The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 9, 1935, Page 4

Page 4 Workers Extend Soviet Democracy As Socialism Tr aa e All Economy 96 Per Cent ociali Main Enemies of Toilers Crushed by Proletarian Dictatorship [Following is the complete text of the speech of Viacheslav M. Molotov, Chairman of the Coun- cil of the People’s Commissars, in which the proposal of the Central Executive Committee of the Com-. munist Party of the Soviet Union for the extension of Soviet demo- and the alteration of the stitution of the U.S.S.R. is put | before the workers’ deputies at the last session of the All-Union Congress af Soviets.] racy (By Special Cable to the Daily | Worker Feb. 8) uestion of the introduction Soviet at this | Congress accore he proposal the Central Executive Committee | of the Communist Party of the So- viet Union. In the Central Com- mittee this question was raised at the intiative of Stalin. [Applause.] Why was the question raised of in- troducing changes into the consti- tution? Firstly, because the corre- lation of class forces fundamentally has changed in the Soviet Union since 1918 when Lenin laid the foundations of the Soviet constitu- tion, especially after the victory of the principles of Soviet ownership both in town and village. Secondly, because the time has arrived when we can develop Soviet democracy to its limits and in accordance with this make amendments to our elec- toral system The mt situation in the country in respect to social and economic structure and in re- | spect to the cultural and political consciousness of the toiling masses cannot be compared with 1923, when the constitution of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics was for- mulated by the Commission under the chairmanship of Stalin. Early Soviet Years “Let us examine the period when the fundamental laws of the Soviet Republic were written. At that time, in 1918, our country was in difficult conditions and in the midst of economic devastation, and had just torn itself away from the world imperialist war. It was then com- pelled to enter a prolonged period of the most difficult civil war. Then the factories and mills were not yet taken from the manufacturers and factory owners but merely put un- der the control of the factory work- ers’ organizations and the organs of Soviet power. How weak we were in economic matters can be seen from the fact that the Party then considered that the transition of a considerable part of the economy of the country to lines of state capitalism was one of the most desirable prerequisites for the acceleration of preparations for the socialist reconstruction of the national economy. Then our in- dustry was in a condition of de- cline, while agriculture with few exceptions consisted of small peas- ant farms, and kulaks played a big role in the villages. The land had already been confiscated and pro- claimed government property but the peasants had not yet any con- ception of socialist economy. The collective farms existed only in a few places and even there in occasional units. The working class, which by its heroism in the Octo- ber days had ensured its victory over the bourgeoisie and rallied ground Soviet power in the strug- gle for land, peace and victory for the broad masses of town and vil- was strongly undermined by etion and war. We had only just begun to form the Red Army. [Applause.] “The Bolshevik Party comprised only a small magnitude in the working class and absolutely was an insignificant part of the whole mass of toilers. Only slightly over one year had passed since the moment in March, 1917, when our Party became an open legal party. Workers’ Constitution “At such a moment Lenin wrote the Soviet constitution, At the end of 1918 Lenin wrote: ‘The Soviets arose without any constitution and lived for over a year, from the spring of 1917 to the summer of 1918, without any constitcicn’ In June, 1917, the first All-Russian Congress of Soviets, July, 1918, was October, 1917, power had already completely passed to the Soviets. But only at the Fifth All-Russian Congress of Soviets, July 1918, was @ constitution adopted by the So- viet Republic. This constitution could not do anything but consoli- date the basis which Soviet power had created until that time and in- dicate the general prospects for fur- ther development of the country of Soviets along the path to socialism. Here are some of the basic points in the Constituton. The ntroduc tory part, the “Declaration of the rights of the toiling and exploited people,” was composed by Lenin at the very beginning of 1918. In the first point of this declaration it is stated: “Russia is proclaimed the Republic of Soviets of the Work- ers’, Soldiers’, Peasants’ Deputies. All power in the Center and the various localities belongs to these Soviets.” It was further declared that the basic objectic of the Soviet Republic was the “destruction of all exploitation of man by man; the complete abolition of the division of society into classes; the merciless crushing of the exploiters; the es- tablishment of the Socialist organ- ization of society and the victory of Socialism in all countries. Furthev-, more, since the world imperialist war at that time was not yet over, this declaration expressed “the un- wavering determination to tear These workers are inspecting the fall wheat harvest. heavy drought, the grit of the Soviet collective farmers brought in « harvest for the