By DYSON CARTER Soviet boom in full swing [X two months my wife and I saw the Soviet Union from Tur- key, in the extreme south, up to Kostroma which is as far north as Port Churchill on Hudson Bay. We travelled by car, train and boat. Thus we were able to meet countless people not only in big cities but in backwoods villages. We asked to visit places where foreigners hadn’t gone before, and we saw such places. We talk- ed to top-ranking Soviet scien- tists, and to village priests. We listened to the views of a solitary beekéeper who lives two miles high in the Caucasus, and to masses of factory workers discuss- ing the new Soviet plans. What did we discover? The Soviet Union is changing more rapidly than ever before. It would take a book to describe how things have changed since we were in Lvov, Kiev, Moscow and. Stalingrad in 1950. What most astonished us was to see the changes that took place in just two months. * Consider the farms. Recent Sweeping changes in Soviet farm policy will bring about greater universal improvements in the life of the people than have ever ‘been achieved anywhere. While we were there, Soviet farm authorities raised the prices paid to farmers for meat and poultry by 550 percent, for pota- toes 250 percent, for milk and butter 200 percent. At the same time the prices paid by consum- ers did not rise one penny, and will drop again next spring. Along with this, the new Soviet budget cut taxes on farmers and city people by billions of rubles. I don’t want to discuss what these amazing steps prove .. . that the socialist system, geared for peace, is now approaching Dyson and Charlotte Carter in Moscow unlimited prosperity. I simply want to affirm that we saw the new decisions carried into action. From Armenia’in the deep south, through the Kuban, right up the Volga’for 2,000 miles, the collective and state farms were expanding livestock and dairy production on a huge scale. We were in some of the farms singled out by N. S. Khrushchev in his report on agriculture . the best and the worst. We saw where the famous Kostroma ‘cow was developed. And it became clear that Soviet farming will, ir fact, be revolutionized in less than three years. One example. Canada has a “surplus” of milk, and our splen- did dairy cows average about 4,- 500 pounds of milk yearly, The goal set for Soviet cows is over 5,00 pounds. But we saw herds of cows averaging away over 10,000 pounds of milk per year. With the price paid for milk now raised 200 percent, you can imagine what tens of millions of Soviet farmers are doizg to expand and improve their herds. The same goes for pigs, sheep, ‘poultry, grain, fodder and market gardening,, On a mass scale So- viet industry and science are be- ing~mobilized for a stupendous. expansion of agriculture’ in about 30 months. Already in September we saw trains of new railway cars pulling out of new factories, loaded with new types of farm .machinery. Enormous supplies of lumber, steel and cement, such as we saw flowing to the Volga-Don canal site in 1950, are now pouring out over the steppes to the farm vil- lages. ig Why these great changes now? The whole Soviet people can give the answer. Up to now the USSR was. not able to expand, on a_ gigantic scale, both heavy industry and farming. Now the 16 republics possess sO many great mines, + ' mills, factories and power plants that they can undertake a great- er and faster expansion of agri- culture than has ever been at- tempted elsewhere. This is being done without slowing down their industrial growth. Indeed, more than a million new jobs are gpening in industry this year. And the world’s largest power plants, at Kuibyshev and Stalingrad, are rapidly’ being completed, assur- ing still greater growth of fac- tory production. Many huge new plants, making consumer goods, have recently come into operation. We saw vivid proof of this. In July, in Moscow and other cties, retail stores were doing a booming business. In September this boom had reached staggering © propor- tions. Evéry shopping day was like Christmas Eve in Canada. On some streets shoppers literal- ly crowded automobile traffic off the road. : We were in the biggest linen producing centre of the world when the director, a woman, was called urgently to Moscow to dis- cuss an immediate expansion in flax-growing and linen manufac- turing. Soviet consumers by the millions are demanding fine linen garments and bed clothes. This prosperity impresses if eigners because no Soviet pee? have the slightest fear of any pression. Their concern is t0 ® pand and improve fast enough ® keep up with demand. thing is on a cash basis, © have no debts, wages are prices fall every year, the for ively” they rising jncome of the farmers is now soavine: Living right in the midst @ this permanent prosperity, i could not help thinking @™ | Canada’s trade opportunities. ” venture to say that Soviet 1 ers would buy every car, Was machine, refrigerator a of cloth that Canadian f could export. There’s no question that trade organizations would ™ lasting deals with Canadian now. * vf acories Soviet : : in We ~ During our extensive tt? found answers to same ' zling questions. We plan wre with these fully in a series printed reports. Perhaps our most excitiné periences were in menia. dians to