The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 17, 1926, Page 10

Pioneer Grishka By Moissay J. Olgin (Picture of a Russian Boy) By Fred Ellis RISHKA has a vivid face with a wide mouth and a stub nose. His ears are protruding on his closely- cropped head, and his neck is too long. But he hag a pair of cunning, laughing eyes, and when he shoots a glance at you, you feel happy. Grishka ts twelve and works in the plant. That is to say, he loves to declare: rabotayem—we work. In reality he is still a pupil in the Fabzavoutch. The Fabzavoutch is a technical. school connected with the plant, for the children of the plant. At school Grishka studies natural science, history, mathematics, but he also learns a trade. He says he is going to be a lock- smith. Grishka is a capable boy and not averse to study, but he likes factory-work most. Half of the pupils’ time jis spent in the class room and half in the plant among (the machines. Not much work is being done, but one gets acquiinted with the processes and apparatuses, one gets used to the, elements of techincal work. In the factory Grishka feels at home, much in the same way as a fish would feel in water. He says he could fill a place even now—do a man’s work. Better still he fills in the club of the young pioneers, Here he is a pupil no more, here he is a commander, he has duties. He is the leader of no less than eighteen young com- rades. The plant group of the young pioneers is divided into three links: one of fifteen, one of seventeen, and one of eighteen children, Every link has a special “leader.” All three leaders are responsible to the chief leader, Comrade Vasili, who is the commander of the whole group. Grishka’s link is the biggest of all and not for nothing is Grishka a member of the Pioneer Soviet. He knows the duties of a “function- ary.” Ts club occupies a large room next to the Zavkom plant committee). When Grishka appears in the door, he must find all members of the link ready. Grish- ka loves order. A young Leninist, he says, must show an example to other children. If we “soldier on the job,” he says, if we are good-for-nothings, what kind of Communists will we grow up to be? As soon as Grishka appears in the club, his “chaps” surround him, and the work begins. They have not yet learned by heart the new song of the young pio- neers. They must study their parts for the perform- ance to be enacted next holiday. They have to read the article in the recent copy of the monthly “Pioneer.” They have not yet finished decorating the “Lenin cor- ner” in the club rooms, They have to prepare material for their own wall-paper: Comrade Vasili wants it as soon as possible. Besides, the first Sunday excursion is at hand, and no preparations made. Somebody. sug- gested to leave Saturday afternoon and spend the night in the woods near the brook. One has to get ac- quainted with the plan of the locality, with the roads, with the names of the villages along the road. There is an idea abroad to begin collecting bugs and butter- flies for the club’s collection. Else what use is there in an excursion? = - There is plenty of work, and Grishka is not the man to shirk his duties, The minute he enters the room he notices every mark of disorder. Sashka Raboy has a scratch on his face, Mitka Schur’s sleeve is torn. Grishka knows what that means. There must have been a fight. Funny boys, those “chaps.” They always scrap like so many cats, Grishka warns them: “Lis- ten, boys, if this goes on, we will have to put you into the wallpaper. I have composed @ poem to this effect.” Grishka extracts from his pocket a well-worn, greasy piece of paper, and reads a few verses. The crowd laughs hilariously. Sashka Raboy and Mitka Schur are crimson, Grishka declares: “No such nonsense should go on in our group.” There is noise and turmoil, and the work goes on. HEN the evening is fair, there is no use sitting in- doors. One goes out into the yard, one runs to the sporting gmounds; one even may walk into the fields behind the plant. All the time, however, one is not idle. One is doimg “essential” pioneer work. One is doing it “collectively,” and the work being half play, time flies. unnoticed.. Grishka works with the rest, he enjoys his play no less than his team. His round stub-nose creeps up his face; hig mouth exhibits wide, sharp teeth in continu- ous spells of laughter; his eyes sparkle, and his hands find no rest.’ At the same time, however, he keeps on thinking of his link. Little Lenka needs shoes. She cannot go barefooted to the excursion.’ Natasha prom- ised to sew for’ the company three pairs’ of sport bloomers, They ought to be ready by now: “bathing time is near. Grishka must remind “her of ‘it. And as to Vanka Chvat, he is’ only boasting he will -be able to deliver a speech at the general gathering of the borough: Grishka will have to coach him.’ “Best of all, let him write down what ‘he intends to say. sides, there is that task of making a diagram of the plant. Syomka promised to bring colors, he was to get them from his uncle, the painter. It is time to know whether he will carry out the promise. Thus in work and play, in care for the collective body, and in discussing the questions of the collective body, the time passes between five and seven or eight. The group goes home. Grishka goes to the session of the pioneer Soviet. Grishka is a leader. This summer Grishka’s name was mentioned in a paper of the “grown-ups.” The “Pravda” wrote that Grishka ought to be put on the red board, among the distinguished personages of the working-class. It all happened this way. The group moved to a summer camp. The Sunday excursion had been 60 pleasant that, with the coming of vacations, the entire group decided to spend two months in the open air. They took with them canvas for tents, axes, spades, ham- mers, and march, march! they went to the woods near the brook. When the tents had been pitched, an oven dug out, a table and benches made out of turf, a wooden pipe constructed between the brook and the camp so as not to have to drag water in pails, the group began to think about activities in the village. The village was a verst and half from the camp. In the village there were many young folk... The. village was not organized. There was neither a Komsomol nor a Pioneer group. It was up to the pioneers to or- ganize the village, But how? page of the boys went to the village, attempting to talk to young and old, but of no avail. The older peasants looked upon the city boys as so many loafers who spent a summer in idle luxury. The vil- lage youth looked upon them as upon curious birds, pointing at the red kerchiefs around the newcomer’s necks and laughing into their fists. In brief, the situa- tion was. “unfavorable.” Time was passing and noth- ing was being done for the smitchka (linking the city with the village). : It was Grishka who found a way out of this im- passe. Grishka let it be known in the village that the pioneers could mend iron utensils. The peasants did not believe at first. The peasants mistrusted the city folk. But there was one widow who decided to bring to the camp an old pail full of holes and a split ket- tle. It was not in vain that the “chaps” worked in the plant. They had with them the essential tools. Grishka himself was a good worker, The pail and: the kettle were mended. The peasants were baffled. One after the other, they began to frequent the camp, bring- ing scythes and sickles and other instruments. The “chaps” settled down to hard work.’ In return, the peasants brought milk and eggs and cheese and bis- cuits. This is how the connection was established between the village and the pioneers. The pioneers became welcome guests in the peasants’ homes, The village youths began to visit the pioneer camp; Grishka grasped the opportunities opened for organization. Grishka explained to the village youngsters the mean- ing of Leninism, the meaning of the new order, the aims of the Communists, and why the young generation must prepare for building the Republic. The village youth began to spend time with the pioneers, to study, read and discuss with the leaders. A village pioneer group “in the name of Kar] Liebknecht” was later or- anized with forty odd members, to be followed by a omsomol group. There is at present a vivid inter- course between the plant and.the villages. The young workers are sénding to the village papers-and maga- zines. There is talk of dispatching Grishka for Christ- mas to the village to give lectures on religion, to show that there has never been a man ¢alled Christ, and that Christ is Only a legend. Grishka is strenuously training for this lecture. He has already swallowed several anti-relgious brochures. The “chaps” are look- ing at him with respect, and some have -warntd him: “Say, Girishka, don’t make a fool of yourself.” Griska jerks his closely-cropped hair and smiles in such a fashion that his nose creeps up his face. “Nitcheve; It's all right. Never fear.” Throughout the entire week Grishka is busily ab- sorbed in his work. He loves his work. For truth’s Be- | f - How She Came to Be Bk J 4 { In reply to an inquiry fnam the editor, the author of the article was kind enough to supply us with the following note on his past activities and éxperlences in the Chinese struggle