New Britain herald., 1921-07-14
RUSSIAN TRADE NOW
 WILL O' THE WISP
European and American Cores.
 pondents Think It a Joke

Berlin, July 14.-Russian trade has European neWspapermen and Amer1- can newspaper correspondents in the European capitals. Scarcely day passes that some Bolshevist agent does not announce a gigantic contract entered into by the Russian govern ment with some great concern, usual- ly a German or English corporation.
 If all the locomotives and cars which Russia has been reported to have contracted for in the last year were delivered the former empire would require additional trackage to accommodate them.
 At one time an announcement was made than 10000 locomotives were contracte for in Germany alone When the report was run to ground it was learned that an actual deposit had been made on a contract for 100 locomotives, and it cannot be learned that any Of these have been delivered as yet.
 Bo1shevist agents also announced contract for 10000 tractors had been made with an American automobile factory The owner of this factory advised the Soviet agents that deliv- cry of tho tractors would begin as soon as Bolshevist agents had Soviet gold turned into Swedish coin and de- posted in a Stockholm bank. The gold was not forthcoming. The trac- tors were not shipped, but the Soviet propa gandists failed to herald that fact as widely as they did the sign ing of the contract.
 One American concern which shipped 30 tractors to Reval without having any deposit on them still has the tractors in storage in Esthonia and there is no indication that the Soviet officials will fulfill their agree ment to take them.
 Since the commercial agreements were framed by the Bolsheviki with Germany and Great Britain there has been a noticeable cooling of the Bo1- shevist foreign representatives toward America For the moment they pre- tend to be extremely indifferent as to whether they establish closer trade relations with America. But this is apparently not giving any un- easiness to Americans who have ac- tualIv been in contact with Bolshevist agents and have tried to close con- tracts on a strictly business basis. A Danish exporter and importer, who is representing many American firms in their efforts to get actual contracts with Soviet government, backed by substantial cash advances, told the correspondent: '1 am donc chasing after this threatened Bolshe- vist business. There have been some contracts closed. I know a few men who have sold the Bolsheviki stuff which they actually had to have. know men who have made a lot of I money out of their business. But I | know a lot more who have signed up l wonderful paper contracts that never came to anything. That has been my experience. I have been able to | get wonderful promises, but I couldn't get any gold, and l dodnt want to have lot of stuff stacked up in storage at Reval as many men the Baltic without advance payments | sufficient to insure the delivery and final payment"
 German business men are apparent ly not enthusiastic about Russian business on the ters which the Bo.-
 chevist agents offer, and there is no | disposition to execute wholesale con-
 tracts without something more deh-
 rite in the way of payment than So-
 vet signatures. German papers con-
 nue to be skeptical about the possi-
 tility of trade with Soviet Russia. es-
 pecially since the Soviet government
 las refused to grant admission tc
 many German business representative
 who have sought to pnake an inves.
 tigation of economical conditios there Recently number of German fur
 dealers and leather merchants asked
 permission to visit Russian, but were
 denied vises. This caused much com.
 ment in commercial circles. The So
 vet government said it would admit I these men if the government desired
 to send them as official trade experts