visit that land. of every 10 Soviet. moved to the USSR from We were the first Soviet one ist countries since 1946! menial capil t of ex AY cant out ell; We talked to scores .of th , many of whom speak flue Although their repU remote from Moscow, have built a_ highly | civilization with great 12 lish. mechanized farms, fully beautiful cities. W® led far along the border. where on “the other 5! ‘ Turkey, could be seen 2 nt and de, but appalling desolation poverty. A first-hand study 9° medical devefopments 10° of our time. how the USSR ‘is actual ing the death-rate from ease, how it tackles We lem of alcoholism. inves he dustt wondel f Sow kk owe ly J dis the pr plie ® nial » jp hin’ ( jet uch f° ps Recently the daily PFC ses tried to picture all Sovie as taking place “at the to? contrary is A changes are on a mass S¢ mol? true. whe downtown Moscow to the villages. created the most advane ad dustry and science in thé and now 200 millions ° are applying this to create highly prosperous life Collective la for individual in the lan ism. or! eo? nell evel! socitt pas Je t coe One marriage that’s not so happy q By William Mennell QOMETIMES the whole world sees clearly that the marriage of convenience between Britain and the United States is running into difficulties. ; ' When they disagreed in the United Nations about the inclu- sion of India in the Korean peace conference, it looked as though they had reached ‘the crockery- throwing stage. Perhaps the difference in age of the partners has something to do with it. Britain was an estab- lished imperialism when the Un- ited States was in knee-pants. America did not get -notions about foreign markets and spheres-of influence until the be- ginning of the 20th century. The subsequent combination of. cir- cumstances and natural push quickly brought the U.S. to a position of dominant importance. At the end of the Second World War, the U.S. found that several imperialisms had been knocked out of the running—anot- ably Germany and Japan. The economy of Britain was severely damaged but not by any means down and ouf. There was room for both Brit- ain and the U.S. in the sellers’ market which followed the end of the war and there were poli- tical reasons why the reaction- ary leaders of both countries should want to present an ap- pearance of unity. Nevertheless, the partners had conflicting ideas of what they wanted to get out of the union. To begin with, Britain wanted te gather the Empire closely around her and to gain influence among some semi-colonial coun- tries, such as those of the Middle East. As the stronger partner, the U.S. had ideas about taking over the British Empire as a going concern. The U.S. imperialists worked hard on strengthening the dollar as a world currency and, at the same time, weakening the pound sterling until, in September 1949, it had to be devalued by 30 per- cent. : * In the meantime, the U.S. had been getting angry with the way that Britain had been using Mar- shall “aid” dollars. U.S. businessmen pointed out that their dollars had in fact been used by Britain to pay for exports to India. They argued that if India ‘was going to get dollar aid, the Amerieans ought to have had the credit and: pro- fits which resulted—not Britain. The acceptance of Marshall “aid” meant, however, that Brit- ain sacrificed her independence to the U.S. Consequently, when the U.S. decided to work up the Marshall bloc into the North At- lantic Treaty Organization the British imperialists had to fall in. From then on the Americans were a bit pointed about the fact that any dollars they dished out were for military purposes—and no nonsense about general econ- omic assistance. The Marshall “aid” tap was turned off. It became clear in 1952 that a change had taken place in the world economic situation. Pro- duction and productive capacity had increased in the capitalist countries much faster than the consumption of commodities by the workers, To make matters worse, it be- came apparent that the enormous rearmament programs would not entirely make up for the inability of the masses to consume what they produce. Worse still, under U.S. encour- agement, the economies of West- ern Germany and Japan had been restored and were competing vig- orously with Britain for inter- national markets. At the end of 1952 Stalin made the pointed observation that the two world markets had come in- to being as a result of U.S. trade embargoes. In the Socialist. world PACIFIC TRIBUNE — OCTOB . og Ob oming dy market trade was oy frie the basis of the mos relations. In the capita market there was the © of a buyers’ market a? pect of stagnation and Churchill and some othe ish Tory leaders, attracte expanding Socialist W et, would like to see mal relations with Union, China and the ° ples’ Democracies. v + s}istS The British imperial 5, subjected to all k ances. can” US. There is the Act which growing fear among talists that the U.S. basically unstable. aus The British ruling dao by the twin devilé is interest and_politicé ty. Only the organize” iy class can throw 0 able U.S. alliance. = iS inds “Buy ate meri $ or: more list gf? 0)” ofl ent? pre glumP Me d by m it {he OY ghok 0 ie the, s yer discri™ (pe rts ho against British exP° is + there of Underneath all ee sitisb ca econ? wor? dl ’