Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-03-27
What Can Be Done
To Revive Russia,
Is Main Question

IlEIAlS,-(By u stall correspondent
of the Associated Press)-The q1es-
ton uppermost in the minds OF all
visitors to Russia liz: what car be
done to revive Russia's broken down
economic and Industrial situation.
The writer put that query to a Rus
sian-Ametican Jew who had beffiend-
ed him during an alteration with a
Red guard over the correspondents
right to occupy a seat In a train
jammed to overflowing, during the
trip from 13atuln to Tiflis.
Must be Boiled Out.
The friendly Jew, u high official in
the Soviet OF Georgia, sent here from
Moscow to carry out in some degree
the latter's plans, sat down in the
crowded compartment and talked
about Russia from hts point of view.
"Russia's got to be boiled out, that's
ALL he explained. 1.-The process may
take 20 years but when ii $ tinisheu
there'll be but two great peoples on
earth Russians and the Americans.
And they'll be as like as twin broth
ers, both rich in agriculture and in
mineral wealth.
What Russia now needs is factory
products. it's trained engineers to put
her on her feet, to help set to work
her mines and whoever gets in on
SAoS wv 10 DooAp " iuHS oS ~
tunes
THE next and immediate need of
Russia is education. The Soviet is
trying to do that. Every MAJ in the
Red Army Is taught to read and write.
But the job Is u difficult one. Under
the old regime, education was dis
c%ouraged. The people were exploited
by the wealthy and educated few
This keen Russian-American told of
| s,k-,~l ~,l 1Ns~ ,,~r, ,1>I~ LII
! was earning a big salary. 100, 900 ru-
bles a month, exactly one dollar at the
present ate of exchange and enough
to keep his family going Tor about a
day. The rest. the millions of rubies
necessary FOR the other days. he made
up by speculation, by shreWd practt-
ces for which he would be shot if
they were known. But it was either
hat or starvation. His wife lay i'll
in Batum with malaria and Il tablet
of quinine, or n dose, cost 20 600
; ruDles and bad quality at that. Also.
his son had tuberculosis us Il result
! of undcrteeding and medicines at pro-
hibitive prices were required.
Was this man satisfied with the
| Soviet regime? or course not. He
had worked hard for it FOR three
years, to keep going. he had held all
sorts of jobs that required high intel
iigence and he considered the crowd
in Moscow a lot OF fools.
Up to 1918, be had been in Amer
icn, had his Three automobiles and II
big importing agency, owned his home
in Brooklyn Still. but he had been
caught in tho revolution and couldn't
get out. SO he was helping III the
boiling II process, He's going to
stick on because he can make his for
tune back.
Hated A~ristocInts.
| He hated the old a~riStOcratic class
because they tried to have everything
for themselves, because theirs was a
system that led to laziness, drunken
| ness and non-production and finally
the extinction of their class in the
grand crash of ruinous revolution.
All the good he could think to say
for the Soviet was hat it had tried
hard. For one thing it had knocked
out alcohol. Yes, that was one CT
, the troubles of old Russia. Too much
drink, among all classes. In Georgia,
where VIC were, there was still plenty
to drink but toward Moscow drink
thinhed out until none was to be had.
There vas lots of thic-efy-tne +
! respondent had best look OF" for his
! pockets and his baggngc-but to be
| caught stealing meant execution.
Another excellent institution Of the
i Soviet was the Red Army, yes, that
was a thing 10 be proud oil. Dls&p-
line was fine. 1t was. better than the
| Cars army. Now only men up to
"a were enrolled. There were five
million Of them-a great force to be
, rcckoned with.
Would the United States come in
and help Russia? This thought was
uppermost in his mind. He hoped SO.
He wanted to get back to America
Tor {, time to get some money together.
IneIi he would return and make his
fortune He had taken out his first
papers years ago but his business IN
Russia had prevented his taking out
the second papers. His wife was
from Philadelphia. Born there. SO
was his son.
1t would take $4,000 TO get back TO
the United States, which meant 100,-
600 rubles. Speculate as he might,
he could never get together such a
sum. Maybe he might arrange TO get
sent over on a commission, when MOS
COW got the Americans to accept the
trade idea. Just now he had SIS in
American muney-50O,0 900 rubles-
which he had given his wife as a
birthday present. =.
Well, one a to make the best OF
things in Russia. One got USED 10
| ~makeshifts. He>was supposed to nave
q private car. out it was in the repair
shop and tonight he was sleeping on
the floor OF the car We were in. lie
couldn't find Il seat and was glad 'ot
the floor space. Thousands had been
left at the station in Baum, waiting
for another train.