Sept. 24.
Soviet Russia's new economi thrust at the markets of the world, especially in regard to grain and other foodstuffs Snevitably. creating the greates concern and apprehension When Russian political doctrines wore first let loose in propaganda waves a certain degree of safeguard was attained by letting own the flood gates of common-ense and national intellectual stability, but the new thrust is ina different category. By an extensive process of dumping in order to force down prices in the prinefpal countries of the world, Soviet Russia is embark-Ing on a campaign of disruption much more promising of success than any' political propagand war, Already the grain markets of Britain and the United States have commenced to feel the effect of this policy. The bottom has been knocked out of the prices on the British Corn Exchange, holding grave calamity for the British and Colonial farmers. In the United States, cly selling short, a serious situation has been created detrimental to American farmers who have been protected by a high tariff! and Government financing. In various countries of Europe, especially those ce tinuous to Russia, the situation is equally serious and threats of retaliation are in the air, While any attempt to reduce the prices of a essential commonty like food is readily acceptable the Russian venture must be regarded in a different light. Reports of the last few months have all tended to show the serious food situation in Russia, From many parts of the country have come accounts of food riots, Siberia especially being affected. the conditions must be worse than in the country districts because any general movement to accumulate grain for- export snust hit the industrial areas harder than the agricultural eas, On the verge of a'fa-milne, Russia is running the risk of starving its own people in order to make this tremendous dumping process possible. One xeason advented for this drastic step is that the dumping is being undertaken in order to finance the importation of machinery which Russia badly needs in order to carry out the five years' industrial programme which has hitherto produced such favourable results, but whether the social and political organization of the Soviet republics is able to stand such a strain is a danger which holds the- elements of total collapse for the country. There are already indications! that the country is beginning to feel the pinch and that this den-dation of foodstuffs is creating' much concern in the cities, but it seems quite obvious that undermine the economic standards of the world the rulers of Russia to-day are desperate enough to endanger their own country and people. In any. case, the flooding of the world's markets with cheap goods, the products of people akin to serfs in their conditions of labour, is threatened for while cheaper grain is being dumped at present the object of the industrial programme, on its realization, is precisely a policy of dumping industrial products. The danger is thus two-fold while Soviet Russia remains outside the economic organization of the world, Britain will be principally affected. More than 500,000 tons of shipping have been chartered to transport gral and food to Britain while the people of Russia are crying out for food. Prices have dropped to a ridiculously low level as sult of imports of product' "planted, grown and reared by serfs." Against this process, British farmers are helple Before the war Britain subsist largely on Russian wheat but in the past sixteen years development of British agriculture, at home and abroad, has practically covered Russia's former contribution to the food of the country. In the absence of fective tariff barriers nothing can be done to prevent this huge dumping of grain, but the consequences to. British agriculture will be serious white the assistance thus provided will only go towards the realization of the five years' indus: trial programme which—will substitute industrial products for grain, The outlook is very ominous for the existing economic depression is likely to lead to an exploitation and condone ing of Russia's new policy irrespective of what the future may bring. The issue has already received much earnest consideration at the League of Nations, but no practical solution has been reached. The United States held up the importation of Soviet timber on the report that it was produced by convicts. Finland and Rumania have banned Soviet timber entirely. The question is whether any such action can taken with wheat. It is very doubtful because of its far more difficult economic—conside! tions, but there is no disguising the seriousness of the new Rus sian policy.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.