RUSSIA: Camel Laugh

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Came a picture of a laughing camel last week from Stalingrad—namesake town of Dictator Josef Stalin. At the Stalingrad Tractor Works ("world's largest") there have been 2,789 breakdowns of machinery in four months. Production for 1930 was scheduled at 50,000 tractors. It was 47,000 tractors behind schedule at the close of the year.

To spur the workers, to make them ashamed of their clumsiness, the Government has conferred upon Stalingrad in mocking poster form "The Order of the Camel for Lazy Work & Breakage.'' Anyone can see that the camel (see cut) is laughing, hee-hawing, mocking clumsy workers.

In most European countries to call a man a camel (French chameau, German Kamel) is merely to call him "stupid" or a "simp." Most insulting in French or German are compounds of animal names such as "You camel-toad-elephant-crocodile-rat-pig!" If a one-word insult is wanted it is hard to do better in French than saligod (filthy beast), in German, schweinpelz (filthy beast).