The Washington herald., 1922-01-22
VAllLY
SEEK BUYERS FOR
FAMILY JEWELS
Shaclxs With Second
Hand Articles Offered
For Sale i'm Tchita.

TcHrTA. Trans -Bsfl<al. Jan H.
In Tehita they call Il Crazy square.
but it 10 not different from the bs-
zaars that have sprung up all over
Russia in the last desperate effort
TO provide for the winter. For the
Russians are selling-or. rather.
trying TO seil-the last Of their sf-
fects in the hope Of getting a little
money TO buy needed clothing or
food to supplement the unbalanced
and insufhcient diet Of a pound OF
black bread and a bowl Of soup.
which is the maximum daily ration
In the very best communities In
many places the quantity available
is far less.
Tchita. with its spacious thouEh
treeless, grounds. there is now a
vacant square. There has sprung
UP upon the ssndy soil an indit-
criminate lot Of shacks along a cou
pie OF streets that have been stalsd
out by the very building of the
come
every daythe townspeople ana the
country people with thins to sell.
Here come others TO inspect the
wares offered. but rarely to buy.
for so few have any money at all.
Clothing Most In Demand.
One may purchase here coats.
dresses. bats and boots. These are
the most readily sold. A few cheap
furs are offered: all the better skins
long since have been requisitioned
by the government Clothing the
people sadly lack-perhaps the seti-
ers even more 30 than the buyers
for the sellers also require food and
are willing to sacrifice their cover
ing to obtain a few bits for their
stomachs.
The buyers OF these articles are
chiefly Burists and Mongols. though
now and then a Russian finds a
pair OF not too badly worn boots
within bis price. But who wants a
pair OF kid gloves. a doll carriage.
or a pair OF opera glasses2
Such things as beds. blankets
and other absolute household ne
cessities long since have found a
purchased. and these articles no
longer are to be seen. When cloth
Ing or boots are offered one may
make up his mind that the owner
OF them has decided 10 remain in
doors for the winter. sending his
most warmly dressed child for the
food ration at the municipal
kitchen. Such offerings are soon
sold. II the price Is low enough
usually only q few silver rubles-
and the Buriats and Mongols carry
them on
Offer wedding Rings.
And up and down these two ave-
nues between the stalls wander all
day long men and women vaInIy
endeavoring 20 sell for the merest
fraction Of their original cost ar
ticles worth many gold rubles.
Every day these men and women
come, with hopeful faces and sp-
pesling eyes. but each day a little
more haegard. q little less hopeful.
little nearer what may be their
last winter. for these are of the
better class.
There are wedding rings. there
are rings set with diamonds and
smethysts and opals and rubles;
there are coral and other necklaces,
there are bracelets. there are won
| derfully carved meerschaum pipes
and cigar and cigarette holders
there are ivory dressing case sc-
cessories, hand painted fans, silver
cigarette cases, Jewel boxes. silver
ware for the table-cases Of wed
ding presents in their entirety
cameras with highest grade lenses,
eye glasses with gold mounts, lorg-
nettes, binoculars from famous fac
tories-all the paraphernalia OF
wealth and opulence, offered BY
their once wealthy owners for a
mere song and with absolutely no
buyers.
Merry Despite Hunger.
In the public gardens the people
still gather in the evenings TO make
merry. The woman who tends the
kiosk where are sold chocolate and
cigarettes complains that sales are
few and she may as well shut up
and go home. Home? Well, this
woman, now in the ffties. daintily
bred and highly educated in sew
eral languages, was rated as a mil
lionsiress before the revolution.
Though she is penniless, she Is
not friendless. The man who has
the concession for the kiosk says
she may keep II open so long ss
she can break even. He pays her
as wage the equivalent OF SO a
month and her food. This man had
known her for twenty years, seeing
her every day in her great home.
He had been all these years her
cook.
Despite their shriveled stomachs
and their thinning clothes. these
people made merry in the public
garden while the mild weather
lasted. There was an open-air
theater in which an amateur com
pany gave farces, and now and
then an operetta. for the Soviet
government encouraged this in an
/ effort TO keep the people happy.
A band played at one end OF the
| garden beside a cemented floor.
This foor was flooded in October
and became a skating rink for
seven months, As the band plays
| the people dance or skate. The
| dance movements are the charming
fora dances that the Russians DO
so well.