HIGH MORALE OF RUSSIANS

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23478, 5 November 1941, Page 7

HIGH MORALE OF RUSSIANS

WORKERS’ LARGE OUTPUT SIR WALTER CITRINE’S impressions LONDON, November 3. Sir Walter Citrine, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, who has returned to London from Russia, spoke to-day of the . w® o ment between members of the Bntisn Trade Union delegation to Moscow anj their opposite numbers m Russian trade organisations. He said that he was impressed by the high morale of the Russian people, and the re ™ ar £: able output o'f the workers in Soviet fa He r mentioned that the delegation saw British Hurricane fighters being landed in Russia "hand over fist. Sir Walter paid a tribute to the Royal Navy, he and his party travelling in an Australian destroyer to Archangel, from where they were flown to Moscow. He said that in Moscow there were very few external air raid shelters, most being in cellars. In addition, the walls of many houses are two feet thick, and almost natural shelters. The whole party was highly amused when they heard of the debate m the House of Commons on the relaxing of the black-out, to conform with Moscow’s example. “The black-out in Moscow,” he said, is thorough in the extreme. Torches are not allowed, and striking matches and smoking are forbidden in the streets after 9 p.m.” Moscow’s barrage, he said, was infinitely more concentrated than that of London. Such air raids as have taken place on Moscow had not done very much damage, and this was tackled with incredible speed. Broadly speaking, the damage caused there bore no comparison with what London suffered. Factories were visited by the party where up to 75 per cent, of the employees were women, who worked a 66-hour week. . .. Sir Walter paid a tribute to the high quality of the Russian troops who were well uniformed and* well armed, with a solid determination to beat the Germans, Astonishment at the number of aeroplanes on Russian airfields was expressed by members of the party.