Evening star., 1922-07-21
WILD SCRAMBLE ON
FOR SOVIET GRANTS
Allies Wanted Separate
Agreements, Not General,
Developments Indicate.
BY PAUL SCOTT MowRER.

BY PAUL SCOTT MOwRER.
By Cable to The Star and Chicago Daily News
Copyright. 1922
THE HAGUE, Holland, July 21.-
When all is said and done the truth
about the Russian conference at The
Hague seems to be that the Russians
were ready for a general agreement,
while the western powers were not
The chief utility of the conference has
been its educational value to the Rus
slams. Patiently, stubbornly and
thoroughly, day after day, they have
been instructed by the western dele
gates In the principles of ordinary
business methods. AS a result of this
education they finally saw that gov
ernment credits were impossible and
that the only way of re-establishing
Russia was first to restore confidence
SO that the country could be opened
to the private initiative of foreign
ers.
Gould Have Been Debated.
When the Russians finally were
made to understand this they pro-
posed to recognize Russia's inter-
national debts and to give adequate
compensation for confiscated property
without asking for any credits 1t is
true that they named as a condition
that the soviet government be given
de jure recognition, but this could
have been debated had the western
powers been disposed to continue the
conference.
The western delegates realized,
however, that it would be impossible
for the soviet delegates to give real
guarantees for the execution of their
promises. In these circumstances
they preferred not to accept the last
the Russians in a conciliatory mood
Individual Negotiations Next.
The program now is for the in
terested nationals of all countries
represented here to open individual
negotiations with the soviet govern
ment. If these negotiations prove
successful and the Russians demon
strate their good faith some Of the
western governments, notably the
British, seem prepared to proceed in
the near future to de jure recogni-
tion of the soviets by separate agree
ments.
The scramble for Russian conces-
sions has already begun. One Dutch
firm has just taken a lumber con-
cession and another has taken a mo-
nopoly on the export of manganese
in portion of the Caucasus. Leslie
Urquhart a British business man and
one OF the delegates to this confer
ha h1
gotiating for the return Of his fac
tories near Moscow. The various
European oil interests represented
here have decided to open a confer
ence here in about ten days, with
NJ. Patyn, who has been president of
siding. The Standard Oil Company
has not been invited to send a rep
resentative, but my impression is
that it may do so if it desires. The
object of the conference is to form
group to resume oil production in
the Caucasus.
A resolution ambiguously worded
but probably adequate in moral ef-
feet was adopted yesterday to pre-
vent the pirating by the nationals of
one country of the Russian property
of the nationals of any other coun-
try. A declaration in the same sense
but far stronger from the United
States was repeated by a Belgian
delegates, but one of the Polish dele
gates said to me afterward: IF
that is how your government feels
about the matter 1 wish you would
get Washington to make the pharma-
ceutical group that has been ex-
plotting my asbestos near Ekaterine-
burg for the last two years give it
back to me-"
The outstanding feature of the con-
ference, Of course, was the sudden re-
treat of the western powers in the
face of a possible general agreement
The French government. apparently no
less than the British. felt that in
the end it could do better with the
Russian situation by dealing alone,
and in it's own way. rather than by
acting with other nations. If the
Russians cease their dialectics, and
really attempt to facilitate agree
ments with private individuals, in
the words of British delegate to
prominent American today, I'VE shall
have our factories back. and running,
and the United States will be rubbing
it's eyes. and wondering what has
happened in Russia"