Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / May 30, 1970, edition 1 / Page 9
Part of The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Impressions From Twenty Days Behind The Iron Curtain By ASA T. SPAULDING Upon leaving the United States on September 1, 1969, for twenty one day People to-People Goodwill Tour which would take me to Russia, Po land, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, I tried to divest myself of pre conceived notions of these countries. I wanted to be able, in so far as possible, to view them through objective eyes and to see the good as well as the bad, and what I might learn from their histories that is re levant to today's problems. When I returned on September 22, 1 brought with me the feeling that I had seen some of both, and that 1 had a better understanding of what is happening in the world today, and whv. Many times have I asked myself: "Is the glass half empth or half-full? Although one's conclusions are influ enced by his previous condi tioning, based upon my impres sions from twenty days behind the "iron curtain", and pre vious experienced, I am in clined to think the glass is both. Having visited all the con tinents save one, Australia, and attempted to get as muc'i of an insight as possible into the his tory and development of the many countries and their peo ples, and the various stages of their evolution, I have not found a single nation that has yet filled the glass of freedom for all its people. Anywhere one goes, he still finds varying degrees of lack of freedom, be it: from want; from fear; of speech; of movement; and/or of worship. My overriding concern now is whether of not we are making the necessary progress toward filing the glass that holds the hopes, aspirations, and security of the peoples not only of our nation but al so of the world. One is con tingent upon the other if there is to be peace in the world. ENROUTE * After brief stops in Oslo and Stockholm, we landed in Helsinki, Finland at 1:30 p.m. oij September 2, and were met by Ambassador Val Peterson. After refreshing ourselves, we made a sightseeing tour of Helsinki which has a popula tion of approximately 570,000 and engages extensively in agri culture as well as industry. One of the largest industries in Finland is shipbuilding, especi ally of ice-breakers. The market we visited was laden with agricultural pro ducts, and meats of every type with choicest of cuts. Seafood, fresh and dried, was plentiful. The monument to Sibelius is a stainless steel organ in a beautiful circular park. The city abounds in schools and colleges, mostly of new construction. We saw one building constructed of copper but with the appearance of wood. The buildings are in use the year-round. When school is out, the buildings (including dormitories) are used for in ternational conventions and conferences. 45% of the population is under 16 years of age, accord ing to our guide. We left Helsinki at 7:35 p.m., September 2, for Lenin grad, our first stop behind the "curtain." We arrived at 9:35 p.m., and cleared Customs without difficulty and with no inspection of our luggage. The officials were "correctly res- pectful." Hotel Sowjetskaja (Soveriet sky) where we stopped was Lenigrad's newest and most modern. The lobby is spacious but scantily furnished, and has a small snack bar in one corner which serves principally pas tries and coffee. My room was quite clean with wall to wall red carpet, one chair, a stoop approximate ly a fourteen inch board ex tending from wall to wall under the windows served as a desk, there were a desk and a bed lamp, a plywood closet against the wall with 3 wooden clothes hangers, a tile bath room with tub about 30 inches in depth and a hand shower spray, one hand towel and a very thin bath towel, a small piece of soap which was not used (had my own), one small waste basket, toilet tissue glazed on one side and rough on the other, constituting the furnishings. The bed seemed to be of plywood or maple veneer with a thinly padded mattress with out springs and sinking in the middle. There was a telephone, and when I turned on the radio, popular American music was being broadcast. THE CITY OF LENINGRAD Lenigrad is a beautiful, his toric and cultural city, restored with such integrity that the extent of its destruction during World War II hardly seems pos sible. The City and its trage dies and triumps is a story within itself. Its