The Columbia evening Missourian., 1922-06-29
RUSSIAN PRESS
CAN'TPRODUCE
ENOUGH MONEY
Government Machinery Is Run.
ming a Losing Race With
Falling Value
of Ruble.
RIDE COSTS A MILLION
Price of Food and Clothing In.
creases 80 Per Cent in
Ten Weeks of
1922.

Er mira fff''
Moscow. June 29.-Prices Of food an
clothing increased $50 per cent in Mos
COW during the firs; ten weeks of 1927
according to official statistics just pub
lished. They are still going up. taste
than ever. largely due to the fall in valu
Of the paper ruble.
Rapidly as the government none,
printing presses are working, they ar
running a losing race with the high COS
of living. The government has not beer
able to publish rubles fast enough I,
make up for their decrease in purchasing
value.
Figures for December, 1921, show iha
while the quantity of paper money in
circulation was increased IS per cen
during that one month, prices went uI
100 per cent on the Moscow market.
Price tags in the store windows on
Arbal and kuzne:ski Most not in.
frequently grow TO twice their size in the
course of single week. Housewives.
tring to estimate their household bud.
gets more than few days in advance,
are at their wits ends. Merchants. es-
pecially provincial buyers obliged to lay
in stock for a month ahead, are confront
cd with problem that in more than a
few cases has meant bankruptcy.
The rapid drop of the paper rubIe has
created commercial and economic stu.
alton without precedent in world eco
nomic history.
Sensational a. were the chutcs of the
Austrian crown and the German mark
on foreign bourscs. they never dropped
in actual purchasing value inside the
countries themselves with anything even
approaching the rate of the Russian
rubIe during the last four months.
WILDCAT SPECULATION
Without any stable medium of ex-
change the Moscow market has been
converted into wildcat field of spccu-
Iaiion. in which the spoils 90 to the
lucky and the quick.
In paying their employees, of course,
both the government and private firms
have been obliged to shift to theoreti-
cal gold basis. Salaries are reckoned in
50 many gold rubles per month. the ac-
iual amount of paper rubles varying ac-
cording to the average rate during the
month, or week, as the period may be.
From the employees point Of view, this
has partly compensated for the skyrock-
eiing of prices. as salaries increased with
every drop of the paper ruble, millions
Of which have been poured into circula-
lion weekly through the various govern
mental departments.
But rapidly as salaries were linked.
the price tags always managed to keep
little ahead, forcing the ultimate consum-
er to make up the difference as best he
selling personal belongings or
specializing.
The disturbing effect Of the constantly
shifting prices upon business in general.
however. could not be eliminated by any
hypothetical figuring in gold rubles. |
has become a literal night.
mare
Longtime contracts. of course. have |
been rendered out of the question. All
business has been reduced to a series of |
quick grab il on the wing" deals. Busi-
ness men in Moscow are holding all their |
'apiiaI either in nonper;, ,l.able products
1r foreign currency-p:ircipa!iy Ame:i-
an dollars and English pounds. Even
he German mark is used by perhaps one
bird, according to recent estimates, it
being terra 6rma Itself. compared with |
he soviet ruble.
ADVANCE OF PRICES
During the period. January to March
IS -four increased coo per cent; bread.
BOO; meat, 700; butter. 900; potatoes.
100; sugar. 49C; shoes, l,01C; soap, 900;
iobaccg, 400.
Mix, however, and Kerosene went up
only cooper cent.
Matches are also at the bottom of the
Iisi. having increased only 200 per cent.
Five months ago one could ride three
n four hours in a droishky for 100000
ubics. Now it costs 100000 just TO
limb in and very, very few rides are
hort enough to be made for less than
million.
Last fail the best seat in the opera
'ou'd be had for $4,000 rubles. Today
N average 'partcrre" lrear half of the
,roUnd Hoorl brings a million. and the