The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-08-09
ROADS UTTERLY
 DIS0RCANIzED

Riga, Iatv1a, Aug. 9-CBy the As causes of the threatened famine in Soviet Russia this year, which Bo1- shevfk newspapers themselves admit is likely to be even worse than last year, IS the utter disorganiation of the railway traffic. This disorgani zaion has become worse, despite the effarts of the Sovet government to al leviate it.
 Little or none of the 1ocomo otives from abroad has arrived. The made quate supply of workable rolling stock has, in the meantime, been even further depleted by the necessity viet Russia made with the Baltic states, such as Latvia- To these states Russia has turned over scores of locom olives, hundreds of cars and other equipment, much of which has been taken from the Baltic states by the Czaristic and provisional govern mentS of Russia in their nasty m1li- tary evacuations before the advancing Germans.
 Added to this shortage of equip ment Is an almost generally prevail ing condition of deterioriated road beds. The Commissariat of Commu- nications, says a Moscow dispatch papers, is expecting soon a new rail- way traffic crisis. The tracks are so much in need of repair that next Spring, officials say, it will be danger ous to travel on many ines-
 Entertainments have sunken down, ties are rotten, rails are worn out. If the Chief Forest Committee is not able to supply 6g o the the beg1nniing i II 3I EI be necessary to interrupt traffic on some main lines. Even if it were possible to get the necessary mater ials, says the dispatch, it is probable that through scarcity of labor or some other unexpected crisis, it will be necessary to stop traffic on some branch lines. On double track lines, only one track is to be repalred. to do this in order to have at least a fairly efficient single track.
 The Railway CoInmissariat has lit tie revenue because most travellers are government officials and very seldom are travelling private persons: To travel one must get a, pocket full of permits, unless he desires to take his chances with the mobs riding on the tops of trains carrying bags or food to the cities. Practically no one pays fares, but the government has just completed new tariff by when it hopes to charge for tickets, in Bol- shevik rubles, about two thousand times the fares prevailing in 1917.
 The Railway Commissariat budget calls for expenditure of 34S.0OO,0Oo,- 900 of rubles for 1921 and shows no expected revenue. To transport sui fcient articles to barter with the peasants for. grain is another Inls latter task is admittedly dlfflcuit. The government estimates called for man 1facture of tradable articles to the va1ue of 16O, 100000, of poods, (each as nounds) of grain. Speakers be- fore the food supply conference at Moscow expressed the opinion, Bol- shevik newspapers themselves say, that the government would be lucky to get. by this means, half of that es- timate. eo-- ance gave what he said was accurate data of the decrease in industry Tn comparison with pre-war times. -The 1920 production, he said, of iron ore was IA per cent of pre-war; sat-, 17 per cent; coal, 20 per cent; pig iron 3 IS per cent; other raw iron, 2 to 3 per cent; cotton manufactures to per cent; linen thread, 25 per cent; matches, 15 per cent; sugar per cent; and tobacco per cent
 s.Fherefore," said Brukanoff, home manufac ctures will in no way be suf- ficient for goods exchanged with the peasants From abroad must be nm norted at least eighty to ninety m1i- lions of gold rubles worth of goods, but under present circumstances this is impossible.
 of supply. said the government would be lucky to get from all sources 30o,- 900 900 poods and, therefore, either foreign imports or decreased ration ing would be necessary.
 Complicating both the food and transnort crises, is the extremely ser ious fuel shortage, causing on one hand curtailment of rail traffic and on the other, the closing down of fac tories. By imports from abroad the government is endeavroing to get coal to operate the factories, but while inc Third Internationale was approv- ing the English strike, the strike was delaying shipments of coal to Petro- grad for this purpose