The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1918. THE CURSE OF GERMANISM IN RUSSIA.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 84, 2 November 1918, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1918. THE CURSE OF GERMANISM IN RUSSIA.

Russia to-day occupies an unfortunate position. To some extent her troubles are of her own making, hut her more acute difficulties arise from her connection with the Germans. So fat i back as 1904, when Russia was involved in her desperate struggle with Japan, the wily and grasping German thought, it was an opportune time to conclude a ) new commercial treaty with her. Under pressure from the Government, the German newspapers embarked on a violent campaign against Russia, threatening her with all manner of evil consequences if She did not adopt Germany's views. In the 'Russian capital the question of how to stand up against Germany was discussed at great length, but no solution was found, which was not sur , prising, for the Russian armies in Manchuria were everywhere retreating, the Government was utterly disorganised, and the first signs of the revolution to conic were already manifesting themselves. Russia, therefore, yielded, and signed a treaty, according to which for the following ten years Russia was to send Germany her natural wealth very cheaply and to pay Germany very dearly for goods which she could not choose but take. In consequence of the treaty there was a great flow of German capital to Russia for investment in industries, trade, banks, mines, etc., and thousands of Germans overran the country, flooding it with their specialties. From 1905 to 1908 more than £BO,-', 000,000 of German money was invested in Russian banks and businesses. The German Government did not fail to take up the cudgels on behalf of its' subjects in Russia when this ; was found advisable. In 1905, ' when a revolution occurred in Moscow, and the workpeople, helped by soldiers, looted and set fire to a number of factories, a few big Russian manufacturers, employed hundreds of thousands of hands, requested the Governor-General of Moscow to send , •some Cossacks to quell the riots. The Governor told them that he had something more important to do than to bother about their factories. But an hour later some Germans, also large factory-owners in Moscow, asked that their property should be protected, and stated that if it wero not the , Russian Government would be held responsible for all damage; and they further stated that telegrams on the matter had been sent to the German' Minister at Petrograd and to the German Foreign Office. That sflmo even- [ ing several regiments of Cossacks were mounting guard over the German factories. The year 1914 came, when the German-Russian treaty ought to have expired. The Germans were determined at any cost to renew an arrangement so advantageous l to themselves, and early in 1914 the German press began another campaign to bully Russia into falling in i with Germany's idea*. At the time more than half Russia's imports wero of German origin. Every day Germany was becoming more and more mistress of Russia's markets and new ' German companies were perpetually being formed. Energetic efforts were . made to.get into German hands Russia's export of manganese, which is chiefly used in the manufacture of very hard steel, and in 1913 the export to Germany was 25,000,0001 b, to Great Britain 15,000,0001 b and to France only 3,500,0001 b. The Ukraine's wealth of iron and coa.l tempted the Germans, who repeatedly tried to turn out the French and Russian capitalists who owned the Ukrainian mines, and though they were here unsuccessful, they succeeded in getting control of many important factories and works in northern Russia. Their method of pro-1 cedure never varied. They bought up, regardless of price, the shares of a company, wormed themselves into the board of directors, and puf Germans in the place of any French or I Belgian managers or foremen they 1

found. It was only because the law forbade thorn to do so that the Russian managers and foremen were not replaced by Germans. When the present war. broke out it seemed for a. time as if Russia were to be freed from the German yoke—German undertakings wound up and Russian ones established in their stead. But later the policy of Russia wasi dictated by Lenin, and the new industries were stopped; and the BrestLitovsk Treaty completed the work Lenin began. TTnder a recent date a correspondent*, reported that in Russia works were almost everywhere deserted, offices shut, machinery rusting, and whatever few industries were still working were doing so at a heavy loss, the workpeople alone being regularly paid by the State. Now that Russia is bound hand and foot by the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, Gcf-, many will send her, not half her imports, but everything she needs, plus! all the trash she cannot dispose of elsewhere. At present, despite the suppressed rage against Germany. German commercial travellers are scouring Russia and selling their rubbishy goods, for which they are glad to receive payment in corn and raw materials. These travellers, aided and abetted by their Government, allow credits of even as much as three years, and during the past few months Germany has thus invested in Russia more than 450,000,000 marks' worth of goods. There are now signs that the Russian is slowly but surely awakening to the position, that he recognise that he has to pay the Germans three or four times as much for his plough as it is worth and ' that they pay him three or four times too little for his corn, and that un<3er German rule his lot would be far worse than under Czarism.