Soviet Union exceeding last year’s record total. A RECORD GRAIN HARVEST In spite of a mankind from the claws of finance capital and imperialism which has drenched the soil with blood in the present most criminal of all wars.” Break with Capitalism The Soviet Constitution firmly announced a complete break with the bourgeois policy of the seizure of colonies and small countries, and the abolition of all restrictions con- nected with race and nationality. It proclaims “now, at the decisive moment of the struggle of the pro- letariat against its exploiters, there can be no place for exploiters in any organ of power.” Specially em- phasized in the Constitution was the task of Soviet Power to estab- lish “the dictatorship of the town and village proletariat, and of the Poorest peasants.” It was a guar- antee of real liberty to the toilers, for the expression of their opinions, and for this purpose put the or- gans of the press and printing plants into the hands of the work- ing class and poor peasants. It put at the disposal of the toilers halls suitable for holding public meetings, and gave all assistance to the work- ers and poor peasants for unre- stricted organization. It also en- }Sured them all-round free educe- tion. Labor, moreover, is recognized as | the duty of all citizens of the Re- | public, and the slogan was pro- claimed: He who does not work shall not eat. Basis of the New State These are the basic principles of the Soviet Constitution of 1918, on the foundation of which the work- ing class constructed its new state and ensured the rise in national economy, and the growth in the material and cultural well-being of the masses of the toilers. The So- viet Constitution throughout these years was the banner under which the struggle for the victory of So- cialism was waged. And as the basic principles of the Soviet Constitu- tion were carried more and more into practice, so the cause of So- cialism in our country was more Successfully carried forward. It is correct to say that at the ‘nt moment the basis of the So- Constitution is alive and in- vincible. At the same time, we must recognize that various parts of this Constiution are out of date, because Socialist construction has made enormous steps forward since 1918. We cannot help seeing that the enormous changes in the econ- omy and social structure of our country, which have taken place in recent years, are not reflected in the text of the Soviet Constitution, and could not be. Socialist Construction Almost ten years have passed since the time when we reached the level of pre-war industry, when the Fourteenth Congress of the Party, primarily through Comrade Stalin, advanced the full task of the So- cialist industrialization of the coun- try. In successfully carrying out this task, we have created a new, technically advanced, Socialist in- dustry; we have put our heavy in- dustry, the material basis of So- cialism, on such a high level that we are now, by virtue of our own forces, in a position to complete within a few years the technical re- construction of our entire national economy, In view of the enormous back- wardness of our villages, the task of Socialist reconstruction of agricul- ture was most difficult for Soviet power, but on the whole, this task has also been accomplished. The kulaks are utterly defeated. The collective farms are victorious along the entire agricultural front. An extensive system of state farms has been created. The village is being reconstructed on the basis of collec- tivism and modern’ technique. The individual peasant has been forced into a subsidiary place in farming. When our Constitution was writ- ten by Lenin, founder of the Soviet state, the land nationalized by the October Revolution had already been turned over to Soviet power. At this time the banks and the most rtant types of transport come into the hands of Government, and a start hed likewise been made in the transfer- ring'of industrial enterprise into so- cial property. But nationalized land for many years was still at the disposal of separate little peas- ant proprietors. The confiscation jand transfer of industrial enter- | prises into the hands of the govern- ment was still only in preparation. Commerce, except for a small amount, was still in private hands, Socialist Basis Won At the present time, the prin- ciples of social ownership have con- quered in all branches of our na- tional economy, in the towns and villages. Industry and transport, with a few exceptions, are at the disposal of the proletarian state. Nine-tenths of agriculture is em- braced by the collective and state farms. Credit and banks are in the hands of the Soviet Government. Commodity turnover is controlled by the state, and by Socialist co- operation. During the last two or three years, Socialist ownership has become the basis of Soviet society. This can be seen from the follow- ing figures of the basic productive funds, that is, of the various forms of ownership in our country. Dur- ing the ten years from 1925 to 1934, the basic productive funds of all national economy grew from 46,- 500,000,000 roubles to 94,300,000,000 roubles—that is, it doubled. But this is not the only important factor. Of decisive weight is the change which took place in the re- lation between Socialist and private ownership in our economy. Ten years ago the capitalist elements in the national economy of the U. S. S. R. still played a noticeable