Jewish Artisans Urged to Take Seriously New Soviet Tax Remittance Decree and Help to Build Up Big Ar

An appeal to the Jewish artisans in the Soviet Union to take seriously the new tax decree issued by the Soviet Government, reducing the taxes imposed on artisans by one-third, and to proceed immediately to build up artisan industries which will increase the quantity of manufactured goods produced in the Soviet Union, which is to-day very small, is made to-day in a two-column article in the Jewish Communist organ “Emess” here.

Severak times in the past the Soviet Government has announced concessions to artisans only to revoke them soon after on the ground that they would lead to a new Nep, and many Jewish artisans are therefore sceptical now of the new tax decree, and unwilling to return to their old occupations, fearing that the decree may be again revoked causing them only a great deal of disturbance and trouble. The “Emess” is anxious to dispel this fear by insisting that the Soviet Government is differentiating now between the real artisan and the “Nepmen speculators”, who only snatched the chance of securing the artisan status to use it as a cloak under which to carry on illegal business transactions. Honest artisans, the “Emess” says, enjoy the genuine sympathy of the Soviet Government, which is anxious that they should go on producing, using local raw materials and adding to the sum total of manufactured products. The Soviet Union has 5 million artisans, the “Emess” says, and their production at the present time amounts to about 7 billion roubles.