NINTH PLENUM SPEECH OF EUGENIUSZ STAWINSKI ON THE TASKS OF POLISH LIGHT INDUSTRY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700180400-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 6, 2011
• Sequence Number: 400
• Publication Date: May 28, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

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STAT
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NINTH PI.ENUbi SPEECH OF EUGENIUSZ STAWINSKI
ON THE TASKS OF POLISH LIGHT INDUSTRY
Nowe Drogi
Warsaw, Oct 1953
[The following report of Eugeniusz Stawi:ski, Minister of
Light Industry, was giver, at the Ninth Plenum ui' the KC PZPH
(Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party), held in
Warsaw on 29-30 October 1953.
The report was given at the plenum as an ampli ication of
the featured report of* Premier Boleslaw Bierut, "Task of Party
ir. StruEgle to Raise Standard of Living of Workers in Current
Phase of B,.ildini, Socialism." An EnElish-lunluage translation
of Bierut's report is avuilab.e ir. the PAP (Polish Press Agency)
release of 6 November 1)53, Paces 1-44.1
The realization of the tasks outlined it the plenum theses and the reports
of Comrades Bierut, Minc, and Berman: demand that we decide on the proper course
to attain these aims. In order to attain the proposed production increases,
ranging from 10 to 24 percent in the cotton industry, the silk industry, and the
shoe industry, we must also attain the proposed increase in labor productivity
and a reduction in costs.
as a wholealiWe muthettremembasks outlined,
it stuay
that because must
was necessary possibilities
to i develop andheavythe industry more rapidly in the first 4 years of the Six-Year Plan, modernization
of light industry was much slower and investments were relatively smaller. There-
fore we now face the serious problem of increasing labor productivity and improv-
ing organizational efficiency. This requires speeding up technological progress
and modernizing the machine park. We shall need much help from the Ministry of
the Engineering Industry, especially the division of textile machine building.
We have already worked out a plan, based on Soviet experience, for a partial
modernization of the :otton industry.
However the textile machine building industry will have to supply light in-
dustry, at least partially, with machines to permit a realization of this plan
and other plans for the development of the textile industry. This would create
thL
tionpplanrforntheicottonrindustry isprealized ilaborduroduc. If the theeoldza-
factories will increase more than 36 percent. This isranuimmense problem ol. directives are correct in stressing the fact that, in achieving increased indus-
trial capacity and higher labor productivity, we must concentrate investments
primarily on expansion, on removing bottlenecks, and on a certain amount on
modernization of old plants.
For example, by remodeling the old plants in the tanneries, at about 30-35
percent of the cost of new plants, we can increase their productive capacity by
30 percent, improve the quality of production, ar.d increase efficiency in the
consumption of raw materials by 6 percent. It is suggested in the theses of
the plenum that we follow this course. They point out that we can thus reduce
outlays and at the same time keep up the tempo of an increase in production..
The examples cited indicate the great possibilities of reducing investment out-
lays without slowing down, and at times even increasing, the rate of industrial
development.
STAT
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These theses provide for a 7-percent decrease of costs in industry in 1954-
1955. The cost of raw materials in li
b
t 70
ht i
i
d
ses a
g
ou
n
ustry compr
percent of
total costs. To achieve the proposed reduction, we must use materials more econo-
mically. It is imperative that the chemical industry improve the quality of raw
materials (synthetic fibers, dyes, and other chemicals) supplied to light industry.
Unless we improve the quality of raw materials, we cannot expect to improve, to
any marked extent,. the quality of production or reduce costs.
Costs are also affected by the delivery schedules of raw materials. In many
instances delivery targets are neglected, although it is the strict adherence to
these very delivery targets that assures continuity of production and eliminates
unnecessary subsy4tutions in scheduled production. Disregard of delivery targets
also affects costs, productivity, quality of production, anu workers, wages. The
supply enterprises, and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and its workers must appre-
ciate th4 importance of adhering to delivery targets.
A certain amount of risk is involved in raising the plan. For instance, in
producing rayon yarn we are sealing with =hemical processes which cannot be short-
ened without affecting the quality of the product. Inasmuch as the textile indus-
try requires the entire output of rayon yarn to fulfill its plan, even the
slightest stoppage in yarn production results in a stoppage in the textile plants.
