Evening star., 1923-08-14
BY THE MARaUIsE DE FoNTENoY.

Although a general impression pre-
any kind. commercial or otherwise,
between the United States and soviet
Russia, yet a sort of unofficial and, on
the whole, useful contact exists be-
tween the two countries through the
| Standard OIL Company. The latter
has entered into an arrangement with
! the great oil-producing and distribu-
ting firm of Nobel Brothers. whose
holdings in Baku far exceed those of
any other firm. The Nobels, origi
nally a purely Swedish concorn and
then a Swedish Russian group, have
] in normal times controlled some so
per cent of the total production of
Russian oil, and now the American
Standard has, according to latest ad-
vices. secured a half interest in the
whole enterprise.
The oil industry of Russia is the
only one which is in fair working
order, and the yield in Baku alone is
very large, despite the fact that no
NEW wells were drilled from the be-
ginning of the war in 1914 until two
and workmen on the field had no.
where to which they could escape
when the bolshevist regime came into
existence at Moscow. In the rear was
soviet Russia; in front the Caspian
sea: in fact, all issues of flight SEEM
ed closed to them. And the outcome
was that the technical engineers ana
workmen were constrained TO remain
! on the spot where the soviet authori-
ties found it to their interest to leave
them to pursue their duties and to do
their work without molestation. The
result of 1t was that there was little
or no destruction of property or dis
turbance to speak of, and that, espe-
! ciaIIy during the past few years. the
Nobel wells at Baku have been turn
ing out about half million tons OF
| crude oil, which are sent to Rumania
| for refinement without any obstruc-
tion. this being one of the reasons
why the long threatened menace or
Russian bolshevist invasion of Ru-
mania and especially Bessarabia, has
failed until now to materialize.
Tt is a great mistake to imagine
that the Standard Oil interests are at
war with those of Great Britain.
They have many points of contact and
understanding, as, for instance, in
Persia. where, under the influence OF
the American financial mission at Te-
heran, matters have been so contrived
that. instead of the Persian treasury
having to content itself, as eight
years ago, with mere $4,000 year
in ROYALTIES from the oil industries
exploited by English and American
| concerns, it today receives no less
| than $4,000, 900 a year, and expects in
| time to double and triple that amount,
which has contributed more than any
thing else to the financial rehabilita-
ton of the ancient empire of Persia
under the wise and skillful financial
administration of DR.. A. c. Mills
| paugh of Washington, ID. c.
| If the bankruptcy of the near
| septuagenarian Lord Bateman is at
| tracing a good deal of attention in
| England it is because he contracted,
| lust nineteen years ago, a marriage
with the enormously wealthy widow
of Henry Tabor Knapp of New York,
daughter of James ]. Graham of that
city. and was believed to have be-
come thereby absolutely secure from
any monetary difficulties. Indeed, it
is known that during the first years
| of their marriage much of his 'Ameri-
can wife's money was spent in repair
! ing, beautifying and extending Shob-
| den Court, his well known country
/ seat in Herfordshire, another of his
country seats being Oakley Park, in
the county Of Suffolk. But 1t Is un-
derstood that differences between the
couple have arisen, and. while Lady
I Batenaan has for some time past been
~