New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-04-04
Russian Bureaucrats
Lose Graft on Goods
Shipped Via Sweden
Revolution Certain to End Treach.r
of Agents in Stockholm
Transit Company
By JOHN &. HOLME

By JOHN e.. H0LNE
Although the Russian revolution may k.,.
caused temporary delay in the execution a,
military plans. the changes IN goyernn..
ought 70 rcac. with immediate results q,
greater efficiency in one importan. depar.
ment of the Russian War Office This A.
partment. which has been the subjec, q,
much dissatisfaction and annoyance both /,
England and Russia and great deal =,
5oisterous merriment in Berlin, has zoe,
concsrncd in the shipment Of medical. ,urr I
cal and general hospital supplies and son,
other non-coutraband commodities from
England 70 Russia, via Sweden.
During the early stages OF the war. when
The need Of these supplies in Russia bseam,
acute the Engi IN and Russian government,
entered into an agreement with the Swed,.
government 70 ship goods over Swedish sol
10 effect greater speed IN trans portation. 7,
handle this trade on the Swedish railroad,
the British and Russians organized Ii.
Transit Company under the management q
one Of Swedcns most competent RAILROAD
men. The establishment Of the comDany
raised tornado OF protest in the Gernas
press. which was echoed with more or l,s
violence in pro-German Swedish papers n,
German press saw in the venture cor.
spiracy between Russia and Great BriDh
aided by Swedish Anglomaniacs, to cOrts
Swedish trade by creating q trsnspor
monopoly. From the German viewpoint Il,
establishment Of an official Anglo-Russir
transport service in Sweden was but h
entering wedge for capturing during H.
war trade within the kingdom which woul
never be relinquished. Count Won Reyentlo'
Interpreted Sweden's acquesoence in this
scheme as the first sign that the eOuntnI
was turning its back on Germany.
Supplies That We're Lost
The interests Of the two countries ven
looked after By English and Russian agent
stationed in Sweden. Russia dispatched for
this important service a typical collection
Of bureaucratic leeches. incompetents and
grafters The result Of their work soon be
came auparcnt. Consignments OF goods
which Russia needed badly were lost" with
astonishing regularity. They disappeared
somewhere in Sweden This, however. dc
not worry the old bureaucrats in PetrOgrsd
Neither were the Russian agents perturoee.
They were receiving good salaries from
thcir government, and depositing fortunes
in the banks OF Stockholm, Upsaa and other
Swedish cities where they were stationed
As for the lost supplies. they went straight
across the Baltic to German warehorses
b their rotous conduct in spending the.
ill-gotten gains the Russian agents cause
such a public scandal in Stockholm "a
one Swedish writer exposed the clique in
book which attracted a good deal Of after
ton, but did very little in remedying rH
tiers.
When England began TO tighten her b'o"'
ade on neutrals adjoining Germany to gr
vent the transshipment Of goods to the en-
envy Sweden issued a decree forbldding tn'
Transit Company from handling supplies
which Sweden was not allowed 10 impor
BIZ order OF the British government. 1hi'
led 20 further complications and Oh feeling
and finally Britain settled matters by per
hitting Sweden to import goods on th'
British prohibition list in amounts equal "a
the amounts shipped through the Transit
Company between England and Russia
However. neither England nor Russia tool
any steps 20 enforce guarantees on theii
own trade and the leakage to Germany con
tinued German writers gradually ceSsed
to attack the Transit Company, inAsmuch as
Germany was benefting by the treachery o
its agents.
Although the dispatches have not men
toned the matter, il may be taken fol
granted that there is quite number o.
Russian gentlemen Of fortune casting about
for new occupations in Sweden at the pes
ent moment. Il is not likely that the neH
Russian government retained the services OIL
Russia's faithless agents for long. Ite'
have probably been replaced by men who d
not lose" the shipments intrusted TO thei
care. Aside from these representatives o.
the old regime, Sweden has been forced Z
suffer the presence of an army of Russian
spies ever since the war began. These IN
vestigators will no longer be necessary FOL
Russia's governmental machinery, as Pro
fessor Miliukoff, Foreign Minister Of tn
provisional government. has given puoli
assurances that new Russia has no design
on the Baltic peninsula.