The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE. FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 1920. FROM TAIHAPE TO MANCHURIA.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3506, 18 June 1920, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE.

FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 1920. FROM TAIHAPE TO MANCHURIA.

With which is incorporated “The Taihape Post and Waimarino News,"

S 0 confiicting are the l'Cpol'f.\.' reaching New Zealand from any put of Russia that to receive L'\"L‘ll :1, short collllllllnicatioll from -.1 late 'l.‘-Mhape 1'0:~;id011t, who recently accepted a position in Hzgrbin as 111-.l.llagcr of :1 fellmongery and tannery owned by “The Produce and Export Company of Hur-

bin, is like an oasis in the news desert. The letter is from Mr Arthur Burt, who will be known hereabouts by sheepfurmers as a capable slle:u'er,und ‘that portion which is of public interest is published in oul',news columns. It is dated at Harbin, \[allellul'iu_, on the 29t11 March, 1920, so it is fairly up-to-date. It is notable that wliere he is located -:here are Very few Brilish people; Russian and (.‘-hinese we the lulzgiizzges in general use.- 8:: ‘F2ll’ as 111- Burt has been able to form uu Opiiiion he lilies the }ul:u3o, and wx'— vants are proviiled so tlml he lius no mainuul work whnrever to «10. lile seems to be somewhat .<ul-prised wirh the people he finds himself umongsf; the Russian men, he says, are vel'ysoc-i----able, but very big tea and vodka (ll‘ink~ érs; the women are of fine pliysiqiie, pretty with lovely c(miple.\'ions, and (l!'(.‘S.\i well. 'l.‘h2it part 01.‘ the l(.‘llL‘l‘ of nnosf inlel'e.<tv sizzles that lhere are immense ll':l(’,l>‘ of l:1‘J1d under CUill\':l‘rion. He trzn-'elle<l (i(l(l miles :u‘:ru,<:‘ ‘f:lI'll1(‘,(l l:m<l. ziml 1"or the whole, <li.~'-: lance wheat m'<vp.< wei'<- _;'i‘(n\\‘iii_;; onj both sides of ‘the i':iil\\'uy; lllere isl lnmlly an 1l(".‘(‘ left uni-.ulli\':2le(l Cx—l eepl in the towns. '.\lr Burl was e\'i.l-v} €ll.’l_y :Isl'r;ni:~'he«'l with sueli «~.nlli\':lli.')n: for he rem:irl<~' that :In_von<- would he >€‘.ll'lll'lS.G(l to \\'irn(~‘-.<.< whul he p:ls.-ml llnougli on hi.« journey in llurbin. The: i.'ill(] will grow :in_\' _<__;'l':lin; the lzilmnr is all [l(‘l‘l“(ll'll)(‘l,l by r:m>lie.<_ and HlO fzn'in<'-rs are lillssizui, (W-illl1l?.~'(”', and Jill!one,.~'e. The wril'er'.~' deseriplion of lhv; n:elho(l.~: of’ gt.-2fl,illg the \\'he:lli fol m:n'l<«:-t gives: an in.~'i;:;l‘ll' inlo l":lr:nin9;} mi it m:lgnil‘nrle of which we have:

liftlo c<)ms('},nli-’)n in our tiny <:.mln’(ry. \V}l(‘:‘tt f<>anl.< one bnhim] HlO other <:~xt(-nv} "tn fwu and Hm.-0 miles in Ivngth, <h‘nwilxg v-:}m:11: to the rzxilwny, um] =<m;e of Hlo.<u7r'zllll.< have in fnxvel over In Inunr'!rv(l milo.<. Mr Burt cun<’:ludr:.s' his w)'nl:u'ks by .'<t:ltil!‘g_{ fh.-If "wlnon he has pit-k<-«J up :1. little of the .1?.x:.~'.-i:m §tll’l§_",‘l‘.lx'_;;-"‘.’§ ho xvii} give fur’(llm' <-:<:(-ndnfi nnfl .']e!iJl§{.n infm-Inu‘:iml. It .=n‘-m=. but :1 frw (i::_y.~ ago that Mr’ I'-‘slxrf V."-.k= in ’l‘:zi}:."p(-. yvf now he is in northm'n .\'lnnr-.]llzTin. six ]nll:Jrr~«3 milvs inlzuxd, rnunagixzg :1. 303.‘c}:nr-mzxizing €2-

