The Daily Worker Newspaper, April 18, 1924, Page 5

Friday, April 18, 1924 Immediate Communist: Tasks Under Russia’s Economic Policy’ Resolution of the Central Com- mittee of the Russian Communist Party on “The Immediate Tasks of the Economic Policy.” ** 8 (Adopted by the Political Bureau ‘on December 24, 1923, in execution of the decision taken by the Ple- nums of the Central Committee and the Central Control Committee on October 25. This resolution has to »be submitted for final confirmation by the Plenum of the Centrat Committee. ad (Concluded from yesterday.) V. Home Trade and Co-operatives. Under the New Economic Policy, the organization of commerce has a unique importance becouse, by means of the commercial apparatus, there must be the closest linking up of the nationalized industry with the peas- ant market. Every strengthening of the co-operative and of the state com- merce and every enlargement of the strengthening of the positions of tho private middle-man, cealer and mer- chant imply an enlargement of the sphere of domination of the bourgeois capitalist conditions. The support, therefore, of the co-operatives and the development of the state commerce, the winning by them of positions from the private commercial capital- ists on the basis of competition, the economic employment of this capital gained by them, form the most im- portant tasks of the economic policy of. the Party. In the meantime the crisis has shown that the co-operatives and the state commerce are not up to those tasks which confront them: the tasks of establishing an immediate connec- tion between the state industry and the mass consumers. The insufficient flexibility and the specialization of the organs, ‘the un- weildiness and the bureaucratism. of the commercial apparatus, the high rate of the additional expenses, the incapability of reaching the mass mar- ket, the insufficient adaptability: to the needs of the scattered many mil- lioned peasantry—all these demands .from the Party a steadfast work for eliminating these defects resulting from the crisis. The. problems of commerce confront the Party in all their immensity. Vi. Private Capital, The problem of the relation be- tween state and private capital forms, at the present time, the most important problem in the sphere of economics, and it is decisive for the relation between the class forces of the’ proletariat, based on the nation~ alized industry, and the new bour- ~geoisie based on the elementary play of free competition, By establishing -the basis for the New Economic Pol- icy, which has fully justified itself and requires ‘no revision leading practi- cally to a return of war Communism, the Party has not only permitted pri- vate capital to accumulate a certain amount of capital resources derived from commerce, but it has also hand- ed over for partial exploitation by pri- . Yate capital a part of the means of production at its disposal (conces- sions, leases, etc.). In this latter sphere the participation of private ‘capital is both absolutely and relative- ly negligible. The comparatively more important role of private capital in commerce is due to its greater adapt- ability to the retail trade and to the supplying of the needs of the scat- ‘tered customers in the village. The state capital cannot take upon itself the rapid establishment of im- mediate connections with the whole 100 million mass of scattered produc- tive peasantry, but also in this sphere -'the growth of private capital must be kept within certain limits by means cf strengthening the economic role of the co-operatives and of the state commerce and by means of an adop- tion to the needs and conditions of trade in the village. Help Co-Operatives. One of the principal pre-conditions _for the strengthening of our positions against private capital must be the “fixing of reasonable prices, The Sov- set rule having concentrated in its hanrs. the pr‘veipal mass of products which are needed by the villuge, must become capable of ensuring that the state organizations and co-operatives sell more cheaply than the private ‘dealer, We must render the mass .consumer— worker and peasant — aware’ of the superiority of the co- operative and state trade of those or- ganizations based on private capital. _The co-operative organizations are | destined to play the chief role in trade retail trade. A number of measures must, therefore, be adopted which will render the co-operatives an e¥ective weapon for elimination of private trade capital (state subsidies to co- operatives, in particular, to the -work- ers’ co-operatives;. transference of the co-operatives to the principle of voluntary membership; the, greatest attention must be devoted to enlarg- ing the network of co-operative organ- izations and to strengthening the low- est co-operative nuclei; the realiza- tion of their right to enter into imme- diate commercial relations with. the state industry; drastic reduction of additional expenses; greatest possible reduction of intermediary