Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-28
I'VE prfErnT or THE
AMOUNT CT THE 0pDER-

let any one find that he has to submit to
graft in order to do business. as have had
to submit to it in Europe, and he makes
kick at once.
And IL the newspapers hear about 1t
the story goes to the public. 1t is good
news because 1t Is unusual.
! don't object to the publication of such
news think it's a good thing helps
to keep graft down, and If the European
press. were as free as the American press
there'd be much less graft than there now
is in Europe. Oh. yes. such publications
here give us a bad name abroad. but we
can stand 1t. We'd better put up with the
exposures that come than not, because
nothing can purify the situation SO quickly
and SO thoroughly as exposure.
Graft in Russia.
IT have mentioned Great Britain as not
being altogether free from graft; but it is
not whit worse than any other European
country: they are all bad, all worse than
this country in that direction. according to
my personal and business experience.
And of all the European countries with
which / am familiar Russia is the worst as
you may ,well imagine. / didn't visit Rus
STA during my last trip abroad Things were
too unsettled there But 1 was In Russia
while they were modifying the troops for
the war with Japan. and I had some ex-
periences there which l shall not forget
very soon, l assure you.
Among our customers there is manu-
1900 people In a certain Russian city. The
manager of this concern holds about GO
per cent of the stock himself. This makes
him worth considerably more than a mil
lion dollars. Now. when / called upon him
the concern owed us a matter OF about
$1,000. which was already month overdue
In the course OF our first conversation I
suggested that he should give me a draft
for the amount What do you suppose he
suggested?
why. that l should give him. PERSONAL
ly, gratuity equivalent in roubles to about
$3.50 Not a discount, mind you. not a
concession to the concern for making the
payment then, but petty graft payment to
him, millionaire, Pay 1t? Why, GER
tainly. What else was l to do?
You have no idea. by the way, of the
difficulty of doing business In Russia. First
of all, you must know that there are no
directories in all Russia, no lists of bust
ness houses or the inhabitants of cities, ex-
cept those in the possession of the gov
errment.
When I went to see the manager of the
big manufacturing concern l have mem
toned l took carriage and directed the
driver to take me to certain number of
a certain street. At that number no one
had heard of the I was after. so
that / had to go to the bureau of informa-
ton at the police station.
Il found long line of people ahead of
me there, and was told that l had to
get ticket-price three kopeeks, about
a cent and half. 1 waited more than
an hour before my turn came. Then 1
was informed that as there We're eighteen
persons In the city of the same family
name as my customer. l must get seventeen
more tickets before the official would go
over his list for me. Back I had to go to
the ticket clerk and invest fifty-one more
kopecks in tickets, meantime losing my
place in the line. After another wait of
more than an hour l reached the proper
official again. My third ticket brought the
address of the man 1 wanted to find to
light. Therefore, I had been swindled out
of forty-five kopecks, the price of the if-
teen unusued tickets. The graft was too
petty to make any fuss about. but the prin-
ciple was bad as If 1t had amounted
to $4,000, instead of forty-ive kopecks.
Blocks in the Way Of Business.
But the most extraordinary part of
this story Is to follow. The correct ad-
dress of the man 1 wanted to find was
just one door from the place where I had
first sought him; yet my inquiry there,