The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-08-20
BY JACK HOWARD
United Press staff Correspondent
lCnnvripht. 1871. by united Pressl

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does, the trouble has started. There
are hundreds of the most common
and, to us, the most necessary ar
ticles which cannot be bought in
Moscow. Other hundreds of ar
ticles, which it is hard to under
stand people buying when they
can not purchase a lemon, can be
had everywhere.
The actual mechanics of making
purchase in Moscow, for either
the foreigner or Russian, are very
involved. In the first place, in this
land where every one is theoretical
ly equal and money means nothing,
the stores never trust the sales
clerk with the task of collecting
the price.
Instead the purchase is set aside
and you are given a complicated
slip of paper with volumes of Rus
sian writing on it.
Back in Line Again
Armed with this paper you take
your place in a long line before the
cashiers desk and wait patiently
until your turn comes.
The cashier takes your slip and
after great deal of primitive arith-
metic returns part of it receipted to
you. You then trudge YEARLY back
to the counter at which you made
your purchase and again wait for a
long time before you can get the
package.
When you finally get it home,
you may find that you have been
given somebody else's purchase.
The Russian people have plenty
Of money to spend, but nothing to
spend it on. The ordinary wants of
the women can not be taken care of
A pair of silk stockings would
seem like mamma" from the Soviet
skies and anything in the way of a
dress which suggested 1881 would be
out of place among the pre-revolu-
tionary styles on Moscow streets.
Must Appear Poor
The Russian dares not buy any
thing oStentatiouS for fear of being
suspected by his fellows of having
too much money in land where no
one is supposed to have more than
his neighbor.
In getting rid of his money TIT
worker may visit any number O.
stores filled with goods confscatec
from the homes of the old arts.
tocracy and bourgeoisie.
Some factory workers living with
a family of eight in two-roon
apartment may come home with {
fine jewel studded Tartar sword Of
carefully inlaid table from some
noblewoman'S boudoir.
There are few stores where any
thing i'll the way of food, as We
know it. can be had by the natives
in Moscow. Fresh vegetables are
rarer than gold because they spoi
before they can be brought to the
city.
Can't Get Fresh Foods
The worker would give anything
for basket of peaches, but he
can not have it for all his money
He must stand in line for hours
to procure something which we cal
every day at home.
Of course, foreigners living in
Moscow have special privileges ir
that they trade at stores which
have a variety of things which the
Russians themselves never see ano
may not know exist. An orange
would make a communist kid hap
pier than gold ring.
Meantime, Moscow is doing some
dressing up in the way of repair
and refurbishing of old structures,
and building of new.
Apartments Are Drab
The most popular method in
Russia of making an old building
appear like new is to apply an over
liberal amount of whitewaSh. The
result is an ever-increaSing amount
of SpotleSs and rather antiseptic-
looking buildings against which
no one cares lean.
Most of the new buildings being
constructed in Moscow to house the
workers and their families are
similar to those in Germany, built
for utility rather than for archi-
tectural beauty. There is some
thing cold and tlnhomelike about
most of them. No flowers break
the gray monotony of the concrete.
They can only be appreciated
when the ole squalid workers
homes of personal---very. Russia
are seen.
The next step in the bigger and
better Moscow movement has been
to fix the streets. Day and night
the work of repaving is being
carried on and rounded cobbleS are
rapidly giving way to asphalt. Many
churches have been torn down to
make way for new streets, build
ingS or squares.
Speed Is Amazing
You can not help but be i'm
pressed with the amazing speed,
amazing for Russia, at least, with
which all of this improvement is
being carried on. Some explanation
is offered when you examine some
Of the new buildings that have been
constructed.
Apparently the Russian idea of
progress is to substitute quantity
for quality.
Next: A glimpse at the church
situation in Moscow2