channels, thru which the goods are passed on to the consumer, and the like). Along with this, in order to render subordinate the activity of private capital to the general economic policy of the Soviet power, a number of fur- ther measures must be adopted for regulating the prices of the principal ation. There must be a drastic tax- ation of luxuries and an intensifica- tion of the struggle against predatory speculators. The Party has resolutely abandoned the policy of grain requisition and the system of rationing the food supply to the working population. By allowing the peasants freely to dispose of the results of their labor, the Party has thereby permitted to a certain degree the participation of private capital in the exchange of goods and has no reason for abandoning this policy. But the Party must systematically work for strengthening its position in this sphere also, by a tenacious and unwearied struggle for the complete domination of the peasant mass mar- ket. VII. Financial Policy. An extraordinarily important gain for the realization of the principal tasks of our economic policy, was ob- tained in the last year by the intro- ducing a stable valuta—of the cher- vonetz, and by making it the funda- mental valuta of the country (out of 350 millions representing the total amount of money in circulation im the country, the chervonetz already com- prises 270 millions, i, e, about four- fifths). The introduction of the chervonetz and its maintenance as a stable valuta were only possible as a result of the progressive increase of our entire economy and prove the correctness of our policy of economic reconstruc- tion. The circulation of the chervonetz forms, at the present time, one of the most essential aids for the devel- opment of our economy. The growth of the state industry mentioned above during the last year would not have been possible without the chervon- etz. On the basis of the circulation of the chervonetz, credits have been and are being granted to trade, in- dustry and agriculture. The granting of bank credits to industry and trade has reached a considerable degree of development. These credits have formed a fund for conducting opera- tions, without which the systematic development of industry and of the entire national economy would be im- possible. Basing itself on these cred- its, industry has for the first time been able to develop its production without any set-backs, and was also able to accumulate considerable stocks of goods in anticipation. of the harvest. Production Efficiency. The strict accounting, the correct calculation of the cost of production and the introduction of a proper sys- tem of bookkeeping in our factories and works, trusts, syndicates and trade organizations, have only become possible, thanks to the stability of the chervonetz, and their perpetua- tion and improvement in the future will only be possible by its help. The further policy of our Party must consist of preserving the stabi- lity of the chervonetz, and of perfect- ing the currency reform. The inter- ests of the broad masses demand the perfecting of the currency reform, i. e. the substitution of a stable valuta for the sinking Soviet notes. The per- fecting of the currency reform must become one of the principal tasks of the Soviet power in the next period. The successful accomplishment of this task implies an improvement in the position of the peasant economy, a raising of the material position of the workifig class, and of the working strata of the population in general, and the recovery of our economy as a whole. # The successful carrying out of the reducing as much as possible the bud- get deficit and by strict economy on the part of all economic organs. The Struggle against wasteful expenditure of any kind therefore constitutes an essential economic requirement. As regards the state budget, consi- derable gains have to be recorded. The normal resources of revenue have increased, The note press is playing an increasingly less important role as a means of covering expenditure. In the future, every effort must be directed towards increasing the pe- cuniary resources-of the state with- out increasing the burden of taxa- tion on the working strata of the pop ulation, by increasing the yield of profit derived from the state lands and undertakings. Budgets. At the same time there is an un- doubted improvement in the prepa- ration of the budget estimates them- selves. For some years past the So- viet power has been striving at the first time, budget estimates which cor- respond to the true state of affairs, and which to a greater extent than hitherto permit one to foresee and to calculate in regard to the state ad- ministration and economy. The introduction of the chervonetz has, of itself, considerably facilitated the possibility of proper accounting, and consequently also of a systematic control over economy as a whole, as well as over single undertakings, The improvement and perfection of the budget plans have constituted the next