Hokitika Guardian, 21 May 1921, Page 4

LENIN’S LABOR SLAVES

WORKMEN AND PEASANTS IN COMMON RUIN. A foreign engineer, who spent two ’ years in Soviet Russia in charge of the ‘ transport on the Dnieper and Dniester, * and returned to Central Europe last December, has drawn up a report on the J economic situation in the country (says ; the London “Times”). The following! extracts from his report deal with the conditions of the workmen and peasants generally:— “Factory hands are exploited to an extent undreamed of in Tsarist times. This is done on the principles of labour discipline,’ under pretext of suppressing the prevalent laziness and carelessness. The workmen are attached to the factories, and can only be sent from one to another bv orders from the Executive. “They are very badly fed, sometimes receiving no more than 241 bof bread j a month, with nothing besides, so that i they arc always hungry. A great deal ( is demanded from them, and they get ! nothing in return. They are continually I terrorised, as, owing to the militarisaj tion of labour, every man is punished very severely for desertion. The liglitj est punishment is confinement in a concentration barracks; the heaviest, death.

“In every factory there is a Communist committee of five or six, who arc nominated, and who carry on a system of espionage, control, and terrorisation of the other workmen. From these committees are elected the workmen’s representatives at all meetings, so that the majority at meetings is always Communist Even this hard rule

does not keep the ill-fed, ill-clad workmen in the factories; they make every endeavour to run away to the country and work for the peasants. “At first the peasants were very suspicious of the workmen who joined them, but now, owing to their common hatred of Bolshevism, the relations be tween workmen and peasants are becoming more and more friendly. In particular, blacksmiths and other skilled artisans are very welcome in the villages. The workmen in the factories live by making things in overtime, and exchanging them for bread. As this wastes a lot of time and material, the Soviet authorities arc trying to stop it, but without effect. Skilled artisans are in a particularly hard case, as they are mobilised and militarised, and have to answer with their lives before their executives.”

In another passage ol his report the writer says:

‘‘lt is a mistake to regard the present chaos in Rtissia as due to lack ol material and skilled workmen; the real reasons for the reigning disorder and disorganisation are the theories of Communism. Life in Russia at present, based as it is on the theories of Communism, lias nothing in common with real practical life. The Communists deal merely in theories, on paper and in speeches, and entirely disregard bare facts. The formalities of the bureaucracy hfive grown to such an extent that there is a great lack of paper in Moscow. Thousands, of women are employed in searching through old records to find clean sheets of paper fit for use.”