survival of the "900 Day Siege" by Hitler is perhaps the grimmest and most heroic story ever told, and Harrison Salisbury tells it so well. The city was founded by Tsar Peter the Great, among swamps and scanty Northern vegetation, on marshy main land and numerous islets of the Neva River Delta; and for two hundred years was the capital of the vast Russian Em pire. Eminent architects, sculptors, artists, and hundreds of thousands of peasants were brought from all over the coun try to make Leningrad one of the most beautiful cities in the world. When it was established in 1703, it was named St. Peters burg, and was so called until the First World War, 1914, when it was changed to Petro grad; and then in 1924, to Leningrad in honor of Lenin. It is a citv of revolutionary traditions. It was herein 1825, under the leadership of the Decembrists, that the revolu tionaries from among the Rus sian nobility and Russian troops rose in arms against the autocratic government. BLOODY SUNDAY In 1905, workers filled the streets to ask the tsar to make iiUrte life and to remove some of the' worst injustices. Though completely unarmed, they were shot down by troops before the tsar's palace. "That ■ ,*f *_/■ Hv IBMITI K^Y k vutfu Ml V K vHBuM «fy^H »Jflßfitat' sWk . *®JF" TAJT^"^ ' •A • This year, travel in style. At Uxxle, we tell the finest luxury cars And we're determined to make the kind of deal that will put you that have ever been made without charging luxury prices. into a brand new 1970 Oldsmobile THIS SPRING. And that's real That's style. We offer courteous, prompt, and efficient service— ,ty '*" * Ure ' youv# trave,e d before. But this year, travel in style, in one of the best equipped repair shops anywhere. That's style. yS( Aspen Green with Green Vinyl Top. Factory Air-Conditioning • SAVE \ c / Tinted Glass e White Wall Tires • Tilt Away Steering Wheel 1970 Dynamic 88 4-door S«d.n \ / • Po " er Trunk Lid Latch • Lamp, and Mirror, Convenience $4 fl AA Hydra-Motie •"'"Factory" Air \ / Group • AM-FM Stereo Radio • Remote Control Outside Mir- 11 fl|J Conditioning • Tinted Windows • Power VW lU f) \ Steering e Power Disc Brakes • Deluxe Push- (olu| N c Sj||j Ttx an) C>. \ Pjffiffil / / Power Seat • Electric Windows • Safety Sentinel, button Radio. lic«m«) / / f\ / o v#r t Mfl fjj Carson Stock 70 CutkM If Azure Blue with matching Blue In- gp X \ \ »eewwi%——■— • Bamboo with match in# TV V \ ___ r Interior • V-« en«ln« SAAAA Av X \ • Turbo HvOra-MoHc TroAO- £*l, m TmwSTumi\ 'GuMac~fj£ Boulevard mMA OIDSMOBIIF Inc 489-3331 WHERE COURTESY DWELLS, ' AND SERVICE EXCELLS. . . day went down in history as' the "Bloody Sunday" which sparked off the First Russian Revolution." THE 1917 OCTOBER REVO LUTION In February 1917, the tsarist government of Nicholas the Second was deposed and Russia was proclaimed a repub lic. And later in the year, Octo ber 25, the revolutionary workers stormed the Winter Palace; and; for the first time in history the working people of Russia won full political power in the country. The October socialist Re volution established the social ist or state ownership of the means of production and of consumer goods, and pro claimed all the wealth in the country "people's property", and which has so remained. PALACES OF TSARS NOW OPEN TO THE PUBLIC The palaces of the tsars are now public buildings, museums and great cultural centers. The Winter Palace has 1052 rooms. The Hermitage is one of the world's leading treasure stores of art and attracts tourists from all over the world. It has such a collection of art pieces that it would take three years for one to look at each piece. MUSEUM OF ARCHITEC TURE Many consider it worth a trip to Leningrad to see the wrought-iron railings of the parks, gardens and bridges. The most common architec tural styles are baroque and classical; however, Gothic Cathedrals, and replicas of the Palace of Doges in Venice, and even the Tamberlane Tomb in Central Asia are found also. This has caused the city on the Neva River (Leningrad) to be referred to as "a museum of architecture." It is also said tc be the first European city con structed according to a plan. INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF FRIENDSHIP At 3:00 p.m. on September 3, we attended a seminar at the w International House of Friendship, originally built by a tsar as a palace for his Mis tress. Its size, furnishings and SDlendor are almost indescrib- - Ik