an entirely different number even of "mechanically ascribed" so-called "trade unionists." They say:
It was put to us that the Communist Party, numbering 600,000 members, could be likened to a small cog-wheel which turns a larger cog-wheel representing the Trade Union movement numbering 4,500,000 members. This in turn revolves the great wheel of Russia's industrial and agricultural system.
Whether the number of workers labeled "trade unionists" by the Soviet Government is 4,500,000 or 7,000,000, whether the number of party members among them is 100,000 or 500,000, it may be seen that the proportion of Communists is not higher than one-ninth, and probably very much less.
According to Zorin's official report, on June 1, 1920, out of the 29,000 railroad workers of the Petrograd district only 895 were Communists, while of 5,000 employed in the water, gas and electric works only 145 were Communists—that is three per cent in each instance.
The decisions of the Communist Party do not leave any doubt about the place of these so-called "trade unions" in the Soviet State. The party congress in April, 1920, was very explicit on the subject, as we may see from the following decisions:
The Trade Unions and the Soviet State.