step. But it is only by improving and perfecting the currency reform, that it will be possible, on the basis of a stable currency unit, to formu- late effective financial plans for in- dustry and trade, to conduct a cor- rect calculation and to organize a re- Mable system of recording and ac- counting. The currency reform must there- fore form one of the essential pre- requisites for the necessary increas- ing of the co-ordiaaticn between the various parts of the national econo- my, and it will for the first time pro- vide a real basis for the effective sys- tematic control of economy. VIIL On the Necessity of increasing the Basis of Planned Economy. It would be a fundamental mistake to assume that, with the preponder- ance of the small peasant economy, with the increasing importance of the world market and of its prices in our economy, the state planned man- agement would be able to exclude the Possibility of crises under the N. 8. P. The present crisis emphasizes, how- ever, the necessity of increasing the efforts towards co-ordinating the single branches of the national econ- omy, and extending the bas!s of plan- ned economy in the work of the state economic organs. In a far greater measure than here- tofore, the Party must Jearn to co- ordinate the elements of the state economy in their mutual relations with the market. This task is facili- tated by that fact that we have now gained considerable successes in re- gard to the creating of fundamental Premises for the management of Planned economy, without which it could easily transform itself into a bureaucratic utopia. These premises for a successful planned econamy con- sist of: 1. the creation of a stable valuta, 2. the organization of credits, 8. the accumulation of material re- sources with which to operate, 4, the realization and strengthening of cer- tain forms of the organization of eco- nomy (trusts and the like), 5. the ex- istence of a number of individual plans, constructed on the basis of ex- perience, in the first place of well- founded budget plans and the like. The existence of these conditions furnishes the possibility of a far more successful work than hitherto of the state organs of planned economy. The next tasks are the strengthening of the “Gossplan,” the increasing of its role in relation to financial and cre- dit policy, the creating of closer con- nections between its work and the work of the People’s Commissariat for Finances, the Superior Council for People’s Economy, the People’s Com- missariat for Agriculture, the Com- mission fot Interior Trade and the like, the strengthening of its local or- gans and the like, The next task of the “Gossplan” must be the systematic study of the current market conjuncture, and the elaboration of fundamental measures aiming at influencing the trend of the market. The “Gossplan” must be actually guaranteed that position which was indicated in the resolution THE DAILY WORKER pointing of one of the vice-presidents of the Council of People’s Commissars as president of the “Gossplan” as- sures the immediate participation of the “Gossplan” in the solution of all current questions of the economic life. 1X. Practical Conclusions. A. In the Sphere of Agriculture. 1, Intensification of agriculture, de- velopment of the cultivation of raw materials, of cattle-breeding, etc., by means of several stimulative meas- ures (alleviation of taxes, credits and the like); 2, Development of grain export by every means in order to procure mar- ket for the surplus grain produced by the peasants, and thereby to gain bet- ter grain prices for peasants’ econo- my; for the same purpose there must be the greatest possible reduction in the additional expenses for the pur- chase and transport of grain; 8. To adopt all measures for organ- apprepatute quantities of grain. reyu- lation of freight charges, develop- ment of the distribution of elevators, ete.) ; 4. Development of a complete sys- tem in the villages of consumers and agricultural products and for supply- ing to the peasantry the necessary articles of consumption; 5. The adoption of urgent measures for the development of agricultural credits by a central agricultural bank, and by local credit associations, in or- der before all to supply the peasants, the peasants’ associations and the col- ‘lective farms with agricultural ma- chines and tools at reasonable prices on the principle of long-term credit; 6. Beginning with the year 1924, transition to the levying of a uniform agricultural tax, calculated in stable valuta; 7. For the year 1924 there must be instituted large scale alleviations of the agricultural tax for peasant farms with but feeble resources; the organ- izations of agricultural laborers (All- Russian Confederation of Agricultural and Forest Laborers) and of the poorest strata of the peasantry (as the Committees of Poor Peasants and the like) must be helped by every means; 8. There must be an end made to the imposing of non-official supple- mentary levies in the village on the part of local authorities; voluntary. levies are only to take place with the sanction of the central organs in each single case. B. In the Sphere of Industry. 