^iblioieica'0
Główna “\
37 1 693
UMK Toruń
p u l a ND
AND T H E
F O U R F R E E D O M S
Economic Conditions
-F
L O N D O N
I 9 4 6
Æ A -4 G V >
II.—ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
W e begin th e p resent survey of th e economic situ atio n in P o lan d b y listing a few observations on th e living conditions of th e w orking population. In doing so we hope to bring o u t th e more general features of th a t situation, while la te r we propose to deal in g reater detail w ith m ore spécifie spheres of economic ac tiv ity such as agriculture, in d u stry , etc.
G E N E R A L L IV IN G CO N D ITIO NS.
The fate of th e labour world in Poland lies in th e hands of th e Com m unist bureaucracy. I t can decide a rb itra rily w h eth er a given w orking group has or has not economic an d social u tility . The principle th a t everyone is e n title d to protection from hunger an d w an t has been replaced by th e te s t of social an d economic u tility . Only recently (The People's Voice, 27th N ovem ber, 194.5) th e W arsaw C abinet, in review ing th e question of food-supplies, discussed anew th e problem of priorities in th e d istrib u tio n of food to th e various groups an d classes. The priorities system which was finally adopted runs co u n ter to all accepted h u m a n ita ria n principles. F irs t come th e arm y, th e citizens’ m ilitia an d m em bers of th e secu rity organisation (Secret Police). To th e n e x t class belong railw ay w orkers, workers em ployed in th e reconstruction of p o rts an d some sections of industrial w orkers selected jo in tly b y th e M inistry of Supplies and th e M inistry of In d u stry . U n d er th e th ird category come all em ployees of th e central a d m in istra tio n as well as local governm ent officials and also o th e r groups of em ployees, again sub ject to jo in t selection by th e M inistry of Supplies an d th e M inistry of In d u stry . L astly we have th e rest of th e labour world, th e g rea t m ass of ord in ary workers. I t should be em phasised th a t th e priorities in question apply to so-called special allocations. T hey are open only to those who possess ratio n cards which, b y them selves, en title th e holder to a m ost in adequate diet.
To sum up we m ay say —
1. A su b stan tial section of th e population has to do w ith o u t ratio n cards ;
2. E ven w ithin th e fram ew ork of th e ratio n in g system th ere exist g reat q u a n tita tiv e differences in th e various group allocations ; ratio n cards of th e th ird category en title one only to an insignificant q u a n tity of food-stuffs ;
3. The ratio n in g system does n o t function sm oothly : even th e small q u an titie s of food, to which a ratio n card theoretically entitles one, can n o t alw ays be obtained ;
4. Privileges in th e d istrib u tio n of food supplies are carried even fu rth e r by th e fact th a t only some groups of w orkers who are holders of ratio n cards, receive special allocations which v ary in value according to th e sta tu s of th e w orkers concerned. (The police is in practice the m ost privileged group.)
The soviétisation of Polish life is carried out in an underhand m anner by a consistent policy of accom plished facts. I t finds no reflec lion in th e published governm ent decrees. Any such acknow ledg
m en t is conscientiously avoided. In th e o ry th ere is, for instance, no law forbidding th e form ation of #non-state-ru n trad e s unions. B u t those trad e s unions w hich are controlled by C om m unists are, in practice-
given special favours and privileges. T hus th e tired and h u ngry w orker, who has to reckon with th e alw ays-present possibility of loss of em ploy
m ent and of th e m eagre diet w hich this entails, n atu ra lly enlists in th e tra d e union run by th e Com m unists. H e has th e n a t least a b e tte r chance of success in com bating hunger. H e n o t only enlists, b u t does not even oppose th e self-assumed Com m unist leadership. M any instances could be given showing th a t w here th e w orkers of some factory happened to elect rep resen tativ es of # whom th e Com m unist directo rate disapproved, th e factory was deprived of its food supplies and th u s forced into subm ission. The w orkers were sim ply asked to choose : either you elect th e can d id ate we w ant, th e y were told, or else you will have to starve. N or th e executive au th o rities of th e trad e s unions are ever elected by popular vote. On th e co n trary , th e d irecto rate of th e C entral Commission of T rades U nions ensures the selection of suitable officers in individual tra d e unions, while th e la tte r see to it th a t th e local officers also conform to th e general p a tte rn . The controlling positions inside th e trad e s unions m ovem ent were seized by Com m unist elem ents during th e first m onths of Soviet occupation. T hey are now a b le - through arb itra rily selected su b o rdinate au th o rities—to terrorize th e labour w orld, to m ake it acquiesce in political declarations entirely inconsistent w ith th e real convictions of th e Polish w orker, etc. The elections to th e so-called facto ry councils invariably ta k e place u nder pressure from th e officials and th e d irectorate of th e trad e s unions. The wishes of th e w orkers are not ta k en into account.
