1) The number of accidents occurring in the industry is considerably 
higher than it was in pre-revolution times. 
2) This number is growing year after year in a threatening way, 
in the old factories and works, as well as in those built by the Soviet 
government. 
In order to illustrate the statement of the first paragraph we shall 
quote one of the last informations of the Soviet press, published in the 
journal “Bolshevic” (1927 No. 17, page 87 “Questions of the labour pro- 
ection” etc. by Marcus.) According to this article a careful study of 
the accident questions made by specialists in g largest textile factories of 
Moscow proved that, in comparison with the pre-war time, the number 
of accidents has increased from 23,9 per 1000 workmen in the year 1912 
to 48 cases in the year 1926, i. e. has grown more than twice as great. 
The author of this article does not conceal that there is no hope 
whatever for the situation improving in the nearest future: “Accidents 
occur very often, their number is growing continually — and moreover — 
n spite of the increase of the sums assigned for safety of labour, it is hardly 
to be expected that a decrease in this number of accidents will take place 
within the next year.” 
The acute increase of the number of accidents that occured in the very 
recent time in shown in the official Soviet statistic of labour for the 
and quarter (January-March) of the year 1926/1927. In the whole industry 
the number of accidents formed 52,1 per 100.000 working days, or by 
30 9/0 more compared with the same period of the preceding year. In the 
coal-mining industry the increase of the number of accidents forms in 1926 
78 0/0, and in the leather industry — 83 9. (“Fundamental indices of the 
labour and the social conjuncture”. 1927. Ath issue, page 30). 
Although, occasionally, means are allotted on paper for the sake of 
improving the technique for the struggle with accidents, however, as ex- 
perience shows, communistic factory managers prefer to spend the money 
for other purposes or not spend it all. Thus, out of 294.000 roubles assigned 
in the year 1926 for the Ural works for the amelioration of technical 
safety only 11.000 roubles have been spent. “The rest of the money 
is lying without application at the time when the number of accidents is 
growing’ (“Troud”, January qth, 1928). We shall quote besides a very 
definite remark published in the “Questions of Labour” — a journal of 
the Central Council of Trade Unions (December 1927, page 7) in order 
to prove that the present situation has nothing to do with the “capitalistic 
inheritance”: “even in those factories which have been built by the 
Bolshevic government and where all the questions of technical safety could 
have been taken into consideration, — even there the protection of labour 
and the technical safety are not sufficiently provided for.” 
PR 
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