Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-07-04
RUSSIA AT THE HAGUE.

insisted that the first thing 10 DC
discussed at that conference was
the amount of credits to be turned
over to Russia by the allied gov
ernments. This was granted, 1t
seems. Thereupon the Russians
submitted their minimum figures.
They put the sum in gold dollars
so there could be no mistake about
it. It comes to more than a billion
and a half of gold dollars-more
than half of the gold in the United
States treasury. 1t is true that
they do not ask for the actual ship
ment of the gold. They will take it
in the form of credits, against which
they can draw to pay for goods
purchased in the United States and
allied countries.
And what is the security they
offer for this vast loan? The faith
and credit of the soviet govern
ment! Lenine has openly and pub
licly defended some of the treaty
agreements he made on the ground
that he had no intention of perform
ing his promises, and that any prom
Uses made to capitalistie govern
ments might be broken without
moral stigma. and ought to be
broken if such breach was to the
advantage of the soviet govern
ment.
There is not a ghost of a chance
that soviet Russia a borrow any
such sum of money on faith and
credit of the government or even
of the Russian people. They have
no such credit left anywhere in the
world. And what makes the mat
ter more hopeless. they are bank
rupt in collateral as we'll as in
credit. All capital in Russia has
been eaten up and destroyed. Capt.
tai it the product of labor which is
saved up and not consumed. 1t is
surplus wealth in goods beyond
what is necessary to sustain the
needs of the population. There is
no such surplus in Russia. There
is a deficit. The soviet govern
ment has come to a realization OF
the truth of a fact that they always
denied heretofore. That is, that it
takes the combined effort of labor
and capital to produce wealth. They
have abundance of labor, but no
capital, and after destroying all
capital in Russia they want the cap
i~talistic countries to send them a
new supply, amounting to a billion
and a half good dollars. They say
that they will not destroy this new
imported capital if they get it. but
use it in combination with hell
idle labor to reconstruct their rail-
roads. buy agricultural implements
to restore agriculture to its former
basis of production, equip their fac-
tories with machinery to take the
place of the worn out and destroyed
machines and start up their mines
And they will pay back this money
some time after they have produced
enough surplus wealth to do it.
Do we hear any takers for this
offer from Russia? We do not
Even if there was no doubt as to
their good faith, we do not believe
it would be possible for Russia to
float any such loan. The fact that
thew specify American gold dollars
as the money standard of the loan
and it's repayment shows that they
expect to get the loan mainly from
the United States. Certainly, the
limited States government would
not dare to loan Russia another
dollar of the taxpayers money
Too many millions of American
taxpayers money have already
been sunk in Russia in repudiateo
loans. Of course, the soviet gov
eminent says they will recall these
regulations and admit they W u:
the money if we will send them
new loans of vastly greater sums
but the American voters have writ
ten off these former Russian loans
as losses. They are not going tc
send any good money after bac
money on the strength OF a sovie'
promise that some time in the dis
tant future when it is quite con
venient, they will pay US the ole
debts and redeem their repudiatec
promises. There is not a chance
of any American government loar
to Russia at present.
And the prospect of private loans
TO Russia by American capitalists
49, - 1-:-lA>- ~ %hA NyATy