Evening star., 1940-02-23
Reich Needs Far More Goods
Than Soviet Exports to World
Russio Is Found to Be Short Herself in
Many Commodities Nozis Require for War
BY FRANK SMOTHERS.
Chicago Daily News FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT

BY FRANK SMOTHERS.
Chicago Daily News Foreisn Correspondent.
BERLIN, Feb 23.-If Russian sup
plies are to assume a decisive value
to Fuehrer Adolf Hitler In COM
batting the tight and far-flung allied
blockade, it is pointed out by COM
petent observers here, the Soviet
trade managers not only must over
come great transport shortage,
but make Russian goods available
for export in quantities far beyond
what have gone to all the world in
recent years.
A comparison Of German imports
Of key products in 1898, the last full
year of peace, with Russian exports
or trade deficits in those products
throws much light on this phase
of the war.
Soviet Has Little Reich Needs.
Germany, in 1898, imported ESQ.,
600 tons of cotton; Russia exported
to all the world less than 10000
tons. Germany imported $4,000 tons
of rubber: Russia also has to i'm
port rubber-27, 900 tons in 1898.
In the same year Germany i'm
ported 272,000 tons of copper; Rus
sia also imports copper. Germany
imported 22,000.O 900 tons of iron ore
Russia apparently exported hardly
any that year and less than an
average of 100000 tons in several
preceding years.
Germany imported almost $780,
600 tons of mineral oil; Russia ex-
ported 1888, 900 tons, her oil exports
having steadily fallen of for years
as her own needs rose and her de-
sire to sacrifice almost anything for
foreign imports decreased.
What Russia does not have she
cannot export. Importing rubber
and copper and various other nom
ferrous metals, she cannot help
Germany in those commodities ex-
cept conceivably-and this would
seem very unlikely-by long, ex-
tremely expensive transshipment.
May Cut Russian Supplies.
What would appear at least as
likely would be allied action-in the
event Russian shipments of othe,
commodities to Germany became
really serious-to blockade Russia
and thus cut off the rubber, non
ferrous metals and other products
she needs to import. Rubber, avail
able primarily in Ceylon, the Meth
erlands Indies and Malaga, can
hardly be obtained if the British
say no, and non-ferrous metals, as
well, go to Russia mainly from over
seas.
But the figures cited do not prove
that Russia cannot sell Germany
large quantities, including cotton, oil,
even some iron ore-provided she
can ship what she wants to sell.
The same applies to fodder, man
ganese, ore and bauxite.
Nazis repeatedly stress that Russo
German trade to be successful must
involve each countrys sacrificing
normal needs for the other. If Die
tator Josef v. Stain forces his own
people to wear less cotton, he can
sell considerable cotton here. BY
reducing the already unAbundant
Russian dinner, he can sell more
fodder to fatten hogs in Germany.
II he can find way to reduce his
own OIL consumption the is not doing
that in Finland and his enmities
with most of the rest of the world
must prompt him to want to main
tain large oil supplies for potential
military use), or if he can get more
oil out of the ground, he can sell
more oil to Germany. Making iron
available in significant quantity
would probably be, however, still
more difficult than oil.
Transport Problem Remains.
For all commodities-even if the
Soviet dictator directs his totali-
tartan will without stint to the task
the hard knot of transport re-
mains. This is all the more domi-
mating because almost all the things
that Germany needs most from Rus
sia are very bulky.
Stalin's railroads are very weak.
The freight cars that Russia pos
sesses (about e50,000 a year ago. al
ready carry far more freight per
car than any western land. A great
proportion of the locomotives are
too old and worn for reliable per-
formance. Even the existing normal
internal freight burden greatly
strains the Russian rails, and the
new strain, added by the Finnish
war, cannot in any case Immediately
be overcome.
Although Russian rivers bear
some freight, the rails carry about
nine-tenths of the internal load,
reports indicate. For shipments to