The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1921-10-28
POVERTY CREATES
MORE BUSINESS
FORCED SALE OF PERSONAL POS
= SESSIONS USUALLY LEADS TO
REGULAR LINE OF TRADE
Russian People In Many Instances Pro-
fit As Result OF Food Short
age And Poverty BY Sale
OF Personal Effects

Moscow.--Food shortage and power.
ty in Russia has ceated new type OF
people-the SPECTATORS, as the Rus
slams call them. One finds them in
great numbers at the Smolensky ri.
cock (market), but also at every street
corner A certain proportion Of them
are professionals, but the greatest have
become peddlers or street traffickers
during and since the revolution. They
come from all stations of life, and one
often comes across duchess, a coun.
tess, not to speak Of baroness, who Is
luite an ordinary figure within this
line.
1t is usually happens this way: A
housewife, worn out by the SORROWS
Of daily life, moneyless and hungry,
collects all her courage and goes to the
market to sell some odd article of her
probably former luxurious household.
She stands In line in the market for
hours and, If she has luck, finds buy
er for her stuff who either is just In
need of such an article or scents a
bargain.
The seller, happy to have some
money to keep her going and glad to
escape what she still considers a
humiliation, promises herself never
again will she go there. She don't un-
Il the money Is gone. This time she
rasise her price bit, witted by ex-
periehce. So 1t goes on until she has
perhaps nothing more to sell. BY this
time she has lost all false shame and
starts specializing by buying articles
from her less courageous neigh6ors and
selling them at a profit, thus making
an otherwise unbearable life somewhat
easier.
met many, women on whose faces
We're written better days who had es-
tablished regular booths, displaying all
kinds of odd articles. The market goes
ON daily from s a. m. until 6 p. m.
had a hard time to get away with
my own camera, which at least doz.
en- persons insisted in buying from me
"Skolko?" chow much) they asked,
taking hold of the camera dangling
from my arm, and were utterly aston
ished when they heard the camera was
not for sale.
A different type are the thousands
of street traffickers budding around
every corner offering poorly made
sweets, bread, cigarettes and pastries
made at home. Haggard-looking house.
wives either sell these articles them
selves or send their children. German
sacharin seems to be much-asked-for
article.
Since the reintroduction of fres
trade, enterprlsing youngsters have
taken to the flower trade. If you ride
drosky- especially with female
compartment is next to impossible to
get rid of them unless you decide to
use hard words.
Money can buy everything today in
Russia, just as everywhere else in the
world. With the exception of booze
perhaps, here is hardly an article which
one would not find either at the mar,
kets or in the 1000 newly opened shops
in Moscow, be it French perfume or 0
toothbrush, a silk stocking or a smok
ing jacket, safety razor or American
condensed milk. saw many pair OF
brown army shoes with the United
States stamped in the soles. There
also were samples of genuine Ameri
can underwear, trench coats and many
other articles familiar to an American
Besides the dozen good restaurants