Evening Star Newspaper, October 8, 1929, Page 30

30 POVERTY PINCHES ‘RUSSIAN WORKERS Low Wages and Cramped Living Conditions Also Outstanding. BY PAUL MARION. This is the third of a series of seven daily articles in which Paul Marion, for eight vears an outstanding figure in the French Communist party and chief of the political agitation and propaganca section, tells of his disillusionment after 15 months in Soviet Russia. What he found in Russia led him to resign from his party. In these articles he describes what he found. PARIS, October 8 (N.AN.A.).—When a foreigner succeeds in the difficult task of seeing into the private lives of the Moscow working classes, the first thing that strike him are the poverty, the cramped conditions and the lack of elementary comfort of the rooms which three, fsur, five and sometimes as many as eight or ten people belong- ing to workers’ families are crowded. Outside a small privilege class, nobody in Russia has an apartment to himself. The second thought that occurs to one promptly is that wages are very low. In a country where living is much dearer than in France and almost as dear as in the United States, the bulk of workmen earn between fifty and one hundred roubles ($25 to $50) a month. Some specialists may earn twice as much, or more, but the great majority of the people do not touch the $50-a- month mark, which means a life of next, when they would be exposed to the ill will of the factory managers or of their successors, and sa; that they did not want their f: to be de- prived of bread. That was a bad busi- ness.” To my mind it was more than just a bad business, because the facts related oetmiea "event, Tormed . glating Broot event, form of the lies told about the drchwrlhlp of the proletariat. t will be pointed out that in the Soviets, in the factory councils and at conferences relating to production Rus- slan workmen meet, debate ana vote, and that after all the decisions of such conferences have sovereign validity. There is not a single Russian workman. not even a Communist, who, if he thinks he can talk freely to you, does not either express impatience or smile bitterly when he hears such statements. bate as well as the sudden ‘unstudied’ interruptions of certain of those present and all the resolutions are prepared in advance by Communists, so that the final vote shall take place without a division under their supervision.” Subscribed to Loan. It may be, someone will point out to me, that Russian workmen subscribe en in | masse to the Soviet industrial loan, and that they take part in their thousands in the great street demonstrations on festival days. I admit that the majority of the workmen subscribe to the loans, but the reason is that their subscriptions are paid by the withdrawal of one-tenth of their monthly wages. In other words the men, in ex for a lower wage, have some sort of guarantee of being allowed to remain at work and not thrown into the ranks of the unemployed. They go to the street demonstrations because, as their pres- ence is carefully checked, it is an easy means of living on good terms with the masters of their factories besides being a form of amusement to which Russians THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1929. tion in Russia. In Moscow. 400,000 men are working and 200,000 idle. The state, which controls all employment, has a monopoly of granting work or withhold- ing it, and a man out of work who re- ceives a dole of 15 rubles a month (and that for six months only) is simply sen- tenced to death. Administrative pressure, however, is not the only weapon of the Bolshevists over the workers. The moral pressure the Communist press and propaganda exercise in the most varied directions, their clever labor leadership, their cam- pal against foreign capitalism and their constant foretelling of the coming world revolution which will improve the conditions of the Russian pro- letariat, go very far in helping them to maintain, to some extent at all even's, the revolutionary spirit in many of the workmen. Asked what advantagss the revolution had brought the , the lvme workman with whom I spoke gent ly explained that the revolution had given them no political rights—that the news- papers lled when they said the workers were the masters of Russia, because the leaders of the Communist party and not the workers were the absolute masters of the country. ‘Wages—that is to say the real value of what the men received—are about the same as in czarist times, but nowadays hands work eight hours a day, whereas under the czarist regime a working day might have run to 11 or 12 hours. Nowadays men have a right to 15 days’ paid hulldn{ a year, and in