THE WAR.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XL, Issue 7842, 20 May 1904, Page 3

THE WAR.

Hussii's Weakness

Official Corruption suul Con-

tract Frauds

Our cables this week stated that correspondents in the Far East attribute . many of the Russian disasters to general bungling and unfit supplies. Some light is thrown on the matter by a correspondent of the Uaily Express, who, writing from St. Petersburg on the 18th March, says : — I learn xipon an authority I can trusl-a rare thing in this country— that the Czar, who has been so weak in many matters, has taken up a linn stand in his determination to see that the Augean stables of Russian official corruption arc properly and thoroughly cleansed. •. A few weeks ago a great English' engineer was hastily summoned to Russia by the Imperial Government. He was -asked to undertake the world of supervising the construction of the various men-of-war now hastily being built. The Englishman inspected the vessels, and said that he would in no wise consent to do the work unless he were allowed to employ English workmen and purchase Jinglish or American engines. The Government replied that at the present time the employment of foreign labour was quite impossible. On the other hand, they promised to get the work done as honestly as mio-ht be and said that they would put no limit to the Englishman's fee—th e \ Imperial Treasury was open to him. Ihe Englishman flatly declined, in spite of the temptations offered, to have anything to do with the ships, that he declared could scarcely withstand a storm at sea. He disdain|cd all further communication with the Government, and -went home to .ling-land. •

His step is scarcely surprising when one considers the methods by which' .Russian ships are built. For instance, each riveter is given every morning so many rivets to make secure., He puts in, very badly, say half the .number—putty does the rest "Iho remainder of tho rivets he sells tor a-few pence outside the dockyard gates, giving a percentage of the proceeds to the foreman as the -price of his silence.

Constructed on these, principles, a gunboat was launched a short time ago upon the Baltic. In honour of her own launching the .guulboat fired a salute. One of the guns was a heavy one— officially It was supposed toi bo on board a battleship—and the discharge was so shattering- that the plates were loosened ami the little craft sank.

A Swedish syndicate secured ; Tho contract for raising her, but when tho men got to work they found lath and putty where there should have boon steel. The ship, in fact, fell to pieces when they tried to raise her. To avoid the inevitable scandal, the Russian Government paid the Swedish syndicate its money, and to this day it is supposed that that gunboat is on the active list.

Perhaps tho gravest scandal occurred at the Naval Stores at St. Petersburg. -They wore huge buildings, occupying: tins whole of one side of the street, and were believed to contain supplies sufficient to sustain a prolonged naval conflict. The Czar ordered an inspection, but the officials in charge of the depot could never have survived an overhauling such as was contemplated. The depot was very empty indeed. It is a strange thing, but none the less true, that en the night before the day appointed for tho inspection the huge building burst into flames in ten different places. By morningl only the charred walls remained.

Corruption, too, is doing its deadly work at Port Arthur. It is stated that there are sufficient coal and sufficient provisions to enable the port and 'licet to endure a two years' seigo. There is nothing o f the kind. When 10,000 tons of coal are ordered for Port Arthur only 5000 tons or so ever reach, that place. The money that should have paid for the other 5000 tons has been .divided tween the high officials who ordered the coal and those who should have received it.

In summer weather forty soldiers are packed • for transport into one freight waggon, but in winter the number is reduced to thirty for the purpose of giving the soldiers a .stove. Train after train left different parts of Russia just after tho commcnccmcni of the wpr. with thirty men in a truck—but there were no stoves. So thousands of unfortunate men, with no other means of warmth than could I;e gained by huddling together, had to travel week after week down that endless Siberian railway line, in 'a temperature that was 30deg or 40deg below zero. It is scarcely surprising that over one thousand men died from cold- in one week alone. No one troubled about the victims of some official's greed. *. A glaring case of corruption came under my own notice a few flays ago. A Government department gave an order for £25,000. worth of goods to a well-known, firm in St. Petersburg. The official who conducted the negotiations explained to my friend that his terms for. placing the contract with him would be 25 per cent, on the gross amount. The .manager of the firm had to agree quickly lest the order should go to his rival. In the ordinary course of business in Russia he added the cost of the commission to the price of his goods, and charged it to the Government.

From the contemplation of this allembracing slough of robicery the men of other nations may .oxact a certain amount of cynical comfort. Corruption will probably save the world from a Russian China.

• AN OFFICIAL FRIEND.. " Rheumo," the marvellous medicine that readily relieves Rheumatism, has made a friend in the Postal Department. Mr T. Finch, Postmaster, Gcraldine, writes :—■" I have been troubled with Rheumatism for many years, and a friend of mine residing at Wellington, knowing I was bad/ sent .mo a bottle of " Rheumo," which, after taking a dose or two promptly relieved the pain. When- I ever I get a bad attack of the trouble I take two or three doses of "Rheumo," cvnd the pain speedily* goes. Thanks to " Rheumo," lam able to attend to my duties with regularity."—Wholesale agents N.Z. Drug Company.