The New Working Week in Russia The Riga correspondent of
the Times reports the decision of the Council of People's Commissars in Russia to establish a five-day working week. This decision is part of the so-called " Pyatiletka " or "Five-Year Plan of Economic Development." Under this plan—which, we believe, has been having some success in increased output—the factories work all the year round without stopping, except on a few National days. Sunday is thus abolished, but every workman gets his sixth day as a "day off." The rest is a matter of arrangement, so that only one sixth of the workers are idle on any one day. The correspondent says that the abolition of Sunday is an incident in this scheme and has no anti-religious purpose, though, no doubt, it would be satisfactory to the Soviet if it were anti-religious in effect. The great object of the " Pyatiletka " is to turn Russia from a characteristically agrarian State into an agrarian-indus- trial State. In the Soviet Union at present only 5 per cent. to 7 per cent. of the workers are employed in non- agricultural industry. The aim, however, is by no means the reduction of labour on the • land—the official cry is for Mechanized agriculture.
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