THE WAIKATO TIMES With which Is Incorporated Tha Waikato Argus. FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 1930. RUSSIAN AGRICULTURE.

Waikato Times, Volume 107, Issue 17963, 7 March 1930, Page 6

THE WAIKATO TIMES With which Is Incorporated Tha Waikato Argus. FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 1930. RUSSIAN AGRICULTURE.

A good deal of Interest will be taken in the new scheme of the Russian Soviets for the cultivation of the land. They propose to throw a great number of small farms into a large single holding. The small farmer who is dispossessed is to do the work on wages, and the produce is to belong to the Government. The provision for wages is not very satisfactory, for the worker is to receive only 60 per cent, of the stated amount, and the balance is to be held as security for any Ones which may be imposed for slack work. It is commonly believed that farming is a pursuit which cannot be carried on under either Socialistic or Communis! lines, and the world will watch with interest to see if the Soviet can -make, a fresh record in this respect. They certainly start with very great advantages. Over a large area of Southern Russia the soil is particularly good, but the results obtained have been poor. The farms are small. At the revolution the peasants seized the land which had belonged to the larger proprietors and divided it among themselves, hut the size -of the farms was still small. Wheat is the crop cultivated to provide an income, and it is necessary, if wheat-growing is to he successful, that the areas should be at least large enough to make the use of tractors and horse-drawn plougas profitable, 'lire peasant -had not the capital required to provide these things, and the Soviet, authorities intend to use them largely on these combined farms. It is quite possible that they will make a success of the attempt, so long as the peasant can be induced to work for them. It may well be that for years to come they will do so, for although the conditions seem wretched enough, the peasant can only compare them with his conditions while operating his own small farm, and these were probably even worse. There are other considerations than the economic ones. However wretched the free peasant may have been, he was at least independent and could take his part in village government, which was a matter of some importance in the old Russia. The worker on the combined farm will soon sink to the condition of the medieval serf working so many days for his lord and the rest of the time for himself being sold with the land, which he was not permitted to leave. It would seem that some -of the Russian peasantry fear a fate of this kind, for they are escaping when possible into Poland, and it is said that that country is becoming afraid of the immigration of so many penniless people. The Kulaks are -said to be crossing the frontier in numbers, and if this be true it is very significant. A Kulak is a peasant who has done somewhat better than his neighbours, either by chance or by merit, and in some instances has bought the land of the poorer peasant. In a capitalistic country such a man would be considered a successful farmer, and would find it comparatively easy to obtain capital wherewith to extend his operations. In Soviet Russia the authorities look at it differently. They object to the Kulak, who could have provided the tractors and horseploughs and would have produced wheat in quantity, but would not accept the price fixed by the Soviet. He showed signs of independence, and the combined farm method is instituted to some extent for the purpose of getting rid of him. The Kulak may see this and may think that ho had better escape when he can. It is true that escape means leaving his chief wealth, the land, behind, and this raises Lhc question we always have with us in considering Russian affairs. Are the cables telling the truth? We have been told so many things about the Soviet that have later been shown to be incorrect that there is some hesitation in accepting any statement. The combined farm, however, is reported from other sources, and it is said lo be spreading, though it is still but a small percentage of the area under cultivation.

Although the peasant has never taken kindly to the communism of the Soviets, the town population are as fervent in its favour as ever,-and perhaps more so. It is, in fact, a religion with them, and to carry out the projects of the authorities they submit to long hours of work, inadequate pay, bad housing and an absence of all those conveniences and amenities of life which men in other countries demand. They look forward to the success of their industrial and political plans, and believe that when this comes life will he better and easier for them than for others. It may be so, hut to an observer it seems more likely that the measure of success they may attain will never equal that of Germany or Britain. They enter later into the industrial Held; and they

have never shown the same aptitude for business or for steady work that several other countries have shown. We know that well-being in either Britain or Germany is not universal, and it is hard "to believe that Communism will make it more general in Russia. It looks rather as if everyone is to be reduced to the .same low level of comfort, and it raises a doubt whether human nature will remain constant in its fervour for Communism if the results . are shown to be disappointing. It is, of course, too early to judge of the chances of success in such an immense social experiment as Communism. It is being tried in Russia under conditions which are as difficult as could, be imagined, yet the prophecies of failure which were constantly made a few years since have not so far been correct- The success achieved is very small, but it is not absolute failure. If the Czardom had continued conditions would have been little if any better, for Russia was bankrupt of money, of ability, and of honesty. It is these things that make it hard to realise how a new creed like Communism can turn the same men into capable self-governing citizens.