Evening star., 1921-08-07
RUSSIAN RAILWAYS
BIG famine
0isorganization of Roads
Makes Distribution of
Food Impossible.
By the Associated Press,

By the Associated Press.
RIGA, Latvia, July 18. - Chief
among the causes OF the threatened
famine in soviet Russia this year.
which bolshevik newspapers them
selves admit is likely to be even
worse than last year. is the utter dis
Organization OF the railway traffic.
This DISCRIMINATION has become
worse, despite efforts of the soviet
government to alleviate 1T.
Little or none OF the locomotives
and other railway equipment ordered
from abroad. has as yet arrived. The
inadequate supply of workable roll
ing stock has. in the meantime. been
even further depleted by the neces-
sity Of fulfilling peace treaties which
| soviet Russia made with the Baltic
states. such as Latvia. To these
states Russia has turned over scores
OF locomotives, hundreds OF cars and
other equipment. much of which had
been taken from the Baltic states by
the czarfstfc and provisional govern
ments Of Russia in their hasty mill
tary evacuations before the advanc-
ing Germans.
Roadbeds Deteriorated.
Added to this shortage of equip
ment is an almost generally prevail
ing condition of deteriorated road
1 beds. The commissariat OF communi-
cations. says a Moscow dispatch TAX
en- from various bolshvik newspapers.
is expecting soon a new railway traf-
nc crisis. The tracks are SO much
in need Of repair that next spring.
onicials say, it will be dangerous to
travel on many lines.
Embankments have sunken down.
ties are rotten, rails are worn out III
the chief forest committee is not able
4 to SUNNY nv the hQpinninep pf
nearly 100000 ties, it will be me-
cessary to interrupt traffic on some
main lines. Even If it were possible
to get the necessary materials. says
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 repaired.
stripping the other track of it's rails
to do this. in order to have at least
fairly efficient single track.
Small Revenue.
The railway commissariat has little
revenue because most travellers are
government officials and very seldom
are travelling as 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 of food
to the cities. Practically no one pays
fares. but the government has just
instituted a new tariff. by which it
hopes to charge for tickets. in boil
/, shevik rubles. about two Thousand
times the fares prevailing in 1917.
The railway commissariat budget
calls for the expenditure of 34S. .000.-
100000 of rubles for 1921 and shows
no expected revenue. To transport
| sufficient food to the cities is one
problem: TO produce in factories
sufficient articles to barter with the
1 &C n G In ta hnr n ae
latter tack is admittedly difficult. The
, government estimates called for
manufacture of tradable articles to
j the value of 1So 100000 of pools leach
! ers before the food supply conferences
at Moscow expressed the opinion,
I bolshevik newspapers themselves say.
that the government would be lucky
to get by this means half of that
estimate.
Imports Essential.
\ Brukanoff, speaking at the confer
ence, gave what he said was accurate
4 data Of the decrease in industry in
comparison with pre-war times. The
1920 production. he said. of iron ore
was 2k per cent of pre-war: salt. IL
] per cent; coal, 20 per cent; pig iron.
az per cent: other raw iron. 2 to 3
J per cent: cotton manufactures. to. 6
!, per cent; linen thread. 25 per cent:
matches. Is per cent; sugar. per
! cent. and tobacco. per cent.
Therefore" said Brukanoff. home
! | manufactures will in no way be
sufficient for goods exchanged with
I the peasants From abroad must be
imported at least eighty to ninety
: millions of gold rubles' worth of
goods. but under present circum-
stances this is impossible"
Halatoff. one of the actual directors
OF supply. said the government would
be lucky to get from all sources 30o.-
] e0o. 600 poods. and. therefore, either
i, foreign imports or decreased ration
: ing would be necessary.
n Complicating both the food and
transport crises. is the extremely Sc
\ rious fuel shortage. causin. on one
hand curtailment of rail traffic, and
4 on the other, the closing down OF
factories. By imports from abroad
the government lis endeavoring to get
coal to operate the factories, but
while the third internationale was
| approving the English strike the
J strike was delaying shipments of coal
= to petroHrad for this purpose.