Evening star., 1924-07-17
SOVIET METHODS
R0UT Foreigners
Americans Find Business
With Russia and Siberia
to Be impossible.
RY y. 4. M.tCkENZlE.
Correspondence OF The Star and the Chica 20
Daily News

Correspondence OF The Star and the Chica 20
Daily News
MOSCOW. Russia. July l7.-For-
eign enterprises f1ourished in Russia
until the bolshevist revolution. Most
mines were in the hands of British
companies and the dairying industry
was shared by British and Danes
German manufactures were on sale
everywhere, and the German Ian
Suage was generally understood in
business circles. British and Scandi-
naVian timber companies conduct ed
big operations in the north. British
and German capital financed enter
prises of many kinds, while Siberian
butter, poultry aud game found u
ready market in Europe
American manufactures came some
what late into the Russian Heid. but
advanced by leaps and bourGa. The
demand for American agricultural
NInachinery was so great that the In
ternational Harvester Company built
at LubertZky, outside OF Moscow, q
great plant, reported to have cost
$l3,000.000. 1t employed between
1000 and 1000 hands.
q The Americans worked oUt so fine
Il scheme of supplying machinery on
the security of crops that others de
clared it practically iu:po$sible To
compete with them. ia chose Gay :
the Siberian farmer was rich. y
couple of seasons of good crops en-
abled him to buy TIE best, and he
did. Lubertzky is closed now, ard
there seems little likelihood OF its
being reopened.
Foreigners Disappear.
When the Soviet government OBJ
tanned control in western Siberia al
foreign enterprises disappeared. Much
he same is happening. in 4 slower
way. in eastern Siberia. Leuin was
the first to recognize that il was :Ill-
possible to deN G!on Siberia without
foreign capital. NJ one OF mis- early
moves was to oIier NanGeriip, the
traveller, an option on = concession
covering. the vast territories Of the
northeast.
Mr.. Vanderifp could not complete
the business and ii ia2sed. From
then to now Siberian authorities have
been calling out for foreign capital.
In every great ara that | visited
from the Trails 10 E.a4iVostok local
authorities urged on me the nppor-
tunity for the foreigner. They prom
ised that if the American captain of
industry wouid only come they
would do everything To assist him.
we have great natural riches. We
cannot work them ourselves. But
VIC could with American aid. We
need American money and business
organization. Why not make q deal
and share profits
If I heard this once | heard il
dozen times. always from responsible
mon. But when one comes I" exam
inc th6 matter more in detail it is not
quite so simple as it seems.
American. British and other firms
cxpericnced and backed by big cap;-
tai have tried for nearly three years
20 enter. or more usually to re-entcr,
the Siberian field. Seyora! Of those
lost everything in the revolution.
4 l,n; or. '.t. al IL NfI IN,
millions Of dollars. were confiscatcd
or destroyed. They have accepted
their loss. obtained fresh capital and
asked permission To recommenco
work on terms laid down by the
Soviet government.
Few Foreign Firms Loft.
How many have succeeded" The
foreign firms actually working in ST.
IBERIA today, outside Vladivos:o15 can
he counted on The fingers of one
hand. Even in Niadjvostok their
number is steadily declining.
The Allied American Corporation
obtained in 1921 a concession to work
the asbestos fields at Alatayevsk, in
the Trails. The chief of this COM
pany. DR.. Hamer. was a friend OF
Ienin's and helped him at Il critical
time. But the asbestos concession
turned out to be a mere bog for sink
ing money. The Allied American
Corporation does a prosperous busi-
porter of foreign goods. not as an
asbestos concessionnaire in the Trails.
The Danes are re-entering the but
ter industry of the Altai: Two
AEericans-Eint and Smith-have
obtained gold-mining concessions in
the Lena area. The British American
Tobacco Company opened n factory
last year in Chita. When ] last
heard such terms had been presented
TO it that it expected to stop opera
fionS.
There is 4 mining colony in the
KuZbas. started by Bill Haywood and
having a number of American reds
in it. Haywood has left IL This is
enterprise.
More Activity in Harbin.
Nladivostok stands by itself. Many
foreign firms We're encouraged TO re-
main here by the Far Eastern Rapub-
lie. Since the Soviet government took
over the city in 1922 they have be ~