The Daily Worker Newspaper, April 17, 1926, Page 14

© smn oper ee scree at the Soviet Union ee cen ener eetateennseinannnineeennnngeetin, A Ltheval Liboks +. By SAM DARCY. . Diary; by Anna . Porter. eis Moscow jary; Y ebpueee Kid u Company, Chicago. Price $1.00 net. ‘TAIN petty bourgeois liberal whiters are well meaning in their attitudé toward the first workers’ re- a3 ie when one nevertheless despairs theif ever understanding it. Misa’ Anna’ Porter went to Russia "and was thrilled by the “most inter- g place in the world” because of Bag ean experiment.” She saw a youthful people who increase produc- tion, go on holiday parades, rebuild their cities, and think about world politics with equal fervor and enthu- siasm. The strain of the entire book: sistence on banner, tramp and drum.” She also sees Moscow audiences en- fo japologize for this. She says: "Ppobakly these worthless things are Ven aSma necessary relaxation from hévequalty hecessary propaganda, for k, afapresent, of something better, for® Ru build up. a cinema repertoire.” The apology is unhecessary. The proletariat has been vitalized by a revolution and today is young. That’s why it enjoys the wild west thrillers r which are virile, and adventuresome— I it isn’t the William S. Hart slush that carries the appeal but the vigorous life of the broad plains: ‘ She records the facts but does not understand them. LEarlier. in the ook she lets us feel the pulse of the masses. She is describing one of the demonstrations: “Suddenly the roll of drums was heard without the door and way was made for a company of Young Pion- eers, boys and girls, with their gor- geous red and gold banners, and red neckerchiefs. Down the aisle they marched to the roll of their own drums, and up to the stage, forming in ‘two long lines across it, in front of a giant red-draped and green-garlanded portrait of their : teat. chief,» Lenin, whose name their organization also bears. Since his death ‘they have been rechris- tened “Young Leninists,” to indi- cate that his aims are their aims. One of their number stepped for- ward and ‘spoke for them. Gréat enthusiasm was shown for the lit- tle band, for these young people, like our Scouts, are the government pillars of the future. Hundreds of thousands of them are enrolled thruout the country, with a large membership in Moscow, and they understand very intelligently just what their task is, not abstractly patriotism, kindness, courage, hon- esty, but definitely defense of their class against the threat of the armed world without. Again the “International,” this time sung by the whole audience thru three long i WHY NOT GET PICKPOCKETS TO RELIE By JOHN BERNARD. “DELIEVING the farmer,” says a prominent politician, “is the par- amoqgnt issue confronting our jlaw- makets today.” When we consider that about 50 per cent of the farmers , hayé already been relieved of every- “thing but their whiskers and their ap- petites, there is little reason to dobut that the process will be continued, The- varied methods used to keep the farmer from “squaking” too loud- ly while he is being put thru the “trimming” process are both novel and unique. Shortly after the war, when the present farmer extermination program was in its early stages, the farmer, staggered and bewildered by the first brutal blows of the process, was fran- tically crying,.“helpj help.” The poll- ticians, when they could ignore tis persistent erys no longer, called vari- foals aiavintions, conferences, confabs ‘and congresses to discuss ways and ~ means of relief. Suggested remedies were as plentiful as the wives of Solo- mon, Republicans advised more tar- iff, democrats prescribed more demo- carts, and the preachers said: “More faith is-what he needs.” Of course these fake shows were no hai ae | oe} which her trip produced is the “in joy wild west thrillers.in the movies; }- and (fickle petty-bourgeois) her: .en-}) thusiasm is dimmed. She undertakes: ia’ has not: yet had time to around Mexico and der and I'll rush in stanzas. I have never heard it so triumphantly sung, with no hint in the tone of the dismal and rebellious wail so often heard in other coun- tries—rater a suggestion of victo- rious fulfillment.” ‘ This does not smack of the esthetic quality which pleases our American intelligentsia, but it is the spirit which has built, is rebuilding and per: fecting a new;society, “Shevcompares the Young Leninists to-tle ‘Boy Stout movement, But let us not forget that the former is serving the needs of the working masses, while the Boy Scouts, tho they are children of the workers in the main, are being won away from us to the enslaving ideology of faith- ful servility to the boss, Much has been said about the waifs ifthe territory of the Soviet Union, made destitute by war and revolu- tion, running wild without any care being taken of them by the workers’ government. Miss Porter tells much to refute this. After describing the methods being used to gather these children in and the care being given them, she strikes at the core of the difference between the work of a pro- letarian government in this direction and that of @ir own charity institu- tions: 5 UNCLE SAM CAPITALISM T “At the end of the four months each child finds his‘place in a per- manent home—for average or sub normal or gifted, where he is given the training his special case re quires. Only absolutely destitute children—orphans or those with ir- responsible parents, are cared for here, but practically every child in Moscow. is“to raceounted