1. Rationalization of production and increase of productivity of labor; 2, Increasing of ‘the tasks prescrib- ed for the various undertakings and systematic distribution of orders, es- pecially in the heavy industry; 8. Reduction of the additional ex- penses by means of simplification of the organizations of industry, reduc- tion of the number of employees, etc.; 4, Cheapening of raw material, fuel and auxiliary materials of industry by means of reduction of expenditure in their purchase, as well as by means of importation of cheap foreign raw materials; 5. Creation of a well ordered indus- trial calculation with the imposition of strict responsibility for its cor- rectness; * 6, Exact determination of the rights and the duties of the managers of the trusts and of the directors of under- takings, in order fully to liquidate the remnants of bureaucratic central- ism; 7. Systematic promotion of practical workers in industry to responsible po- sitions in industrial undertakings and associations; 8. Every help to be afforded to those holding responsible positions in the economic fleld, in their difficult work for industrial construction under the conditions of a better struggle against private capital; 9, To increase the participation of trade unions in the management of economic ‘organs, in the control of their activity and in the selection of economic functionaries; 10. to bring the Party organizs tions in the undertakings nearer t production, by means of regular ir formation being supplied the Part, nuclei regarding the progress of th work in the undertakings and associa tions, by means of a free discussio regarding all sides of the activity o* the economic organs and by means 0 stimulating the initiative of the com rades as to seeking means for the im provement of the economic work. C. In the Sphere of Wages. 1. To aim at an increase of wag the industry and of the productivity of labor; 2. To impose severe penalties for the withholding of the payment of wages. Along with this there must be recognized the necessity of fully compensating the worker for loss de- riving from the fluctuation in the value of the Soviet note in all cases of the withholding of payment of wages, 8. To forbid the payment of bonuses on the turnovers, and only permitting the payment of bonuses on the net profit and then only to particularly conscientious and meritorious func. tionaries with the consent of the trade unions; 4. To improve the housing condi- tions of the workers, acknowledging 4s an urgent task the insuring of state credits for the Soviet housing Schemes; 5. Special attention must be given to the payment of insurance contribu- tions in order, in the first place, to as soon as the latter is extended. D. In the Sphere of Foreign Trade. 1. To adopt further measures for consolidating the foreign trade mon- opoly; 2. To attract foreign capital for the purposes of foreign trade, by promot- ing mixed companies for carrying on export and import; 3. To carry out a scheme of imports and exports connected with the funda- mental economic plans and insuring a favorable trade balance (preponder- ance of exports over imports) and the supplying of Soviet industry with raw material, with materials and semi- manufactured goods; 4. The greatest possible develop- ment of foreign credits for export trade. E. In the Sphere of Home Trade. 1, Extending the subordinate trade apparatus, in particular the network of subordinate co-operatives, on the basis of a careful service in the inter- ests of the consumer (by introducting stocks of assorted goods indispens- able to the mass consumers, etc.), and regulation of the relations with the private middleman in order to subordinate the latter economically to the co-operative and to the state trade (by a regulation of retail prices, etc.). 2. Strengthening the regulation of wholesale prices, before all of articles of mass consumption, in the first place of those of peasant consump- tion, extending the same to retail prices by means of establishing maxi- mum allowances for profit to the co- operatives on the wholesale organs, by means of operating with certain stocks of goods on the part of the state in order to reduce the prices in certain areas, finally, by means of es- tablishing a credit policy aiming be- fore all at serving the interests of the subordinate trade organs. 3. The necessity must be recogniz- ed of normalizing prices of salt, petroleum and sugar in all categories of trade (co-operative, state and pri- vate trade). 4. Modification of the existing sys- tem of centralized purchases on the part of the superior organs in the direction of promoting immediate con- tacts between the subordinate trade organizations, the faceory and work associations and the wholesale and retail stores, transforming according- ly the systems of the granting of credits to co-operatives and state trade. 