Radio Moscow is broadcasting Tass reports giving an official version of the reply of Soviet Premier Khrushchev to a question put to him in San Francisco about trade unionism in Israel.
Tass said that Walter Reuther, president of the United Automobile Workers, sought to inform Mr. Khrushchev that “the highest stage of socialism has been reached in Israel, where the trade unions allegedly own 60 percent of the industry.” Mr. Khrushchev’s reply, according to Tass, was to ask Mr. Reuther “who, after all, held the reins of power in Israel.” Tass said “Mr. Reuther failed to give a comprehensive answer.”
Tass said: “Mr. Khrushchev stated that the basic question in characterizing this or other social systems was the question of power–who possessed the power: the working class or the class of the exploiters. If the power belonged to the people, the means of production were socialist property, belonging to all the people. It is another matter when nationalization of the means of production is carried out with the capitalists in power.”
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