for, and it anUOt Eso very ORE with the con- stantly’ bettering conditions, before the provinces, too, are brought up to this standard. The hopeful point of the whole story is, that while in other countries as fast as one set is redeemed others take their places and the same tragic round goes on, in Russia they are slowly redeeming the conditions that make for crimi- nal vagabonds. While we continue cheerfully pouring water into the sieve, refusing to notice the holes, ‘realist’ Russia is putting a solid bottom in the sieve.” It is interesting to read this book and watch her reactions to the things that are in the.U. S. S. R. ‘She treats with labor conditions, woman’s status, militarism, and the children’s movement. This last is the most interesting. The revolution is now over eight stl vs ll ED cae a EAI OP VE THE FARMERS? more beneficial to the farmer than a] by christmas,” screamed the headlines, flea circus would be to a Gog on that part of his body which he is unable to scratch, But they answered their purpose; to make the farmer think something was being done about his case, In 1923 the wheat farmers of the middle west were actually losing, in addition to their own labor, about 15 cents on each bushel of wheat they produced, The farmer “friends” in Washington decided it was time to make some sort of a grandstand play. They persuaded Harding, who was president at that time, to make a per- sonal visit to the harvest: fields of Kansas, ' Dressed in overalls and jumper and in company with an army of news- Paper reporters, motion picture men and politicians, he visited a wheat farm near-Hutchinson, Kansas, Num- erous motion pictures were — taken showing him in the act of shocking wheat. Other pictures showed him in earnest conference with a group of farmers in the wheat field, “Hard- ing has his information first hand from the farmer, now he will épme to his rescue,” soothed th@ polfticians. The farmer to be “out ofthe trenches pe Ps AE SE Harding died shortly after hig visit to Kansas. Immediately the “repre- sentatives of the people” commenced to sing lustily, “Keep cool with Coo- lidge.” And the farmer~has passed from the cool to the frost bitten stage with the chilling process still in full swing. : In many farming communities rous- ing religious revivals were staged, and in some cases considerable in- terest was aroused. In some of the. larger towns @ bible house wag per- Suaded to put on a great bible sale. “Jesus died to save the farmer, get all the facts in these bibles, Special to farmers only, Regular $5.00 bibles $2.98." Proclaimed the signs in their windows. Rather a cruel twist was given this Plan by a business man, one of the energetic children of Israel, whose store was next door, His window was filled with bibles identical with those displayed by the bible house, “I don’t use these myself so can afford to sell them at-a big discount, Out they go 78 cents, Issac. Goldberg,” said his sign, * The manipulator of the shell game O SISTER CATHOLIC CHURCH: get in his way until he hits you with his hoe; and take the whole plantation.” r eh A G VM NX AMI i 4 bay A WDD] pe P PII POS \ RAS YD fs ' 0) OM WY aM ®, Wy 7 ip h oe _d me) 4 " =z ~A DAA ro) 3 ws ee : A “Now, Sister, you. stick then you scream bloody mur- e years old. Children have been born after the revolution, many were. too young at the time of the revolution to have known the fear of a boss, and have grown up in the conception that the workers of the world should be emancipated and who look upon the relation of worker and. boss in the capitalist countriés much as we do upon the chattel Slavery of ptesbikil_ war days. These childrén—niillions of them—march and sing and play and learn international solidarity of the working class from the lips of the pioneers of 1905. Miss Porter writes: “Here it is all taken for granted— the onward march of youth over the dead traditions of the capitalist past. A young woman friend here is eager to visit America ‘to see what a capitalist country is like be- fore it passes away.’ At twenty- four, capitalism to her is ancient history, and the United States an anachronism. So let the reaction- aries rave. Soviet Russia goes straight forward, its ranks of youth march by for hours to do honor to its founder, and the echo of their tramp across the water fires our Own youth and confounds the crit- ics,” at @ country fair will admonish the “yokels” never for an instant to take their eyes off the elusive pea,. He will display a large roll of bills and then solemnly, in very confidential tones, he wil assure them that he has ~ always made money betting on the lo- cation of the pea, and if they will but following his advice, they too will be able to “clean up.” And in like manner the agricultural experts, economists, grain speculators and quacks solemnly advise the farm- er to diversify his crops, to buy on a low market and sell on a high one, to cooperate with the banker, to blame the industrial worker for all his troubles and to use only Red Crown Sasoline in his old “flivyver,” Tugging, sweating, groaning, the farmer wearily drags the heavy load of useless parasites. But soon he will look across to see who ig lifting the other side of the load, His gaze will meet that of the industrial worker, A surprised: look of understanding will | flash into their eyes. And with one _ great united effort they will consign the silly burden to those nether re- gions which have been go chrefully prepared for the disobedient slave, - rH Ue POOR. uz