THE SOVIETS FALLACY

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVII, Issue 4437, 29 August 1933, Page 6

THE SOVIETS FALLACY

THE TRUE FACTS. ENGLISH CREW'S EXPERIENCES. Those who visualise the Soviet system as a panacea for social ailments might change their political opinions if they were enabled to study the country from any other viewpoint than that of a conducted tourist. That it is the deliberate opinion expressed by officers of the steamer Deerpool, which reached Melbourne a few days ago from Vladivostock, via Nagasaki.

The vessel spent nearly two months in Russian waters loading salt at Odessa, and discharging this cargo at Vladisvostock. Although everything possible was done to prevent the officers studying conditions in the two ports visited (says the Melbourne Age), scenes of poverty and degradation were witnessed, which thoroughly convinced them that Russia's attempt to build up a nation was nothing but a grim farce, her efforts to hide the truth tragic, but unscrupulous. Officers of the ship said that the Soviet's boast of an eight-hour day and model working conditions was an utter fallacy. Both at Odessa and Vladivostock the wharf labourers who were employed on their vessel had worked 18 hours at a stretch on rations of black bread arid water. At Vladisvostock girl tallying clerks of from 14 to 16 years of age, had laboured on their vessel for 14 hours night and day on end on the same meagre rations. Their steamer had been delayed at both ports, owing to shortage of labour, as thousands of men and women had been transported to the northern fishing grounds for the summer season. Women worked just as hard as did the men. They received no preferential treatment. Gangs of women, haggard with hunger, had been engaged in the heavy labour of trimming salt in the vessel's holds, or cleaning up the wharves. It was simply not true to say, as often had been said on Soviet official authority, that the Russian citizen was contented. He was far from being contented, but he was too afraid to complain in public. Englishspeaking workmen, whose word could be relied on, had told them harrowing tales of so-called Soviet justice.

It was significant that the Soviet's unskilled workmen were marched to and from their labours under armed guard. Even their holidays were spent in enforced labour for the Soviet cause, and a workman digging potatoes considered himself extremely fortunate. Men of the steamer Deerpool's for'castle when ashore appeared smartly dressed when compared with the badly-clad Russians, but the Russian seafarers received better treatment. This was to hide the truth from the outside world. For similar reasons a unit of the Soviet merchant service was always retained as a show boat for visiting tourists and foreign sailors. This spick and span vessel was an absurd contrast with ! the dirty, unseaworthy hulks which made up the rest of her nondescript merchant fleet. At Vladisvostock they had witnessed a dirty 5000-ton cargo boat setting out on a week's voyage to the northern fishing grounds of Kamchatka. Over 500 men a'nd women were herded like cattle on her decks, which had a formidable 15 degrees list, and seemed headed for disaster in the fog-shrouded northern seas. Officers said they had been practically under armed control throughout their stay in Russia. On their arrival the crew was mustered on deck and their cabins searched. The wireless set, all cameras, and even the ship's telescopes were placed under seal, and an armed guard was always on duty at the ship's gangway. With the exception of one Communist, all members of the ship's company had been glad to clear Soviet waters, in spite of colourful propaganda dispensed by the internatio'nal clubs at both ports.