role, and comprised 6.5 per cent in the productive funds of the country. Together with the small private economy then in existence, private ownership of the means of produc- tion then comprised over half of the entire productive funds of the So- viet Union (51.2 per cent). Capitalism Wiped Out By 1935 the situation was com- pletely changed. Nothing remains |now of the capitalist element. Pri- |vate proverty in the means of pro- |duction remains now, at the out- side, only 4 per cent of the total sum of the means of production of our country. Ninety-six per cent of the means of production already belong to the state, in collectives. Moreover, the state and collective farms are carrying on new con- stvuction on an enormous scale, which grows year by year. Socialist ownership is growing be- fore our eyes in the form of new state mills, factories, power stations, railways, state farms and collec- tive farms, with their new build- ings and machines, their new cattle raising farms. New towns, cultural institutions, dwelling places, are growing by leaps and bounds. Our country has been radically reconstructed in its social and eco- nomic basis, thereby being convert- ed into a Socialist country, Only for this reason did it become pos- sible in 1933 to issue the well-known law declaring that “social owner- ship (state, collective farm coop- erative) is the basis of the Soviet system; it is sacred and inviolable.” Those who attack social owner- ship must be regarded as the en- emies of the people, We can only add that even by the beginning of 1934, the proletarian and collective farm population of our country comprised over 124,000,000 people, and now comprises still more, Laws to Follow Change Our Constitution does not yet re- flect these basic changes in the So- viet social structure. Precisely for this reason it must be brought into harmony with the present correla- tion of class forces, and above all into harmceny with the complete victory of the principles of Social- ist social-ownership in the Soviet Union. Social ownership conquered in our country as a result of the fierce struggle against hostile class forces. The abolition of capitalist elements was the most difficult task, which we only completed in the recent period. The relics of capitalism still remained in the economy of the country, in the remnants of small private economy. The relics of cap- italism were also strong in the con- ‘ciousness of the people, even in the censciousness of the workers, and ‘till more among the collective farmers, We must mention too thet about 35,000,000 of the village pop- ulation have not yet given up their small private economy. Since social ownership became the main form of ownership in the Soviet Union and consequently the “The program of our Party says: Proletarian demooracy is democracy for the toilers. This democracy is fundamentally dis- tinguished from bouregois democ- racy, which in all its various forms is merely a concealed dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, the dictator- ship of a handful of capitalists over the vast majority, over the toiling masses, “Lenin spoke as follows on the difference between bourgeois de- mocracy and Soviet power: ‘Olid democracy, that is, bourgeois de- mocracy and_ parliamentarism, were organized in such a way that the masses of toilers were for. the most part alienated from the ap- paratus of administration. Soviet power, that is, the dictatorship of the proletariat, on the contrary is built in such a way as to bring the masses of toilers nearer to the apparatus of administration.’ ” “Lenin and Stalin Founded Principles of Soviet Law’ (Excerpts from Molotoy’s speech) “Stalin, in the ‘Foundations of Leninism,’ gave the following defi- nition of the difference between bourgeois and proletarian democ- racy: ‘Democracy under capitalism is capitalist democracy, the de- mocracy of the exploiting minority, based on the limitation of the rights of the exploited majority and directed against this majority. Only under the proletarian dic- tatorship have real liberties for the exploited, and real participa- tion of the proletariat and peas- ants in the administration of the country been made possible. De- mocracy under the dictatorship of the proletariat is proletarian democracy—the democracy of the exploited majority, based on the limitation of the rights of the exploiting minority and directed against this minority.’” vast majority of the population is now connected wifh our social eco- Nomy, with the task of defending and strengthening social ownership, the struggle against the relics of capitalism in the consciousness of the people obtained still greater importance for us. For us the Soviét Constitution was not a mere declaration, but a most important decument in the struggle for further strengthening of Socialist ownership, for the final victory of the Socialist society. {Applause.] This is our first task in making changes in the Soviet Constitution, Tasks of the further democratiza- tion of the Soviet electoral system, PART It. The victory of Socialism in our country became possible because not only the working class but the basic masses of the peasants came to the side of social ownership. Naturally, the entire Soviet sys- tem helped peasants in their selec- tion of the new path, and the So- viets from top to bottom actively assisted them in all collective farm construction. Nevertheless, twelve years of Soviet