The social insurance system which before th e w ar was com paratively sa tisfactory to -d ay operates only in th eo ry . The masses of th e unem ployed are, in practice, left to th e ir own fate and condem ned to sta rv a tio n . E ven th e d irecto rate of th e trad e s unions w hich is, as a rule, full of praise for th e W arsaw governm ent m akes no a tte m p t to conceal th e fact th a t th e system of social insurance is com pletely disorganised. The nam es of th e w orkers em ployed often do n ot figure on social insurance lists, and th u s w hen th e y lose th e ir jobs th e y are n o t en title d to pensions, allowances an d o th e r benefits.
All th e news th a t comes from P oland bears o ut th e fact th a t unem ploym ent has assum ed vast proportions. E ven if unem ploym ent statistics were available, one would have to view th em w ith caution.
The m a jo rity of th e unem ployed are p robably n ot registered, while th e statistics of registered unem ploym ent are certain ly inaccurate.
E v en ignoring th e news bearing directly on th e vastness of unem ploy
m en t in Poland, it is easy to deduce from em ploym ent d a ta how enorm ous unem ploym ent m ust, in fact, be. H ere is a selection of available d a ta :—
Workers employed
Industry (in 1000’s)
Before the war Now
Proportion o,/o
Chemical 48.0 11.6 24.1
M étallurgie an d electrical ... 179.0 25.8 14.1
Paper- 16.5 6.0 36.3
Mineral 67.9 14.7 21.6
In discussing th e situ atio n of w orkers in P oland one should not forget to m ention th e appalling housing conditions. In larger tow ns
4
like W arsaw, Poznan, Lodz, K rakow and K atow ice, th ere are on the average four persons to a room. T hey are th e tow ns in and around, which in d u stry centres, so th a t th e people can n o t leave them unless they are prepared to abandon th e ir only source of livelihood. Besides in villages and in sm aller tow ns th e conditions are very sim ilar.
The houses now used badly need repair as a result of th e lack of upkeep facilities during th e w ar and dam age sustained in th e course of m ilita ry operations. More often th a n not, a house th a t is now in h ab ited has dam aged walls, windows, doors, etc.— even th e roof is not always whole— in a word, th e pro tectio n again st cold an d dam pness is to ta lly inadequate. I t m u st also be rem em bered th a t cold and dam pness are m uch h ard e r to bear when one is underclothed and undernourished. The W arsaw au th o rities pay little a tte n tio n to providing th e o rdinary household w ith fuel. There is enough coal for ex p o rt to R ussia, b u t n o t enough to supply th e ordinary citizen. Coal is n o t rationed, an d coal prices are n o t controlled. People have to purchase coal on th e free m a rk e t where in th e sum m er m onths of last year one to n cost some 5,000 zlotys while now th e price has risen to some 10,000 zlotys. By com parison w ith pre-war, th e present price of coal is 250 tim es higher. B earing in m ind th e low income of th e average w orker, it is obvious th a t w ith th e p resent coal prices a large section of th e population of P oland m ust suffer b itte rly from cold.
