Ottawa County news. (Port Clinton, Ohio) 1931-1956, 1955-11-11


that trip to Russia that some of
our American farmers made last
summer. Mr.. Ferris Owen, that
farmer from Newark, Ohio, was
one of this group, and it's inter
esting and amazing to hear what
he has to say about the Russian
people and their way of life. l
think probably the thing we least
expected to hear was when he
tells interviewers that there was
absolutely no sign of animosity
or unfriendliness in those people,
they were just as kind as could
be, and would go way out of their
way and wait for hours just to get
a chance to talk to the Americans.
heard one certain interview
where the questioner kept insist
ing that this couldn't be possible,
that the people we're told to act
this way to help put up this pre-
tense of warming up to the West
ern World. Mr. Owen said that
it was impossible for every single
individual they talked to, to be
coached as to the proper thing to
say and do under so many differ
ent situations, that they are basic
ally friendly people.
This attitude of theirs is especial
ly significant when you think about
how prejudical they could be-
When they we're asked what their
impression of America was, they
said were ''Warmongering govern
ment," simply because we are
capitalist nation They have an
idea that handful of people over
here control all the wealth, as well
as the masses of people. These
Americans did their best to give
them the right slant on our way
of life, and told them that every
one in our country, from the
President on down, wanted peace
more than anything else in the
world.
I certainly hope, and from what
I've heard and read I'm sure it's
true, that the American people
with whom the Russian farmers
visited while they were in our
country were just as friendly and
hospitable to their visitors, and
did not at any time assume that
"Holier than thou" attitude. Even
though we are violently opposed
to their form of government, and
their foreign policies, there still
are lot of things about Russia
that we misunderstood. We might
be getting just the wrong infor-
nation about these people, exactly
as the propaganda they get about
us, and after all, that's the only
basis we have on which to form
an opinion.
Communism as such is terrible
thing, like a Scourge that threat
ems to envelope the world, but that
doesn't mean we must also hate
the common people of Russia. May
be the Russian leaders had an un-
DERIVING motive that we have no
idea of when they einvited this ex-
change of peoples, but in my opin-
ion, we can feel that we have been
given just brief glimple of what
the common people in Russia are
really like, and find that they're
not so bad after all.
However, just to prove the vast
difference between our government
and theirs those men in the Rus
sian delegation that we're here were
chairmen of collective farms, and
as such, are political leaders. Ma
turally, they'll only tell the Rus
sian people what they're supposed
to hear, so there won't be this
mutual exchange of honest-to-good-
ness information, just the few Rus
slams that our men talked to will
really know what we're like.
Well, I've talked a long time
about this matter, but to me the
whole undertaking was so very
significant, and I'm so hoping that
maybe this trip, is a sign that
there might be possibility that
the people on this globe might
someday learn to live with each
other without continually scrapping
and carrying chip on their
shoulder.
Boy, now I've heard everything!l
Did you read about the wonderful
privilege the voters in Henderson
County, Kentucky, had when they
went to the polls Tuesday? They
were each to receive ticket en-
titling the voter to chance on a
automobile. This glorious oppor-
tunity was offered through the
generosity of both political parties
in the county. l don't know what
your reaction to this announce
ment would be, but was "fit to
be tied" The awful part of the
whole thing is that it'll probably
help, and if something like this
wouldn't shame our good citizens
to vote, l don't know what would.
When you stop to think what tre-
mendous power that public Off
cials have on spending our hard
earned tax money, or just influenc-
ing our lives in so many ways it's
too bad that we don't at least make