New-York tribune., 1922-06-12
Hoover Insists
CapitaI Is Sole
Red Trade Hope
,,,le Chance for American
Rusiness Men Until In
,e.lmeuts From Outside
Have Restored Production
soviet Rule Real Barrier
,.,orts Under Rigid Mo-
NJ nropoly; Exports Show
No Sign of Increasing

UASIlNN '-''
,he Russian trade situation. il
,,..say by Secretary Of CommercC
- s,.,.r. the import'n, problem con
80 American business men with
- - Russia is declared 20 be one
Tis", 4, investment than Of trade. sd
~" :. the Boishcvik CoyerrmeuI
~ .,ii,es import trade, sccrotary
gf az tAcfc viii bc little hope
k.D .D,,,sbl.shing trade relations.
-. ,st-dwindi;ng gold reserve o!
~ "a Imperial government and the
y -. paper money in Russia is ap-
'....,.ting unacccptaoiAty witnin the
- - Itself, IN Ny. Hooser's view
-, ne future Of Russia all the more
.,.sf.ain.
I,ale Chance to Sell Goods
,.,.,,rv Hoover asserts that with
aye investment OF foreign cap
~ .,,,a means Of restoring production
p~,.ie the prospects arc that fur
n come there Viii be Sitt.c op-
r..s 10 sc. goods in that country.
~. feasibility Of investing capital
e-..isT Nr. Hoover added. depends
...'.,islly on the policy o. the Bo,she-
=, government and on the general IN
- situation, and not IN any impor-
-. degree upon the action OF foreign
mere seems % be some misundcr-
..,.si,g as % the practical character
= ,,,Se agreements with Russia by
-, governments Nh Hoover
,,,s ~, U, 5ulglou 81 91oVLo 'plcs
..,,,.0 between Russia and England,
c,--,ry. lta.y OF other countries
go ,ermits or establishes trade with
...r,' Individuals in Russia. In sub
,,,.,,. all that the treaties really pro
IA, !, authority for the Russian gov
,,--ss, itself 20 establish buying accn-
-, i, tae several countries. To be
r,s these treaties nominally permitted
,,.f,rs q the countries maklng them,
.-ser certain restrictions, 10 enter
pso6 but when they arrived there
..sy found that trade was govern
zen, monopoly that they could not sell
70 private concerns. and that. in fact.
ne government usually referred them
lsek 70 rs buying agencies IN their own
.sgntr.cs.
Soviet Monopolizcs Imports
In view Of the fact that the total
resent imports q Soviet Russia are
l-all. the interest Of foreign concerns
Z selling goods there would necessar-
y lie chiefly in the hope of laying
.,saisiions for the future. No such
t.,e can De entertained so long as the
Syisi government monopolizes import
r1.s Under that practice there can
x 70 establishment Of business con-
isrits, no building up Of trade rcpu-
utr
'yr... the last few months Co
t;s1.r institutions which had been
fs,nsn into purely government or
g,'iife been restored 70 some meas
n q Independence and have been
g'n limited rights 20 engage in for
ts- trade 10 the same Offices as the
Ntt, government. Still more recent
y girportation Of some agricultural i'm
tsnehis has been permitted to private
hrislan individuals. The great bulk
-+ @FtNtN DO alAutf HVnfNfAf AfhAeAHo AA
'i' hands Of government organs.
'Uninformod persons often speak Of
is so-ca.ied blockade maintained
gainst Russia. As q matter Of fact,
y two years now no such blockade
,s existed The real blockade on
tde, not only with us but with all
e world. is that maintained by the
vict government itself. By its mo-
poly Of commerce 10 has hampered
e export even Of the small quantities
goods which were available and has
'couraGcd the production of more
DDS. Our government puts no OBJ
lclcs whatever upon selling 10 Rus
!. One result has been that even in
untrics having trade agreements no
sFchants have been able 90 establish
cmsclves in Russia or to undertake
anufacturing enterprises.
Cannot Pay in Commodities
The trade Of Russia to-day consists
: importing goods and paying out gold
rom the Old imperial reserve. She can
oi pay for commodities By commodi-
ies The magnitude OF these gold
ought imports has been much less
aan many seem 90 suppose. According
o ofhcia Soviet statistics. the 1921
rpofis were valued az 24S billion gold
so.e', or approximately s125,OO0.O0
.lis IS only onc-sixth of the pre-war
nloris. Exports amounted 20 the sum
2 Sl0o00o00 90 0,2S3, 900 gold rubles) {;
2 1913 they were seventy-hye times as
Neai. These exports consisted largely.
Nd probably chiefly. Of commodities
~ over from the pre-Bolshevik re-
Ire
The dimculty of exchange OF com
s,aiiies is evident from the fact that
'1efe the war two-thirds OF Russia's
a3ofls in value were foodstuffs, while
%t'y the country is in the throes Of
'sriifc famine and a large part Of its
'i'ris are foodstuffs. In February
s.alfds, IN weight (values not yet
neible), Of Russian imports were
.,H'iafs, the larger part Of which
FINISHED by the charity OF the
Ssiiesn people.
iisre is little prospect that Russia
~ have any more 70 export IN W.
~, she had in 1921. Meantime the
nd reserve is approaching exhaus.
~ and with it IS disappearing what
.git have furnished a start toward
.st'lto.ishing O workable currency
.H paper money Of Russia is hasten
- 70 the ultimate catastrophe Of utter
tptsbsity within the country IL
~ The recent attempt o. the Boil
'-s.lk leaders 20 restore something re-
.s.nsAng incividualstic methods IN the
ss.-'aet Of Industry, and particularly
y payment o. wages In money instead
sommun.stic division Of cOmmodi-
sa ~ n iae form OF rations 20 the work
~ las itself fastened the currency
ihsre being a fundamental short
=, d ioodstuGs and other necessaries,
,'ses paid IN money naturally cannot
~. ~ enough 10 support life. Prices
~ ard though wages are multiplied
=. y constant emissions they cannot
20 up with 'gailop.ng prices as
p.ig Bolshevist journal calls them.
80 IN Moscow now are doubling
~ Month, which means multiplying
TINES a wear 4 dav's ration