Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-04-27
RUSSIANS FORCED
TO SECRET TRADE

MOSCOW, Russia. -. \ "back-
door" commerce, carried on through
the back doors of private homes,
has begun. to flourish in Moscow on
account of the crushingly heavy
overhead costs, taxes, rent, license
fees, ETC., connected with legitimate
stores, with conventional front
doors and official show windows.
Already this unofficial kind of
trade has reached such proportions
that in some instances it successful
ly completes with the regular, stores.
Some Of the "back door" establish
ments have larger and finer stocks,
accumulated by combing the mar
kets. than the front-window stores.
The choicest millinery shop in
Moscow, many art and antique
stores, and the best drug stores are
of this character.
They do not advertise, Of course.
Their trade comes by the friend
quietly-tells-frien route. But in
Moscow, probably the greatest
whisper -it-about-city in the world,
this method is effective.
In company with Russian friends,
I have visited four or five of these
"stores."
To reach the millinery shop, we
left our sleigh in the courtyard of
an immense white house which
much have been the residence Of
former nobleman. We turned into
tiny door, into jet darkness. My
guide led me up two flights and
pushed a door. We literally fell into
a lighted, narrow corridor. We en-
tered a room. The milliner herself
opened the door. The general i'm
preston of the room was that of a
family storeroom in a middlewestern
home in the United States.
On glass sideboard near the door
were three or four new hats, rum
ming to bright greens and browns.
The milIiner produced several others
she was making to order. The hats
were all simple, but tasteful. The
prices ranged from three or four to
eight million roubles.
Seated at one of the tables was a
soberly dressed woman in earnest
conversation with one Of the clerks.
The "house," however, would not
give her what she thought her jew
els were worth.
Spread across one Of the boxes
was one of the most exquisite Orien-
tai shawls I have ever seen. Upon
it lay a dainty little pair of Tartar
mittens-white leather, with de-
sign in silk thread on the back. For
them, the proprietor asked only
$780, 900 roubles about $1.50 at the
present rate of exchanged.
She then produced a lace scarf
which my friend said was one of
the finest pieces of lacework she
had seen.
After wandering for five min
utes through one hallway after
another, we finally located the
front stairway and descended into
beautiful reception hall. A couple
of Red soldiers sat at a desk near
the doorway (Which would indicate
that the shop was operating under
government protection), one let us
out the front door, without asking
how we got in.
With another Russian friend I
went to a "back-door" drug store
which, so far as I could judge, was
running without the knowledge Of
the Kremlin. We CROPPED through a
dark courtyard, as before, and skirt
ed the rear of a big house. The
druggist was a woman of perhaps
20. The drug store was cupboard
in the kitchen. Yet it contained, my
friend explained, one of the best
stocks of chemicals in that part of
the city.
"'We used to give our jewels for
castor OIL" the wife of former
Russian ambassador once told me.