H unger, lack of clothes, dam pness an d cold prepare th e ground for th e spread of diseases which it is, an d will be, difficult to com bat so long as living conditions do n o t im prove. Besides, th e lack of m edical supplies, th e shortage of doctors, nurses, hospitals, etc., are also gravely affecting th e h ea lth of th e nation. In addition, continual m igrations an d th e presence of large num bers of R ussian troops are powerful factors in spreading diseases. The d e a th -ra te has su b stan tia lly risen. I t is to be feared th a t it will rise still fu rth e r in th e com ing spring as a result of w inter exhaustion and intensified fam ine.
These conclusions referring p articu la rly to th e situ atio n of th e w orkers in P oland can be generalised. The position of th e rem ainder of th e tow n popu latio n —w ith th e exception of speculators to le rate d by th e Warsavy au th o rities and a small class which form s th e basis of th e present regim e— is n ot dissimilar.
To conclude th is survey of th e general living conditions in Poland, here is an a p t q u o ta tio n from an article in th e W arsaw p aper The People's Daily
“ T hrough th e w elter of oft-repeated promises, th a t in P oland every honest person has a right to live, over th e dazzling spectacle of richly decorated shop-windows, m idst th e lively, g littering hum our, m idst th e unceasing bustle of th e streets, tim e and again a faintly audible voice of com plaint can be heard, begging in th e words of the p ray er : ‘ Give us to -d ay our daily b rea d .’ . . . The post-w ar P o lan d began by introducing a drastic discrim ination against all those who did not work, th u s carrying out a purely m echanical selection of citizens. T o-day th e problem should be settled in a way which would conform to th e dictates of a C hristian conscience an d th e precepts of social justice. The system of allocating food, clothes and ration cards only to those who are able to work is to ta lly unfair.
“ T h at m ethod could be to le rate d only if th e S tate could guaran tee ad e q u ate help and p ro tection to all those who do n o t work, not because th e y are unwilling to work, b u t because th e y are in some w ay incapaci-
5
fated. U nder present conditions th e system of privileges leads to a wholly artificial division of society into an elite a n d an underw orld of social outcasts, a division b la ta n tly inconsistent w ith th e principles of C h ristianity and dem ocracy.”
Ag r ic u l t u r e a n d La n d Re f o r m.
One can distinguish tw o se parate phases in th e land reform w hich has recently been effected in Poland.
In th e first period, w hich began in th e a u tu m n of 1944, th e te r r i
tories affected were those occupied by th e R ed A rm y in th e course of its sum m er offensive of th a t year. The reform was carried o u t in g reat haste, under th e direction of special Com missars recruited from th e ran k s of th e P P R (the Polish Com m unist P a rty ) an d w holly ig n o ran t of agricultural questions. In th e actual parcellation, m ilitia u n its and units of th e R ed A rm y u n d er th e ir own officers were em ployed. I he a ttitu d e of th e peasants was often hostile tow ards those carrying out th e reform . R ecourse was th e n ta k e n to terrorism : th e expropriation of land-ow ners was en tru sted in such cases to specially organised bands, com posed for th e m ost p a rt of social outcasts, th o u g h led by Com m unists.
The Commissars for land reform were given v irtu a lly d ictatorial powers. T hey had th e rig h t to a rre st th e owners of agricultural estates, and th e y consistently m ade use of th a t pow er w henever th e y could lay h ands on th e u n fo rtu n a te individual. These a rb itra ry arrests of land proprietors often resulted in clashes, a t tim es even arm ed clashes, betw een th e Com missars and th e local peasants. I lie rem oval of th e expropriated land-ow ner was, how ever, considered to be essential to th e land reform itself.
The ex propriation was n o t lim ited to th e land itself, b u t often extended to th e personal belongings (furniture, clothes, etc.) of th e individual concerned. I t am ounted to no less th a n lawlessness organised from above, th o u g h th e decree legalising land reform m ade provision for ex p ropriation only in th e case of land itself an d such p ro p erty as is essential for its cultivation.
