The Washington times., 1935-01-03
SONE rs GROW
FINE CLOTHES
CONSCIOUS

clothes conscious.
No longer does the contemp-
tUoHS cry OF "burzhui" ring out
tUhen a Well-dreSSed person
1CdltS along MoScotD's Fifth AUe.
nHe. tDriteS II. B. Knickerbocker,
In the third article OF his Rus.
sian series on "DtctGtorShip Uer-
sNS Democracy" And StrGngeSt
OF all, he adds. the government
Is issuing pamphlets shouting
tDhGt the tUell-dreSSed Russian
should tDedr.
By H. r. KNICKERBOCKER
NCOpyrIEht, 1888. by International News
Service. Reproduction in Whole or
Part F0rbidden.)
MOSCOW, Jan. 3 0.N.SO.-On
the No. l street of the No. l city
of the second largest empire in
the world people do not go bare
foot today. The shops of Pet.
rovka are not empty. Their food
stores are not bare. Their res
taurants are not pig stys. The
Fifth Avenue of Moscow is cleaner
than the Fifth Avenue Of New
York.
Was Ghastliest City
Four years ago Moscow was the
ghastlest city in Europe. Down
the Petrovka, up the Tverskaya,
on the Kuznetzki Most shuffled
the weariest, hungriest, most
wretchedly dressed population to
be found in any center of white
men in the world.
They shuffled past shop win
doWs gray with dirt and void of
goods. DuSt-covered busts of
Lenin and faded red flags
adorned the windows and took
the place of wares. At shop doors
queues of people sometimes hun
dredS long waited patiently with
Sagging shoulders for the chance
to buy a yard of SleaSy cloth, a
dried fish or a head of cabbage.
End of Second Year
That was the end of the second
year of the first five year plan.
Russia became great in ma
chimes. She wanted machines to
make machines. Today she has
so many that she could if neces-
sary continue the process of in
duStrialization without help from
abroad. Her first five year plan
succeeded in that, its primary
aim.
It succeeded on the savings
compulsorily extracted from the
population. No population under
q democracy would have endured
it.
Today the second five-year
plan is under way. This is the
end of the second year of the
second plan. and the second plan
continues to exact more self
sacrifice from the population
than any other population would
stand, but the second plan prom
ises now for the first time to
give the population reward.
Double Food Promised
It promises to double the food
and more than double the cloth
ing and other goods for the con-
sumer. This promise is a long
way from fulfillment but at the
beginning of the third year of
the plan the aspect of Moscow
and the Muscovites is a good
index to the progress made.
The Muscovites four years ago
were no problem to an investi-
gator attempting to compare
them with peoples abroad. To
the question: "Are the people in
Moscow worse dressed than the
poorest class of the population
in American" the answer would
be a unanimous. Eyes, much
worse"
Today this is no longer true.
Look at this crowd on the Pc
trovka. -Four out of every five
men wear new winter coats, lined |
with some fur other than sheep
skin.
Women Dress Better
Four out Of every five women
are dressed likewise in fur-lined |
cloth coats. Most important |
in their appearance is
wrought by their changed head.
gear.
(TOmOrrOw-YOu can now eat
well in MOScOW.)