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articles, but when transportation ceased the result was tragic as the raw materials were left on the hands of the manufacturers and they could neither sell them nor use them themselves. During the first years of the war Siberia was the least troubled section of Russia, since it produced great supplies of foodstuffs and there were still stocks of manufactured articles for which they could exchange them; but as time went on these stocks were depleted with the result that prices went higher and higher and with them rose, of course, the prices of the necessaries of life. At present it is almost impossible to buy shoes, clothing, implements, or medicines. Shoes cost from $30 to $100 and a suit of clothes from $100 up. It is not difficult to figure out how much a farmer must sell his butter and eggs for in order to cope with these prices. But the farmer class is not the one which is hardest hit. The general report is that they have more money than they know what to do with and tie it up in bundles and weigh it out. This of course is an exaggeration but there is some truth at the bottom of it. The class that is hard hit is the wage earner. The raise in his pay is nothing commensurate with the soaring of the prices of what he eats and what he wears, and the crippling of trade makes his services less indispensable. There is possibly enough food in Siberia to feed the population but there is nothing to buy it with and no way of distributing it. Some sections have plenty and at fairly reasonable rates while a town one or two hundred miles away will be nearly starving. Apart from agriculture, the principle source of the wealth of Siberia is its mines, and here again it has been very badly disabled. Before the Czecho-Slavaks took control, Bolshevism was as rampant in Siberia as in any other part of Russia and the mines were taken over by the workers and the owners were lucky if they got off with a whole skin. At present I believe the owners have regained control but owing to the demand for high wages, the high cost of material, and the lack of transportation, the mines have ceased to be paying investments.

In short, the present economic situation is bad enough to account for much of the trouble in Siberia but unfortunately there are many other knots in the tangle.

FINANCIAL DISORGANIZATION

One could hardly realize the tremendous importance which a stable currency holds in the life of a people, until one sees the confusion into which the lack of it has thrown the Russians. One is bewildered with the different kinds of money one has to handle in any ordinary transaction. There is the old Nikolaeff or "good" money which is worth about 20 per cent of its original value; then comes the Kerensky or "bottle label" variety which gets its value from no one knows where; next the money issued by different provinces or cities with no backing whatever. While I was in Omsk, the Omsk Government issued some millions also without any backing, and a day or two after the issue was made the Government fell. Postage stamps have been converted into currency by the simple process of stating the fact on their backs; coupons from much depreciated war bonds are another prolific source for ready cash; and the final and most astonishing forms are the individual issues by banks, restaurants, commercial houses and private individuals! Metal currency in the form of gold, silver, or copper has simply ceased to exist. The effect of this confusion is to paralyze all forms of trade. Even if a producer has an article which he could sell he would rather hold it than convert it into paper, concerning the value of which he rightly entertains the gravest of doubts. One of the very greatest needs of Siberia today and the one in which it can be helped only by outside nations, is that of goods. It has money, of the variety mentioned above but no sane merchant will agree to furnish materials in exchange for such trash.

The banks remain open but the only individuals darkening their doors are those who made deposits years ago and are now using every art of persuasion and threat to get them back again.

TRANSPORTATION DISORGANIZATION

There is only one railway line through Siberia, including the military loop to the North along the Amur river; and previous to the war this road, although run on antiquated

methods, still met the needs of the country very well. Considering the tremendous distances, it will at once be seen that the very life of the whole region depends on the efficient upkeep of this means of communication. The thing that most astonishes the student of Siberian affairs is the fact that in spite of all the changes that have taken place, most of them for the worst, the road is still running. This is a tribute either to a splendid organization of former times or to the loyalty of the men employed. Too much cannot be said in praise of the engineers and trainmen who have stood by their jobs in spite of all sorts of dangers, inadequate and unpaid wages, and the constant influence of Bolshevik propaganda. When I came through the latter part of November the men beyond Irkutsk had not had any pay for three months, and about 3,000,000 roubles were due them. This neglect was beginning to tell on their morale and there was grave danger of the whole road being tied up by a strike. The head of our train was very anxious to get back to Vladivostok at the earliest date possible and he had to frequently "jolly" the station master with presents of cigars, money or other commodities. It took us about twenty-four days from Omsk to Vladivostok although in ordinary times it would have taken nine or ten days or possibly less.