power were required before the peasant masses were convinced of the necessity of So- cialism in the reconstruction of their economy. They themselves finally chose the collective farm path to development in the villages. Soviet democracy ensured the participation of the peasants, un- der the leadership of the working class, in the entire administration of the new state, including partici- pation in the administration of our big nationalized industry. We have shown the broad masses in the vil- lages the enormous advantages of Socialist economy. The proletarian dictatorship also assisted in draw- ing the peasants widely into coop- erative construction, and at the same time greatly accelerated the growth of political consciousness and culture among the peasant masses, Thus the victory of the collective farm system in the villages was prepared, and has now made it pos- sible to raise the question of devel- oping further Soviet democracy in our country. True Democracy The program of our Party says: Proletarian democracy is democ- racy for the toilers. This democ- racy is fundamentally distin- guished from bourgeois democracy, which in all its various fornss is merely a concealed dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, the dictatorship of a handful of capitalists over the vast majority, over the toiling masses. Lenin spoke as follows on the difference between bourgeois dem- ocracy and Soviet power: “Cld_ democracy, that is, bour- geois democracy and parliamen- tarianism, were organized in such a way that the masses of the toil- ers were for the most part alien- ated from the apparatus of ad- ministration. Soviet power, that is, the dictatorship of the prole- tariat, on the contrary is built in such a way as to bring the masses of the toilers nearer to the ap- paratus of administration.” Stalin, in the. “Foundations of Leninism,” gave the following def- inition of the difference between bourgeois and proletarian democ- racy: “Democracy under capitalism is capitalist democracy, the democ- racy of the exploiting minority, based on the limitations of the rights of the exploited majority and directed against this majority, Only under the proletarian dicta- torship have real liberties for the exploited, and real participation by the proletariat and peasants in the administration of the country heen made possible. Democracy vee the dictatorship of the pro- letariat is proletarian democracy— «. uemevacy of the exploited majority, based on the limitation of the rights of the exploiting mi- nority and directed against this minority.” In characterizing the democracy of the Soviet system, Lenin men- tioned the following basic features: “The Socialist character of Soviet democracy, that is, proletarian dem- ocracy, consists firstly in the fact that the electors are the toilers and exploited masses, the bourgeoisie being excluded. Secondly, it con- sists in the fact that all bureau- cratic formalities and_ restrictions of elections are excluded; the masses themselves docide the order and date of the elections, and have full liberiy to recall elected mem- bers. Thirdly, there is the fact that the best mass organization of. the vanguard of the toilers, the big in- duscrial proletariat, is thereby form- ed, making it possible for the latter to direct the broadest. masses, to draw them into independent polit- ical life, to train them politically through their own experience, and thus for the first time, an approach is made to the situation when the entire population will learn to direct and begin to direct the state.” Soviet Power—Democracy In the well-known pamphlet, “The Renegade Kautsky and the Proletarian Revolution,” Lenin sharply emphasizes what he had many times repeated: “Proletarian democracy is a million times more democratic than any _ bourgeois democracy. The Soviet Power is a million times more democratic than the most democratic bourgeois re- public.” Only because of this democracy of the Soviet system was our Party able to draw millions of workers, tens of millions of peasants, into Socialist construction. In turn, the Suocesses of Socialist construction now permits us to raise the question of developing Soviet democracy fur- ther, of carrying Socialist democ- racy to the limit. Whereas in the Soviet Union we can now raise this question of the further democratization of the elec- toral system, replacing elections not altogether equal by an equal sys- tem, elections of many stages by direct elections, open by secret elec- tions, in all bourgeois countries we see the governmental system devel- oping in the opposite direction—of the denial of democracy and the introduction of fascism. Sham Democracy Tt was a secret for no one that up till now the capitalists have been able to guarantee their rule over the masses of toilers regardless of the system of bourgeois democracy, regardless of parliaments and elec- toral laws. In all bourgeois coun- tries, so-called “public opinion” is commanded by the capitalist press, aided not only by the entire state apparatus and police, but by a whole army of priests, bourgeois writers, professors, artists, etc. Powerful capitalist trusts in the big countries own hundreds of news- papers and many thousands of journalists and newspapermen, Meeting halls, not to mention the churches, are in the hands of the ruling class, while workers’ papers and the entire democratic press is under the heel of the police and continually