Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1914-04-15

st. Petersburg Nicholas II hopes
/ TO restore his lost authority by estab-
fishing control over all the financial
resources Of his vast empire. The aim
OF his present policy and Sof the policy
OF his court and ministers, Is to create
{ money trust with political ends
This fact has long been suspected by
Russian economists, who ascribe to
such motives the vast growth in RUS
ssia's revenue and gold reserve. and?
the increasing grip which the state is
getting on private ndustry. The sus-.55
picions that this is a conscious state pol.
Icy is confirmed by the revelations
published In Vienna by an ex-ofacial
Of the ministry OF finance.
The state money trust scheme is the.
creation Of the state comptroller, M.
3Khar1tonoff. NJ. Kharitonon is one Of
the ablest Of the more reactionary
high officials. Il To the public he is best
known by the Intentionally lax man
ner In which he exercises his func-
tons OF controlling state expenditure,
and by the pliancy with which he al
lows money voted for q specific pur-
pose ito be spent on different aims.
I Kharitonon four years ago presented
to- the car a memorandum declaring
that the financial independence Of the
local governing bodies Is q menace
to state security, and that the only
way to- check the growing power Of.
these bodies Is to starve them Of.
funds. The taxes which they could be
prevented collecting for local needs
would easily, said Kharitonoff, y be adi-2
3verted into the central treasury.
Money, 4 said Kharitonoff In his
memorandum, lis the chief power In
the modern state. Your majesty's au-
tocracy was threatened In the past
mainly w the rise Of wealthy and
independent bourgeois existing with
out / favor OF the state. The ideal
should be rather a relatively poor peo--
pie and a rich state, and everything
should be done to attain this aim
The first thing is to continue the poll
Icy Of concentrating wealth. and in:
creasing state control over wealth
which is in private hands. 4
This program for a state money
trust was approved Of continues
Kharitonoff. by Count Witte When
minister of finance in 1900. Witte got
the car to consent to a law which
forbade the zemstvos. or provincial
administrative council, to increase tax
alton more than q limited amount an
nually. Witte's aim was thus to di-
vert money, which might be taken In
the form Of taxes. into the central
treasury. The more starved the
xemstvos the fatter the imperial
budget. In many other respects Witte
concentrated money In the hands OF
the state, and did everything to pre-
vent concentration IN private or In
local government hands.
AS q result Of Whites policy and OF
the policy outlined by Kharitonoff,
Russia. which Is the poorest country
IN Europe. is the richest state. The
economist, Afanasietf, shows that the
average annual peasant income III
only SIS $50: and peasants OF this kind
make up four-fl fths Of the population.
Although Russia has II g ,000,0 5popu-
lation. her total wealth. including land
at present sale prices, sis only $35. 000.-
000, 900; while England with q fourth
Of that population Is d worth SOS, 000.-
000, 900. and Germany with a third
is worth $4,000. 000, 900:
The national income of Russia Is less
than half that Of England or France.
Yet Of all European states Russia has
the biggest annual budget. Her pres
ent budget Is over one billion FIVE hun
dred million dollars whereas the Brit
ishI ID $3.50 900, 900, and the French and