U.S. BUSINESSMEN SHOULD GO INTO POLITICS

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EX-SENATOR WILLIAM BENTON, Connecticut Democrat, board chairman of Encyclopedia Britannica and Muzak Corp., in PRINTERS' INK:

GET into politics. You owe it to your community and to your country. in a world where politics is increasingly determinant. Traditionally, our businessmen have avoided and even scorned close participation in political life. They have adopted political attitudes from the viewpoint of their narrow business interests, such as on tariffs or taxes. They have moved in aggressively only where they have a dollar-and-cents stake in franchises, or utility rates, or public contracts. Most have dodged direct and personal political responsibility. They must dodge no longer. They are now desperately needed in big-time politics. The next time the Republicans take over, let us have more businessmen with political savvy and experience, ready and willing for public office. Ditto with the Democrats. Businessmen will enjoy politics. Politics can be even more interesting, and far more satisfying, than making money.

RUSSIAN FARMERS POOR BY U.S. STANDARDS

University of Chicago Economics Professor D. GALE JOHNSON, after a five-week tour of Russian farms, in the NEW YORK TIMES Magazine : is no question that the JL changes in agricultural policy since 1953 have increased farm incomes. But compared to the American farmer the rewards received by the Russian peasant are meager indeed. The Russian peasant has his small, modest house and sufficient food to eat — and that is about all. If any of the members of a farm village [owns] a car, this fact [is] pointed to with pride.

Clothing is adequate, but nothing more. The houses are very simply furnished, with one stove supplying heat and providing space for cooking. The Russian peasant probably has a better diet than the urban worker. Each member of a collective farm has a small plot ranging in size from 0.6 to 1.5 acres. More than half the milk, fruits and vegetables of the Soviet Union is produced on these small plots.

A striking feature of both the collective and state farms that we visited was the large amount of labor used. Any farm job takes about five times as much labor as we use in the United States, and the farm population is increasing instead of declining as in the U.S.

Labor is lavished on livestock. For example, one woman is assigned to care for ten cows. This is all she does, spending her time feeding, cleaning and watching. In [the U.S.] the care of ten cows would constitute one of a number of chores to be done in a few minutes each morning and night.

At the farms we visited I believe we were given accurate information. For proper appraisal, however, we should have had more basic economic data than the Russians were willing to provide. Quite early in our trip we asked for. and were promised, data on grain and livestock production, prices, payments for machine-tractor station services, farm employment and farm income. These were never given to us.

The Russians appear to be quite eager to exchange delegations in many fields. We should allow and even encourage such exchanges, but only if certain conditions are met. First the [U.S.] groups must be allowed to see what they want to see as well as what the Russians want to show them.