AN OBSERVANT TRAVELLER

Hokitika Guardian, 18 August 1930, Page 8

AN OBSERVANT TRAVELLER

CONDITIONS IN’ INDIA AND

RUSSIA.

Visiting 'Wellington at present as part of a short stay in the Dominion ;s Dr Michael Dorizas, who is professor of geograhpy at the University of Penn sylyania. Dr Dorizas is a Greek by birtli, but the United States is now his adopted home. He went there as a young man to complete his studies, and there he has remained' ever. sincej except for periods of 'world travel. The present is his third round-the-world trip, and it has embraced Russia, Siberia, Japan, Korea, 1 -'Manchuria, China, the Phiiiippines, Indb-China, the Malay Statjes, Siam, the Dutch East Indies, Ceylon, India, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Tiirkey, Greece, Central Europe the Belgium Congo, 'Central and South 'Africa, Australia, (and New Zealand. He regrets tliaf so little time can be spent in the Dominion, but hopes to return again. He will be seeing some--thing of the North Island before returning to the United States. Brain and muscle are happily combined in Dr Dorizas. He made a world’s record javelin throw when only 18, has taken part in three Olympiads, and at one time held the strength record for American universities. Dr Doridas can talk most interestingly. England, he thinks, has not very must to fear from the outcome of present events in India. The 70,000,000 Mohammedans do not think of India as their home, and would therefore not cooperate with the Hindus if home ruie was granted .Then there were the native rulers with their 70,000,000 Hindus subjects—Britain’s best friends, who, for their own sakes, did not want home rule. Added to these there another 50,000,000 or ‘untouchables” who found British rule their own protection from Hindus rule. These latter could expect nothing/ It was only British rule that kept the swarm of hill tribes in cheek, and this the Indians knew.

Dr Dorjzas said that Soviet rule had been a failure, although there were -sev-eral-things which could he said in its favour. One had to remember that Pussia, when the Bolshevists' took, charge, was 300 years --behind the rest of Europe. At the present time, in some ways, the lot of the working man was not as bad as was sometimes painted ; but Russia was no place for- “intelliuts.” More .was being read in Russia than ever before, but as it was all Communistic literature, the result was not good. The. Communists numbered about 1,500,000 .out of a total population of, about 150,000,000. Of the 100,000,000 or so peasants, only 55,000 were admitted as members of the Communist Party Many o-f the Communists had really high ideas as saviours of mankind, hut he thought that Russia, would eventually come hack to capitalism. At present they were an island in a surounding set of capitalism and lived in fear of a concerted attack by capitalistic countries ; hence the army and other warlike preparations.