Imperial Valley press., 1922-01-30
PRESENT DAY LIFE In
SOVIET RUSSIA
Many Things. are Different
MOScOU NeUsies are Old
WOMen-ShOpping Items
By EDWIN w. HULLINGER.
United Press Staff CORRESPONDENT

| United Press Staff Correspondent
MOSCOW, (By Mail to United
Press l.-Gradually Moscow main
shopping streets are receiving their
pre- war aspects.
Nearly every store is now open on
the Arbat, one of the best known trad
ing streets. and Kuznetskiz Most, Pet
roykaya and Tverskaya arc rapidly
being converted back into a semblapcc
of their pre-communism days.
Several department stores opened
recently, their broad illuminated VIM
dew fronts adding immensely tc the
cheerfulness of the street scene in
the evening. Candy shops and baker
les, with French pastry, are flourish
ing up and down all three streets.
They are nearly always crowded from
6 O'Clock on.
Boot and shoe stores have become
almost as plentiful as tobacco shops
in America. Moscow has more
churches, boot and shoe shops, and
barber shops than airy city of any size
in the world. The barber shops, how
ever, have not reopened as yet in
great numbers.
Newsies have finally reapeared or
the street corners, with their bundles
Pravdas, Izves;ias and Ekonomitch-
eshkaya Zhisns, and occasional copies
of the two priYar rely owned dramatic
papers now being: published in Mos
cow, at 1000 rout les per copy.
| Moscows newtsies, however, are
aged women, who stand quietly and
miserably against, the walls of the
buildings, mutely' appealing to pass
ersby, or occasiona lly reminding them
in shaky voices THAT "est" (herc are)
i,copies Of Pravda, setc.
| The sidewalks of the Arbat and
Kuznetski Most are crowded with
hurrying shoppers, from 6 o'clock on.
THE evening (is the shopping time in
| Moscow. Everybody works during the
day. The fist toys recently appear
ed in the display windows of the de-
partment s ores and of the several
toy shops, q ttracting yearning eyes
of the street urchins, little rows OF
whom may be seen almost every eve
ming, standing with their cheeks close
to the win,low-panes, peering in at
the wooden animals, the rag dolls
and the mee .hanical toys.
Many of the latter were made in
Soviet facto ries in Moscow, where
former peas ants and workmen have
become skille in modelling quaint me-
chanical nursery toys from wood
donkics that walk and kick, barn
yards full off pigs, grotesque country
folk who bow To each other, etc. The
tother tovs however are relics of Dre.
war stocks.
Little fur stores are re-Opening ir
numbers, stocked principally with sec
ond- hand "shubas" (fur Overcoats)
and old skins., New furs are extreme
lily difficult to find, except at fabulous
lprices.
Two large flower shors recently re
sumed, one ON Arbat and one on Kuz
lne.ski. The florists report fair sales
The flowers run to immense white
chrysanthemums, grown in hothouses
Clothing stores have limited as;sort
ments, principally pre-war goods oil
y knitted goods made in the goyernmen
icloth mills including excellent
isWeaters, socks, and plain cottor
lshirts, largely working shirts. Tht
display windows are generally, ar
rarged on the "catalog" plan pre-,
vailing in England the merchant put.
ting everything he has on display
aiming to attract by the large ness
and completeness Of the showing,