The communists, the workers’ vanguard, gave a striking example of the new, comradely discipline when they instituted the so-called Communist Saturdays, when they worked voluntarily and gratuitously, increasing the productivity of labour far beyond the ordinary.
Comrade Lenin spoke of the Communist Saturdays as “the great initiative.” The Moscow railwaymen were the first among the communists to organise Communist Saturdays, and from the very outset there was a notable increase in the productivity of their labour. On the Alexander Railway, 5 turners in 4 hours made 80 cylinders (213% more than the ordinary production); 20 labourers, in 4 hours, assembled 600 poods of scrap iron and 70 carriage springs each weighing 3½ poods (300% more than the ordinary production). This was the beginning. Thereupon Petrograd adopted the Communist Saturdays, and organised them on the grand scale. Here are the figures:
From Petrograd and Moscow, the Communist Saturdays made their way into the provinces, and non-members of the party began to work in the same way. The initiative of the Moscow railwaymen was so effective because they were the pioneers of a new discipline.
It need hardly be said that the establishment of the new labour discipline would be impracticable without the cooperation of the trade unions. Nay more, it is incumbent upon the trade unions to advance along this road, to try new methods and new paths. For here everything is experimental; we have no precedents.
Among the measures which have already been adopted, and which have in every possible way to be developed and perfected, our party lays stress upon the following: