In the Donbas
SIR,—It may interest your correspondent "S" to know that when I was in Russia last year a miner could leave the industry while the British miner was tied to the industry unless he received permission to leave. I have no doubt that, if I had gone to Karaganda or Kolima as suggested by him and found no slaves, he would have advised me to go to the Donbas.
If a British miner is twenty minutes late for his work, he is not allowed to descend the pit, and thus loses that shift together with his bonus shift! This can happen every week, with the result that a miner can lose approximately £50 for the year. I am afraid " S " is behind an Iron Curtain when he talks about a wild campaign against E.V.W.s. Does he not know that there are hundreds of them employed in the Scottish coal- field, and no one interferes with them in any way ? He also states that no visitor to Russia can have a frank talk with anyone as he is escorted by agents of the secret police. What nonsense can flow from a pen and what an imagination some people have. Why he should withhold his name if he is outside the so-called " Iron Curtain " I do not know. Maybe the Iron Curtain extends to London.—Yours faithfully,
WILLIAM PEARSON,
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