case of ac- cident or illness it is possible to obtain compensation under the health in- surance schemes. ‘Workmen continue to be badly housed, but rents are low and remain in proportion to wages. If workmen are Expert Haircutting For Kiddies 35¢ S K Our skilled barbers will study the contour of your head. You will find our Service Tickets a great convenience and a saving! Goldenbers’s—Third Floor, For Women on good terms with their Communist cell and ‘their trade union they are sometimes allowed to go to a sanatorium for a-cure if they are suffering from any organic disease, and they may also be sent to a so-called Test” during their holidays. . Workmen's children who join the Ploneers (a form of Communist Boy Scouts) and later become members of what are called Associations of Com- munist Youth, may receive general in- struction and even sometimes technical training. So_long as the Soviet regime is not attacked, workmen have a right to crit- icize their foreman and factory man- agers on matters relating to their work. In spite of all the Soviet press might say, the Russians know the workmen of ‘Western Europe are happier than they. There is one thing the Russian work- men would like to do above all, and that 15 to be employed in an American fac- bes the feel of what I m!(h!d 1l the middle cal m ¢ lmm, bulk of men out of work the workers of Russia, but the the ill-paid men and talk bitterly. I often heard them say, “We must have our princes back.” Cheaper to Drink. And when they are asked why they get drunk they reply: “Because it is cheaper in Moscow eat, than to amuse oneself or to learn any , because we are disgusted with everything, and because we want to forget, and finally because we sce nothing ahead.” ‘The more intelligent men and those formerly active members of the Com- munist party will tell you frankl “We must have another revolution and drive out the bureaucrats.” Those are APPROACHING OUR 34th ANNIVERSAR to drink than to | the the collective agreements between tI trades unions and the Soviet trusts. b 16 must be admitted, however, that a great_many workmen identify them- selves with the present regime and de- clare themselves bound to it. These are the Communists and the so-called “sym- pathizers.” I shall refer to them again when I come to discuss the dominant caste of the U. 8. S. R. But if the Rus- (Copyright, 1929, by paper Alliance. — BANDITS GET $4,750. CHICAGO, October 8 (#).—While eight officers of the California Building and Loan Association were in confer- ence late last night, five men, one of whom carried a machine-gun, entered, made them lie on the floor, and stole $4,750. The robbers made Frank Stack, treasurer, open the safe, which con- tained $4,300, and then robbed the of- ficers of $350. ‘The organization was robbed about a year ago, when Stack and a stenog- , rapher were held up in the offices by {:‘ur men, who stole $3,700 from the . GOLDENEBERG'S Phone NAtional 5220 “At Seventh and K’ $29.50 & $35.00 Coat For Larger Women g The Dependable Store Better order a supply of these : .>—\high grade sheets now for they will //not last long at this very low price. Free Parking Space Directly across from our Eighth Street entrance is the Goldenberg’s private parking area where Goldenberg’s patrons can park their cars free of charge for two hours. We invite our customers to avail themselves of this convenience. s|$1.50 Bleached 81x90 Sheets $1.19 Heavy round thread quality. $1.25 Bleached Sheets 63x99 -inch size. Extra 98c lengths for single beds. Made 39c Pillowcases $ q ! at This Low Price! 2 5 . with deep hems. Made of fine quality Sizes 421 to 521 SZ “Two-Piece A specially purchased group of attractive fur- Rayon Bed Sets St (2x16 fnches = Veey trimmed coats—to prove to the larger woman that Each set includes special. there are wonderful coat values in her size too—at || a ruffled spread and $8 49 . Fast colors, stringency and privations. Wages of less than sixty roubles, slightly over $25 a month, represent real misery. Finally there is a third fact, in no way concealed, which surprises the on- looker disagreeably, and that is the systematic drunkenness of the workmen. Not an Indictment. All these things, however, bad though they are in their way, are far from be- ing an indictment of the Soviet regime. ‘What really matters are the underlying causes of this situation, and what the workmen think of it. In 90 cases out of 100 the impression obtained after talking with the proletariat, assuming the proletariat trust you, is the follow- ing: The men despise as much as they fear Soviet bureaucracy, the state syn- dicalist structure and the triple power which is in command in the factories, namely the Communist cell, the men’s committee and the technical manage- are partial. The fear of being thrown out of work is the key to many a political contradic- 100 Smart New Models— Just About Enough for One Day’s Busy Selling 20c Bleached Muslin A closely woven, soft-finish quality muslin that is free 15 from starch and dressing. c 25¢c Sheeting Cotton 40-in. heavy unbleached ts. 