Newspapers / The Wilmington Dispatch (Wilmington, … / May 6, 1917, edition 1 / Page 12
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THE WILMINGTON DHA16UijDiemiNg iPl'7;aT THE ROMANCE OF THE RUSSIAN RUBLE Depreciated Currency of An Unappreciated People The Future For American Capital in The Land of The Awakening Bear "The Russian army is well supplied ten years old?) . Imagine a people 1,00 uoTi was the statement of ! ardently patriotic ruled by a family vviLU uai-v. . t 1 . . , , Sven Hedin, the famous Swedish au thor, made a few months after the European war began. Clothing, shoes, food, guns, ammunition; they had none of these of another nation the ex-Czar Nich also were Germans by direct descent. half-German Catharine and her Ger man consort Peter; his wife, the ex Czarina, a Hessian. Practically all It was the custom of the Russian 1 of the high officials of the government battalions to charge the enemy aiso were Germans uy uueu ucwm, trenches in four-fanks. The first rank was armed with guns. When the men of that rank fell the second rank picked up the guns. When the second rank fell the third line were able to arm themselves "; there was a no ticeable quaver in the voice of the Russian now a professor in Yale Uni versity, when the other night he so (described the hopeless gallantry of his unhappy fellow countrymen. Such was the condition of the Ra?- iSturmer, lately the chief power in the ministry, with a distinctly German name. Consider that the most in fluential individual in Russia was for years an illiterate peasant from Si beria who masqueraded as a monk, and whose religion had its roots in the most wanton practices of emotion al degeneracy. Given such rulers, their hands upheld by a felt-footed legion of secret police over whom practically no restraint was placed; HEART-THROBS. , . .. v v (By "Smiling .Jonas." " 4- one" door sian Army tut a little over a month I given a premier such as Stolypin who urn Thr mnrtitinn of t.hfi Russian used the hangman's noose so fre- people may well be surmised; well be surmised; the character of the government respon sible for such wanton sacrifice may be estimated. "The population of Petrograd, -incensed by the complete disorganization of transport services and alimenta tion, had been irritated for a long time against the government and had become restless." So runs the mild account permitted to reach Sayville, via Berlin, on the 15th of March "Alimentation," as an euphemism for "starvation," and the gentleness of tfre world "irritate" are worthy of a more subtle diplomacy than Berlin has yet displayed. In any event it is evident-that the irritation must have been somewhatl aggravated by sub sequent events ; for it would seem im possible that mere irritation could de throne an autocrat and depose a gov ernment. Hundreds for Fifty-three. During -the last three years the whole history of Russian finance has been influenced by the insidiousin trigues at work within the court circle at Petrograd. The sudden aid start ling shift of the balance of trade be tween this country and Russia might well have accounted for a consider able depression in the value of the Russian ruble; but scarcely any eco nomic condition,, however favorable, could have counterbalanced the ever present suspicion that there was some thing very rotten in the state of Ro manoff, and the natural mistrust and timidity by such an uncertain situa tion. For thirty-two months now, or ever since that fateful month ' of August in 1914, the Russian ruble has steadily depreciated from its par value of 51.46 its normal value being fifty-one and 'forty-six .hundredths cents in Ameri , can money jitttil" in the mMdle of ! 1 March it reached its . -extreme tfowi re- cord of 27.70. In short, a hundred dol lars worth of Russian rubles could then have been bought for about fifty three dollars in American gold. Since then there has been a very slight rise. . To any one interested in the invest- ; ment. nf r.anitnl in foreign countries! the present situation in Russia offers,ers a fascinating study. What influence 'the recent revolution will have upon "the nation cannot yet be estimated; in ; a republican community such as the 'United States everyone is, of course, inclined to take an optimistic view of any overthrow of despotism. It is . against such excess of optimism that ! Samuel McRoberts, vice-president of the