subjected to police re- pression. In any bourgeois coun- tries, the ruling parties in the country and parliament are the parties of the capitalists and land- lords. As you see, until recently, the capitalists could make them- selves comfortable under any sys- tem of bourgeois democracy and parliamentarism. But the situation changed some’ time ago. Discon- tent among the rank and file of the people began to frighten the bourgeois class. The bourgeoisie be- gan to scrap the relics of cavitalist democracy and parliamentarism in their system of adminstration. Not only the Communist Parties, but the Social Democratic parties whose leaders had displayed unequivocal readiness to adapt themselves to the bourgeois system, are deprived of a legal existence. All other workers’ organizations are denied legality. The Fascist reconstruction of the state is now developing at full speed in many countries, Tt is true that parliaments still exist, at any rate on the list of government institutions, both in Italy and Ger- many, but in practice they are not taken seriously. Matters have be- come so simplified in regard to the representation in parliament, that after the events of June 30, 1934 in Germany, in place of the mur- dered Reichstag deputies, new depu- ties were appointed simply by the nomination of the president of the National Socialist fraction in the TECHNICIANS At the left a young research e: bearing produced at the great Sta ¥. ©, Ler, to the right, ‘arranges the xpert examines the quality of the lin Ball-Bearing Works. A Soviet drums of bearings for her. testifies to a strengthening of the bourgeois state or to the possibility of securing for it better prospects for the future. No, this cannot be proved, because the terrorist meth- ods of government merely testify to the final separation of the state apparatus from the toiling masses, they merely doom the bourgeois state, Soviet Electors The development taking place in the Soviet state is along directly opposite lines—not toward reducing democracy, but toward increasing it to a maximum all-round growth of proletarian democracy. Soviet power and our Party have set us the task of developing Soviet dem- ocracy and of consequently draw- ing the workers and peasants con- sistently and fully, more and more, into the entire work of government. The living facts of the development of the workers’ and peasants’ state show how the democracy of the toilers in our country is growing. This growth is expressed in various forms of participation by the masses in Socialist construction. It finds expression in the ever-in- creasing number of workers and Peasants taking part in the work of the Soviets, and in the Soviet elections, Figures show how the number of. electors to the Soviets increased during past years, and how at the same time the per cent of those participating in the elections like- wise increased. These figures speak for themselves. Even so late as 1926 and 1927 only half of the electors took part in the elections (figures for the en- tire country, including the villages and backward regions) but in the last election campaign of 1934 85 per cent of those eligible to vote took part. The participation of electors is usually higher in the towns than in the villages, but whereas participation by city elec- tors in 1934 reached 90 per cent, in the villages it reached 83 per cent. Women’s Gains We cannot help noting the great Significance of the growth of par- ticipation by women in the elections to the Soviets, which is an impor- tant indication of the inclusion of new millions in all Socialist con- struction. At the last elections, the partici- pation by women in the elections in the towns reached 90 per cent; in the villages, 80 per cent. In the towns the participation of women members of the trade unions was} on the same level as that of the men (93 per cent). Extremely instructive, finally, are the figures for the growth in the participation by women in the elec- tions in the villages of the Tepub- lics of Middle Asia—in the Uzbek Republic, from 7.8 per cent in 1926, participation increased to 72 per cent last year. In the Tadjik Re- public, participation rose from 22 per cent in 1929 to 67 per cent in 1934. It is not amiss to contrast with this the fact that women are still completely deprived of their electoral rights in such countries as Italy, France, Japan, Portugal, Belgium, Holland, Yugoslavia, Greece, Brazil, Argentine. The Soviet Constitution guaran- tees the right of participating in the elections and of being elected to the Soviets to all toilers age eighteen or over. We have no limitations regarding nationality or Sex. The only limitation of the . Now, it is not rare that the government secures the right, to issue laws both under the con- stitution and also “outside the pro- cedure provided for in the imperial ee (Germany, law of 3). The principle of ‘responsibility to the people is being replaced by one more convenient for the bourgeoisie —Tesponsibility only to “God and history.” (Polish constitution, 1934.) Growth of Fascism Tn all countries, the development of capitalism from its pitiful bour- democracy to open unlim- ited violence by capitalist leaders is under way. The state apparatus is being merged together with the ruling organizations of capitalist barons, and the figleaf of democ- racy is being thrust aside. This is taking place as a result of the in- tensification of the internal