In m any instances estates of less th a n 50 h ectares were parcelled, th ough th a t was n o t provided for u n d er th e decree.’* A fter th e re- in troduction of law -courts, judges often pronounced for th e retu rn of those estates to th e ir expropriated owners. I t is interesting to note th a t th e ad m in istra tio n alw ays refused to p u t into effect those decisions and th a t th e Vice-M inister for Ju stice, M. Chajn, publicly denounced th e courts for th e ir verdicts.
The expropriated land-ow ners ivere given no com pensation.
Legally speaking, th e y were en title d to a small holding in some oth er p a rt of th e country. I t was only in a v ery few cases th a t these holdings were actu ally allocated to them .
In th e course of th e second period th e reform was extended L > th e rem aining p a rts of th e co u n try , th e m ethods used being largely th e same E x p ro p ria tio n bands, Commissars, all recruited from th e scum a n d rabble, were again em ployed. The services of land-surveyors were dispensed w ith. T he land was divided up a rb itra rily . There n atu ra llv resulted endless technical anom alies w hich a t tim es led to quarrels betw een th e new ly-endowed peasants. O ften th e land h ad to be divided up once again on a m ore ratio n al basis. I he a ttitu d e of th e peasants to th e land reform was, as in th e first period, hostile.
6
T hey to o k th e land because th e y were forced to ta k e it or because th e y were to ld th a t otherw ise it would pass into th e h ands of peasants from o th e r p a rts of th e country. The second phase of th e ag rarian reform was com pleted by A ugust, 1945. I t v a s th e n t h a t th e newly- endow ed p easan ts received certificates of ow nership. N othing lias, of course, been done abo u t com pensating th e exp ro p riated land-ow ners.
In central and southern P oland all larger estates were parcelled out. In th e P oznan province and in P om erania th e reform was initially carried o u t in some 70 per cent, to 80 per cent, of th e agricultural land which was to be divided up. Since individual peasant farm s are, in those p a rts, com paratively large, th e farm owners were n o t en titled to a n y land m ade available as a resu lt of th e reform . The tran sfe r of peasants from o th e r districts is rendered exceedingly difficult because of th e com plete lack of live stock and agricu ltu ral equipm ent. Most of th e live stock an d ag ricultural im plem ents were ta k en aw ay by th e R ussian A rm y. A sim ilar situation obtains in th e form er G erm an te rrito rie s : th e to ta l lack of agricu ltu ral im plem ents an d farm buildings m akes colonisation difficult. On th e o th e r lTand, significantly enough, large stretches of land have been p u t u nder th e ad m in istra tio n of th e R ed A rm y. A t th e end of 1945 R ussian m ilitary sovkhozes covered some 120,000 h ectares of farm -land.
I t should be noted th a t th e people who received land m ade available as a result of th e sp littin g up of larger estates, b u t who did not belong to th e local p ea sa n try , found them selves in a position where th e u n d e r
ta k in g of th e cu ltiv a tio n of th e land was wholly impossible ; th e y had no im plem ents, no live stock, no m oney for th e ir m ost im m ediate necessities, now here to live in ; th e land was often fallow. T hey tried to rem edy th e situ atio n by organising them selves into larger units, pooling th e ir resources together. These organisations were, however, based on a m u tu a l agreem ent th a t th e system of individual sm all-scale farm ing should he fully m aintained. T hey were in no way modelled on th e kolkhoz system an d were solely designed to m ake th e best of th e abom inable conditions w hich resulted from th e land reform . They were an d are actively com bated by th e W arsaw au th o rities who are obviously anxious to denigrate sm all-scale individual farm ing and to have it superseded by collectivisation on th e Soviet p a tte rn .
