Page:Alice Riggs Hunt - Facts About Communist Hungary (1919).djvu/16

 analysis of the structure of organization built up for the important task of controlling social production, will clarify many hazy ideas concerning this economic change.

"The first step was to transfer the factories from Capitalist to Communist control." said Renyi. "This was done almost without a hitch as production did not stop for more than half a day. The Production Commissary was first appointed to represent the entire community, while at the same time the workers of each factory elect a controlling council of workmen, to represent the interests of the workmen of that particular factory. The Production Commissary takes the place of the managing director of the factory, while, roughly speaking, the controlling council replaces the shareholders' meeting. The chief function of the controlling council is to see that no financial arrangements are made by the commissary to the detriment of the workers. This controlling council of workmen has the right to inspect every letter going out or coming into the factory."

"The second step is to organize the manufacture of articles of the same kind into one unit. For instance mills or factories producing the same thing, such as flour mills, leather and hide trades, engineering works, etc., are organized into one centralised group, under the department of Social Production. Each group unites a certain number of factories producing the same article, and as there is no necessity for competition between the individual factories, they can be managed so as to produce the greatest amount with the least expenditure. For instance, there used to be a number of small flour mills throughout the provinces, and a few big ones in Budapest. Those in Budapest were only run twice a week, whilst the smaller ones in the country worked every day, and sent their products to the city, thus wasting coal, and leaving idle the city mills which have the greatest capacity. The Production Commissary stopped the operation of the smaller mills and concentrated the whole business into three mills in Budapest, where the need for flour was greatest. These three mills run day and night, the coal