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"Plaids, checks, stripen etc- .- 3OC This sale includes all of our regular Goldenberg’s—Main Floor. stock of staple colors as well as inside and outside white. (Contains Over 509 Linseed Oil) 1,-Gal. 1-Gal. See the DEMONSTRATION of Zhe Butcher Goldenberg’s! These good-looking coats are shown [| Pillow. Full double 39¢ Bed Ticking in the wanted browns and blacks . . . flattering ::fa,m:iue.hg?.::' ity Hcking T with mest straightline models, generously furred with wolf or 8 and orchid stripes. marmot . . . and nicely lined with satin. We sug- gest that you get here as soon as the store opens nt. ne day a young woman belonging to tomorrow! the O. G. P. U. (political police) told me, quite innocently, the following story: “I had been ordered,” she said, “to make an inquiry at a big Moscow works into the exact cause of death of a workman accidentally killed. The regu- lations for the protection of workmen had evidently been broken, as they often are, but we wanted to know who was responsible for this fatal accident. “To my great astonishment, none -of the workmen who had seen the incident would give the slightest information. ‘The man was dead, they said, and it was no business of theirs. I insisted on getting the information, and I explained Who I was, assuring the hands of my powerful protection in the event of ad- ministrative reprisals. “They still held their tongues, how- ever, arguing that although I might be there that day I should not be there the Misses’ Rumbleseat Coats Modern! Warm! Collegiate! And Only A wonderful investment for the high school, college or busi; girl Goldenbers’s—Second Floor Entire Stock of New $5 to $7.50 Hats enough for constant wear. _Of woolly, beaver-like “Nelsonshire Fab- ric"—in warm brown tomes. Sizes 14 to 20 years. On Sale for Two Days Only at Save $1 to $3.50 on Distinctive New Hats Carefully Selected for Our Regular Stock! An unusual event indeed—for how often can you choose from an entire collection of up-to-the-minute hats from regular stock—at savings like this? Our wide assortments feature beautiful Soleil and French Felts . . . new Tweed Turbans . . . Velours . . . rich Lyons Velvets . . . and stunning combinations of fabrics . . . in charming new models from high grade California and New York makers. See them early tomorrow, by all means! WALTER MORGAN CO. 421 10th St. N.W. Nat. 7888 | | $1.25 Wear-Ever French Fryer ‘Will help you 89 make luscious handle. Heavy wire drainer basket. i $3.25 Wear-Ever Saucepan Set Set of four sl .98 “French frys.” different sizes “Wear-Ever” $1.98 Refrigerator will fit $ 1 .68 convenient drop door. 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Closely woven, all- wool loop rugs that will stand hard wear. ?ome sold as slight seconds. Most are per- fect. Goldenbers's—Fourth Floor 6,000 Water Color Opaque Window Shades 3x6 Ft. 3x8 Ft. Window Window Shades Shades 17 1150c | 88¢ -1 3,000 Flat-Finish Holland - Window Shades Mounted on guaranteed Hartshorn rollers. 9x12 Velvet Rugs gs § Armstrong’s & Nairn’s Inlaid Linoleum at Unusual Prices $1.25 and $1.65 to $2.00 | . $3.25 Grade $1.50 (i.mles Grades A7 $ 00 TENE $1.95 ‘ $1.25 Rayon $ k 36 ll\che.t wide. In brocade or striped patterns, this dam- ask is suitable for door or window drapes. Rayon Drapery 39c Plain or striped patterns, 36 inches wide, used for door or window hangings. 59 c 79¢ French ecru or white mar- hig] Congoleum Made | 9x12 Armstrong’s Floor Covering s“l;elt-lh:e Rugs Long remnants (5 to 10 yards), s mah. 25C Marquisette, Yard. qum of a high luster. 48 inches wide. $2.25 Rayon Drapery Damask wanted b Square yard D ——— e — 59¢ Congoleum Rug Border $1.69 59c Crash Creteonne No Branch Stores CARL ‘M. BETZ, Megr. 612 13th St. Bet E& G o el [E=mrale 0l e[| e=——lo]cEaule——lo Sq. Yd. 9x12 Felt-Base 9x12 Congoleum Full Rolls Seconds All have the Six patterns, Have slight new, improved $€P 99 | with prey Lo gy £g mispeinis, which 3x6 Ft. I 3x8 Ft. \ Ed 'h=:.‘=““‘3wm' 5 : .Gnlflmhr“.—l’-}:%':l.fi'j'-;‘: 35c ‘:::nu:'::: :::m s 6«§b9n—nmn Fioor. 9sc FREE PARKING SPACE OPPOSITE 8th ST. ENTRANC = Squares Crescent Rugs e o finish that is so 9x7.6, will not affect 'y 8 $3.29. quality oflcloth. 22 patterns. Size Size ‘Goldenberg’s—Downstairs Store. | | | |