Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1915-09-03
RICH IN RESOURCES.
Russia Faces Indefinite Future Of
Warfare Undismayed.
1.-THE Most Powerful Country Of the
Future" Was Just Finding Itself
When War Broke Out
Wealth Untouched.

Washington, D. C.-With the great.
est wholesale destruction of treas
ure in all history taking place. with
Wainwright economic losses piling up
in such stupendous aggregates as no
Y'dnic ever caused, the question as to
hoW long each of the belligerents can
stand the fearful strain upon it's re-
sources is becoming as important and
lully as interesting as are any of
those more stirring questions grow
Ing out OF the purely military phase of
the world-War. In a bulletin just is
sued. the National Geographic society
sketches the pre-war economic condi.
ton of Russia, which, having expend-
ed $4,000, 200. having lost hundreds
of millions of dollars in foreign trade,
and cities and provinces worth hun
dreds of millions more, is facing an
indefinite future of warfare undis-
mayed, confident. The bulletin reads
Commercial and industrial re''olu-
ton were stirring in Russia before the
war; the work Of opening it's magnif.
cent domain was being rapidly carried
forward; plans for developing it's al.
most unlimited resources were in
process Of confident organization ;
modern cities were springing up like
mushrooms in rich Siberia: textile,
metal and other industries were lay
ing firm foundations, and foreign trade
had been brought up to about $780,
100000. What has been called the
most powerful country in the future
was finding itself, and was preparing
to enter upon the centuries Of expan-
sion that it will need to exhaust the
possibilities of its boundless natural
wealth.
About two and one-half times
larger than the United States. with
an area Of .S,650,OO0 square miles and
a population of l70,00O,000, which Is
increasing at the rate of 100000 a
year. Russia's natural resources re-
semble those of this country, and are
proportionate. 1t has nearly 900 OO0,-
600 acres of forest-compared with
the 544,4OO,O0O acres of the United
States-much Of which, even now, y
carefully administered, and which, one
day, will be the worlds first source OF
timber. 1t has 250,000000 acres Of
land under cultivation, while this
country has a cultivated area of
about twice as great; but Russia can
expand her farm lands twenty-fold and
still leave virgin land to the future.
It can become the granary and the
stock farm Of the world.
Scarcely two score years have
passed since Russia began with seri-
Gus purpose the task of her internal
development. Progress, during the
first thirty years of this period was
hesitant. In the last decade. however,
it has doubled it's foreign trade, Of
which Sc per cent is exports; still
this foreign commerce is less than half
that of the United States. But Rus.
STA before the war had scarcely be.
gun to gather steam for the prose-
cution of her tasks. There remain
hundreds of millions of acres of fat
lands to be brought under the pillow;
tens of thousands of factory plants to
build; rich mines to be opened; great
railway and canal systems to be
built; millions of home-builders to be
moved into Siberia, the silver East
of the cars empire, and many mil.
lions of illiterates to be educated to
a higher standard of life and eff
cheney. :
Russia is a vast storehouse of raw
materials, and must for many years
remain a purchaser, Of machinery and
manufactured goods in increasing
quantities. Yet the mills of Russia
consume $1S0,0O0,000 worth of raw cot.
ton annually. and Russian iron and
steel rails have already found their
way into competition in the markets
Of the world. Germany bought more
from Russia than any other three
countries, and sold to the Russians
about half of all their imports. These
two empires did tremendous, thriv.
ing business with one another before
the war, and great stream OF Ger.
a. {ex~ 10 h avv1