The Bismarck tribune., 1931-11-09
By JULIA BLANSHARD
St.ff Writer for NEA Service

Staff Writer for NEA Service
(Copyright, 1881, NEA Service, 1nco
If YOU kept house in Russia
Yo,, would find that you consume
more time and get less done than you
would in any other country in the
world.
You could not step to the corner
chain store and order list OF staples
to be delivered.
You could not phone your butcEer
for meat and vegetables.
You ,woud have to 60 in person Tor
everything, bring it home yourseil
and often have to wait in queue 10Y
hours to buy milk, potatoes, 1resh
fish and the like. Moreover, there
might be nothing that you want le1t
by the time your turn comes.
In September saw the first truck
load of frankfurters delivered tnaC
Moscow had seen in over year Be
fore the man had half unloaded the
truck there was waiting line OF
,,,vers two and a half blocks long.
you would find it an advantage TO
he married to an expert machinlSV
rather than a bank president. Ma.
ch;nists are in the first category
nf government food cards. They are
allowed the largest ratlons OF meaVs'
Fats. sugar and bread. II you are a
rtatistician or other brain worker,
Won will rate only fourth category
food card.
Moscow has no streets OF priVaIe
homes. Apartments are everywhere
hip stone apartments built on eile
sdoe Of the Sidewalk with no lawns ol
zoos in front. but usually with huge
courts between them. ,,d
# YOU lived in Moscow, you M woulo
s,ve in one of these apartment houses
and would climb to your floor WIZ
m thought of an elevator. And yot
would be lucky if you had more thdi
Won would have electricity ant
summing cold water. You would nav
f,rnace heat or big, built-ln Rus
rian wood stove. You would nave N
vacuum cleaner, or even nlooe'i
broom. You probably Woulo use
Russian broom, made OF twlgs tle'
to handle. ,;e. ,,
held down a Job yourself, your fam
slv might live much as do Ossip Iva
nov Palovlich and his lawyer wlie
Nina Petrova. They, their two cnil
dren and Nastya, the peasant gu
maid. live in two rooms of a secon
floor nine-room apartment that use
to belong to a doctor and his VIE.
X X X
Ossip and Nina are the only lam
slv in the apartment that has 7"
rooms! The other seven have on
room apiece for the whole famil!
There is one bathroom, one tolle
one wash sink in the apartment 1e
% persons. Sometimes a queue wal'
In line for the toilet.
Eight women cook meals in or
kitchen, where III winter big rams
facilitates matters. In summer eac
woman has one or two primus stove
(nortable one-burner kerosene lamps
on which the majority OF Russia
women cook.
Stores where Nastya shops att
she gets the children Oft tor scno
are only two blocks away. Over ma
nf Ossip and Nina's combined MONTH
salaries of 3l2 rubleS ($156) goes II
food. But their rent only costs the
6.4 per cent, their clothes bill Is Sma
because there is nothing much IN tt
way of new things they can bu
They do not worry about savings, Il
the government has them insure
against sickness and old age.
X X X
Supper is Nastya's big responsible
ity. There is no set breakfast
worry about. Ossip, having to traV
almost an hour on the crowded sire
cars out to his plant, gets his oV
hot tea and piece of black bread al
leaves before the children are U
Nina walks about mile to work,
gets herself tea and bread as Mast
fixes things for the children. Tn
have cocoa, if Nastya got up eal
and went to the store after 1t,
there is no milk delivery in MoSco
Otherwise they have coffee substitu
or tea. They may have an egg, a
of cheese or some sour cream wi
their hot drink and black bres
Moons they eat at school.
For supper Nastya always ser,
soup. After the soup Nastya gl'
the family outlet made of the che
ped meat mixed with cereal and fri
in sunflower seed OIL With this $
has potatoes or kasha "a cereal i
SIDE i.