POINTS OF VIEW

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3821, 14 October 1936, Page 6

POINTS OF VIEW

OPINIONS OF OUR READERS. LIFE IN RUSSIA. Sir,—New Zealanders appear to have a penchant to wander to the remote parts of the world. One of these tourists,” Mr D. Garsden Fowler, was in the employ of the Soviet Government as a dairy expert for the better part of two years. He says: "The Soviet Government treated me well, the pay was generous, but to stay longer would have been almost intolerable. It is difficult for any ordinary Britisher, brought up in a democratic country, to imagine life in modern Russia. To me it was like stepping back BCD years. When I wont away on holiday to Western Europe I felt for a week or more like a man in a dream, and when I crossed the frontier again an extra 20 years seemed to have been placed on my shoulders. It was a happv day when I said good-bye to Russia for ever. Anyone who imagines that the Bolshevicks have created a Utopia or a model state is very much astray. It was quite obvious that many generations must pass before the tillers of the soil in their scores of millions could reach a Western level of intelligence. The average peasant has a vocabulary of about 40 words. He talks in short ejaculations, conveying the simplest ideas, like “Fine day,” or “rain over there.” Everything had to be repeated at least four times before it was understood. It is this repetition that makes discussions of any kind in many parts of Russia so very tedious. The Communists, the members of the small governing class, I did not like; they were certainly not men of a type which would be entrusted with power in a well-ordered democratic State. Dairying in the Ukraine and Siberia was carried on by rule of thumb, and often very primitive methods were adopted. Latterly exports of Russian butter had fallen very much, apparently because the butter had been included in the dietary of the Red Army, which Was at the time Mr Fowler was there sewen million strong. To the common people, butter was an unattainable luxury.—l am, etc., NOT A RED. JAPANESE SOUVENIRS AND FLAGS. Sir, —I would like to refer the readers of your paper to a paragraph in one of the Auckland Press of September 19, where a prominent Wellington firm has received a letter from one of its representatives drawing attention to a curious feature in connection with the manufacture of coronation souvenirs and their- importation into New Zealand. Preparations are being made by Manufacturers in England to cater for the big demand in various parts of the Empi'.ie in May of next year for the most populag and democratic king that has ever sat on the throne of England. Here the writer states, however, that large orders from all over New Zealand have already gone to Japan. These orders include thousands of Union Jacks and New Zealand flags for the school children at ridiculously cheap prices. For some time past there have been in English trade and other journals, illustrations of English made souvenirs of all kinds. These have been copied by Japanese manufacturers and most or the British national coronation souvenirs of many classes of goods will therefore come from. Japan. These goods can be bought at less than half of the price of English goods. Now I ask, where does our New Zealand patriotism and loyalty to our king and country come in here with this sort of thing. I myself am a British subject and I am disgusted that this so called patriotism should come from British subjects. Now let us look at the hypocrisy of it all. We in New Zealand are going to celebrate next year a coronation of outmost popular democratic King that ever sat on the throne of England, and yet we are going to do it by purchasing these foreign Japanese souvenirs and flags, what downright mockery of the highest order. Not only that but we have other goods from Japan, well what are they? Teapots, cups and saucers, matches, bike tyres, gum-boots, silk stockings, rolls of silk, crockery, and what not, we also have cigarette lighters from Austria (Germany). Now let me tell you that while we are going on this way we are keeping people unemployed both in Britain and in New Zealand, surely our own comes before foreign countries. Now let us look at it in another way, if these firms or people in New Zealand looked at it this way, they would not do what they are doing. You hear talk everywhere possibly Japan would in the future try and capture New Zealand from us and these very people who are trading with Japan will eventually have to turn round and fight them, so while we are British let us be British and help to build up our own Empire first instead of building uo foreign countries so as to give them the opportunities to attack us while we remain unprepared. I ask why do these people or firms trade with these foreign countries? It is because they get these goods at a cheap rate, and thereby make a good margin of profit, otherwise if they bought the British they are afraid they would not be able to rake in plenty of money. Here is another way. supposing that the Japanese, Germans. Americans, Italians, Austrians, Russians, or anv other countries were going to celebrate, the coronation of their respective kings would they import souvenirs and flags from Britain, most certainly not. they would have them manufactured in their own respective counties. Now I would like to suggest that the Government put a heavy tax on these foreign goods when they arrive in New Zealand.—l am, etc., BRITISH FAIR PLAY.