STORMY PETROGRAD

Southland Times, Issue 17902, 28 February 1918, Page 6

STORMY PETROGRAD

AN AMERICAN’S EXPERIENCES. RUSSIA’S RESURGENCE. Mr G. Hutchinson, at present in Wellington, has given an interesting account to the Post of his recent experiences in Petrograd. He had arrived there on business for his firm, the Bucyms Company, of South Milwaukee, and his business was in connection with large contracts for the supply of steam shovel and other plant made by the firm to the order of the Imperial Russian Government; also, on account of an English company, a mammoth gold dredge for work in the Lena River country, Siberia—a plant costing £IOO,OOO in America and costing probably twice as much as that to get it to its destination.

Mr Hutchinson's visit to Petrograd was then of a purely business character, but he had no sooner arrived than he found the whole empire allame with revolution.

"But it was too late—at any rate I’d conic ton far to turn back," he went on.

"Besides, wo out in the West were rather used to trouble of the sort, but of late year? we’ve been so quiet in our country that I kind of welcomed a little excitement. We had it—my wife and I. Being Easter when we arrived, and a close holiday, we could get no warm foot! (cxcopt tern for three days. But that was nothing to what we experienced later in the hotels. There, if they had eggs they’d he out of coffee, and if they had coffee, they might have no bread. So that drove ns to living in a Hat, and my wife went to market the same as the rest of the people. She went to Finland once for a piece of beef. The journey was only about one. and a-half hours from Petrograd. That beef weighed 2 kilos, say nib. It; cost the English equivalent of t‘3. So we were never able to obtain enough food. That was then. Now? -Well, Russia is like our 00110.117,' and yours. Where we and you have sources of food supply quite close to the cities and the produce is run in every day to th.’ markets, they have large areas of virgin land. The railwaymen, too, ever holding meetings and settling the affairs of the country, of course affected the transport of foodstuffs to big centres from the country. The railways were quite disorganised. Semistarvation was the natural result.” STREET SCENES.

■'Hearing machine guns at work on the Nevsky Prospckt,’’ Mr Hutchinson said, "I lost no time in seeking the nearest corner. (inns were tiring all round us. I was arrested, for I was at one time in the thick of it. Some lad of twenty put a revolver to my head. He could not speak English. I then had no Russian but a few handy words that did not quite fit the situation. But I heard someone shout Stop! - in English. I was then liberated. "The extermination of the police and (he setting up of the Provisional Government was followed by a brief period of order. There were no police; the public were on their honour. The demonstrations wen’ well conducted and orderly. Later, when Levin came to the fore, there were collisions. The chaos followed. AN IRRESPONSIBLE BUNCH.

"The people now in control are an irres!»on;sible bunch. There’s no question about that. But Russia is a wonderfully rich country (if properly worked), and a vast. It i< all a matter of time. "Between Russia ami Mexico there are many points of similarity. In the latter country they never seem happy without a revolution; but they’ll set-tie down, and someone or some party strong enough to rule and gather up the now divided elements will insist upon the development of the country’s resources. Remember, the Russians are not an educated people, as the British people are. Therefore they are suspicious. When they are told by those in authority that they must obtain help from their neighbours to develop their own country, and understand that those neighbours do not want (he country —only to help—then you’ll see Russia rise a strong ;.nd progressive nation. If we think the trend of the -world is towards betterment, thci: out of this breaking-up in Russia good will come. The ferment bred of generations on generations of misrule is now working out. They are not now going in the right direction, because they don’t know the way, so they have to go right through with the breaking-up business ere they find it, and before they start building up again. "They understand that as the labouring man produces ever',’thing, and hits to do all the fighting, so he ought to have a say in the way the country should be governed. They feel in Russia that they axe now coming into (heir own. CONFIDENCE AND CREDIT.

“Hiit they must realise, as every other country has to realise and never forget, that any country is established on confidence, and confidence only, and next, credit. Confidence and credit, but first confidence in themselves, one another, and the confidence of other countries. And t.he Russians will realise this truth. There was confidence in the Empire on the part of other countries doing business, and as a consequence Russia could then obtain credit. "But prior to the revolution trading was a losing proposition for the Government and Russian ]>eople. Take a locomotive costing 50.000 dollars, delivered in Russia. That would he entered in the books as 150,000 dollars. That was (he kind of thing that, brought about the revolution.” ’“Squeeze ?”

‘Sure! Russia is now in the position of a newcomer to a district. She has first to obtain the confidence of the world and the credit will follow—and the help and co-operation in developing their extremely rich and highly favoured country. That will come, notwithstanding the complexities c.nd perplexities of the moment. Why, when I left. Petrograd the American Railway Commission, headed by Mr Stephens, was in the city, and consisted of some twenty specialists, whose task it was to reorganise the railways. The Russian people, as soon as this present confusion it. Nt :m end, will, I believe, be quite ready to reorganise their railways and their country generally. Russia and Mexico arc on the same route, but it is only a question of time when they will have realised that, order and peace must be restored, and they will put someone at their head who will be strong enough to achieve that end.”