APPENDIX 147 



expect subserviency from labour, but because it always 

 has been so amongst Russians. There is no shyness 

 about poor relations. The Russians are tremendously 

 fond of family gatherings and feasting, and there you 

 will see the man of high official position, in his uniform 

 and wearing his orders, giving the kiss of greeting to 

 his cousin from the steppes, who has long hair and top 

 boots and who has never worn a white linen collar in 

 his life. 



In saying the Russians are children, I have got the 

 right description. We hear stories of peculation, of 

 misappropriation of funds, of large secret commissions 

 in government contracts, and for all I know to the 

 contrary the stories may be perfectly true. But I 

 have yet to visit a country where there are not hund- 

 reds of flies around the golden honey pot. I daresay 

 there are just as many 'grafters" and 'boodle' 1 

 hunters in Russia as there are in the United States. 

 It is a mighty mistake, however, to imagine that 

 every official in Russia has his price. There are 

 gentlemen in Russia just as honourable as there are in 

 England, and the generous outpouring of our own 

 people to assist those who have been stricken by the 

 war has its counterpart all over Russia. Heaven 

 defend us; and let us judge a country by its virtues 

 and not by its lapses, for, after all, it is the good 

 men of a nation who mould its destiny, and not the 

 others. 



