Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-18
FINANCES OF RUSSIA MODEL|NSURANCEB|LL
Fiscal Relations of the Empire Measure Recommended to Con-
With France. gress by the President
IN DEBT FOR GREAT SUMS FOR GOVERNMENT BUREAU
Seeking $500 1000 It Will
merce
MUST LOOK To GERMANY DESIGNED PROTECT PUBLIC
in of
cing AM Mor the Provis
Its the
Seeking Now to Borrow $500, 600 900
More.
MUST LOOK TO GERMANY
Strong Protests in the Republic to
Advancing Any More Money to
It's Northern Ally.


It's Northern Ally.
As naturally as day follows night. 50 DC
| the fortunes of a country reflect upon us
| finances AS soon as the peace of its peo-
| pie gives way to instability. the treasury
| suffers from weakness, either natural OF
| forced This is true in the case of Russia
| today which Is in the midst OF political
| change heretofore undr can't Of for that
nation Reports-official, of course-tell US
every day that Russia was never peter
financially than she IS today, considering
her great and disastrous war, etc. bua
this question brings to mind the monetary
complications of the empire as they are re,
lated to France. which has been the chie'
source of money lending to Russia through
out her conflict with Japan.
Russia today is asking for loan VI
$2O0 100000, and. If possible, S3o0U"oo"o.
She will offer substantial and gilt edge Sc,
curity to the parties loaning the required
amount, which Russia claims she needs 10
carry out her policy of regeneration ana
ameIoration'' said prominent diplomat
today. But so far as | can see, hoDody
has come forward with the millions OF ool-
lars she wants. AS for the source, II any
source there is, l should say 1t must De
German because France Is no longer IN
clined to advance more funds. LII Iact,
today
any more Russian loans, ana her intefeSl
il centered in saving her money-the baga-
telle of 5000 600 coo francs-from the vortex
OF destruction which threatens the empire
today.
"AiI the great men OF France have agreed
on one pofnt-that is to say. that France Is
In the position of one who allows her nance,
before the marriage to take possession OF
her dowry Before receiving satisfactory
proof of the real sentiments of her ally
France has imprudently loaned her all her
money. How much does the loan amount
to? You might as well ask me how many
fish are IN the Atlantic ocean. In her ca
pacity of generous lover unable to reckon
the amount and blind to the security given,
France has given whatever Russia has ASK
cd Here France seems to have lost all
notion of foresight. From the financial
point OF view she is still in the honeymoon,
so to speak. and there has been absolutely
no restraint put on the emigration of the
French public fortune. The republic, more
over in addition to making large advances
to her august ally, has saved and maintain
ed her credit.
Protests of the French.
And what do the French cry? They
protest They say: For Russia-always
for Russia! There was a war of madness
France furnishes the money. Russia lost
her fleet. and then was defeated In num-
Der of great battles: the stupidity of her
generals and the shameful corruption OF
her administration are known to the whole
world. but France furnishes the money. The
world has begun to lose all hope for Rus
sia still France furnishes the money. An
internal revolution breaks out: the Rus
sian government finds itself at war with
its own laboring classes, with its thinkers.
with its nobility: political assassin tons
portend the overturn of the empire and the
triumph of the revolution; bombs bursting
on all sides make known in dark. sinister
tones the breakup of the nation-and
France still furnishes the money
cal
amount that Russia owes France today ?
And who can foretell how France is going
to get 1t all back, to say nothing of the
lost interest? In October, 1901, Russia s
debt to France was said to amount to
u 600 000, GEO francs, but far back as
1897 1t estimated to have reached
IL 900, 900, eco francs, and certain ecOnomis! =
have gone far as to put the amount at
fourteen or fifteen thousand millions of
francs
But by placing the figure, speaking con-
serYatively, at 5000. 900 francs about
81 500 900 COO as the minimum we can
make no mistake. The sum, moreover, is
accepted as correct by the official repre-
sentative of the Russian treasury at the
latest computation two yeals ago.
Frances immense sacrifices Of money
have given her the right TO speak plainly
to the empire. The contingencies which the
republic has to fear many. The duties
which she owes to her ally are-what?
Russia's Imme nse Debt
IF we go by statistics-tTust worthy state
| ments made by the proper financial author
tiles of Europe-we find that Russia's pub
lie debt surpasses the public debts of Prus-
STA and all the German states put together.
II has risen from 4, i23. 000OGo rubles IN
1889 TO GG44 100000 rubles in 1893. during
fourteen years of peace. There other
liabilities besides, such the railways
guarantees of the treasury and others. 1t
must be borne in mind that all the money
| borrowed from France has been spent on
useless ornaments or unproductve indus
| tries Wher we reflect on the sacrifices OF
| every kind which The war has necesSit ia ted
| It is easy to understand that the material
| position Of the Russian empire will be de-
| factiYe for many year.
The Russian people recognized the folly
| OF continuing the war with Japan and they
agreed to end the conflict, not when White
| scored his so-called triumph but only
when France had been sounded on all sides
and refused to loan more money. TIE Rus
| sian government never had the moral cour:
| age shown by Italy after her defeat by
| Menelik of Abyssinia. when she adm tied
| defeat stopped the useless destruction OF
| men and property, and thus won the re-
spect of the entire civilized world.
Russian Statistics Misleading.
Another risk" explained the diplomat
| lis the varying value of the ruble. Again
| the state bank of Russia, unlike those
/
| dependent of the government. There H.
| truly, little serious financial control in Rus
/ STA. The Russian treasury has always
| been known to be liberal with it's statistical
| data on receipts and expenditures, but II
| takes an expert to see that the items are
| complex and the totals misleading. Official
| figures given out at the time show that
| while Russian expenditures increased In
| 1904, the receipts had gone up in like pro-
| portion: but on closer examination of this
| budget we find that the sum borrowed from
| France in 1904 figured in the receipts.
| France, apart from her material inter
| ests. must not forget her moral interests
| Seeing that the division between the Rus
| sian government and the Russian people Ii
| so great, France could not. In justice. atd
| the bureaucracy which Expresses and ruin:
the people.
| Affairs In Russia have not advanced
| rapidly since the close of the war. AL
though France should encourage the Rus
SLAMS to make the best of what they have
she should not jeopardize her own interests
To try to save her past loans by making
more loans is folly The republic canno
lend in any manner more money to thai
! threatened nation. because the risk is to<
| great
IF we look to Japan. instead we FIND
things much different. In spite of the fam
Inc and the hundred difficulties presented Il
the Japanese. the island empires econOmis