By April of this year the organization of industrial conscription had gone far beyond the original labor armies.A decree of February 5th had created a Chief Labor Committee, consisting of five members, Serebryakov and Danilov, from the Commissariat of War; Vasiliev, from the Commissariat of the Interior; Anikst, from the Commissariat of Labor; Dzerzhinsky, from the Commissariat of Internal Affairs.Dzerzhinsky was President, and his appointment was possibly made in the hope that the reputation he had won as President of the Extraordinary Committee for Fighting Counter-Revolution would frighten people into taking thisCommittee seriously.Throughout the country in each government or province similar committees, called "Troikas," were created, each of three members, one from the Commissariat of War, one from the Department of Labor, one from the Department of Management, in each case from the local Commissariats and Departments attached to the local Soviet.Representatives of the Central Statistical Office and its local organs had a right to be present at the meeting of these committees of three, or "Troikas," but had not the right to vote.An organization or a factory requiring labor, was to apply to the Labor Department of the local Soviet.This Department was supposed to do its best to satisfy demands upon it by voluntary methods first.If these proved insufficient they were to apply to the local "Troika," or Labor Conscription Committee.If this found that its resources also were insufficient, it was to refer back the request to the Labor Department of the Soviet, which was then to apply to its corresponding Department in the Government Soviet, which again, first voluntarily and then through the Government Committee of Labor Conscription, was to try to satisfy the demands.I fancy the object of this arrangement was to prevent local "Troikas" from referring to Government "Troikas," and so directly to Dzerzhinsky's Central Committee.If they had been able to do this there would obviously have been danger lest a new network of independent and powerful organizations should be formed.Experience with the overgrown and insuppressible Committees for Fighting Counter-Revolution had taught people how serious such a development might be.
Such was the main outline of the scheme for conscripting labor.A similar scheme was prepared for superintending and safeguarding labor when conscripted.In every factory of over 1,000 workmen, clerks, etc., there was formed a Commission (to distinguish it from the Committee) of Industrial Conscription.Smaller factories shared such Commissions or were joined for the purpose to larger factories near by.These Commissions were to be under the direct control of a Factory Committee, thereby preventing squabbles between conscripted and non-conscripted labor.They were to be elected for six months, but their members could be withdrawn and replaced by the Factory Committee with the approval ofthe local "Troika." These Commissions, like the "Troikas," consisted of three members: (1) from the management of the factory, (2) from the Factory Committee, (3) from the Executive Committee of the workers.(It was suggested in the directions that one of these should be from the group which "has been organizing 'Saturdayings,' that is to say that he or she should be a Communist.)The payment of conscripted workers was to be by production, with prizes for specially good work.Specially bad work was also foreseen in the detailed scheme of possible punishments.Offenders were to be brought before the "People's Court" (equivalent to the ordinary Civil Court), or, in the case of repeated or very bad offenses, were to be brought before the far more dreaded Revolutionary Tribunals.Six categories of possible offenses were placed upon the new code:
(1)Avoiding registration, absenteeism, or desertion.(2)The preparation of false documents or the use of such.(3)Officials giving false information to facilitate these crimes.(4)Purposeful damage of instruments or material.(5)Uneconomical or careless work.(6)(Probably the most serious of all) Instigation to any of these actions.
The "Troikas" have the right to deal administratively with the less important crimes by deprival of freedom for not more than two weeks.No one can be brought to trial except by the Committee for Industrial Conscription on the initiative of the responsible director of work, and with the approval either of the local labor inspection authorities or with that of the local Executive Committee.
