New-York tribune., 1920-11-25
ralle d Propaganda
,,ory Described as Effort
By Lenine Government TO
Deceive People of u. S.

The concession received by Wash
|.gton D. Vanderlip. of Los Angeles,
lam the Soviet government of Russia
Id reports that the Bolshevist govern
LINT had contracted with him for the
|srcbase Of one billion dollars worth
!. woods in the United States "have lit
/. basis in fact and are not to be taken
srously,7 according to a statement
s.de public yesterday by the Ameri-
au-Russian Chamber of Commerce, an
,,esnization composed of many promi-
.,a, American business men and fnan-
.srs interested in Russian trade.
According to the chamber, the re-
;or.s Of vanderlip's agreement with
10 Soviet government are given out
argely for propaganda purposes" The
sncession reported to have been
csnted to Nanderlip, officials of the
ssmber declared, "is barren and icy
sss.e, commercially valueless"
The whole story" officials said, ais
.sdOubtedly intended to deceive the
american public into belief that
,asiness with the Soviet government is
'ossible."
The Chambers Statement
The statement Of the American
Russian Chamber of Commerce, pre-
sred by Jerome Landfeld, vce-presi-
lent Of the organization, in behalf of
he organizations officials, follows in
art:
considerable stir has been made
y press dispatches announcing that
certain Washington y. Vanderlip had
cqured from the Soviet government a
ixty-year concession for a tract of
10000 square miles in northeastern
Iberia, Including Kamchatka. and fur
her that the Soviet government had
ontracted with him for the purchase
( 81 900 000.000 worth of merchandise
0 the United States in 1921. Investi-
alton shows that these reports are
-ven out largely for propaganda pur-
oses and that the transactions in
re not TO be taken seriousl
an 1900. at the time OF the gold ex~
itement at Nome, the Russian govern
aent granted q concession for. this ter
tory in northeastern Siberia, and it
'as explored without finding anything
I value In general it is barren
nd icy waste, commercially valueless.
"A few years later certain Wash
agton y. Nanderlip, who claimed TO be
civil engineer, wandered through
ONE of this country among the Eski-
lOs, and afte''ward wrote up his cX-
eriences in an American magazine
'ecently it appears that he persuaded
ONE wealthy Californians TO stake
in for further explorations, and in
ladiyostok fell in with a Bolshevik
ommissar who formerly lived in
merlca and who passed him on to the
oyiet authorities at Moscow.
"We do not know whether he rep
scented himself as relative of Mr..
rank A. Nanderlip,, or whether the
osheyiks themselves took advantage
the similarity of names, but in any
him the old Russian concession men
0"Vu ana tHtH StNt Out propaganda
him as the head of d gi-
'ntic American syndicate with which
icy had entered into business rela-
Ons.
The whole story is undoubtedly in
'nded to deceive the American public
Ito belief that business with the
oyiet government is possible and to
lhuence public opinion toward recog-
ltlon Of the Soviet government, a pre-
'eedlng which would legalize their
azure and confscation of the pop
rty OF Individuals, companies, banks,
&C., the proceeds of which they would
Sc both for their enormous propa
anda abroad and for the purchase of
0cds and equipment with which to
Folong their career Of plumber.
word comes from England that the
ntish government is on the point of
ltering into an agreement with the
0Vet government for opening trade.
view of the experiences which they
ave already had with the Krassin mis-
on we are inclined to believe that
tile Will come Of it"