Russia Through New Zealander’s Eyes
NOT DISCREET TO LOOK CLEAN,
United Press Association.—By Electric Telegraph. —Copyright. SIDNEY, Jan. 22.
Mr. Robert Laidlaw, manager of a prominent Auckland firm, accompanied by his wife, arrived in Sydney, en route to New Zealand, after a world tour of 39 countries, including Russia.
Mr. Laidlaw said in an interview that he spent several days in Leningrad ami Moscow and was deeply impressed by tho sordid conditions, the absence of private trading as Europeans knew it, the poorness of the stores in the shops, and the difficulty of obtaining decent meals, except at exorbitant prices. Ho did not see a butcher’s shop or a shoeshop in Moscow. All that the people possessed generally was what they stood up in. Russia’s Five Y'car Plan, ho believed, was a very earnest attempt to rationalise the nation, but it appeared to bo breaking down, because of a shortage of exports over imports. It was certainly not discreet to look clean in Russia; it was far better to go about unshaven. The people allegedly were satisfied with their lot, because there was simply no alternative.
Mr. and Mrs. Laidlaw are returning to New Zealand by the Maunganui today.
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Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 6764, 23 January 1932, Page 7
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199Russia Through New Zealander’s Eyes Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 6764, 23 January 1932, Page 7
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