The Bismarck tribune., 1931-11-13
american Woman Slept on
Wooden Shelf During Eight
Day Trip in Siberia
Editors Note: This is the
ninth of a series of stories deal
ing with Soviet Russia.
By JULIA BLANSHARD
Ga Sc VKyrsknr Cor NEA Snvviro

SC8tf writer IOr NEA SeTVAcc
ICopyright, 1881, NEA Service, Inco
When you travel in Russia, you
should travel as the Russians do, and
that is hard" Hard" is the literal
translation of the third class, ghost
KY" 1t describes quite accurately the
board shelf on which you sleep when
you travel in a third class carriage.
There are two other choices for you
besides hard" the costly wagon Its
which afford you luxurious, spacious
compartments, with semi private
wash rooms; and soft" c'myakhkt), !,
or second class cars, which have up
holstered compartments that can be
made into presentable beds with dis
infected sheets, pillow slips and blan-
kets by paying the train guard,
"provdnik," three rubles ($1.5O.
Travelling third is a distinctive ex-
perience for an American, as I dis
covered when I occupied my wooden
shelf for eight days crossing Siberia
from China. These third class cars
have no enclosed compartments. A
corridor runs down one side of each
car and at right angles to it. across
the car, sections of wooden seats are
built, exactly like wide pantry shelves,
in tiers of three on either side of the
windows, with each shelf far enough
above the one below it to allow even
q tall adult to sit erect.
X X X
Leaving Moscow for the Ukraine,
Inv next-shelf neighbor, stenogra-
pher. took off her new pale gray KID
shoes, tied them onto her belt so
no one could steal them, pulled her
coat over her and lay down to sleep,
having put her stockinged feet IN
side her food basket to keep them
warm.
The Red soldier on the shelf over
me put his new kodak, his pride and
ioy and the envy of the whole train,
under his head for pillow. On the
shelf under me fat peasant woman
and her little girl slept, one heading
one way, the other the other, with
d dirty. gray wooden comforter COM
pletely covering them both, head and
all.
When morning comes, odd-looking
bundles, are opened to reveal black
bread, sausage, cheese, hard-boiled
eggs, tea, all wrapped up in shirts,
towels, baby clothes or right in with
the family bed clothes. Real democ-
racy holds sway. You take your place
IN the line for the toilet, you take
four turn standing in the corridor
Hoking out the windows and when
We train stops you rush for a good
Nee in the line in front Of the "Hp-
AAk," the hot-water faucet which
6Vl Russian stations keep steaming
1.-The great national drink, tea.
ilveriv + Il 4
When you travel as the Russians
10 you learn to avoid the diner. Rus
bian diners are not so attractive and
nuch more expensive than our Amer
can diners. Table cloths are nearly
8lways dingy. Walters look exactly
IKE tho train guards with khaki suits
Ind caps that have the Communist
Sickle and hammer on them. A good
Aneal costs several dollars. PAID
Ib1.50 for q tureen Of indifferent fish
boup, sandwiches were so cents anc
small apples or two plums, SO cents.
At Sinelnikov we had q three-houl
wait so we got In line for lunch. Hall
the waiting room was used for a cafe.
terra. Three long tables, each with
worn oilcloth, filled the center Of this
room. For 60 kopecks $50 cents) We
got tickets for q hot plate which q
waitress in q soiled white apror
brought us. It had outlet Of chop.
ped meat, some boiled cabbage
stewed tomatoes, and two slices o.
black bread.
At Kramatorsh, in the Don Cos
sack country, where new glass fac
tories are causing a boom, blocks o
women sold broiled chickens for 81
cents each, round cheese, fried fisl
bf several kinds, is cents each, in
cluding q tiny scarlet fish that locke,
like lobster and tasted even better
some cheese, pats of butter, so cents
and the staple hard-boiled eggs, fou
for so cents.
Here I saw a little barefoot bo
with q big brown earthen Jug o
boiled milk he was selling, runnin
his fingers around the inside of tn
jug and sucking them and then stick
ing them in again to repeat the pro
cess as he ran from platform to plat
form to offer the milk for is cents
glass.
One day, down in the Caucasus,