THE NEW RUSSIA

Hawera Star, Volume LI, 30 May 1932, Page 5

THE NEW RUSSIA

W.E.A. LECTURE AND MUSIC. PROGRESS OF COLLECTIVE FARMING. The Borough Council chambers were filled on Friday night when a lecture on “The New Russia” was given by Mr. J. A. Rrailsford, 8.A., under the auspices of the Hawera W.E.A. An added attraction was a short programme of Russian music-, provided with exceptionally good gramophone reproduction by Mr. L. (3. Hooker. Mr. Hooker gave a brief explanatory statement regarding the music of some of the Russian composers and the folk songs, uniquely Russian, rendered by the Don Cossack choir. His programme was keenly appreciated, and a hearty vote of thanks was accorded. • Mr. Rrailsford said that, having given a general lecture on Russia, old and new, iu Hawera last year lie would on this occasion try rather to show from Maurice Hindus’s book “Red Bread” how the personal life of the people was affected by the new regime. He read vivid passages showing the outlook of “a new girl” of 18 who had been placed in charge of the social work on a large collective farm, besides acting as stock expert and milker. This reading showed the complete freedom of the Russian woman and her right to attain to any position of authority, although as a Communist this girl would not be permitted to earn more than another worker. She could not understand the desire for possessions. Her views on religion showed that she had thoroughly absorbed the anti-religious propaganda of the Communist Party, though she had a devoted regard for her duty to the masses such as some people 'would call religious. Her views on marriage showed no regard at all for legal contracts, but a wliolesolne appreciation of loyal love. As a revolutionist she regarded harsh measures of confiscation and banishment of hostile “kulah” (well-to-do peasant) families as quite necessary, and she declared herself quite ready to fight for the revolution, even to use a bayonet. Mr. Rrailsford described how the Russian leaders had resorted to collective farming to overcome the resistance of the peasants to the State’s control of business. The opposition to collectivism had been suppressed with much cruelty. Difficulties had been experienced in getting the peasants to work with a will for the common good of the big farm communities, and there had been tragic errors of incompetence. Still, the new regime had made it possible to introduce up-to-date machinery, large-scale methods and scientific systems, with the result (as unbiassed authorities agreed) that the output had improved considerably. To induce the workers to give- their best efforts the leaders had abandoned Communist theory and were offering the capitalist inducement of higher pay and other material rewards, besides using “speed-ing-up” gangs in the way that workers in the capitalist world deeply resented.

Although in some important respects —notably in production of coal, iron and steel, and in transport —they were not, as had been hoped, carrying out the five-year plan in four years, still they had achieved wonderful things and, according to Dr. J. D. Salmond, Dunedin, a recent visitor to Russia, they had progressed three or four times as rapidly as other industrial countries had done in normal prosperous times. They were still very var behind Britain and America. They had been disappointed in the workers’ output, which was only 60 per cent, per labour-day of what they had hoped. The quality of the goods had often been inferior. The success of the future planning was doubtful and would depend largelv on the improvement of the efficiency of ■ Russian labour and on the quality of output, and also on the. willingness of the people to continue sacrificing themselves as they had done in the past four years. About 50 interesting views of Russia (obtained by Dr. Salmond on a recent visit) were shown by means of lantern slides.