New-York tribune., 1921-11-27
MOSCOW.

MOSCOW.
~ ONE 400 miles east Of Berlin there Is
lissls town called Eydkuhnsn mile
~ further east there is another named
Wirballen. In passing from one to the
ether the traveller goes. for all practical pur-
pcses. from Europe into Asia.
II q true that the map makers stin place
the Asiatic frontier a couple Of thousand miles
to the east of these tive towns, which are the
frontier stations of East Prussia and Lithu-
ania. respectively. But that Is mere aca-
de,nic detail. That mile between Eydkuhnen
and Wrballen is . greater distance, measuring
By the standards by which the general life OF
q nation may be gauged, than the 1000 miles
between Eydkuhnen and New York.
At Eydkuhnen, for instance, there ends that
appurtenance Of civilization knowu as the rail-
road dining car. The traveller who goes east
ward must carry his own fccd and the means
Of preparing il or else he must depend upon the
crowded, smelly and wholly unappetizing Sta
ton buffets. The use Of coal as fuel stops
there, too, as do such things as well lighted
and stocked shops, tobacco that an American
can smoke, punctuality of any description and
life Of any great degree of cleanliness.
The prosperous and neat German country
side dissoives into vista of ruined and
roughly repaired farmhouses; peasant women
plodding barefoot through the chill autumn
rain; railroad stations with roofs sagg1ng and
windows missing There is sort Of oasis
at Riga. where such effete details as warm
baths and taxicabs are once again to be had
after seven-year interim; but il serves
chiefly to emphasize the lack Of these things
for hundreds Of miles on either side of that
city
The actual machinery Of entering Russia is
simple One goes to the Soviet Consulate in
Riga, fills out in triplicate form containing
thirty-odd questions and waits. IF one is I'M
patient, he also teiegraphs to the Moscow For
eign Office in order to speed things up, and
then in week or ten days he gets his reply
Up until few weeks ago one also deposited
hfs American passport with the consulate at
Riga, receiving in return most unimpressive
typewritten receipt. upon which photograph
and the Russian visa were placed; then he
took this slip to another department Of the
Russian Consulate, which issued him his
partment to Moscow. That last came before
long to seem bit Of gratuitous irony.
And then, If ones were wise, he assembled
equipment enough for good sized camping
expedition, and especially he closed his ears
to the advice which other foreign residents Of
Riga offered. .
Don't take any English or American
money" they said "you will only have it taken
away from you at the frontier Don't attempt
to carry any brandy or spirits; you can't
take them into Russia. Probably, also, if you
take more than enough food for the journey it
will be confscated or stolen"
So the Tribune correspondent took SONS
English money; and he took bottle of brandy
and he took fair-sized hamper Of food, cook
ing utensils and fuel in the shape of cans Of
soidified alcohol. With these he slowed him
self away in sleeping compartment Of the BIZ
weekly Riga Moscow trairl--a compartment al
ready containing four Russians and their per-
sonal effects-and in some twelve hours he
reached the Latvian frontier, 1876 miles from
Riga One Of the Russians, who spoke French,
said that the train would go great deal mors
quickly oncs Il crossed the border. He couldn't
explain exactly why he harbored this belief,