228. To L. K. MARTENS[1]
Comrade Martens:
I ask you to give full and resolute assistance in the organisation of garment factory No. 36 by American workers.
Eliminate all delays in obtaining the necessary materials, especially pipes and fittings for them (T-joints, couplings, etc.), and electric wiring.
Help the collective of workers to obtain housing, a matter that must be settled without any delays on the part of the housing department.
The completion and the earliest starting of the factory must be achieved in the shortest possible period. Inadmissible negligence and red tape have been displayed in this whole business.
Chairman, Council of Labour and Defence
Notes
[1] In the spring of 1921, a group of American garment workers collected money, bought industrial equipment and left for the Soviet Republic. They were given the opportunity to organise their garment factory No. 36 in Moscow, which was housed in a four-storeyed building, made available on Lenin’s personal instructions.
On June 16, 1921, the American workers wrote Lenin a collective letter asking him to help them to complete the building of the factory. Lenin took the most, active part in preparations to start the factory (see Collected Works, Fifth (Russian) Edition, Vol. 53, Supplement, Documents 2 and 3).