The New York herald., 1921-08-07
BIZ the Associated Press.


Chief among the causes of the threat
ened famine in Soviet Russia this
year, which Bolshevik newspapers
themselves admit is likely to be even
worse than last Year, is the utter dis
| Organization of the railway traffic,
This disorganization has become
worse, despite efforts of the Soviet
Government to alleviate it.
Little or none of the locomotives
from abroad has as yet arrived The
| inadequate supply OF workable rolling
stock has, in the meantime, been even
further depleted by the necessity OF
fulfilling peace treaties which Soviet
Russia made with the Baltic States
such as Latvia. To these States
Russia has turned over scores of loco
motives, hundreds of cars and other
equipment, much of which had been
taken from the Baltic States by the
Czaristic and provisional Governments
| of Russia in their hasty military
excavations before the advancing
Germans.
Roadbeds Need Repairs.
Added to this shortage of equipment
is an almost generally prevailing condi-
ton of deteriorated roadbeds. The
Commissariat of Communications. says a
Moscow despatch taken from various
Bolshevik newspapers, is expecting soon
a new railway traffic crisis. The tracks
are so much In need of repair that next
spring, officials say. 1t will be danger
Gus to travel on many lines.
Embankments have sunken down, ties
| are rotten, rails are worn out. II the
Chief Forest Committee Is not able to
supply. by the beginning of 1922, nearly
4 $4,000, 900 ties 1t will be necessary to
interrupt traffic on some main lines.
/ The Railway Commissarlat has little
revenue, because most travellers are Gov
\ ernment officials and very seldom are
travelling private persons. To travel
4 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 fare, but the
Government has just Instituted new
tariff by which it hopes to charge for
tickets in Bolshevik rubles. about two
thousand times the fares prevailing in
1917.
The railway commissariat budget calls
for the expenditure of 34S, 900, 600, 900
rubles for 1921 and shows no expected
revenue. To transport sufficient food
to the cities Is one problem; to pro-
duce In factories sufficient articles to
barter with the peasants for grain Is an
other. This latter task is admittedly
difficult. The Government estimates
called for manufacture OF tradable
articles to the value OF 160,o00,000
pools (each SO pounds) of grain.
Speakers before the food supply confer
ence at Moscow expressed the opinion,
Bolshevik newspapers themselves say,
that the Government would be lucky to
get by this means half OF that estimate
Complicating both the food and trans
port crises Is the extremely serious fuel
shortage, causing on one hand curtail-
ment OF rail traffic, and on the other
the closing down OF factories BY i'm
ports from abroad the Government is
endeavoring to get coal to operate the
factories, but while the Third Interna-
tionale was approving the English strike
tho strike was delaying shipments OF
coal 20 Petrograd for this purpose.
Economic Transition.
Soviet newspapers themselves admit
that the famine which threatens the
country may be even worse than In
preceding years Of the Bolshevist regime
On the other hand. the. Bolshevist Gov
ernment contends that. Notwithstanding
the great difficulties attending the
change Of Lenine's policies during what
il terms as the present period OF transi-
tion from civil war to peace. Russia Is
slowly. yet steadily advancing on the
road TO restitution Of her economic life.
The agricultural machinery which has
arrived from abroad will be Of little as
sistance this year. 1t is admitted The
crop failures IN many Governments have
affected so large proportion OF the
area sown that the machinery already on
hand will he ample 70 harvest this years
crop. In fact. there are more machines
than live stock 10 draw them. and be-
cause OF the drought the already de-
pleted supply Of draft animals Is threat
cned with further extinction because
pasture lands arc drying up.
The Riga Bolshevik newspaper, Nopv
Put. recently printed from Moscow an
extremely frank admission. II said:
Several months already have passed
since the new economic course has been
inaugurated in Soviet Russia. But TO
put. as Il were. the engine on a new
be soon accomplished. The country Is
large. the population is sparse, commu-
nication and roads are generally bad
and the transport service is dislocated.
The same Is the case with the postal
and telegraph traffic.
~-he new economic policy could not.
OF course, az vet have yielded any ap-
preciable results. At the same time,
| during the transition period the eco
nornic situation Of Russia Is AT present
an exceptionally grave one. The old dis
tribution system has been abolished and
does not yield anything while tho new
(tax In klnd) system can be expected to
yield results only after several months.
Nevertheless. everything points to the
fact that Soviet Russia. Notwithstanding
the great difficulties she has 10 face In
the present period of transition. Is
slowly yet steadily advancing on the
road 70 restitution Of her economic lifc."