RUSSIA OF TO-DAY.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 8, Issue 61, 11 March 1916, Page 7

RUSSIA OF TO-DAY.

Mr. Jo-hn Foster Fraser is one of those travellers who have the happy knack of describing the predominant feature of a country and the characteristics of its people which possess the

greatest interest for ordinary readers. His wanderings have also taken such a wide range that he has gained au international' standpoint for -his comparisons, and as an experienced traveller he knows just how to get wherever he wants to go. It would appear, however, from his "Eussia of To-day," which is just now having a popular run at the libraries and book shops, that even these qualifications, backed by influential credentials, were not always sufficient as an "open sesame" to some of the exclusive preserves of Czarland,, for h e tells us that w-hen he wanted to take a few snapshot photos in Moscow, three weeks were consumed in persistent applications and personal visits to officials of various ranks before the permit was _ obtained. The "Russian man of business carries on his transactions in the same leisurely way. "What a couple of 'Englishmen or Americans will decide in 20 minutes' talk. Eussians will walk round for the better part of a fortnight. As for paying in cash, except for smaller things, that is quite an un-Eussian idea. He gives a bill, and he has it renewed, and he borrows money on p. new bill to pay the old bill until you feel that half the business population of Eussia is living, on a 'cyclone of bilss.' '' One of the most amazing facts vouched for by Mr. Fraser is the complete efficacy of the Czar's ukase prohibiting vodka. In. 1913 the drink bill of Eussia amounted to £150,000,000, and one-third of the .national revenue was derived from this source. The real reason which led to the issue of the ukase prohibing the sale of vodka was the extent to which drunkenness interfered with the military mobilisation. But so potent is the mandate,of the Czar that Mr. Fraser believes he is warranted in stating that "not one person in a hundred has been able to obtain a drop of alcohol since the Emperor issued his prohibition; and such liquor as may be r>roft- ."b'l

commands a prohibitive price—:i bottle of Scotch whisky will, cost 28/. Various compounds have been made to scYv e instead, but "the majority of folk have to be content with drinking tea." Mr. Fraser lias a good dea? that is instructive to say on tlie religious and social conditions of Russia, and offers some advice to British manufacturers who desire t 6 secure its trade after the Avar. His visit war. made after the declaration of war ;<nd he describes the attitude of the pee] le towards the great struggle in w-Mch the nation is engaged.