THE LEVERS
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smoked without end.... He did not venture to cough, he restrained
himself, although everything gurgled and wheezed in his chest.
Kudriavtsev, Piotr Kuz'mich, did not speak long. The essence
of his report was that the fighting ability of the Party organization
would be placed in doubt by the district committee, if the kolkhoz
plan of crop rotation for the next year were not immediately corrected
and in unconditional accordance with the directives of the district
committee and the district executive committee. All those who took
part in the discussion agreed with this. It was not possible otherwise.
In the discussions there took part Akulina Semenovna and
Shchukin and Konoplev. No differences of opinion were revealed,
just as there had been none during that friendly conversation before
the start of the Party meeting. True, the agreement and unanimity
now were manifested in a somewhat different, one may say reverse,
sense.
Tsipyshev was pleased with the single-mindedness of the Com–
munists and spoke himself on the second question. Somehow, the
zonal secretary of the district committee of the Party had directed
attention to the fact that political-educational work was not set in
progress in the kolkhoz and reported about the pertinent facts in a
memorandum to the first secretary of the district committee.
"The best people, comrades, are not encouraged by us," said
Tsipyshev in this connection, "the laggards are not punished, there's
no competition. You've only to take a look at our red-black board–
the picture is clear. We have to lead the masses, comrades! I think
we ought to do as follows: Specify several kolkhoz units to receive
a bonus, pick one or two persons for this purpose in each unit–
and penalize some others, so it should be right on both sides. They'll
approve of our action in the regional committee."
The meeting unanimously resolved to single out five persons
for a bonus, three for a penalty. Conversation arose only on the sub–
ject: in which kolkhoz units people should be found for encourage–
ment, in which for punishment.
They had no time to write even one resolution-Marfa returned,
in order to clean up and lock the office. Piotr Kuz'mich proposed
that the drawing up of the resolution be entrusted to the Party
secretary.
"You write you know what," he whispered, pleased that the