LITTLE QUEEN Vecoda Elaine Lockhart, 11-month-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Lockhart, Jr. won first prize in the annual baby contest sponsored by the Junior Dc partment of the Durham Ushers Union held Sunday, May 17, at St. John Baptist Church. About 9? per cent of Nebras ka's land area, or 48 million acres, is devoted to farming or ranching. able. Here we were given a general outline of tlie system of education in the U. S. S. R. It appears that the Russians have done an exceptional job in this area and universal edu cation. This was attested to by some knowledgeable edu cators in our group. COMPULSORY EDUCATION The literate group was re ported to us to have been almost eliminated in the Revo lution thereby leaving primari ly an uneducated peasant population. Compulsory educa tion was instituted and in 13 years - by 1930 - illiteracy was practically eliminated in the younger group. The illiteracy rate in Russia now is reported to be practically zero. Drop outs are not permitted. If a student leaves one school for good reasons, he is sent to another more suitable to his talents. Education is free on all levels. 15% of the national budget is now going for educa tion and 20% is the goal. BALLET At 7:30 p.m. we witnessed the Russian Ballet, "The Swan," at the Academic Maly Theatre of Opera and Ballet. The dancing and the music by the orchestra were superb. The whole experience was a Feast for the soul. (TO BE CONTINUED) Raleigh and Durham Ministers Endorse Oxford Citizens' Actions OXFORD, N. C. - The Raleigh-Durham Interdenomi national Minister Alliance in a unanimous decision endorsed the action of the citizen com i/'Q Volkswagen 2-Door, ra-/ D 7 dio, heater, r ear window defroster, Green finish ' ' j Buick Electro Conv. Blue, |D / Power Steering, Power Brakes, j Power Soot, AC... Ford Country Squire DO Wag Green, Power Steer ing Power Brakes, Power Seat, i aC $ 1695 Luggage Rack \\J* j [/"A Buick Special 4-Door, UT Beige Finish, Radio, Pow er Steering, V-8, Automatic Trans- $955 mission /f"7 Chrysler New Yorker, 4- D / door, full power, factory oir conditioning, whitewall tires, tinted glass, wheel covers. Dark green *-\J ' J SQ Pontioc Executive, 4-Dr. DO Hardtop, Power Steer ing, Power Brakes, Tinted Glass, Foe tor/ Air Condition ing, Whitewoll Tires, Wheel Covers, Bur- $77 gundy Finish ™ ~ SQ Oldsmobile Delta 88 Oo Hardtop Coupe. Power Steering, Power Brakes, Air Conditioning, Tinted Gloss, Whitewoll Tires, Wheel Covers, Green with Tan Vinyl Roof J /"C Comet Caliente, 4-Door, bj Blue finish, Power Steer ing Automatic Transmission, Nice $ 1095 Lar I /"A Buick Wildcat 2 door D i hardtop. Power steering,] power brakes, white wall tires, | wheel covers. SQQC j White '/'"I Pontiac Bonneville, 4-j D / Door Hardtop, Gold with| Black Vinyl Roof, Full Power,] I $2195 (Conditioning ( 1 Electro Convertible ] Dj Full Power, Factor/ Air [ Conditioning, Whitewall Tires,' ! Wheel Covers, Tinted Glass. ] Black with $1 ] Black Top I I yJ Chevrolet Impala, 4-Dr. D / Sedan, Blue Finish, Pow der Steering, Air $1 QQ£ (Conditioning mittee of Oxford, North Caro lina. It went on record as de nouncing the wanton killing of Henry Marrow and of the causes that gave rise to the in cident. They also noted that a great lack is shown in the law enforcement department in that no immediate arrests were made even though the killing was supposed to have been re ported to the police depart ment. The ministers expressed deep concern for the family of the deceased person, for the family of the guilty person or persons and concern for those responsible for the deed. They pledged themselves to helping to create a society where hate which breeds mur der and killing will not be a WE'RE STILL OVERLOADED With New Chevrolet Cars Cr Trucks! Every Car and Truck Reduced Even Lower Than Before! OPEN'TIL 9 SATURDAY, MAY 30, 1970 THE CAROLINA TXMMS— common place thing, but where men can realize the brotherhood of man. The ministers expressed a BRUNSON'S Home of Qualify Products ZENITH DUNLOP TOSS MAGNAVOX FIRESTONE TIKIS NORGE DELCO BATTERIES TAPPAN SEAT COVfefcS PEDDERS BRAKE SERVICE KITCHENAID ALIGNMENT * EASY TERMS "WE FINANCE OUR OWN ACeOtmTS" We Service What We U&J wiDinfneM to rapport d thaw who are (trafgUng to tnm hate in 01* society. 9A
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
May 30, 1970, edition 1
9
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75