The sun., 1919-07-27

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L Future, DIR. Joseph Goldstein, care
full student and a prolific writer on
international economies, by suecinct state
ments of facts and an exhaustive series of
charts and diagrams sets forth the condl-
ton of Russian resources and trade at the
beginning Of the war, and her require
mcnts for her proper development when
stable social and political conditions shall
have been restored.
The book is frankly written for the pur-
pose of directing the attention of Amerl-
can and British capital to the Russian
field, and most of its comparisons are with
American and Canadian statistics. To the
ordinary reader these comparisons, strlk-
ing and Illuminating as they are, trans
form a technical treatise into a vivid and
alluring story of opportunities past and
to come-allowing always, however, for
considerable wilful optimism on the part
of the author concerning present condl-
tions, conditions which he dlsmisses
uRullN anu a lulu uClNOuoly'
DIR. Goldstein naturally attributes Rus
sia's lack of development to the tentaele
like restrictions of her old bureaucratic
Government. This Government he holds
responsible for the three conditions to
which he ascribes Russia's stagnation; the
small railroad mileage in the country, the
small number of joint stock companies en-
gagged in her industries and the political
attitude toward England which dis
couraged British capital from entering
the Russian field.
In railroad building, in agriculture, In
the extension of foreign trade, in the de-
velopment of ports, waterways and all
natural resources the author outlines
boundless field of opportunity.
So backward is Russia in railroad build
higher mileage being, when the land
area of the two countries is considered,
something ike one-twelfth that of the
United States-that the author estimates
an expenditure of $500, 100000 during
the next ten years as necessary to carry
out a building programme and insure
proper funetioning of a system that
would raise Russian railroads to the level
of those of Austria Hungary at the be-
ginning of the war.
Although Russia's yield of grain in
creased ~ per cent. during the eighteen
years preceding 1912, the productivity of
her agricultural labor remains lower than
that of any of her competitors in the
world grain market. Canada for instance
produces twice as much wheat per acre as
does Russia. This condition is undoubt-
edly due to the limited use of agricultural
machinery in Russia and the negligible
amount of live stock per capita Where
Argentina has $500 head of cattle to each
1000 inhabitants, Russia has only 800;
and those of greatly inferior quality and
weight.
Dr. Goldstein points out by graphic
diagrams the manner In which the foreign
trade of Russia shifted from England to
Germany In 1850 England's share In
Russia's commerce was twice the size of
Germany's, but in the year before the war
Germany's share was four times that of
England. To insure Russia a proper
participation in the worlds trade he be-
ieves that she must, after improving her
agricultural outfit, provide herself with
an extensive system of grain elevators,
improve her ports and inland waterways,
and begin the development of a merchant
marine
Russia's merchant marine has long been