po- litical situation of capitalist coun- tries, and by no means testifies to the stability of the bourgeois sys- tem. Not one country has yet proved that the transition to a Fascist. system of government by direct violence against the masses Soviet Constitution is fixed against the exploiting elements and the servants of the old system who are most hostile to the toilers (ex- gendarmes, etc.). However, the last elections to the Soviets show how insignificant is the percentage of those deprived ot electoral rights, comprising slightly over 2,000,000 people. Compare thia figure with the total number of electors to the Soviets, last year comprising 91,000,000! Now not only the entire masses of the toilers participate in the elections to the Soviets but also some sections of citizens previously deprived of electoral rights. By the decision of the Central Executive Committee, the 1931 system had already restored civil rights to those exiled kulaks who’ had shown in practice tnat they had ceased to struggle against the collective farma and Soviet power, and were oc- cupied with honest labor. A subsequent decision of the Cen- tral Executive Committee made tho conditions easier for the restora- tion of civil rights to the children of kulaks and the kulaks them- selves, who were busy with socially useful labor and who proved their desire to become honest toilers for the Soviet state. All this proves that in the Soviet Union the road is open for a life with full rights for all honest toil- ers, and that the proportion of per- sons deprived of civil rights is con- tinually decreasing. We are ap- proaching the time of the complete abolition of all restrictions on the eections to the Soviets which were previously introduced “as a tem- porary measure of struggle against the attempts of the exploiters to defend or restore their privileges,” as the program of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union states. These facts confirm the repeated statements of Lenin, that the limi- tations in general electoral rights which we enforce are of an en- tirely temporary character. At a time when more and more bour- gois countries are liquidating the relics of electoral rights, the popu- lation of the Soviet Union is ap- proaching nearer and nearer to the complete withdrawal of all restric- tions on general electoral rights. (Prolonged, tumultuous applause.] [Molotov went on to deal with various measures for the further democratization of the Soviet sys- tem.] Substitution Direct for Many-Stage Elections (Section Three) At present we have the system of direct clactions only for the city and village Soviets, which are elected directly by workers and peasants and members of the Red Army. The higher organs of the Soviet government, beginning with the district executive committees, are elected not by the direct vote of the electorate but at correspond- ing Soviet Congresses. As a result, these district executive committees are elected according to a two-stage system; territorial and regional ex- ecutive committees as well as lead- ing organs of autonomous republics, by a three-stage system; the cen- tral executive committees of the republics of the Union, and the Central Executive Committee of the U. S. S. R. by a four-stage system of elections. In its time, this system of election was justified, and not withstanding its shortcomings, ensured the neces- Sary living contact of the leading organs of Soviet government with the masses. But now that we have attained a tremendous economic upswing, have considerably strength- ened the connection of the city with the countryside. have heightened the cultural and political activity of the masses, we can and must make a considerable step forward in the matter of democratizing our election system. The Central Com- mittee of the Communist Party puts before the present Congress the question of replacing many- stage elections by direct election of all Soviet organs, from the city and village Soviets to the Central Ex- ecutive Committee of the U.S. S. R, inclusive, Direct elections will raise still higher the authority of the organs of Soviet government, will strengthen still more and link these organs with the broad masses of the toilers. The workers and peasants will know their representatives bet- ter, not only those of the districts and regions, but also the central organs of the Soviet state; they will be still more directly connected with them, and thus the entire work of the leading organs of the Soviet government should be raised to a higher level. At a time when more and more countries of capitalism are aban- doning the system of direct elec- tion and are substituting more and more frequently for election the mere appointment of officials, from top to bettem, in the Soviet Union the many-stage system of elections is being abandoned for the system of direct election, of not only the lower, but also the very highest or- gans of the Soviet government. While retaining the right of the electors to recall deputies from any organ, and ensuring the participa- tion. of non-party organizaions and groups of toilers in the nominating of candidates, the Soviet system, through the introduction of direct elections, will make gigantic strides forward towards developing the democracy of the toilers in our country. [Arplause.] Substituting Equal Voting for Not Quite Zqual Veting (Section 4) The Soviet Constitution had es- tablished certain