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the normal and exceptional output of an Englishman； whose temperate
climate has not taught him to regard a great part of the year as a period of
mere waiting for and resting from the extraordinary effort of a few
weeks。（*） ＇（*）Given any particular motive； any particula enthusiasm； or
visible； desirable object； even the hungry Russian workmen of to…day are
capable of sudden and temporary increase of output。 The 〃Saturdayings〃
（see p。 119） provide endless illustrations of this。 They had something in
the character of a picnic； they were novel； they were out of the routine；
and the productivity of labor during a 〃Saturdaying〃 was invariably higher
than on a weekday。 For example； there is a shortage of paper for
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THE CRISIS IN RUSSIA
cigarettes。 People roll cigarettes in old newspapers。 It occurred to the
Central Committee of the Papermakers' Union to organize a 〃Sundaying〃
with the object of sending cigarette paper to the soldiers in the Red Army。
Six factories took part。 Here is a table showing the output of these
factories during the 〃Sundaying〃 and the average weekday output。 The
figures are in poods。
Made on Average week
Factory the Sunday Day Output
Krasnogorodskaya。。。。。。。。。615。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。450
Griaznovskaya。。。。。。。。。。。。。65。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。45
Medianskaya。。。。。。。。。。。。。。105。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。90
Dobruzhskaya。。。。。。。。。。。。。186。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。250
Belgiiskaya。。。。。。。。。。。。。。127。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。85
Ropshinskaya。。。。。。。。。。。。。。85。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。55＇
But this uneven working temperament was characteristic of the
Russian before the war as well as now。 It has been said that the
revolution removed the stimulus to labor； and left the Russian laziness to
have its way。 In the first period of the revolution that may have been true。
It is becoming day by day less true。 The fundamental reasons of low
productivity will not be found in any sudden or unusual efflorescence of
idleness； but in economic conditions which cannot but reduce the
productivity of idle and industrious alike。 Insufficient feeding is one
such reason。 The proportion of working time consumed in foraging is
another。 But the whole of my first chapter may be taken as a compact mass
of reasons why the Russians at the present time should not work with
anything like a normal productivity。 It is said that bad workmen
complain of their tools； but even good ones become disheartened if
compelled to work with makeshifts； mended tools； on a stock of materials
that runs out from one day to the next； in factories where the machinery
may come at any moment to a standstill from lack of fuel。 There would
thus be a shortage of labor in Russia； even if the numbers of workmen
were the same today as they were before the war。 Unfortunately that is
not so。 Turning from the question of low productivity per man to that of
absolute shortage of men： the example given at the beginning of this
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THE CRISIS IN RUSSIA
chapter； showing that in the most important group of factories the number
of workmen has fallen 50 per cent。 is by no means exceptional。 Walking
through the passages of what used to be the Club of the Nobles； and is
now the house of the Trades Unions during the recent Trades Union
Congress in Moscow； I observed among a number of pictorial diagrams
on the walls； one in particular illustrating the rise and fall of the working
population of Moscow during a number of years。 Each year was
represented by the picture of a factory with a chimney which rose and fell
with the population。 From that diagram I took the figures for 1913； 1918
and 1919。 These figures should be constantly borne in mind by any one
who wishes to realize how catastrophic the shortage oflabor in Russia
actually is； and to judge how sweeping may be the changes in the social
configuration of the country if that shortage continues to increase。 Here
are the figures：
Workmen in Moscow in 1913。。。。。。。。。。。。159；344 Workmen in Moscow
in 1918 。。。。。。。。。。。157；282 Workmen in Moscow in 1919。。。。。。。。。。。。105；210
That is to say； that one…third of the workmen of Moscow
ceased to live there； or ceased to be workmen； in the course of a single
year。 A similar phenomenon is observable in each one of the big
industrial districts。
What has become of those workmen？
A partial explanation is obvious。 The main impulse of the
revolution came from the town workers。 Of these； the metal workers
were the most decided； and those who most freely joined the Red Guard in
the early and the Red Army in the later days of the revolution。 Many； in
those early days； when there was more enthusiasm than discipline； when
there were hardly any experienced officers； and those without much
authority； were slaughtered during the German advance of 1918。 The
first mobilizations； when conscription was introduced； were among the
workers in the great industrial districts。 The troops from Petrograd and
Moscow； exclusively workmen's regiments； have suffered more than any
other during the civil war； being the most dependable and being thrown；
like the guards of old time； into the worst place at any serious crisis。
Many thousands of them have died for the sake of the revolution which；
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were they living； they would be hard put to it to save。 （The special
shortage of skilled workers is also partially to be explained by the
indiscriminate mobilizations of 1914…15； when great numbers of the most
valuable engineers and other skilled workers were thrown into the front
line； and it was not until their los