TO DEVELOP SIBERIA.

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 July 1918, Page 8

TO DEVELOP SIBERIA.

PLANS OF THE SOVIET GOV ENItMENT. i , Important schemes are in hand for . the development of the great natural resources of Siberia, (wrote a, special ; correspondent of the London Daily News from Moscow on May 16th). Transport is at present a matter of some difficulty, and a further hindrance is the lack of money tokens for the payment of workers!. Still solid progress i» being made. The nationalisation of certain undertakings has been so successful that the local Soviet Government is ready to nationalise others, and is only waiting instructions from the Central Government. Forty-five thousand hands are actually working on the construction of the Southern Siberian railway. Siberia will be able fully to supply Russia, with coal and coke. Tlie main task before the Soviet s is to- increase the manufacturing ii.- „ dustry. It is proposed to establish a, number of steel foundries and engineering works, for which are needed engineers, chemists, and specialists of all kinds, and also labour, of which there is a marked shortage. It is also intended to establish polytechnics and to widen the' activities of the already existing Tomsk Technological Institute. The immediate need is machines Siberia, now possesses great stores of wood, furs, wool, rye, butter, and an accumulated stock of about 2,000,000 gallons of spirits, all of which products will be exchanged only for machines and other things needed, for industrial development. America, is making propositions, in reply to which tlie Siberian Soviet will be guided exclusively by directions from the Centre. The general impression is hopeful, if only this young Democracy is not to be crushed from without. It can deal with its internal enemies easily enough, and would long ago have crushed them finally if they had not had Allied support.