The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-11-18
Inc New Russia-No. IL
AMERICANS FIND
LIFE IN RUSSIA
HAS DRAWBACKS
Frontier Aspect Everywhere
and You Must Make
Your Own Way.
BY JULIA BLANSHARD
stan Writer for NEA Service and The
Times, Sent to Soviet Russia Especial
" for This Serien

Times, Sent to Soviet Russia Especial
" for This Series.
tcopyrieht. 1881. NEA Service. 1nc1
II you were an American living in
Moscow, you would discover that
proletarian Russia knows how to
treat privileged class.
You probably would belong to
that class. Only foreigners do. There
are approximately 10000 in Russia
today. You would find that you
could buy the best Russian cigarets
which Russians themselves can not
buy.
You could stay at the best hotel,
travel on the best trains, and trade
at Torgsin, the only well-stocked
store in Moscow. This privilege
comes from the might of your al
mighty dollars.
For Russia needs foreign money
to pay for the millions of dollars
worth of machinery she has bought
in Europe and America to forward
her Five-Year Plan.
Smart Colonel Cooper
She needs it, too, to pay the
American and European experts she
has hired to help install this ma
chinery. One good way to get dol
lars is to exchange goods with you
for them All Russians understand
why you are privileged, and do not
resent it.
How you live and what you eat
depends largely on what reasons
you have for being in Russia. Down
at Dneiprostroi, 1 was amazed to
find little American colony that
looked exactly like a New Jersey
suburb There was a charming six
room brick bungalow for each fam
lily, built according to American
specifications with bathrooms, fire.
places, tinted walls and the only
screened porches the length and
breadth of Russia.
Colonel Hugh Cooper got all this
in his contract. He also got his
men the privilege of shipping in
American canned goods.
For dinner down there one day
we had delicious five-course meal,
all out of American canned goods!
Colonel Cooper also specified that
his corps must receive pay from
the Soviet government in dollars.
Had No Foresight
At Karkov 1 visited the homes Of
three American mechanical en-
gineers whose companies had no
such foresight. They lived in two
room and bath apartments in the
regular Soviet apartment houses
and couldn't even ship in American
cigaretS.
Moreover, they were paid in
rubles. Today in Russia the ruble
is officially worth half a dollar. 1t
often will not buy tenth of that,
because the best goods in Russia
can only be bought for dollars now.
If you we're an American in Mos
COW you would belong to one of the
three official divisions of foreigners.
l. You nigh be an electrical ex-
pert or an insulator specialist. If
SO, you would hold a government
food card emitting you to trade at
the store for engineers and special
lists.
No Cards for Tourists
2. You might be a journalist and
hold a food card on the journalist
and embassy store.
3. You might be transient bust
ness man or salesman and come I'M
der the category of tourist. They
hold no food cards and usually live
at hotel. Last summer there we're
10000 tourists.
Both of the stores on which the
government issues food cards for
foreigners are much better stocked
than the Russian co-operatives.
Life for an American in Moscow
has much of the frontier aspect to
1t. You get used to expecting and
giving help to anyone who needs it.
You get used to doing many things
for yourself that you never did
before.
Some like it. Others do not. But
p typical American business man,
"Babbitt," We met at the Metropole
bar one night summed up this feel
ing that many have.
1t Has Drawing Power
Hello, Peter" we all greeted him.
Some one said to him, Hear you
are going out to Berlin tomorrow
night. Guess you won't be sorry to
have a steak dinner at the Adlon?"
well, I'll tell you," Peter an
swered. THE delay in this no.
mans land is enough to give you
nervous proStration. get so tired
of scratching when 1 have to go into
small towns that I don't know what
to do.
And the monotony of the food
some times makes me wonder why 1
eat. But drab as it is, do you know,
1 can't get even as far out as Ber-
lin without wishing I was coming
back"
THE END