The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-10-30

| ings banks here, and there are nOwmore thar
500 OF these and their deposits are increasing
! right along. until they now amount to more
| than $50, 900, 900.
A large part of the business OF Russia is
! based upon credit, but very little business
| is done by check, and the man with his
! bank account draws his money and pays
| his bills In Ii rather than with his check.
| book. The merchants, as rule, give lone
| credit and the retailers buying bills of good
usually give no EOtes until nine months
after the sale. AT the end Of nine months
| IL IS customary to give note or draft paya-
| bic at ninety days sight and an extension is
| often asked. Fully 0ne-half of all the busi-
| ness done is On credit and cash buyers 10
/ the wholesale trade get from TO 5 per cent
| discount. The retail trade of nearly all the
| cities of Russia is carried on on a cash
| basis and the poorer classes are always
| compelled to pay cash. The nobility are
| usually allowed to run accounts and If one
! has real estate there is not much trouble in
| getting credit. l am told that there are few
| houses IN st. Petersburg OF Moscow which
| are not or have not been mortgaged, and i
! find very fair banking institutions in all OF
! the largest Russian cities, which seem to be
doing very well.
We have a Consul at Moscow who has
one OF the largest banks of that city, and
/ who has made fortune In showing these
Russians how to lend money. He is of
Jewish extraction, and he had experience
with some OF the largest banking houses of
Europe before he came to Russia. He ia
worth, | am told, several millions of dollars,
and he made the bulk of his fortune in Rus
STA. His business establishment is on the
second floor OF one Of the large houses of
that city. and it will be surprising to Ameri-
cans to know that most Of the banks of
Russia are upstairs. You find money!
changers on the ground floor, but many Of
the big banking establishments have no
signs OF any size, and you enter them more
like private house than business estab-
llshment. 1t is not the easiest matter TO get
money out Of them. The Russian is ma
turally suspicious. and you have to have the
proper means of Identification or the police
is called IN and your record is locked up II
takes about a day for a stranger to get q
check cashed at country bank, and charges
are made for everything. In figuring uD
the amount due you in change the banker
will use little box OF buttons strung on
wires instead of calculating by figures. and
he adds and subtracts. multiplies and
divides rather as the Chinese do than the
Europeans. There are pawnbroking shops
in all the towns. These are licensed by the
Government and the pawnbrokers have to
make large deposits and pay well for the
privilege.
Speaking of the Imperial Bank, it is inter-
estng 10 note how this immense sum OF
nearly $500 GOO worth of taxes Is COL
lfcted every year and where it comes from.
This IS big country. but the revenue
would, If divided among the Russian peO-
pie. amount to S25 family, and the expen-
ditures OF the Government are enormous.
The Emperor. in addition to his large pri-
vat" fortune. has practically the control of
ell the revenues OF the empire and his word
Is law MS to the disbursement of this vast
sum. lie has big organization under him
and he has his Cabinet, just as our Presi-
dent has. This vast empire is divided up
into provinces or states, each of which has
its Governor, who rules the states much as
our Governors do, but who Is appointed by
the Emperor. Every state is divided up
into districts and every district into towns
and villages, and there are elective assem-
blies in the towns, counties and states,
which have much TO say as 10 the dStribu-
ton OF the taxes, and every village decides
just how much each of It's members shall
pay about 81 head for their adult popu-
lation and they pay more than 100000 of
direct taxes every year.
The bulk of the revenue, however, is col
lected in indirect taxes, and Russia has q
higher wall OF protection about it than the
United States All sorts of imports are
taxed and there is revenue tax on spirits
which amounts to $3.50, 900 year, and
the passport taxes amount to something like
$40. 100000 Nearly everything under the
sun is taxed, and the tax list is greater than
ours was during the worst part of the civil
any kind of business here, and clerk in
a store is taxed for the privilege of clerking.
1t costs about So year for the right to sell
tobacco, and If you want to run hackney
coach or sledge you must take out license
at a cost of S. YOU paw $500 year for keep
ing a distillery aud $50 for selling wine in
a tavern, and il you keep a restaurant of
any kind you have TO take out license for
it. If you own a horse it will cost YOU
SO year in taxes, and dog you can have
for 80 cents. If you have a lawsuit you
will have TO pay a tax on the amount of
money involved in it. Railroad tickets are
taxed, and 70 per cent is charged on ex-
press rates There is tax for fire nsur-
ance. and there are taxes on household
furniture and personal property. You note
IN your purchases at the stores that ali i'm
ported goods have little metal tags fas-
tened TO them by wires, and these are the
government stamps put on by the CUSTOM
house officers. If lady wishes ribbon for
her hair or man buys necktie they find
upon them these little stamps, the cost Of
which has been added TO the price of the
goods.
This Russian protection crowds nearly all
classes Of foreign goods out of the market,
and under 1t a large manufacturing business
has grown up in Russia. TIE hardware OF
this country is noted for its excellence and
there are great many American special
ties sold here as American which are made
in other parts Of Europe or Russia ind
that American goods stand very well, and
such things as agricultural machinery and
hand-tools could be imported and sold at a
profit. The Germans and English are selling
some American goods in this way, and the
Germans are initiating some of our goods
and shipping them here. Merchants tell me
that it would pay the American manufact-
! urers to send their agents here TO study the
market and TO furnish goods to suit it. But
nothing can be done by circulars or through