[2.4. The importation of yarn to Russia by the Agro-Joint
in 1929]
[1929: Importation of 20 tons of
yarn for Jewish small businesses]
One of the more interesting ventures in this connection, one with as
wry aspect to it, was the importation of yarn. Yarn - cotton yarn
mainly - was in very short supply, and this fact caused great suffering
to the large number of Jewish artisans who were engaged in knitting and
other allied occupations. It was simply impossible to obtain Russian
yarn. Rosen together with ORT, the vocational training organization
partly subsidized by JDC, imported 20 tons of yarn in 1929.
The 69 cooperatives that bought the yarn had to pay high government
prices for it. As a result, each of the two organizations reluctantly
had to make 83,000 rubles' profit on the transaction, quite apart from
providing 3,000 Jewish
kustars
with raw material. This venture was repeated in 1930. In 1930 and 1931
Agro-Joint realized a profit of 309,000 and 325,000 rubles respectively
on these imports; they invested part of the money in loans and advances
to the societies and used the other part of the profit to cover
administrative expenses.
[1929: Five-year plan: Rosen is
skeptical]
In 1929, with the start of the five-year plan, the whole situation
changed. At first Rosen did not believe that the government would
succeed in its program of investment. He talked of "a tremendously
overstrained investment in development of industries", and said that
"the government is doing it on a much larger scale than actual
conditions permit."
(End note 23: AJ 2, 2/13/30 [13th February 1930], p.3)
[Nov 1931: Five-year plan: Rosen
foresees delayed plan - Rosen plans help for Jewish artisans]
In November 1931 Rosen actually believed that Soviet economic
development would be at least temporarily retarded. "With industrial
development retarded", he said, "a great many of the working people
will have to get out and the Jews will be the first to go, as they were
the last to join the ranks." He added, "Naturally they will have to
return to the farm for a while."
(End note 24: AJ 2, 11/12/31 [11th February 1931] (press conference)]
He and his associates believed in the continued necessity to provide
for the Jewish artisan and to expand his possibilities. Even (p.78)
if
the industrialization drive succeeded in part, the artisan would still
be needed, and any industrialization plan to parallel the government
effort would have to organize small-scale production. This did not mean
that some Jewish artisans should not be retrained and absorbed into
government industries. Such training would certainly be desirable, but
the mass of Jewish artisans would have to be helped to establish
themselves in their present occupation.
It is of interest to note that some Soviet officials apparently
encouraged Rosen in this view.
[13th Nov 1929: Rosen suggests
industrialization project for Jewish artisans - no yarn import any more
- plan for a yarn production with spinneries in Russia itself]
On November 13, 1929, he suggested an industrialization project that
was to establish the Jewish artisan in Russia on a solid,
self-supporting basis, whatever the outcome of the five-year plan. The
two major aims of the program were:
1. Placement of several thousand young Jewish workingmen in government
factories in cooperation with the Supreme Economic Council, along the
lines of their five-year plan.
2. Provision of bases for the production of raw materials for Jewish
artisans - members of the Jewish Cooperative Credit societies -
independent of imports and independent of government supplies.
As to point 2, which was the major issue, three trades were "Jewish" at
that time: knitting, weaving, and woodworking. The idea of repeating
the yarn import attempt was abandoned.
Dollars would have to be spent on the import of raw materials and then
changed into rubles, which could not be reconverted into dollars to
provide a revolving fund.It was suggested therefore that three
factories for the production of raw materials be established:
-- an artificial silk yarn spinnery in Kiev, for which the raw material
(cellulose) was available;
-- a wool yarn spinnery at Simferopol,
-- and a cotton yarn spinnery at Kharkov.
Together these three factories would supply raw materials for an
estimated 10,500 artisans out of 260,000 Jewish artisans then in
Russia. The financing was to be done by JDC like the financing for
AMSOJEFS: by private subscription. The first phase would have as its
goal $ 1.5 million, spread over three years, and the subscribers would
be given government (p.79)
bonds bearing 5 % interest. Part of the money would still be invested
in imports, such as needles and some machinery, and the ruble proceeds
of these would finance the training of skilled workmen and artisans.
(End note 25: AJ 58)
The plan created enthusiasm among many AMSOJEFS subscribers. It was,
after all, logical to supplement the agricultural settlement by a
parallel industrialization plan that would help solve the Jewish
problem - so they thought - by turning the Jews into an equal and
integrated part of the Soviet society. Subscriptions were solicited,
and Rosenwald again agreed that any sum collected would be considered
to be three-eighths of the collection; he himself would supply the
other five-eighths.
