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Show RUSSIANS fc 2il.Jy2jf white INSTALLMENT TEN The war's climax came in 1943 with the successful defense of Stalingrad. Stalin-grad. The Cermans had by this time been dealt a crippling blow to their air force in Africa. Russians Rus-sians pointed out scornfully that this African campaign Involved few men: however, it required masses of highly complicated transport and machines. Furthermore, the RAF and the Eighth Air Force in England were by then pounding German industry, and the Germans had to strip the Russian front of Messerschmitts to defend their home factories, so that for the first time the Russians had superiority in the air. Lend-Lease, Lend-Lease, including thousands of trucks, was now pouring in, the German Ger-man lines of communication were perilously extended, and for the first time it was possible for a Russian army to move quickly out to envelop en-velop and cut off a German army, as theirs had been enveloped so many times before. Russia's factories behind the Urals were working; new ones were equipped with American machine HITLER FOUND THAT THE U. S. S. . WHO OWNS THE WORLD'S KNOWN OIL RESERVES " Q I II? H ! 5" Si iS SS k. tmt 14 B- i i i I RUSSIA TRAINS MORE DOCTORS J-C.B-g-e-fl-B.g-B Q fl fl i M A-rs-3-8 itussia is a big nation as Hitler also found out. tools. By the summer of 1944 at least half of the Red Army's road transportation was being supplied by 210,000 American military trucks, 40,000 jeeps and 30,000 other military motor vehicles. She also had 5,600 American tanks and tank destroyers, destroy-ers, and was using $225,000,000 worth of machine tools a total of $5,750,- 000,000 worth of Lend-Lease aid. At last Russia's crushing superiority in manpower could become effective. effec-tive. Rnf ob A 1 A : - . o uic nugiu-fimerican onen-sive onen-sive opened in France, the Soviet government loyally kept her agreement, agree-ment, made at Teheran, to start a drive from the east. To do this, she was drafting for front-line duty men who had already been discharged with wounds and others previously rejected for serious physical defects the dregs of any nation's power. But the Soviet government kept faith. One reason for the success of the Red Army is that the breach between its old-line, experienced officers of-ficers and the Communist Party is now completely healed. Originally the Red Army was burdened with a system of political commissars whose duty It was to watch the officers, of-ficers, and whose authority could under certain circumstances exceed that of the unit's regular command er. The political commissars have been absorbed in the army, with regular military rank and duties. Political education continues, but not to the neglect of military training. train-ing. Membership in the Communist Party always carries heavy responsibility, respon-sibility, and this continues in the army. Party members are supposed to set an example to the others not only in efficiency but in bravery under fire, and as consequence the Party has had more than Its share of casualties. Its membership, formerly for-merly 2,500,000, was increased to 4,000,000, but many of them have been killed. But the Party is strong In the army, and a man who wishes to ad-rance ad-rance must usually join. The army's achievements have giv- little contempt for the outside world. Moscow correspondents have a deep respect for the competence of Its leadership and often, when irritated irri-tated by the stupidity of a Russian civilian official, they would remind each other that some ol this was temporary, as all the country's really real-ly intelligent and efficient men were In the Red Army. The farmer lives on a collective or state farm, where he does his share of the common work. When the crop Is sold, certain overhead expenses must be met. There are substantial state taxes. His collective collec-tive probably owes money for farm implements and these Installments must be paid. The Collective has probably pledged itself to buy a tank for th Red Army. Taking these items together, nine-tenths of what it raises must be sold to the State at the low-pegged official price. But not all. A small surplus of produce usually remains, and this is distributed among the farmers, free either to eat it or bring it to town for sale in the free market at any price. This is also true of what each farmer raises in the small kitchen garden tract which is allotted allot-ted him. It is supposedly only large enough for his family's needs, but usually something is left over. In America commission men make the rounds of farm houses in trucks, buying surplus vegetables for resale in town. In the Soviet Union both the farmer and the commission man would get a five-year sentence, because be-cause that is exploitation. To avoid this crime, the Soviet farmer must take time to hitch up and go to market where he sells personally what he raises, and the hungry housewife may go by subway clear across Moscow to find him. The rouble-per-kilo prices I translate trans-late into American dollars and cents per pound. But remember that on this same basis, our Russian war worker gets a total of $20 a week. At the Rynok, she may buy eggs at $13.10 a dozen. She may buy as big a chunk of bread as she wants at the rate of $5.67 per pound. Mutton Mut-ton (or perhaps goat) a bargain at $11.34 per pound more than half her week's wages. Sugar beet at 80 cents a pound. Honey at $15 a pound. An old lady is selling a calf's head and its four knuckles at $18 for the collection, with the hair on and glassy eyes open, attracting a few flies. Another wrinkled old lady Is selling sell-ing a bunch of peonies, asking (and getting) $1.60 per flower. A man is selling a crudely made wooden coat-hanger coat-hanger for $1.02. This sale is legal in Russia because the seller whittled whit-tled it himself Pntatnc nm 1 n5 cents a pound. Ripe currants in a jelly glass at a dollar without the glass. Cheese for $6 a pound. Stockings, slightly used and carefully care-fully mended, cost $6.25 for the cotton cot-ton ones and $25 for the rayon pair. A man is selling his extra pair of shoes, somewhat worn but look fairly fair-ly stout, for 1,000 roubles $80 in our money exactly a month's salary for our warworker. A pair of new evening shoes would cost $333.33. Here a girl is selling a sweater since it is warm now and this is a real English camel's hair or cashmere. cash-mere. And any Russian would call it a bargain at $56. Still, this is June. She could