The Russellville Democrat., 1881-01-06
AMERICANS IN RUSSIA.
They are Warmly Welcomed What Prince o. Says.

My personal experience is that Ameri-
 can citizens i'll general, and American business men in particular, are warmly welcomed in Russia. On the part of the Cars Government there is not the least l fear that they will inoculate the Russians with republication. Once 1 asked q Colonel of gendarmes whether he had
 any apprehension ot dangerous results from the close relations of the Russians
 and the Americans. "Not the least,p he
 answered promptly. "Your American citizens are too sensible and practical to be dangerous to our Government. To imagine practical Yankee indulging in theorizing with idle Russians would be to suppose the most improbable of all improbable things"
 The Russian capitalists and busi- ness men in general are apparently glad to have Americans come here, and closely observe their ways of doing business. They prefer to invite American engineers to Russia instead of sending their engineers to study in Amer ica. It appears that the work done here
 by Yankee engineers has confirmed that
 high opinion which the Russians had formed of them beforehand The grain elevators built by them in some Russian ports, the boring for petroleum in the Caucasus, and some of their mining ex- perlments fully satisfied the most extraya- gant expectations of the Russians. Amer ican agricultural machines and imple- ments, sewing machines, iron stoves, rub
 Der goods, canned fruits and many other articles are in fair demand everywhere in this country, and l have frequently heard
 here the question: "Why don't the
 A ,II these things for us? They would save
 the expense of transportation and would
 be sure to sell their goods" In proof of this last Assertion, Russians point to the great and prosperous factory in St. Petersburg operated by the Russian American Rubber Company.
 This suggestion of an investment of American capital in Russian manufacture and trade seemed to me very interest ing one, and wanted to get opinions about it. A Russian friend introduced me to the Director of the Department of Manufacture and Trade. l asked his ex- cellency whether he would advise Amer ican manufacturers to come to Russia and engage in business. Most heartily" he answered; though 1 don't believe that at present your manufacturers can be in- duced to leave their country of plenty for one that is afflicted with grave troubles. By and by, when the security of business here is insured beyond any doubt, there will be opened an immense field for Yankee enterprise, skill and capital, and they can not be beaten here by any foreign competitors, for these req sons: They are our friends, and that no other nation can boast of. The general character of America is very analogous to that of our own country. Our Causasus yields us petroleum, and the Don valley gives us coal and anthracite like Penn sylvania; our middle provinces yield grain as abundantly as the Western States of the Union, and the treasures of our Ural Mountains can be fairly compared with those of California and Colorado. This is a very important point, for experience of Americans acquired at great expense, can be fully and proitably applied here in Russia. We have great natural wealth with no capital and no skill; these the Americans have in superabundance. There can be no political trouble between the two countries to interrupt our busi- ness relations. The Yankees are very skilfull teachers, as is shown by their perfect absorption and assimilation of an immense and heterogeneous immigration; our history shows that we are diligent and docile pupils. Bring the Yankee teacher and the Russian pupil together, and you will see'surprising resultsp'
 Prince o. is one of the largest land owners in Russia. He employs a num- Der of German agriculturalists to look after his property-over G0,000 acres on the Volga. called on him and asked whether he would like to replace his Germans with Americans. "Only let me have some practical American farmers" said the Prince, "and l will not employ anybody else. But the trouble is that your farmers seem to be perfectly satisfied at home, and don't care to make roubles and imperials so long as they are pocketing dollars. think it would pay American manufacturers of agricultural machines and implements to send over here, say 100 skill farmers. They would readily find employment with our large land owners, and would be able to demon strate the full value of the American farm machines Undoubtedly this would in crease the demand for the machines far more surely and rapidly than advertise ment, exhibitions, or agents. Russia is pre-eminently a farming country, and her prosperity depends wholly on her crops Yet we do our farming on prehistoric plan. Now the crisis has come, and it putsa grave question before us Either we must immediately apply all the modern improvements in agriculture to our land or we must be prepared to be cut off from the civilized world. What q chance there is for the contemplating Yankees to come to us, to stir us up, to show us how to handle these wonderful machines, and so to create an immense market for their own wares. Our misfortune is that our educated men become functionaries, parts and parcels of the complicated and ricke- ty machinery called bureaucracy, or else become it's bitter enemies, and so the country at large is left without intelligent business men; hence, we have to borrow them from abroad. l need not tell you that the Yankees are especially welcome here"
 Uncle Sam's boys lending their shoul- ders to push Ivan Ivanovitch's wagon along-what funny and unique scene it would be! But, if it comes to that, have suspicion that the Autocrdt of all the Russiss will not stay long on top of the wagon. That is point on which dis agree with my friend, the Colonel of gen darmes.