COMMON TASKS.

Waikato Times, Volume 120, Issue 19990, 14 September 1936, Page 2

COMMON TASKS.

UNPOPULAR IN RUSSIA. ; SOVIET LEADERS' PROBLEM. I FE\V LABOL‘RERS AND DOMESTICS. Soviet leaders are already beginning to ask themselves: “How can we keep a sufficient number of our people. satisfied in humble occupations?" says I the Moscow correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor. Expand—ing factories and the emphasis upon the benefits of education are drawing thousands of unskilled workers into factories and schools. The existing unskilled labour shortage promises to become more acute. Municipalities are unable to keep] common labourers, and always are hunting for them. Every Moscow post omce' displays placards: "Mail Carriers Needed.“l This work is particularly disagree-l able in Moscow. because many new: eight—story buildings have no eleva-I tors. | Housing: co-operaiives are losin': .lanitors; those who remain admit that they do so only because they are given rooms. which are at a premium in tile overcrowded cities. Servants Are Few. The emerging “middle class“ of well-paid government and industrial executives plead witll peasant girls to work as household servants, and have lost them in ll few months to fac—torles. \\'hcn the Government rcce‘nlly ura'etl lame families, one woman asked: “llmv can we have large families when girls won‘t worki as nurscnlaids‘.’ Some of us don‘t’ like to keep our babies in creches,l and in any case Creches can sitcom—t modate' only a small part. of our children.“ I The state glorifles humbler occu—i pations in an attempt to satisty‘; workers. Joseph Stalin recently en-l tertained a group or milkmalds. and emphasised the social importance 0f their work. The omclal press frequently praises the modest achievo< ments of railway track men. ordinary clerks, booksellers. street sweepers. All such groups have “Stakhanovists,” publicly honoured. . Cultural ‘Prorldlnga. Millions of Soviet citizens are still barely literate, so that they are willing to till the ranks of the unskilled: But. the Soviet state provides elemen—l tary education for all children and stresses the importance of higher! education and training for all its citi—l zens. The whole population is prodrled into attempts at self—improve-1 menii A socialist society. say the Communists, will be universally educated and “cultured.“ \V’ho. then. will perform the me-l nial tasks? Do the Communists fore—l sea a society in which educated men“ and women will be willing to sweepl Jireets and dig ditches? Or do they. Itnte‘nd to limit education so that some citizens must perforce be con—l tent with humble occupations? Such questions already begin to! demand answers, it ”planned econ—' omy" is to justify its pretensions. } Machines Will Do It? i The Communists rctort that ma—l chines can perform most menial tasks:i but they appear to have an exasperated. notion of what. machines can and cau- I not do. I The, newspaper Young Communist 'l‘rulh declared in a recent editorial: “\Vc have now created conditions i for free choice of occupation by every; t young person. Any occupation in our country is honourable. The labour‘ of n bookkeeper or switchman, a herds— ‘ man or machine-operator, a machinist or janitor. a cashier or academi—rian. is equally honourable. It is possible in any occupation to become as specialist, to broaden one's knowledge.“ The fact remains that. despite all attempts to glorify humble occupations. Soviet young people increasingly avoid them and are aware that material rewards and prestige await those who become‘ educated; no lamount of propaganda can put a janitor or street—sweeper on a level leth an engineer or government oml cial Burl-let‘s Must Go Down. The Communists say that their society will not. he like capitalist sorte‘lv because they are tweaking <lo\\l\uthf' axe-old walls between rural and urban workers. between manual and mental labourers. They predict, that eventually all such barriers will disappear, as the educa— Holml and “cultural" level of the lower groups is elevated. However that may be, ”19 develop- ‘ ments of Soviet. society at present re—snmhlcs that of another continental 'linllusll'inl country. the l‘nilcd States. ”The, l‘isintr generation shows the re’lsults of the intense DYGDRSRW‘IE .lOI‘ ' I SDlfrilllpl‘tn'l‘lllelli, and cducatlon. lIYOHHK people prefer “white—collar" ElJuhs in domestic service or RnY form “of unskilled or semlskilled labour. I Will a state sociallstlc system find "lit easier to recruit. workers for its ‘ . \m-inus ranks. to prevent the develop—’ijM of a {Orl‘hcfu‘y educated class 5 l and to devph‘]! mum: men and women | “1m “in 1.;- satisfied with the humble -ll'~l‘l‘lll"nil“"‘ which must be filled ir f. anv fox-l“ ”1' social organisation? It so 5I ”,3 salutifln has not yet prc'scntcd ii- ‘. I 50”. _