In our efforts to increase productivity and reduce costs, we must study the
situation to enable industries to operate more efficiently at a reduced cost and
produce better results. This does not mean that we want an easy life, with
everything at our fingertips, without difficulty or without effort. We are not
ignoring the difficulties, but with proper organization, proper emphasis, and
the aid of all concerned, industry could produce the necessary resources to
raise the standard of living.
I wish to touch on another problem, the effect of increased agricultural
production. Certain divisions of industry are supplied to a lesser or greater
degree with domestic raw materials. For instance, the woolen industry receives
16 percent of its supply from domestic sources and 34 percent from imports. The
outlays of foreign exchange are immense, especially since most wool is imported
from capitalist countries. If we increase the number of sheep and the production
of wool about 20 percent within the next 2 or 3 years, we could manufacture an
additional 900.000 meters of 100-percent wool cloth, or 1.4 million meters of 60-
percent wool cloth. This means that we could increase the production plan of the
woolen industry without increasing the import of wool.
Leather is another raw material supplied by agriculture. Every year we buy
2.2 million calf skins. The average weight of a call' skin is 3 kilograms. To
date only about 10-12 percent of the skins purchased were of proper thickness,
the rest were inferior skins; footwear made of these skins is less serviceable.
If we should raise 500,000 of these 2.2 million calves to the age of 9 or 9 months,
we could obtain 7,500 tons of skins and 115,000 tons of meat (live weight), in-
stead of 1,500 tons of calf skins and 15,000 tons of meat. As a result, the na-
tional economy would gain 930,000 square meters of skins for shoe uppers and about
50,000 tons of pure meat. These x30,000 square meters of skins would pruduce
4.65 million pairs of shoe uppers. The above figures show the importance of de-
veloping domestic raw material sources.
The linen industry is almost entirely dependent on domestic raw materials.
This is a separate and very difficult problem. Flax yields have fallen, flax
plantations have been broken up, and the number of planters has been reduced.
There are many reasons for this state of affairs, prevalent since 1950. The con-
tracting and purchasing agency, under the Ministry of Light Industry, had the wrong
attitude toward the peasant planters. Purchasing was very poorly organized, pay-
ments for goods delivered were slow, and the peasant planter received no agronomical
aid. All this did not inspire confidence in the agency as a government enterprise.
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Since 1952, the ministry has been trying unsuccessfully to regain the con.
fidence of the peasants by reorganizing the agency and changing the personnel.
of thiaisituationrthe people's work by party organizations.
even many patio Peoples councils, the people's council As Presidiums,
and
the even p vi t grin, and wojewodztwo committees are reluctant to take up
of flax
mistakes ultivation. In spite of all our efforts to correct previous
It will not be easy to carry out the sowing campaign next year less
the party organizations change their attitude. Meanwhile, in a number of woje-
wodztwos, the Import
important problem of proper planning of flax cultivation on a
wojewodztwo committees. ignored by the people's council presidiums and the
woewod t o co's I would like to impress the people's councils, the woje-
wodzt o Pe
p working o council presidiums, and the wojewodztwo committees
importance Presidium of the out this problem of implementing the resolution with the
of the
goverrLment on the proper planning of industrial crops.
The production capacity of our retting plants is large enough to enable us
to increase the production of linen products if the flax situation improves.
Sheaf binding cord for agriculture alone requires the total crop from 30,000
hectares of hemp.
In preparing the 1954 plan, we must try to eliminate shortages of certain
types of children's shoes. Even with increased production the ministry cannot
solve this problem Withoct the aid of the cooperatives and small-scale industry.
We must increase our efforts to improve the quality of production. In
spite of great improvements, we still receive many complaints from the field in-
dicating that our efforts have not been adequate. Not only industry but trade
must also make an effort. The trade network must place the orders; it must
bete mineithe mustrequirements of the area- it must make its activities more flexi-
; insist on present the trade network qreay, new models, and larger assortments.
industry in Increasing the number of models.
We must make a great effort; we must work out in detail the method of ful-
filling the tasks for 1954 and 1955. These are real tasks which cannot be fully
achieved unless we make many changes in our present methods of operation.
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