Stalin Smiles

Nothing brings such a thunderous frown to the dark brow of Josef Stalin as reports from the farm front that food production is lagging. Promptly agents of his Gay-Pay-Oo pounce (usually at night) on peasant laggards, ship them off from their ancestral farms to saw wood and split rocks in bleak Siberia. All last year food shortage gripped the Soviet Union, peasant deportations continued, prophesies flew that a peasant "passive strike" might crack the Stalin regime.

In Moscow, last week, relieved State statisticians produced curves and sheaves of figures which made Stalin smile. Apparently the State's spring sowing campaign is now 95.4% fulfilled--and this year's figures, even if a trifle optimistic, should be far more accurate than last year's. For conspiring to deceive Dictator Stalin last year with over-optimistic farm statistics 35 comrades were shot. This year's reports show an increase of 5.4% over last, the State farms having fulfilled their program 104.8%, the collectives 99.4%, the individual peasants 75.5%. The State hopes for an exportable surplus of 5,000,000 metric tons.

The great fact is that the Soviet State has plowed definitely through a "famine winter." Last week Stalin's smile translated itself into prompt action. More than 100,000 thoroughly punished peasants were released from their harsh exile, sent back on joyously clattering trains to help till the 225,000,000 Soviet acres thus far sown. Best of all, from the peasant's standpoint. Dictator Stalin created an All-Union Procuratorial Department to curb and supervise his strong-arm agents: the Gay-Pay-Oo, the militia, the criminal police.

But Dictator Stalin decreed that every one look sharp, work strenuously to turn in his grain on time, under penalty of trial for criminal neglect. Suspended until after grain collection-time are all sales of grain and bread in the open market.

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