RUSSIA'S GREAT REFORMER.

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 July 1915, Page 3

RUSSIA'S GREAT REFORMER.

-,; -KgS» ' ABLE TO DO IN A DAY WIT AT WOULD HAVE TAKEN YEARS. PARIS, May 3. A message from Petrograd to the Petit Parisien states that the following declarations have been made by M. Dark, Russian Minister of Finance: "i was appointed Minister of Finance in January, 1914, to draw up a reform in the duties raised on alcohol, which gave a revenue of £70,000,000. Owing to this enormous revenue it was necessary to proceed slowly and with precaution, but the war broke out and we were enabled to do in one day what in normal times would have taken years. "We we enabled by a stroke of the pen to realise the greatest reform of which any modern] country could dream. The sale of alcohol was suppressed, and money flowed into the savings banks. '/Last winter these savings banks accounts showed a deficit, but this year for the same period £15,000,000 was deposited in the banks to meet the expenditure of the war. "in response to my appeal 1 have already raised internally £120.000,000, and during the month of May I will raise a loan of £100,000,000. The war has demonstrated the solidity of the Russian home markets under the most difficult conditions.''