privileges for the workers as compared with the toil- ers in the country in the election of Soviet organs. This is evident from the fact that while the repre- iumphs SovietCongress Votes to Alter Constitution Direct Secret Vote | Will Link Farms to Industry | sentatives of the city Soviets elect | to the congresses of the Soviets of | Union Repubiics, and the Con- gresses of the Soviets of the U.S, S.R., one for each 25,000 voters, the Congresses of Sovicts where peas- ants predominate elect one deles gate for every 125,000,000 popula- tion. | The privileges in favor of the | workers had been introduced when the peasants were still for the most part petty property holders, and | when the influence of the kulaks | was still great in the countryside, | These privileges reinforced the lead- ing role of the working class in the Soviet state, helped to strengthen Soviet power, and at the | same time ensured the bread as- sistance of the proletarian dicta- torship to the toiling peasantry in the upswing of agriculture and in ensuing Socialist reconstruction of the countryside. The Party always pointed out this privilege in favor of the workers as necessary at the time to ensure the victory of the proletarian revolution, and always emphasized its temporary character. Since the Soviet Constitution was written, the situation has radically changed. This is evidenced by the fact that the peasantry en masse divorced itself from a petty pron- erty economy, and after uniting in colective farms, is building a new Socialist life. However, this does not mean thet the difference between the workers and peasants has been completely obliterated. No, the state enter- prises in which the workers ara employed are on a higher level than the collective farms in Socialist or- ganization, and the revolutionary stamina of the workers, who, during all the years of the revolution, had to occupy a position in the front rank of struggle against capitalism and its survivals, cannot help being of more importance in the final struggle for the victory cf Soctal- ism compared with the mass of other toilers. As a result, the lead- ing role in building Socialism must still be preserved for the working class. But since, following the workers, the peasants also took up their posi- tion in the ranks of the immedi- ate builders of Socialism, the path has been made clear to eliminate every difference between the work- ers and peasants, and first of all, to remove a difference in their yot- ing rights, At present, the workers and the Peasants are engaged in one com- mon cause, engaged in Socislist construction on the basis of Soviet order and Soviet power. This has attained unprecedented strength, Therefore, the former reasons for the difference in voting rights be- tween workers and. peasants must fall away. The realization that we are substituting equal voting rights for not entirely equal rights for the entire mass of the toilers must bring the workers and peasants siill closer to each other. It must strengthen still more their alliance, and con- sequently the might of Soviet power, [Applause.] We ave travelling along the road to a classless Socialist so- ciety. The captitalist elements n our country are aleady liquidated. One of the man tasks of Soviet power at present is the liquidation of the difference between the work ing class and the peasantry on a basis that will ensure the complete triumph of Socialism in our coun- try. The proletarian dictatorship could realize this task in the course of a number of years. We must, however, strive relentlessly to facili- tate the solution of this problem, we must utilize ail mears that will contribute to bringing the solution nearer. Substitution of equal voting rights for those not entirely equal for all toilers, will in many ways contribute additional successes in advancing our country along the road to a classléss, Socialist society. [Ap- plause.] If in bourgeois states the ruling classes not only do not think of widening the yoting rights of the a toilers, but are seized with panic in the face of impending events, and see as their task the strengthening of their power by completely re- moving the toilers from participa- tion in state administration, the Possibility of now substituting equal for unequal voting in our country is evidence of the tremendous growth in the forces of the Soviet, Union, At the same time, it creates the Prerequisites for further strength- ening the Soviet State in every way, [Applause.] Substituting Secret Ballot for Open Voting, Section 5 The introduction of the secret ballot signifies one more form of test of the link between the organs of Soviet government with the broad masses of the toilers. We have not a few means of test« ing the link betiveen the leading Soviet organs and the workers and Peasants, The substitution of se- cret for open ballot will be one more important form of testing the firm- ness and seriousness of this link of the Soviets with the toilers. This Method of election will help to re= veal more rapidly certain weak sec- tions in our work, The introduction of secret ballot will necessitate strengthening our work amorg the masses in every way pozsible, will necessitate new ef- forts to explain to the masses the substance of the prectical work of the organs of Soviet power. This will be a forceful blow at the bu- reaucratic elements, will be for them & useful shake-up. On the whor (Continued on Page 5)