for freedom. The second part of this. article will be published In the next Issue of the magazine and will deal with more recent developments in the Chinese situation. s* © & &*& “From 1917 to 1920 | taught Elements of Economics in the Provincial College of Law and Political Science, Changsha, Hunan, China. Changsha, the capital city of Hunan, is my native town. From 1920 to 1922.1. was the editor-in-chief of a dally news- Paper, called the Democratic Dally News, which was, the organ of Kuomintang (the nationalist party) | my city. At that time | agitated in the labor mov ment, and | was often requested by the employ. and by the employers to be the arbitrator when an issue took place between them. I always stood for the interests of the employes. In 1923 1 Joined the revolutionary army under the leadership of Tang Yeh-Kai, appointed by the laté Dr. Sun Yat-Sen as the governor of my province. 1 was ‘then appointed by Mr. Tang secretary of his headquarters and mem- ber of the committee of politics. Unfortunately we failed because the former governor, Chou Hen-Ti, was supported by Wu Pei-Fu to fight against us. Mr. Tang and his army retreated to Kwantung, and | went to Hankow where,| lived in exile for five months. In 1924 Mr. Tang asked me to go to Kwantung to resume Ly duty of secretary in his of- fice. But | decided to go abroad for further studies. However, before | left China in June, 1924, | visited Canton, the capital of Kwantung, and said good-by to my friends there. “| was graduated from the Minteh University, Peking, in 1916. After | came to this country ! did one more year undergraduate work in George Wash- ington University, Washington, D. C., where 1 got another B. A. degree last June. Then | came to Wis- consin. Now I have finished all my work for the Master’s degree. | will spend this summer in Michi- gan, and the next two years in the University of Pennsylvania. This is a brief story of myself.” Early Foreign Relations of China,2) + aM: pest roe Se tae HE first contact of China with Burope was one in connection with religion. About the 7th century christianity was introduced to China by some European missionaries. But these did not stay there very long; they only made the name christianity first known the Chinese. Later, in the 13th century, catholics we: to China, yet it was not until the 18th century th European protestants became known to the Chinese. The next early relation of China with the western countries was commercial. At the beginning of the 16th century Portuguese merchants carfied on trade in China. It was in the second half of the 16th century that China had already carried on commercial rela- tions with Spain, Holland, France and England.. But all these early foreign relations of China, relig- ious and commercial, had no implications of modern foreign imperialism. Modern Foreign Relations of China. gee era of Chinese servitude under foreign imperial- ism began in 1842, when the opium war between China and Great Britain was ended in a treaty detri- mental to the former’s sovéreignty and integrity. By this treaty the British secured the cession of the island a he tet mt f € é 1 I t t of Honkong and the opening of’ five ports to =“ sake, however, it must be said that he loves the mar. best. It is only recently that he has learned to the drum. To march under the beating of the drum— can there be anything higher? The sun is bright. The kerchiefs are red. The boys have washed themselves, have put on new clothes have put on shoes, have lined up in order, two in a line. Grishka casts the last inspection glance over his group, orders Liza to straighten her back, warns Sy- moka noto break the line, puts the little tot Tyosha in a better place, then puts himself at the head of the column, tramps with his feet, counting one, two, then he beats the drum resolutely—March! The group moves, ' Pheepecay se is leading. Grishka is drumming. Grishka is counting the steps. One has passed the’ bridge. One is approaching the center of the city. The streets are becoming smoother, the buildings taller. Grishka’s heart is growing. Grishka’s heart’ is beating faster than the drum. People are opening doors and windows. People are watching the children marching. An excla- mation: “Long live the pioneers!” The children reply “Hurrah!” Grishka’s face is terrifically ‘earnest. Grish- ka’s lips are tightly pressed as if in pain. He is walking in the air. The ground underneath is soft velvet waves. The buildings are leaning over, bowing, smiling. The houses are glistening with a thousand laughing mouths. Grishka is beating the drum in perfect rythm,—one, two, . SERrFSS Sree & ws =