The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 5, 1925, Page 10

RUSSIA TODAY: Official Report of British Trad | (Continued from Yesterday's Daily Worker) | SYNOPSIS.—The official report of the British ‘trade union delegation to Soviet Russia described the workings of foreign trade, transportation, industry, finance and agriculture in the Soviet Union, The trade union leaders concluded that foreign trade is increasing, and that in agriculture and industry the level of production is being raised. The finances have been placed on a sound basis, the report showed. Harm is being done to Eng- land by the absence of full diplomatic relations, the union leaders stated. Schools and universities, and literature, music and opera and the theatre were ‘then discussed. Art collections, censorship, newspapers,..wall news- papers, and fréedom of the press were explained, with, the,conclusion that “the tesults of education are astounding.” The report then took up. hospitals, | welfare work, sanitation, birth control, abortion, cleanliness and housing, rent regulations, family life, and prisons. “The . Soviet. government is, achieving most remarkable results in respect to public health, housing, and the prison system,” says the report.. Regarding the trade unions and labor! conditions, the report states, “The Delegation were much impressed by the position and activities of Trade Unions under the Soviet system.” The report then described labor regulations, co-operatives, wages, and told of visits to. various industrial works. The general conclusion on labor con- ditions reached by the commission was that, “The U. S. S. Ri is a strong and stable state.. The government is not only in every way better than anything Russia has ever yet had, but it has done and is doing work in which other older state systems have failed and are failing.” j Hy e eo * e Steps have been taken to increase the accommodation in rest houses and hospitals by the authorities, and hospitals pro- viding 230 beds have been built out of Trade Union insurance funds, 300,000 gold roubles having been expended for the pur- pose. Steps have also been taken to improve the educational facilities for the workers, and students from workers’ homes are being educated in special professions with an age limit of 18 to 35, which would provide education of four years in school and four years in the university. Special courses of university instruction are given for the purpose of providing technical training for those intended for administrative posts in industry, scholarships being provided by Trade Unions organizations for this purpose, with a obligation to spend some part of the time in workshops for special training. Great efforts are being made to eliminate illiteracy in Tiflis, and 3,000 workers are at schools for this purpose. Regarding enthusiasm for the Trade Union Movement in Georgia,. the workers are not backward, but special Organiza- tion Boards are needed in order to maintain enthusiasm and to improve, the. administrative capacity. Georgia is a country of various nationalities: the villagers in the mountains have for mally, Many years lived’a precarious life, and they give ready response to Communist propaganda. The same applies to peasant life generally. According to statistifts 75 per cent of the peasants took part in the recent elections. Vii—Visit to Chiaturi Manganese Mines The Delegation visited the manganese mines at Chiaturi. It was necessary to travel ten hours by train and:then on horse- back to and from the mines, a distance of about 15 miles up mountain sides. There is a wonderful seam of manganese varying from 3 ft. 6 in. to 5 ft. Narrow ways are driven into the seam with about 12 ft. of cover. The timbering of the work- ings is very carefully carried out, and roof supports are set every 2 ft. 6 in., or oftener if required. The State mine visited was not selected by the local people, who knew nothing of the arrival of the Delegation. It is'worked on the retreating sys- tem, which in itself is the safest method to adopt. Great credit is due to the mining engineer for the way the mine has been laid out. The héwer devotes all his time to producing the mincral. There is'a separate staff for timbering the roadways and the working*places, and separate persons employed for filling and tramming the minerals. The trams used carry about one ton and are of very good construction. ‘The roadways are excel- lent, The trammers receive 2 roubles per day, timberers 214 roubles, but by a system which is called the artel he can earn from 3 to 314 roubles a