Newspaper Article – Woodville Rotarians Hear Talk On Visit Behind Iron Curtain

Woodville Rotarians Hear Talk On Visit Behind Iron Curtain

At the Rotary Club meeting, Mrs E.C. Horne gave an interesting account of her experiences during a visit to Russia and Poland. Landing at Leningrad, she encountered the customs authorities who were very books or papers to be taken strict, and did not allow any ashore [strict, and did not allow any books or papers to be taken ashore]. Their tour of Leningrad included the luxurious museum, with its quantities of gold and precious stones, and an art gallery of famous paintings.

In Moscow, Mrs Horne was impressed by the elaborate stations on the underground railway and the university building of 32 storeys, accommodating 6,000 resident students. Although conducted in parties to places of special interest, tourists were free to go shopping or wander about alone if they wished. Prices of goods in the shops were extremely high, and wages low. Meals, particularly breakfasts, were very good and the trains comfortable to travel in.

Efforts were made to please tourists but the Russian people, as a whole, did not appear to be very happy.

In Poland, conditions were even worse, much war damage still being visible. The soil was fertile, but there seemed little incentive to work it.

The people in West Berlin seemed much happier and more prosperous. Rotarian D.E. Quick thanked Mrs Horne for her interesting talk.

longThe two-minute talk by Rotarian Postmaster C.P. Casey concerned telephone facilities in New York, London and several European countries which provide a continuous time and weather forecast service. All calls are charged for in England and Europe, he said.