is far away so they must import some of the
finished articles before they can hope to get
going.
The organisation of each department of these works was orderly and efficient, the stores perfect, the methods adopted to detect bad workmanship or material were excellent. Here it was possible to see women and men working side by side together. While going round these factories we were informed that the day before the election of representatives to the Moscow Soviet had taken place. I enquired if it was true that only communists could be elected and that terrorism was used to prevent the free exercise of the vote. No one I asked had ever seen any terrorism and everyone assured me that irrespective of opinion any person qualified to vote might be elected. The vote is open, not by ballot. I should feel an objection to this if it were possible as in England to elect members of the master class, or if the same deadly corrupting influence of direct and indirect bribery were possible. In these factories, some of the leading organisers are men who belonged to the capitalist class before the revolution. I consider much of the efficiency of organisation is due to the very exceptional loyality of such men, one of whom we were able to have some discussion with. I found him most enthusiastic about his work. He was not very clear what the end of the