get much more next October but she's hungry now. However, remember that these food prices listed above are exceptional: excep-tional: our $80 a month Soviet war- worker has already bought with her ration book at the government-controlled store about nine-tenths of the food she uses and has paid only $6.50 per month for it, at low - pegged, state prices. The Soviet government's problem was basically that of our own: Its people were getting high war wages, but there was nothing to spend them on. We solve it partly by taxation and partly by selling pur people bonds, so that after the; war they might sell the bonds and buy merchandise mer-chandise at normal prices. War bonds are sold in Russia, many even bear interest. But a large proportion propor-tion of Soviet war financing consists of outright gifts solicited from in dividuals, factories, ancj co-operatives, either In cash or in kind. Also the government gets money by charging fantastic prices for luxuries luxu-ries in state-owned stores, thus putting put-ting part of the war on a solid pay-as-you-go basis which would delight a Vermont Republican, i Russians are skeptical about bonds, because a man j who owns one has purchasing power the state can't control. His whims constitute a danger to the state economy. He may take a notion to buyr before the government is ready to sell. He may prefer a radio instead of a wooden table, and create a sudden shortage In radios! j While dependent on state wages, he is on a hand-to-mouth basis and his purchasing power can be controlled. con-trolled. He will get a radio only when they are ready to make radios, and the first sets will go to those whom the government thinks most J 41 TA t . ueierve uiem. jj. ue owns a DOnd or has hoarded his high wartime wages the whole carefully planned economy is threatened. The Soviet government has met this peril most ingeniously. In April of 1944, it reopened "Commercial Stores." In them the government sells you almost any luxury in food or clothing at prices about equal with those in the free market and without ration coupons. In American terms, the Soviet government runs its own black market mar-ket as a state enterprise to skim from its workers the bulk of their war wages. When peace comes, they hope to have most of the worker's savings in the hands of the government (without obligation to repay him, as our government must redeem its war bonds) and he will be back on a hand-to-mouth basis, dependent on his government-controlled salary. In America a man who saves money is regarded as a sound and valuable citizen. In Russia he is viewed with suspicion as a hoarder, hoard-er, a potential capitalist to be watched for the criminal tendency of exploiting his fellow workers by giving them jobs. Into one of these government-owned government-owned "Commercial Stores" steps our $20 a week Soviet warworker without her ration book. This black market is perfectly legal the government gov-ernment makes the profit not some racketeer. The cheapest grade of baloney sells for $13.20 per pound or boiled ham at $26.46 per pound or bacon at $24.57 per pound. A dressed chicken at only $13.20 per pound. Beef about the grade America uses for soup meat is $13.62 per pound, mutton $13.20, and pickled herring $13.20 per pound. Luxuries, too. If she plans to have a few friends in for a snack, there is sliced, cooked sturgeon at $13.20 per pound, black caviar at $19.73 per pound; almond meats the same, and also hazel nuts. For an omelette from reallv fresh pp?b (never sure in the free market) at only $1.25 per egg, and a pint of nice, fresh thick cream for $8. Swiss cheese at $20 per pound. Outside this store a long line stretches around the block; shabby warworkers eager to pay these prices. Inside there is another long line to the cashier's desk. It takes the better part of a day to get in, buy a few items and get out again. This is one of only twenty "Commercial "Com-mercial Stores" in Moscow. The government has already tried patriotic appeal; countless drives urging factories and collective farms to buy tanks and planes for the Red Army but this was not enough. There remains considerable money now in the hands of the farmers who ha-tra hocn ealKmr AJ i u .m r ut-t.ii tiling 1UUU U1C i-dllLda- tic free market prices for some time, and have been paying fantastic fantas-tic prices for second-hand clothing. The, government opened a chain of clothing stores exactly like its commercial com-mercial food stores, where new, stout, warm clothes, including many luxury items, are on sale at black market prices. Thus, it takes from the farmer all he has saved from selling food in the free market to city workers. The people do not protest the government gov-ernment faking over the functions of the illegal black market. They seem glad to buy these things, and count the new shops among the other oth-er blessings of this society. Some effort is made to present the merchandise attractively, just as our post office would prefer to put out prettv stamns. But ft rlnn't greatly matter, any more than Kansas Kan-sas particularly cares whether its auto license tags are prettier or easier eas-ier to screw on than those of neighboring neigh-boring Oklahoma. The architect who drew the plans for dreary workers' apartment had to please, not the people who live in it, nor the promoter-owners who hoped to keep it rented, but the government gov-ernment officials who approved his drawings. The tenants live there not because they like its facade or its plumbing, but because it belongs to the factory where they work or because they lack the necessary prestige or political connections to wangle more square meters of living liv-ing space in a better one. Under our way of doing things, a man who saves money instead of spending it to have a good time, per- 0 j U.i Uf l-h IW Russia's wheat fields saved that country. forms a useful act For out of such savings our factories are built and our farms improved. These Socialists can argue that when saving and spending are left up to the individual, they can get out of control and wreck a nation's business structure. Panicky saving can stop all business activity and throw millions out of work. They can argue that the greatest waste of capitalism is not the money we spend feeding the unemployed, but the valuable man-hours of work which our nation loses when these millions are either idle, or when they are employed by the state in ways which do not compete with private pri-vate business. (TO BE COimNTJSTj). |