The rolling stock is in the worst possible condition as very few repairs have been made since the war began. There are between two and three hundred American engineers located on the Manchurian line from Vladivostok to Manchuria station. They were invited over by the Kerensky Government, I understand, but the Government changed before they were able to take control, and although they have been there for about two years they have never been able to do anything officially. They are now acting in an advisory capacity but the officials of the road use their own judgment in accepting any suggestions they make. One great difficulty as everywhere in Siberia is the grafting by high officials. If the Americans suggest improvements whereby economies may be practiced they run up against some high official who has some interest in keeping things as they are.

The most serious problem is the falling off of revenue. No general freight is being carried and the passenger service is all but abandoned. Thousands of box cars are being kept out of commission by the fact that they are being occupied by refugees who live in them for weeks and weeks, and no one seems to have the initiative or authority to put them out. Practically all of the activity of the road consists of hauling troops, supply trains for the Red Cross and Y. M. C. A., and all sorts of so-called "Missions" of investigation. As far as I know none of these organizations pay a cent for their transportation. A great number of trains are being used to carry Czech soldiers, Japanese, French, British, Italian, and Chinese. I have understood that the Americans pay when they ship troops, but this very rarely happens as they stick pretty close to Vladivostok which is about 4000 miles from the front. The principal activity of the Allies seems to be "investigating." Train after train of some special Commission goes by and when they have gone the length of the road and back their information is so stale and the situation is so changed that another "Mission" has to be sent out. It seems as if anyone can get a special car or a special train if he is insistent enough. At Irkutsk we found an old Scotchman who had worked his way through from Petrograd. He had commandeered a box car and raised the British flag over it and chalked in large letters on the sides, "British war mission," and he was getting away with it! We hitched him onto our train and brought him to Vladivostok with us. The Red Cross and Y. M. C. A. would each have three or four special trains going at one time on different sections of the road. One can imagine the attitude of the trainmen working these trains! When I left the Red Cross was considering seriously the question of supplying these men at least with clothing but as yet, as far as I know, this has not been done.

POLITICAL DISORGANIZATION

One has only to review the progress of events in order to be persuaded how absolute is this disorganization. After the Allies had occupied Vladivostok the citizens of that town

elected a Bolshevik mayor; and when the Czech General Gaida was made a sort of military dictator General Horvath, a Russian, refused to accept his authority in the Harbin district. With the formation of the Omsk Government it was thought that a stable Government had been established, but before the Powers had time to recognize it, this authority also was superceded by the Dictatorship of Kolchak, and at the present writing, Semenoff, operating in the Cheta region, withholds his allegiance and it is only the restraining influence of the Allies that keeps them from going at each others throats!

The great difficulty seems to be that there are no disinterested politicians in Siberia. Each individual seems to be out for something personal. Under the old system there was a considerable leeway left for the play of "legitimate graft" whereby each official supplemented his salary by some sort of "rakeoff." This system was so ingrained into the people that it has been impossible for the present officials to free themselves from it, with the result that whatever the new governments do they are always subject to the charge of dishonesty.

Since the Bolsheviks have been driven out the conditions have been getting steadily worse economically; couple to this the fact that a large portion of the people are Bolshevik at heart, it is not to be wondered at that a minority at least sigh for the good old Bolshevik days. There have been many signs of Bolshevik reaction but they are always put down with a heavy hand, but the spirit is here nevertheless.

The absence of any settled Allied policy further complicates the situation. They do not seem to have gotten together on any settled principle and some of the nationalities are working at cross purposes. Dozens of times the railroad has been on the point of being turned over to the American Engineers, but then someone held up the arrangement. The Japanese are the ones whose purposes are the most open to suspicion; there seems to be no doubt that they have designs on the northern part of Manchuria, and consequently do all they can to keep the Americans from getting control

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