THE PELORUS GUARDIAN and Miners’ Advocate. TUESDAY, MAY 22, 1917. THE WEALTH OF RUSSIA.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 29, Issue 39, 22 May 1917, Page 4

THE PELORUS GUARDIAN and Miners’ Advocate. TUESDAY, MAY 22, 1917. THE WEALTH OF RUSSIA.

The regrettable sequence of events that has followed the split-up of political parties in Russia has naturally drawn the attention of the whole world to this great country, with its almost limitless resources. Russia at the outset of the war provided the world with an object lesson in home economy by suppressing and almost obliterating the drinking habits of a good proportion of her vast population. This bold stroke of reform closed a channel of waste which has enabled the masses of the Russian people to save hundreds of millions of pounds since the war started. In the conduct of the war, however, our great eastern ally has proved very disappointing, for by the practical cessation of hostilities which followed the revolution is no doubt having a direct effect in prolonging the struggle. If the fraternising of troops and the general inactivity on the eastern front continues, Germany will be able to hurl still greater forces against the Anglo-French line in the West, thus increasing the difficulties of the Allies in forcing an early peace. Some very interesting information regarding Russia was given in an address by Mr Samuel Roberts in New York' recently before the American Institute of Banks at Boston. It is difficult, he said, to comprehend the physical extent of Russia to make comparisons that clearly convey an idea of its great area. It has one-sixth of the'land area of- the globe. The rail journey direct from AVarsaw to Yladivostock is 600 c miles long, nearly twice the distance .from New York to San Francisco. It is over Iwo thousand miles from the Arctic bea to Tiflis or Samarkand, about the distance of Hudson's Bay to the Gulf of Mexico. It has all variations of climate, from arctic to semi-tropical, such as you would encounter from Labrador to Florida. In its borders are the most extensive plains in the world, the longest rivers, and some of the highest mountain ranges. It has all the climatic conditions of the remainder of the North Temperate zone, somewhat intensified by its great area being unbroken by seas. Within its borders are found all the natural resources that arc osential to modern civilisation. It has very large known deposits of iron, coal, oil, copper and the precious metals, and practically all of the metals of minor importance. It has about one-half of the standing timber north of the Equator. It has the most extensive area of first-class farm land found anywhere on the globe. It has about 176,000,000 inhabitants. The present status of the development of these resources is indicated by the production of the last normal year before the war, 1913. That year produced about 40 million tons of coal; four and a-half million tons of finished iron and steel; 75 million lbs of copper, valued approximately at £2,000,000; 1,300,0000 z of gold, worth £5,200,000; and 275,0000 z, or £5,000,000 worth of platinum. Russia is, next to the United States, the largest producer of oil—the production for 1913 was over 60 million I arrels. Her forests have hardly been touched, and comprise to-day the great timber reserve of Europe, Russia haring practically all of the surplus timbe. available outside of Canada and the Uni led States. Still, she exported during U'l3 some £l6, 800,000 worth of timber products; agriculture, in 1913, Russia planted to cereals alone over 2 1 5,000,000 acres. On

53,C00,000 acres planted to wheat sho produced over a billion bushels. In the same year the United States planted 49,600,000 acres and produced threequarters of a billion bushels. The yield in Russia per acre for wheat was practically the same as that of the United States. Her production in all other cereals, outside corn, is much more extensive than the United States, and her root products arc enormously greater. Russia has more sheep and goats than the United States, about as many cattle, about one-fourth as many hogs, and a much greater number of horses. It is still essentially an agricultural country. Eighty-five per cent of its people live on the land and obtain their livelihood almost solely by agricultural pursuits. At the same time there are established in the Empire over 200 cities, ranging from a few thousand inhabitants to Petrograd with two million. Russia has constructed and in operation 47,000 miles of railways, practically all of which are first-class in every respect and operate! at a profit comparing favourably with railroads elsewhere in the world. Russia produces about twothird of the cotton which she manufactures, and the cotton-growing can be easily extended to meet all her requirements. She produces a great surplus of flax, which is largely exported in the raw state, although a substantial beginning has been made in textile manufacturing, not only on cotton and flax fabrics, but also wool. The coal and steel industry was developed previous to the war to a point where it produced the bulk of its own, requirements, and its indefinite extension does not depend upon the solution of metallurgical problems, but simply upon the application of organisation and capital. The largest items of Russia's export trade previous to the war were: Cereals and agricultural products, cattle, hides and furs, timber, and mineral products. This export trade, averaged, for the three years previous to the war, £158,800,000, and resulted in an average credit balance of £31,600,000. In conclusion he stated that the slow movement cannot be attributed to the slowness of the Russian people. A consideration of geographical conditions leads to the conclusion that the Russian Empire, with the possible exception of Poland, is logically one empire. When you consider Russia’s history, apart from its tragic and interesting character, you are most impressed with its consistent and logical development. This territory is occupied by a people originally consisting of more than 40 different races. It would seem that in the development of the nations to produce the greatest unit was necessarily the hardest task and has required the longest time But out of it is emerging an original civilisation, for Russian customs, art, and letters possess a virility and individuality almost untouched by the rest of the world. Another important factor is that the Russian people arc the most prolific of all the races, and w hen it is contemplated that this nation, slowly welded together, will amount to some 250,000,000 souls before the middle of this century, it can be realised that the Slavic race is just beginning to come into its own, and that th* Russian civilisation is destined to be one of the dominant civilisations of' the wmrld.