The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-07-28
Continued from Saturdays Daily Worker
CHAPTER II
Finance

II
Russian Credit before the Revolution
The Russian national bankruptcy generally
supposed consequence rather of the Revolution
The fiscal relationship of Tsarm to the Russian taxpayer and
its financial relationship to the foreign creditor had become
that which resulted from similar
foreign lenders by oriental desposms in Turkey Egypt
and Morocco sasm was approaching long before
the though Russian credit abroad was still maintained by
foreign financial who promoted Russian loans and
passed the liability public ignorant of the political Install
hty ana 1nanclal unsoundness OF the EMPIRE process
which would elsewhere have ended before long the foreign
creditor losing of his investment and in the Russian
folles of his rulers
Currency Before the Revolution
But up the this process had gone far
affect the currency Paper money in Russia issued under
restrictions rigorous than elsewhere having to be covered
onehaf in gold up total of 500 million
roubes and wholly covered by gold above that amount This
system elsewhere the exgencies of The
Imperial Bank was given the right of emission without reference
gold within restrictions that being continually
reduced The growing deficit in the budget partly
by this means and partly by borrowing By 1917 the Russian
debt reached Il mards gold OF which about half had been
paper of which hreefourths being paid by the issue of
paper money
raised 62 miards The paper currency inflated from
1917 1914 to $50 in 1915 S4SO 1915 64O3
the date of the Revolution gold per
cent The usual results OF imitation followed and the rise of
prices became serious Already before the Revolution
the currency had deprecated by two-thds This though
small in figure compared the future depreciation after
Revolution five thousand mionths effect far
fatal For started the vicious circle revolving
the greater the of money issued the less worth and
the more wanted There present before the Revou
ton all the symptoms stages
faton Production first abnormaly forced inevitably
and the whole national economic passing
stage of fever to that of torpor Russia only
bankrupt before the Revolution that could hope
the burden of the debt had accumulated but already
economically paraysed by currency depreciation.
Revolution and Finance
This the financial the Revolution
had to find remedy And under conditions Revolution
in any inevitable that the situation get
before could be remeded. The sound
cannot be observed during and the Revolution involved
Russia in foreign in civil and in The fnan
cia effects of these foreign civil gone
Foreign
Powers the estimates of pecunary
civil have already been published by
the negotiations
claims But the damage caused by the of
incidental distinctions
terms Of money 1t expressed deliberate
attempt by those conducting the Revolution destroy
tuition of itself well its influence the social
system
War Communism and Finance Va lh
War Communism brought making this attack upon
money by two nteronnectng influences One the
10 Abolish money being the principal for accommodating
capital and the other the difficulty restoring
stable unit of exchange Of and more
hopeessy deprecated the
inherited from the And naturalization
property developed until the free exchange of commodities
almost eliminated the function money free
exchange diminished Until finally War Communism to
the conclusion that the best solution both principle
ticay would be without money altogether that the
best that end would be to let deprecae itself
existence.
The idea which inspiring the of the Revolution
when the Delegation visited Moscow n920
of econstructng the national economy great
tive Of and producers of which the
changes would be merely of bookkeeping through
trail local clearing houses Under the
May 1918 all pecunary and the nation
the Treasuryal other payments being made by cheque