I t is also w orth n oting th a t when th e W arsaw au th o rities took over th e ad m in istra tio n of Poland, th e y expressly forbade th e new settlers on th e parcelled land to sta rt building on th e ir own p riv ate in itiative. The p rohibition was w ithdraw n when it becam e clear th a t no building could be un d ertak en anyhow because of th e slioitage of building m aterials. B u t th e purpose of th e original ban is obvious : it was m ade to prev en t th e consolidation of th e sm all-farm system , for any such consolidation would sta n d in th e w ay of th e fu tu re collectivisation.
The land reform b ro u g h t w ith it a sta te of com plete chaos anil large scale m igrations of p easants, on to p of all th e over nom adic m ovem ents, so ty p ic al of P oland to-d ay . M any of th e peasants who had land allocated to them , unable to c u ltiv a te it, soon discovered th a t it was im possible to m ake a livelihood from it : so th e y have often been know n to leave th e ir land and roam aim lessly abo u t th e country. In some p a rts of th e co u n try m ore th a n 50 per cent, of th e settlers abandon th e land which has been allocated to them .
7
In th e days of th e G erm an occupation agricultural production rem ained on a fairly high level th ro u g h o u t. The R ussians, however, w antonly destroyed m ost small farm ing estates w hich were n o t big enough to he affected b y th e land reform . The large estates received no b e tte r tre a tm e n t, and were anyhow split as a result of th e reform . The post-reform system of agriculture, as should be obvious from our earlier observations, is far from?being a p roductive system . No w onder therefore, th a t th e agricu ltu ral o u tp u t in Poland has su b stan tia lly fallen and continues to decline. In fact, P oland is faced w ith th e prospect of fam ine.
In d u s t r y.
The m ost striking feature of th e industrial situation in Poland is th e direct or indirect subordination of in d u stry to th e S tate authorities.
E stab lish m en ts which em ploy more th a n 50 w orkers were nationalised or allowed to operate u nder stric t governm ent supervision, 'flic form er owners of th e nationalised p lan ts, provided th a t th e y are Poles or m em bers of an allied nation, are to receive com pensation, th o u g h th e am o u n t is to be fixed later. It seems likely th a t in th is case as in th e case of land expropriation, th e prom ised com pensation will, in fact, never be paid.
It is equally im probable th a t some of th e nationalised p lants will be handed over to local au th o rities or to co-operative societies, th ough such a tran sfe r is contem plated in th e decrees relatin g to th e future organisation of ind u stry . This prom ise of tran sfe r was m ade to allay the general d istru st of th e cen tral bureau cracy and th e ensuing necessity to preserve th e pretence of direct social control over sta te industries.
It should be viewed as a m easure of appeasem ent of th e w orking masses whose lot becam e m uch h ard er the m om ent th e W arsaw ad m in istra tio n took over all establishm ents em ploying more th a n 50 workers.
The decree dealing w ith n ationalisation has in no w ay altered th e actu al situ atio n which has rem ained unchanged ever since th e lirst days of Soviet occupation. I t m erely legalises a long series of accom plished facts, th ough “ legalises ” is perhaps a w rong te rm since th e people have n o t been consulted on th e subject. The N ational Council has n ot even th o u g h t tit to w ait for th e long prom ised elections before passing th e decree.
U n fo rtu n a tely we have no w ay of know ing th e to ta l nu m b er of w orkers who were em ployed in industrial establishm ents num bering more th a n 50 employees. N or can we say w h at percentage of th e to ta l industrial o u tp u t was accounted for by establishm ents em ploying more th a n 50 w orkers. I t is evident th a t th e ir share in th e to ta l em ploym ent and th e to ta l o u tp u t was m uch larger th a n would ap p e ar from th e ir num ber.