day: The hours of labor are seven hours a day with five hours on Saturday, making 40. hours a week for the underground workers. Surface workers work eight hours a day with six hours on Saturday, making 46 hours per week. The Delegation also visited a British mine which is not now producing. Another British firm was visited; this firm employs 600 workers. | Since the Soviet Government has taken control of the; mines they have to work the same hours and receive the same wages as those paid in the State mines, which include the usual benefits. We found that the transport of manganese from the mimes to the railways was done by buffaloes and oxen on very bad roads. —Two oxen were carrying just over two-thirds of a ton and buffaloes from one ton to one and a half tons, which was a very primitive method. The State has already commenced to build an electric power-house of 500 horse-power Diesel en- gines, ordered in 1919 but not supplied until 1924; this station will be in full working order by May 31st, and will do away. with all the ancient and cruel method of transport of the mat- erials from the mine to the railway. The Delegatiun went underground to the place of the seam, Housing The housing conditions were better than the old type of house on the oilfields, but still far from satsifactory. The State has already commenced to build hostels for the workers of a considerably better type than those in existence: Working Time Underground workers work 20 days a month, but there is no objection to their working 24 days; the surface workers work 24 days a month. The number of people employed are only. about half the number that were usually employed owing to the depression in the steel industry. The State mines employ about 1,000 work- ers, or only ‘half the quantity previously employed. : “’ The production from State mines and private enterprise is ‘about’ 32,000 ‘tons per month. fe Hospital accommodation for 36 patients.. A further extension is’ being added which will provide for 80 patients when complete. The present staff consists of four doctors, four sisters, and six nurses. During the month of November, 141 patients were dealt with inside the hospital. The disease that they suffer from is inflam- mation of the lungs with a certain amount of silicosis and phthisis caused by the inhaling of manganese dust. The doctor Stated that the average death rate in the hospital is about 3 per cent. The hospital deals with about 60 odd-out patient per day. The operating rooms and X-ray departments were well equipped for the work they were calle@ upon to do. These insti- tutions are provided free to the workers, their wives and families. The patients included Russians, Georgians, Turks, Armenians, Chinese, Indians, and Germans. The Delegation was glad to find, although the visit was a surprise, that there was no dis- tinction whatever made between the various nationalities, which in itself speaks well for the future. The Delegation visited the hospital which at present ‘has’ ‘Trades The Trades U: animously the report Letter” have decided) Trade: Union organiz: It is: now six m and published, and th pect.of a rep 1 the largest ‘Sta! have ‘been disastr aby workers, and on the The present Governmatt is its principles in havin}. fal: results disastrous to tle pr prestige of British pullic 1 critical note to a great. Pov without express authority | note without communicatic Cabinet, and that too in tt these proceedings on a doc had previously proved to bi the first principles of its o relations and of the great 1 Such suspicious as thes VENOUETOCUVEGTEREERVENEGUEGOTEOUUEOEEAUOOEGUEONEGUEONEGOGEGUOGGUOOGHOONUGUEGUNGQNYGROEGUEONNGESQEONOQOOOODUOGGQUOUUON TEVEUGEOOTEESOERTAAOETESDOOUOEGAOEREEOEAUENHEODEGNOOGUONEODEGUOGQOOGOUOGREODEONOGOOGOOUOONOOON:OODEQAOOGUUPGGUU(UN00N HE American edition has been made more valuable by the addition of the report of the British Trade Union Gen- eral Council on the famous Zin- oviev “Red Letter” and a special report on the Red International of Labor Unions. MAPs of the Soviet Union in’ ” both Russia and Asia are included with other special charts. Cover design and art work by Fred Ellis makes this a. most attractive ‘edition. $1.25 Duroflex Covers $1.75 Cloth Bound This book : every worker cerning a wo trade union u . Russia—here ered by an off . for-use at uni writers and 1113 W. Washington Enclosed $...000-sr0eeveve0e CITY sevcssssseccsessrsssseremnersnvcen OVATE EE¢x ERATE a distance of 200 yards, and visited stx different working pices (MEGEEMIIIUEENUMUMEIA RINSE U1N00 00580 0H0E,01 004 1HUHH06!100