The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-12-03
INDUSTRIAL sTAGNATION.
Russian Empire is Threatened With a
Commercial Crisis.

OOm46TClal Cr1S1S.
Correspondence of Associated Press.I
St. Petersburg, Nov. l9--The present
period is usually described abroad as
one of industrial stagnation- The word
crisis is frequently met with IN foreign
reviews of Russian business. What are
the facts? The production OF pig iron.
usually regarded as the barometer Oh
commerce and industry. has been thus
far during 1900 more than l2,OOO,O0U
pounds greater than during the CORE
spending period OF 1899 The RUSSIAN
iron producers however. complain or
dull times, because the increase TINS
year has not been relatively as large
as during the preceding years. Inc m
crease Of pig iron production IN the
northern district this year was 2OO,OOO
pools, or 1876 per cent; in the district
of the Urals, S,S00000 pools, or over 10
per cent, and in the southern district
$500, 600 pools, or per cent Ihere was
a decrease of 100000 pools in Poland
The importation of pig iron was less
than in 1899, so that the total consQmp-
ton is estimated at ], 10000 poOdS less
The total increase of domestic produc-
ton in 1893 was %, 000, 600, and there had
been steady increase before last year
There is discomfort among the manu-
facturers. The dividends of Industrial
companies will be less this year than
has been the average for the same COM
panies hitherto resulting in general
cry of crisis.
The Novoe Vremya, the leading news
paper here, gives the earnings of cotton
spinners at the close of the eighties as
20 to 40 per cent annually and during
the first half of the closing decade
metallurgical companies disbursed an
average of SO per cent q year and IN
some districts 100 per cent and the
Polish sugar factories declared an aver
age dividend of 20 per cent. while the
Polish textile concerns distributed 40
per cent. There is at present a crisis
in the naphtha industry. 1t bears the
same ear1narks as the other crises.
TO1.ic xrrnio hax a h.
normal have fallen considerably though
there is good authority for the state
ment that they are still professionally
high. There are indications OF an equal
~ fresh breeze in other than business
affairs. The ministry of public instruc-
ton has, according to today'S papers,
ordered the establishment of new mete-
geological stations at all important
railway stations in Siberia and upon the
shores of Lake Baikal
The ministry of railroads and COM
municationS has appropriated for the
coming year five million roubles for new
chaussees, principally in the Caucasus.
The same authority has ordered 1000
passenger cars for the purpose of ex-
tending first class service, The move
ment of working men on the Russian
railways last year amounted to 3,OOO,OOU
persons, as the newspapers recently
stated. This ministry is also preparing
to order a regular transportation or
vegetables from the Caucasus to ST.
Petersburg.
ated at Tukkum, near Riga has just
been enlarged SO that it is now able to
accommodate 465 persons. A home for
aged artists, with room for 40 persons
has been begun by a local theatrical So
ciety. Hardly a day passes without the
papers announcing the laying of a cor
ner stone, or the completion of some new
eIeem osynary institution here at Moscow
or in other parts of the country. An ex-
position Of japanese art and industry
will shortly be held here. The collection
was sent especially from Japan. An in
ternational art exhibition, in which
Americans will participate, will begin
in December.
An amusing war is raging in Warsaw
One of the features of life in that city
is its ''condittoreien.'' or pastry cafes.
These cafes do a ftourishing business.
They recently decided to still further
improve their situation by agreeing to
double their prices. The newspapers
loudly condemned this move and the
people raised a tremendous clamor. The
cafes lost patronage They attributed
this to the newspapers and held another
meeting in which they agreed not to
keep the newspapers which had taken
the lead in the matter on file until they
apologized. There has been no apology
yet.