In th e ta b le below we give in percentages th e proportion betw een th e n um ber of u nits in a given in d u stry which em ployed more th a n 50 w orkers an d th e to ta l num ber of u n its in th a t industry. The figures relate to pre-w ar conditions
Industry %
Coal mines an d iron an d zinc fou n d ries... 100 M anufacturing In d u stries (total) 12 of w hich :—
P o tte ry 24
M etal m an u factu rin g 20
8
E lectrical appliances 26
Chemical 16
Textile 22
P ap er ... 25
W o o d ... 12
F ood p roducts 3
Clothing 4
B uilding 33
I t should be noted th a t the n ationalisation decree em pow ers th e ad m in istratio n to nationalise not only in d u strial p la n ts em ploying m ore th a n 50 workers, b u t also sm aller p lan ts, should th a t be considered expedient for n ational and economic reasons. T hus no p riv ate e n tre p reneur can have any ce rta in ty th a t his factory or establishm ent m ay n o t also be nationalised. The tin eat of p o tential nationalisation is used as an in stru m e n t in m aking p riv ate in d ustrialists subservient to th e cen tral ad m in istratio n . The so-called p riv ate industries are m oreover controlled bv th e allocation of raw m aterials and fuel which depend en tirely on th e cen tral au th o rities since th e y are th e sole dealers in those goods.
W e shall not exam ine th e stru c tu re of in d u stry in detail. Suffice it to say th a t th e nationalised in d u stry is directly dependent on th e cen tral ad m in istra tio n , while th e so-called p riv ate industries are con
trolled by w ay of industrial boards which are directed by rep resen tativ es of th e governm ent. The ch a racteristic featu re is, therefore, th e ever- tig h ten in g link between S tate and in d u stry .
As regards industrial production th e following are th e figures published by th e W arsaw au th o rities an d relating to th e S eptem ber, 1945, o u tp u t of th e enum erated industries as expressed in percentages of th e ir pre-w ar o u tp u ts :—-
Coal o u tp u t ... ... 50 per cent, of pre-w ar o u tp u t.
Iron „ ... 36 „ „ „ T extile „ ... 30 „ „ ,.
Th e Ba n k s a n d t h e Fin a n c ia l Sy s t e m.
All Polish b anks have now been nationalised. Some of th em bear nam es which would suggest th a t th e y are controlled by local au th o rities or co-operative societies. In actual fact, however, th e whole banking system has no financial facilities a t its disposal o th e r th a n those provided by th e S tate (which continually recurs to th e p rin tin g press).
It has no funds o th e r th a n governm ent funds, while savings sim ply do n ot exist.
The W arsaw ad m in istra tio n has introduced th e following division of functions betw een th e various banks
]. The B ank of N ational E conom y is charged w ith providing th e credits to (a) natio n al industrial concerns w ith th e exception of n a tio n ally controlled agricu ltu ral u n d ertakings ; as well as credits for (b) th e reconstruction, expansion and replanning of towns.
2. 'Flic N atio n al A gricultural Bank a p a rt from being charged w ith special duties in connection w ith th e land reform is en tru sted w ith providing funds for : (a) th e reconstruction, expansion and replanning of rural centres ; (b) th e upkeep of n ational and com m unal agriculture ; (r) th e upkeep of larger farm s ; (d ) th e upkeep of special ag ricultural research stntinr»« Moreover, th e Bank u n dertakes when instructed
by th e M inistry of F inance a n d th e M inistry of A griculture, special cre d it activ ities for ag ricu ltu ral purposes.
3. The Com munal R ank which, before it was reorganised, consisted of th e Polish Com m unal B ank an d th e C om m unal C redit B ank in Poznan, operates w ithin a sphere assigned to it b y th e M inistry of Finance in consultation w ith th e M inistry of P ublic A d m inistration. It finances local governm ent au th o rities, th e ir industrial u ndertakings as well as local savings banks. The Com m unal B a n k also adm inisters th e Loan-A ssistance F u n d a p a rt from u n d erta k in g special credit activities a t th e request of th e G overnm ent.
4. The B ank “ Spolem ” finances all m unicipal co-operatives with th e exception of housing co-operatives, which fall u n d er the com petence of th e B ank of N atio n al Econom y. This B ank a'so provides t lie m oney necessary for th e exchange of goods betw een tow n and co u n try .
