RUSSIA TO-DAY

Evening Star, Issue 23093, 20 October 1938, Page 9

RUSSIA TO-DAY

VISITOR'S IMPRESSIONS ADDRESS TO>TRAVEL CLUB Two interesting addresses were delivered to members of the Dunedin Travel Club during the fortnightly gathering yesterday. The speakers were Mr Lester Holler, well-known Otago Rhodes Scholar who has recently returned from abroad, and Mr L. C. Tennent, a resident of Dunedin in ms youth, but who for the past 39 years has been living in South Africa. Both speakers were introduced to tne gathering, by Mr H. L. Gibson, the club chairman. . Mr Moller spbke interestingly on his experiences at Oxford and Cambridge and also of a tour he made both of Germany and Russia. Speaking of “‘e former, he said that a German student with him in England predicted in 1936 that Germany would one day take Austria. At that time, he said, during a tour to Germany, one could go over the border into Austria, providing ono did not belong to any poliLcal organisation or talk politics. Dealing with Czechoslovakia, Mr Moller stated thatin March hist Dr Bruening, one time president of Germany, told a gathering that Germany would never go to war oyer Czechoslovakia no matter how much he might threaten. Hitler mierht go right to the very limit, but always draw back, Bruening had said. Mr Moller’s remarks touching upon bis visit to Russia were illuminating. He went there, he said, primarily to see the Russian theatre festivals. They were very interesting, but the theatres were not nearly as up to date as those in England. However, the people put more enthusiasm into their productions than they did in England. Touching upon the life of the Russian people as a whole, Mr Moller said there was a wealthy class there who had incomes of considerable proportions, and one could visit very fashionable expensive hotels, where everything was on the most lavish scale, where cocktails, dance bands, and dance floors were every, bit as good as could be seen in the best of American social life. These places were frequented by the upper class.

There was no middle class. There was simply a dead break to the lower/ paid manual worker—the man who got his Ub of butter a week for himself and family and thought it was marvellous, after the old regime. However, what the younger people growing up would have to say about the matter was another thing. Whether they would be satisfied with the same conditions was a matter open to doubt. Conditions in Russia to-day, politically, were no different from those in Germany, the policy of the Russians being very similar to that of the Nazis.

Following an address by Mr Tennent (published elsewhere), the chairman called for a vote of thanks to the speakers which was given very heartily. The function concluded with the singing of the National Anthem. Guests for the morning were Mrs Braham (Auckland), Miss Loe (British Drama League, Wellington), Mrs and Miss Heenan (Ashburton), Mrs and Miss Wildermoth (Christchurch), Miss Butterfield (Oamaru), and Miss Goodwin (Blenheim). The hostesses were Mrs H. L. Gibson and Mrs Dora Smeaton.