Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-06-16

sian embassy at Washington, who, aided
by his able young secretary, Mr. Viaol-
mir Ananieff of Moscow, has been carry
ing on, with intelligence and ZEAL
campaign for a better commercial I'M
Outstanding between our nation ana
i his. and it demonstrates the WISDOM
of the movement on the part of our
government to send commercial at
taches abroad to build up our foreign
trade. When we can have men in Russia
to represent our business interests there
like those Of Russia are looked after mere
by Mr.. Medzikhoffsky, and when some
American phlanthropist does for us in
Russia what Mr.. Agafonoff is preparing
to do here for his country, or, better still,
when our government offers the building
site here and the Russian government
puts up the building and installs the per- per-
manent exhibit, closer business and
social union will be cemented between
two of the greatest nations on the globe,
and that is worth while.
Star Article Submitted.
The writer is in a position to state
that Mr.. Medzikhoffsky, impressed with
the growing Importance and magnitude
of our trade and with the need of
better means of exchange of general In
formation between the two countries,
last year forwarded a translation to the
Russian minister of commerce Of an
article which appeared in The Star adj
vocating the establishment of Russian
building in Washington. Mr.. Medzikhoff-
sky added his own strong personal in
dorsement to the plan, which contem-
plated the erection and maintenance
here Of a permanent commercial agency
with exhibits of export wares and other
objects of interest pertaining to Rus
sian business, which should do for COM
mercal interests what the embassy does
for political and social relations. COM
mercial treaty will. of course, have to
be adopted between the two nations be-
fore such an establishment can come
here, but the fact that the attache APP
proved the plan means much.
The contests of the future may largely
lie in the field of commercial activity
rather than in the military line. and it
will be well for US in that day II we
have with US. in the battleflelds Of trade.
that mighty nation about which we still
know SO little, but which. in the dark
days of the civil war. gave US tangible
proof of her sincere and practical SYM
pathy. Russia is not our competitor In
the worlds trade; we can deal with each
other to mutual advantage.
Sources Of Information Meager.
Our sources of Information about this
mighty empire have thus far been not
only meager, but full Of prejudice. 1t is
inconceivable that a nation of one hun
bred and fifty millions OF people. whose
territory extends almost within sight OF
our shores, can have no lesson to teach
US and no virtues for US to emulate NO
longer should it be said OF us that we
know more about Africa than we do about
the land Of the car; that the wild tribes
of India and Java are better known to
US than the enlightened people OF Perm.
Archangel and Kherson that the Rus
slams translate one hundred books from
English to every one that we translate
from Russian, although their literature
Is fully abreast of modern thought and in
some lines leads it, and that we are more
interested in the dead languages OF Ho-
mer and Cicero than in the living, beau
tiful and expressive medium through
| which Pushkin, Dostoievsky, Tolstoi, Go
gol and Turgenieff gave new thoughts to
the world.
There is a widespread impression that
Russian Is the most difficult of all Ian
guages to acquire, but the fact is that 1t
| alphabet Of thirty-six letters. including
| twelve voweIs, Is phonetic and easily
| learned and the pronunciation Is not so
difficult for US as the French. The
aspects denoting the most delicate shad-
ings of an action. enables Tolstoi to say In
| a word of two syllables that q coachman
| 'swore once vigorously and no more
| rugnuD. and the strong, virile style OF
such writer's cannot be expressed in full
in any other language.
Measures Which Please the Ear.
| An Italian-like softness pervades the
poems Of Lermontoff, such as his Cos
sack Cradle Song and Forth Upon Ny
Lonely Way Wander and the mellinu.
Gus measures of Pushkin will please the
ear even Of those who do not understand
the language. This will surprise those
who think 1t harsh and ugly. Russian
has successfully been studied and IL now
the fayorite study of a number Of Amer.