The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-08-02

tnEs -
was formed for lending money 10 the nobil'
ity; another bank was created with the
name of Peasants Bank to enable the mosl
needy landlords TO sell out at high prices
TO the few prosperous peasants who had
elevated themselves In the social scale
by the practice OF usury upon their stsrv.
Ing neighbors.
Another OF Whites modern devices was
the introduction OF savinss banks, the out
como Of which demonstrated more clearly
than anything else that Russia instead OF
being the rich country Witte boasted 1t to
be is almost incredibly poor. The pennies
Of the non-starving minority Of the people
were collected in Government saloons.
post offices, railway stations, ships. bd-
racks and oven schools; but the pitiful
total reached was that Of about Ave rubles
from each depositor. The savings bank
system. however. was profitable to the
aristocrscy. for the Government pays low
interest. and when 1t lends gets high In
forest. White put the deposits In the saw
ings banks into his railways and land banks.
In 1902. nevertheless. after all Whites Dor
rowing. Internal and external. Russia had
only 1900 miles Of railway, asagainst 200 900
miles in the United States. Moreover. per-
haps q fourth Of Russia'srailroads aremerely
military. and most Of them are miserably
built and equipped. The complaints Of
their mode Of operation appear ceaselessly
In the Russian press. Every day freight Is
undelivered; factories are closed for the
lack Of supplies Of fuel; perishable goods
are ruined In transit, and whole trainloads
are destroyed by accidents. An even
worse disability 10 the almost complete
absence OF good wagon roads. Mr.. Walling
says that he has seen almost 10 paved
roads, except for a few miles outside OF
towns and across some of the estates Of
the Grand Dukes or Of the Gar. The
mileage OF paved roads in France is ono
hundred times and in Great Britain six
hundred times as great as Russia's.
The truth Is that Russia has none Of the
elements Of great wealth except the raw
materials Of the earth. She has neither q
great scientific agriculture. a great trans
portation system. a great manufacturing
industry. a great internal or a great ex-
ternal trade-in proportion to her popula-
ton. The value Of tho products Of Russian
manufacturing industry. as reckoned by
Witte in 1897. was less than o~ne-tenth, and
that of agriculture less than one-1fteenth
Of the corresponding values in the United
States. Witte has acknowledged that the
Russian farmers are in the economic posi-
ton occupied by the farmers Of Continental
Europe In 1900. The Russian farmer gets
z,l- Ma tktrl ~ tha Nrols,rf nm arrn that
the English or German farmer now obtains,
though tho former has q much better soil.
While the total wheat product Of the United
States increased moro than a third during
the last ten years. that Of Russia increased
less than one-tenth. or not as fast as the
population. During the same period while
Russian exports Of wheat remained about
the same ours nearly doubled. Yet as a
matter Of fact the economic structure Of
Russian society and the credit Of the Gov
ernment rests largely On the exports, Of
which two-thirds are grain and all but
8 per cent. raw or half raw products. The
export OF animals and animal products
from this vast empire. 50 much better
adapted to the purposes Of animal raising
than is thinly peopled Canada. is less than
one-tenth that Of the latter country. Russia
exports less wool than she imports. and less
than ten other countries smaller in respect
OF population. In the last ton years before
the Far Eastern war the total foreign
trade Of Russia increased rs per cent. The
exports. however. increased only IL per
cent, and the favorable balance Of trade.
or superiority of exports over imports. fell
one-third. 1t 10 true that In 10000
and 1905 this balance was doubled. The
Of this phenomenon. according
to Finance Minister ShipoT. was that the
peasants had become 30 necessitous that
they were forced to sell for export products
needed by their animals and themselves.
As 1t was the balance was only about
4oo. oC0,COo rubles, or not enough to pay
the annual interest on the foreign debts OF
the State. Of the railroads and OF the great
industrial enterprises. which also have
borrowed money abroad. Then came in
the years leoe and 1907 the periodical famines.
Our author predicts that in the coming
ten years-if every second or third year 10
famine year. as has be en- the case for a long
excess Of exports over inn
ports will scarcely average more than
2CO, 900 900 rubles. or less than half enough
to pay the interest. to say nothing Of tho
Of principal. on the foreign
debt.
Whether the Russian Government Is q
failure as a business institution or not. Mr..
walling submits that the nation under it's
present masters 10 not a successful bust
ness concern. The Government has the
advantage over the nation. however. in that
can secure money from abroad. through
the hope OF the lenders that either it will
be able to shoot and whip more taxes out
OF the Russian people or that it win lend
the aid Of it's rifles and cannon to the for
eign creditor. In either case the foreign
investor lie not lending In the ordinary eenso
the word. but buying an army OF n.er-
OF curse under such circum-
the Cars Government Is subject
q large degree to the wishes OF the cred
ltors to whom 1t must appeal year after
year. Even the most reactionery Of the
organs has protested angrily
that 1t is not the members OF the Duma but
the foreign inanciers that constitute Rus
real parliament. This. then. 10 where