Big Zag

Driving Russia further & further toward Communism,-- Josef Stalin's Communist Party advances by a series of zigzags, first zigging as far to the Left as the people will stand, then zagging a trifle to the Right, easing the strain. Came last week a major zag. Dictator Stalin and Premier Molotov signed a sheaf of decrees conferring on Soviet peasants for the remainder of 1932 these boons:

1) Individuals or members of collective farms who have raised the quantity of grain specified by the Government (which has lowered the 1932 quota 20%) may sell a portion of their crop to whom they like for whatever price they can get. Previously they could only sell to the Government at its fixed low price.

2) Similarly Soviet cattle raisers may sell a portion of their stock for what it will bring. They rejoiced last week at Moscow's announcement that for the rest of this year the State will buy at its compulsory low price only 700,000 tons of meat instead of 1,400,000 tons.

In Soviet cities the State zagged by taking off the ration list Russia's beloved tea & cigarets, also milk, eggs, cheese, canned goods (except canned meat), candy, soap and knitted goods.

Still rationed (purchasable only on presentation of a card) are bread, flour, meat, oil, gruel, sugar and Russia's beloved butter & herring. Men's clothing was not taken off the ration list, but the ration per man per year was increased.

Finally the Soviet Government, for the first time in two years, entered the foreign wheat market as a heavy buyer. By this time last year 85 million bushels of Soviet wheat had been sold or dumped on the world market. This year Russia is not only eating her wheat and permitting her peasants to drive hard bargains for it, but has purchased in the last fortnight three million bushels from Canada for delivery in foreign bottoms to the Soviet Far East port of Vladivostok.

Unquestionably all this pointed to Soviet preparedness for a possible fight with Japan. Josef Stalin's zag all along the line was an advance concession to the Russian people, in case the Communist Party is presently forced to ask them to rally in arms around its regime. Latest reports place the number of Red Army troops concentrated on the Far East frontier at 100,000. Japanese warships will scarcely fire on neutral freight boats bringing to Vladivostok food for the Dictator's soldiers.

--Contrary to popular misconception the Russian system today is not Communism, nor does the ruling Communist Party claim to have Communized Russia. According to Joseph Stalin, Russians are "building Socialism," will later attempt to build Communism.

Directly after the Revolution, Russia passed through a period of so-called "War Communism" characterized by virtual abolition of money and attempts to apply the Communist maxim "from each according to his ability and to each according to his needs." Today Russia is back on a money and piecework basis, but is not back on a Capitalist basis, the distinction being that no private employer is permitted to amass any considerable wealth.

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