t;ablishluellt. for a large _produce COlll- - As Mr Burt is a man that has spent the best part. of his life in shearing sheds, tanneries, and other work in connection with primary pl'odllCt-1013: his statements about conditions of life and pl'oduet.ion on those thousands of mile tracts in northern China and Siberia. are particularly interesting. He draws his own conclusions of what conditions of life must be from tghe splendid physique of the people, and from the lovely complcxions of welldressed women. No refel‘ell<3-O is 111330 to hardship, poverty and oppression, it may therefore be concluded that such plague spots have not forced thcm--selves upon his notice. _Thé 13115553115 do not appear -to be without the means to obtain luxuries; they are So‘-"lame: and freely indulge in tea and Vodka drinking. But what chiefly arrests attention is the nature and mflgniliude of wheat-:—growing, for if the 600 miles he travelled through is growing ‘Vheat on both sides of the railway, the probability is that there are thollSfllldS of miles of wheat crops, -and thifi View is cont-ribu-‘ted to by 13110 111395 long wheat caravans he saw trailing towards the railway. It seems, from the fact that these caravans U‘aV€l hundreds of miles, that wheat-growling in eastern Siberia and Mallchllrifi is on a no less scale of vastness than it is in western Siberia, in Trans-Caspia and the Ukraine. It is not stated where such huge quantities of grain go ‘to, but we may gather that it i 8 cheaply produced; as coolies furnish the bulk of the labour. It may chiefly go to Japan, or it may go We-’stWiil'd to feed the Bolshevik armies of Lenin and Trotsky, but the one important fact emphasised is -that those people in Siberia and 'Ma'i'lchuria are in the rridst of plenty whilst'thc great, the highly-civilised British Empire is being shaken to its foundations by the struggle and tumultousness of the masses in their efforts to obtain sufficient of the necessaries of life. Mr Burt has left New Zealand with its labour strikes, and its ever-increasing cost of living, to work amidst Russians, Chinese and, Japanese, but where there are people who do not refuse to. grow food for their starving fellows unless they are paid anything they please to ask for it. Why will notishipping take that cheaply produced wheat topthosc countries where people are seeing high prices carrying bread from beyond their reach? It is because it would make the supply such that exorbita.nt. profits could not be cxtorted. While there is such wheat-growing in Russia why is there a faction in Britain -that is moving earth and heaven -to prevent resumption of trade with Russia? Is it more honurable or patriotic to starve rather than take wheat from Russia‘? Why is the truth about wheat production withheld, and denied promptly if a glint of truth does filter‘ through? Can it. be said that a country tliaf is virtually all under wheat requires all it grows for its widely dispersed farming community Is there such a scarcity of wheat in the world as purveyors of wheat news-lead. one to believe? We ha'.'cit.l'l"e American visible wheat supply cabled out as though Americans controlled the wheat of the world. but gmthing is ever mentioned about the thousands of miles of whoa.‘ coniilry in M-anehuria and Siberia, where wheat, Czlravans two and three uiiles long may be seen transporting wheat from back country, over a hundred miles, to the railway. Yet this is what a late Taihill"? "1311 Sees in Manchuria and Siberia. during his short sojourn in .-\si:l. (..‘onditions are unsettled, naturally, but ““’.V -‘H’? not such as to prevent the l~‘1'0‘ll1('tir.>11 of food proceeding as in 1“31‘1!1€ll i'illle.~'; they do not pl‘o\‘(‘n? the iiflnliing of tea -and Vodka. by men and women of splendid I)ll_\'.\'lqll€‘. nor the latter from being :Ittr:lvlivo and “'<‘ll'<ll'L‘-“-<C<l. There is some gratili<':xH 0" in knowing that Russian wlwnf

<':TllHmt‘ ‘folnzxin .<‘.ol'ed in Rus.~'iu flu- "‘""." lmlg‘. nor (inn it for over be }:l.kr.'n Y 0 fill J':lp:nlese ;;'z'an:lx'i<\s in ]m=p:ll-:1-Hm: fur the time when V(‘l'y 1:11'g0 1:zp:1:w.<(- zlrnlio.< in Hm liolul may new} f«.=eding_;‘. Rllssizllx WllO-.lf will :1.~'.~‘111‘(\(1If: find ifs way out in the \'or_v n_o:lr f'ui'ln'o, for it has become :=.my:ll'vni' in El” <'ouni‘l'i(>s t.h:l'.T the clmicc lios be--I\\'(-On rztpid roturn to S{1l1(‘1' 0011111101‘-«-iul XHI,‘HIOdS. and :L .<t‘:lfr‘ M.’ I‘£‘SOH"~ mrwi .-_»_ml (liq-mlh‘-nf Hm! can mll_\' tor-mix-.:11«> in unzlr:~l|}'. “'0 lmpo Hm!" Ml‘ 7’-Hl‘? is [nl'().s‘ot'll'.illg his .<tu(l_\' 01' HlO ’Ru.~‘.<i:ll) I:mg'u:lg'G xnust‘ :Issi(']ll<>llsL\', for funhm m!\\'.~: rl'(';;‘:ll‘1“ll,(,_' Hw §m}ilit':xl

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