5. The C entral B an k of A gricultural A ssociations is charged w ith financing ag ricu ltu ral co-operative societies.
0. The Commercial B ank in W arsaw p u ts credits a t th e disposal of th e larger an d m edium -sized private-ow ned industries as well as those p riv ate industries w hich are tem p o rarily un d er national control.
7. The B ank of th e A ssociation of Com mercial an d In d u strial A ssociations provides credits for th e m edium -sized an d sm all private industries as well as finances th e artisan trades.
8. The Savings B an k supplies credits to house owners in th e tow ns and building credits. I t is also in charge of th e ad m in istratio n of th e special funds controlled by o th e r financial institu tio n s.
9. C redit C o-operatives provide th e ir m em bers w ith funds for tran sa ctio n s an d u ndertakings o th e r th a n direct consum ption. T hey also act as local branches for the larger cen tral bank in g institu tio n s.
In th e words of th e W arsaw M inister of F inance, Mr. D om brow ski,
" th e re is in P oland to -d ay no sphere of social or n ational life which is n o t p a rtly or wholly financed by th e M inistry of Finance, w hether by b u d g etary oi credit m ethods.”
The rea lity which lies behind th e sta te m en ts of th e W arsaw M inister of Finance, th e reality behind th e facade of th e new ly-reorganised banking system , is as sim ple as it is tragic. The v a s t credit facilities are none o th e r th a n new issues of p ap er m oney. Savings in th e strict sense of th e w ord do n o t exist. B an k deposits have to be continually supplem ented by fresh p ap er issues because of th e unceasing rise in prices. P o lan d is in th e throes of terrible inflation. The q u a n tity of m oney in circulation and, its velocity increase, while th e o u tp u t of goods on th e m ark et dim inishes. The producer has no ad e q u ate financial m eans to keep his establishm ent running, not to m ention his com plete inability to m ake essential new investm ents. The credit facilities which th e governm ent is ready to offer him are of little use since capital goods are as a rule uno b tain ab le and when th e y ap p e ar on th e m a rk e t th e ir prices are e x o rb itan t. Thus, for instance, in th e field of ag riculture th e W arsaw ad m in istratio n was said to have given su b stan tia l assistance to it by earm arking 20,000,000 zlotys for th e purchase of cattle. B u t, since a cow costs a t present 20,000 zlotys, th e credit provided b y th e governm ent m akes possible th e purchase of not more th a n 1,000 cows.
10
Th e Co-o p e r a t iv e Mo v e m e n t.
The Co-operative m ovem ent as it exists now in Poland is a typ ical exam ple of how th e W arsaw ad m in istra tio n is able to ruin in stitu tio n s based on th e soundest principles an d tu r n th e m from in stru m e n ts aim ing a t th e welfare of th e com m on people into centres of co rruption an d privilege for th e chosen few.
The aim of th e consum ers’ Co-operative societies before th e w ar was to bring ad e q u ate supplies of consum ption goods a t m oderate prices to th e broadest masses of th e people, especially those belonging to th e lower income groups. A t p resent th e consum ers’ Co-operative
“ Spolem ” which has p ractically monopolised the whole Co-operative m ovem ent is one of th e factors which m ake for higher consum ption prices and an uneven and inad eq u ate d istrib u tio n of th e scarce supplies.
Since, however, th e principal officers of th a t organisation su p p o rt th e present W arsaw regime, certain b la ta n tly u n fair privileges have been bestow ed upon th is Co-operative. I t is, however, not th e consum er who benefits, b u t m erely th e C o-operative officials.
As regards agricu ltu ral C o-operatives of all kinds th e y are sy stem a ti
cally com bated by th e a d m in istra tio n w ith th e exception of th e so- called “ P e a s a n ts’ A ssistance,” whose work consists in prep arin g th e ground for th e fu tu re collectivisation or r a th e r soviétisation of Polish agriculture. Besides, these Co-operatives, th ough on th e whole ably organised and efficiently run, have m et w ith certain exceptional difficulties : (a) a large q u a n tity of agricu ltu ral produce which was in th e ir possession was requisitioned by th e B ed A rm y w ith o u t an y p ay m en ts being m ade : th e losses th u s incurred run in to m any m illions of zlotys ; (b) th e B ed A rm y stan d s in arrears w ith regard to p ay m en ts for products supplied to it by agricu ltu ral Co-operatives. H ere also m any m illions of zlotys are involved.
