Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1914-04-11

St Nicholas II hopes
to restore his lost authority by estao-
fishing control over all the tinanclal
resources Of his vast empire. The aim
OF his present policy and Of the pollcy
of his court and ministers, is TO create
a money trust with political ENDS
This tact has long been suspected oy
Russian economists, who ascrlbe 10
such motives the vast growth III nus
sias revenue and gold reserve, anu
the Increasing grip which the state u
getting on private industry. the sus-
piciou that this is a conscious state POI
icy is confirmed by the revelations
published in Vienna BY an ex-ofclaI
of the ministry of finance
The state money trust scheme Is the
creation of the state comptroller, NJ
Kharitonof " Kharitonof Is one OF
the ablest Of the more reacuonary
high officials To the public he IS best
known bv the Intentionally lax man
ner in which he exercises his tuhc-
tiony Of controlling state expenditure
and by the pliaucy with which ne al
lows money voted for specific pur-
pose TO be spent on different aims
Kharitonoff four years ago presenter
to the car memorandum declaring
that the financial Independence OF the
local governing bodies is a menace
to state security, and that the only
way 70 check the growing power oil
these bodies is to starve them OF
funds. The taxes which they could be
prevented collecting for local needs
would easily, said Kharitonof, be di-
verified into the central treasury.
Money" said Kharitonoff in his
memorandum, lis the chief power IN
the modern state. Your majestys au-
tocracy was threatened in the past
mainly by the rise of a wealthy and
independent bourgeois existing with
out favor of the state. The ideal
should be rather relatively poor peo
pie and a rich state, and everything
should be done TO attain this aim
The first thing is TO continue the pol
icy of concentrating wealth. and IN
creasing state control over wealth
which is in private hands.
This program for a state money
trust was approved Of, continues
Kharitonoff. by Count White. Wher
minister of finance In 1900. Witte go
the car to consent to a law which
forbade the zemstvos, or provincial
administrative council. to increase tax
alton more than a limited amount an
nuallv. Whites aim was thus to dl
vert money, which might be taken II
the form of taxes, into the centra
treasury. The more starved tn
zemstvos the fatter the imperia
budget In many other respects Witt
concentrated money In the hands o
= the state. and did everything to pre-
vent concentration in private or 4
a local government hands.
S AS a result of Whites policy and G
the policy outlined by Kharitonof
r Russia. which is the poorest countr
in Europe. is the richest state. TIL
economist. Afanasieff, shows that tn
average annual peasant income
only $3.50; and peasants of this kin
! make up four-fifths of the population
Although Russia has 160,000.000 pop
a lation, her total wealth, including Ian
at present sale prices, is only $4,000
100000; while England with fourt
of that population is worth $4,000
Q 100000, and Germany with a thir
l. population is worth S75,000.000,0 90
d The national income of Russia is lie:
d than half that of England or Franc
g Yet OF all European states Russia h;
s the biggest annual budget. Her pre-
g ent budget is over one billion five hu
Is dred million dollars: whereas the Br
S. ish is $3.50, 600. 900, and the French ar
s