A very interesting item appeared in Soviet News of July 17th which throws some light on the difficulties Russian agriculture is facing, and of social tensions which are arising from those difficulties. It readss
"An application by some of the republics for permission to use factory and office workers and students for agricultural work on collective and state farms has been refused by the central committcoe of the Communist Party of tho Soviet Union and by the Council of Ministors of the U.S.S.R., Izvestia reported on Julyl3. The Central committee and the Council of Ministers are recoiving requests from Union republics, territories and regions to permit them to enlist the population of towns, workors' sottloments and inhabitatod localities in Agricultural districts, and also students and school children, in the work of crop cult-— ivation and harvesting, says the decision,
"The contral committoe of the C.P.5.U. and the Council of Ministors consider it ineoxpedient to use town people for agricultural work, since collective nnd state farms have largo quantitios of various machinory and a large number of workers and skilled machine operators, who, if tho work is well organised and the machinery used to good account, can do all the agricultural work in good time, it is stated."