G enerally speaking th e m a jo rity of th e existing Co-operatives are a t present undergoing a crisis which has resulted from th e ir insecure financial position as well as th e general economic situ atio n in P o lan d . A p art from th e consum ers’ C o-operative “ Spolem ,” th e only exceptions are those Co-operatives which have eith er been able to o b ta in a retail m onopoly or to ta k e over some p ro p erty abandoned by th e G erm ans.
To th a t privileged group belong th e following C o-operatives: (a) P u b lishing Co-operatives which possess a v irtu a l m onopoly in th e publishing tra d e b o th as regards th e Press and. for instance, school text-books ; (b) housing and building Co-operatives which have ta k e n over all th e houses built during th e w ar b y sim ilar organisations or by G erm an building societies.
Tr a n s p o r t a n d Co m m u n ic a t io n s.
The present com m unication system in P oland is in a sta te o f com plete chaos and disorganisation. This is due broadly speaking t o tw o principal causes :—
(a) The d ev astatio n brought abo u t in th e course of m ilitary operations ; and
(b) The organised looting and requisitioning of tra n sp o rt equipm ent by th e Soviet authorities.
I t is enough to glance a t th e relev an t sta tistics in order to realise how appalling tra n sp o rt loads in Poland m u st necessarily be.
11
A fter th e an n ex atio n by R ussia of E a ste rn P o lan d an d inclusion into P oland of certain G erm an te rrito rie s th e to ta l length of Polish railw ay lines is 23,587 km ., as com pared w ith 20,105 before th e war.
As regards equipm ent an d rolling stock, how ever, Polish railw ays have suffered g rea t losses. Before th e w ar th e re were 5,293 norm al gauge and 290 narrow gauge engines in addition to w hich th e re were 135 p riv ately owned engines or engines belonging to local governm ent auth o rities. A t th e tim e of th e e n try into P oland of th e R ed A rm y th e re still were some 4,000 engines. The n um ber has since fallen to 3,150, i.e. 53 p er cent, of th e pre-w ar to ta l and only a b o u t 1,638 are in good w orking order. The sta tistics published b y th e W arsaw au th o rities are higher b u t th e ir accuracy is d o ubtful in view of th e fact th a t everyone retu rn in g from P oland stresses th e appalling tra n s p o rt difficulties.
The position is sim ilar as regards passenger an d tra n sp o rt carriages whose n um ber has fallen from 12,000 before th e w ar to 7,771 an d 154,000 to 110,939 respectively.
I t m u st fu rth e r be borne in m ind th a t these v ery in a d eq u a te and scarce tra n s p o rt facilities have to serve n o t only Polish economic needs, b u t are also used b y th e Soviet au th o rities to supply th e ir own occupa
tion arm ies— a fac t w hich fu rth e r aggravates th e situ atio n .
The conversion of several large arteries by th e Soviet au th o rities in to broad-gauge lines has added to th e general confusion in th e tra n sp o rt system .
A nother ch aracteristic of th e p rese n t conditions in P oland is th e com plete lack of safety an d security when travelling. T rains are frequently a tta c k e d and looted by gangs of civilians as well as R ed A rm y units. Though goods tra in s are as a rule heavily guarded th e y rarely reach th e ir d estin a tio n w ith th e full contin g en t of th e goods carried.
R oad tra n s p o rt has to face equal risks an d dangers. In stan ces of cars or lorries stopped on th e road an d looted eith er by gangs of civilians o r R ed A rm y soldiers are innum erable.
300050333742
St. Clements Press, Ltd., Portugal Street, Kingsway, W .C .2