5. The necessity must be recogniz- ed of a revision of the existing sys- tem of syndicates in order to abolish those which cannot be economically justified, limiting as a rule the com- mercial actiyity of the remaining syn- dicates within the confines of whole- sale trade. 6. To revise the existing railway tariffs with a view to cheapening the transport of mass consignments of goods, 7, To adopt all measures for reduc- ing the additional trade expenses by means of reducing the number of trade representations, both in the capital and in the provinces, by \eans of giving contracts to co-oper- ive and state trade organs, finally y the reduction of wasteful expendi- ire (personal conveyances, office uipment, advertising, etc.). 8. Selection of a special reserve ‘aff of functionaries for strengthen- ig the co-operative and state trade ‘gans. 9. The establishment of an exact nd punctual rendering of accounts m the part of trade organs, F. In the Sphere of Financ: 1, Strictest observance of the stipu- ‘ated annual budget, absolutely limit- ing class of America. THE DAILY WORKER 1113 W. Washington Blvd. Chicago, Illinois. Please send me .... Day Special. .1 enclose &... fleld of their octivicy imply an en ; ing thi tate in trade in the|insure that portion of the un loy- | articles of mass consumption. On the| creation of a real budget. But it was|izing the state grain trade in kee Dortion 9} miseaedaies / vite eRe ot brencrobitin ae re other hand the control over accumu-| only in the last year that any consi-| home market in sucn forms as will|ment who constitute genuine prole- STREET..., s of 7 tt ff 7 .Jation on the part of private capital|derable improvements were attained | Suarantee the stability of grain prices | tarian elements and who are, before haggsrsal ee ae genta must be reached: by measures of tax-|in this direction. We have for the|‘alrangemonts for the transport ofall, to be absorbed into production CITY... TICKETS Beforehand 50c Mass Labor Party.” and the Needle Trades.” INE Extracting a Speciality Gas and Oxygen--X-Ray HUNGARIAN WM. FRIEDMAN CO. PROP. MEETING PLACE FOR THE NEEDLE WORKERS Strictly Home Cooking and Baking and of other credit institutions with the leading organs of industry and and the trade thru the ‘Gossplan” Council of Labor and Defense. (The May Day Special is priced at 5 cents a copy of 10 or more 34% cents a copy.) STUUHUUTETLUUUAEUAAUnEceeenegce vance ATAU THE RED SENTINEL A Dramatic Presentation of Revolutionary Spirit Night and Morning If they Tire, Itch 7 Smart, Burn or Dis- RESTAURANT 215 S. Halsted Street Page ‘SUH 0 0UHNHULUE USAGE AVENUE Have You Ordered Your Bundle For MAY DAY? The May Day Special Is On The Way. It will be the greatest newspaper ever issued in Amer- ica, chock full of inspiration, and stimulation to the work- No May Day demonstration will be successful without a supply of the May Day DAILY WORKER. The May Day Special Will Be Published On April 26th Orders will be received until April 25, but you had better make sure of your supply by placing your order now. ———-CUT OUT THIS COUPON AND SEND JT IN TODAY: copies of THE DAILY WORKER May wwe In payment. AND Concert and Dance at FOLKETS HUS, 2733 Hirsch Boulevard SATURDAY NIGHT, APRIL 19TH, 1924 For the Benefit of THE DAILY WORKER Under the Auspices of Scandinavian Socialist Singing Society and Scandinavian Karl Marx Club. Five TUTTI cd At the Door, 78c NEW YORK, ATTENTION! All Trade Union Militants are invited to attend the GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING of the Trade Union Educational League, held at Stuyvesant Casino, 142 Second Avehue (near 8th St.) WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 1924, at 8 P. M. Sharp SPEAKERS—EARL BROWDER, Editor of the Labor Herald: “The present outlook in the Labor Movement and the Prospects for a J. W. JOHNSTONE, Assistant Secretary, T. U. E. 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Transition to a stable valuta, abolition of the issuing of unstable Soviet notes and issuing not later than in the gpring, in connection with the reform of the agriculture tax, of stable currency of a low denomination in pieces under one chervonetz and of small silver coinage. 3. Reduction of indirect taxes on G. In the Sphere of the Work of Planned Economy. 1, Enlarging of the role of the “Gossplan” regarding the elaboration of effective economic plans for the Council of Labor and Defense as to the connection of the elements of the national economy and to the regula- fion of market conditions on the basis of & systematic study of the economic conjunctures. » organization, especially in that of the currency reform, is only possible by UNCER WIGGLYS TRICKS _ of the 12th Party Congress. The ap-|in accordance with the progress of A LAUGH FOR THE CHILDREN 4863 VAN DYKE AVENUE, Betw. Forest and Gratiot FOR SALE ‘Well established tailoring and shop. Owner leaving the city, dress Box 8A. 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