National City bank, warns Amer ica in a. recent statement. "There is Ithe- danger," says Mr. McRobertsj 1 "that American investors will get such a rosy impression of the pre , sent situation in Russia and of the 5 progress which has been made to "ward the achievement of a republic , as to be -utterly surprised if any of . the usual obstacles in a governmental . transformation manifest themselves . " Pomegranates and Sealskin. The really vital point in any con sideration of Russia as a present or future field for investment is not Rus sia as influenced by the revolution but Russia itself. Again Mr. Mc ; Roberts emphasizes this point by . saying: "Optimism on the future of ; investments in Russia and in Russian bonds was not based on faith in the ? future of any one dynasty or of any . one form of government, but on the ;. conviction that nothing can prove a permanent obstacle td the ultimate destiny of the country". And in order .to understand Russia it is necessary to know something of the history and the people of the greatest of all world nations. We of the United States with our usual star-spangled banner buoyancy, have gotten into the habit of refer ring to our country as the greatest on -the earth. Finally this is perhaps . true; but from the point of view of size, of area, population, or the, extent of natural resources we are' coddling ourselves in a pleasant delusion! Rus sia, with her eight and a half million square miles, could swallow up the quently that his victims were genially pointed out as having received the decoration of "Stolypin's necktie"; given Siberia asfche penalty for felony or political intrigue, and the steel knotted knout as sentence! for the slightest misdemeanor; and finally giv en a people so proud in tradition and so sensitive to disgrace that a whip ping received by the head of a peas ant family meant that that man could never face the world again but must perforce seek his only surcease in suicide, and it may be a little more possible to understand the plight of the Russian millions. That is the past of the Russian peo: pie, a past that America has been able to know nothing of, even through the small seepage of native literature and most of that garbled that has found its way to the American reader. A melancholy, passive, fatalistic peo ple? "More like Americans than any people in Europe," is Mr. McRoberts observation . Uncle Jack Kn eked the, ashes out of his corn-cob pipe, threw his feet ver the banister and asserted his rights as a true American citizen by sitting with his feet higher than his head. About that time little Tom Brown entered bringing the old darkey 'a huge watermelon. "Well, well" re torted Uncle Jake, "yo' show . does know how to tech dis nigger's heart, for dis am a fine million, it sho' Lord is." Tom had a habit of going to the home of Uncle Jake to hear him tell folk-lore stories and he would bring some little gift along to make the old darkey feel under obligations to him. "Now for a story Uncle Jake," said Tom . "Well if I mus' I recken I mus den, so I'll tell yo' some o' de trials an' tribulashuns of Mr. Turkey Buzzard." "One time Mr. Turkey Buzzard he dun got tired, sittin' on de fence wait in' fer ole cholery hogs to die, so as how he could knaw deir bones and he shuck all de loose fedders out o' his whings an' away he flew to watch de doins o' de worl' at large . He soon foun1 a Bee Hive an' tho't he jes' take a peep in dar to see how de little fellers lived, an' no sooner did he poke his bill into other folkses business dan dem bees jes kivered him an' dey run into his fedders back- eend fo' most an' law honey, dat Buz-jm zard sho' did flap his wings an' cut some kin' o' capers an' he soon 'cided dat dem wont no healthy diggins fer a 'spectable Buzzard and he hif de grit he did." "You mean he hit the air, don't you Uncle Jake," said Tom. "Now look here" said the old darkey in an injured tone, "Is I tellin' dis story, or is yo' tellin' it?" "Go ahead" said Tom." "Well den dat Buzzard he flew on an' on till he foun' a bird's nest away out on de end of a long swingin" lim' an' so he light- out an da fell 011 de groun- hopeless corpses" an' daolenothee-Martin jes got so mad at de Buzzard for mur derin dem pore little 1 innocent dar lins dat sie ?jtuck sout After ilat-wandering Buzzard an sat on his back an pecked him till he got clean out, o' sight an "to disvday da Bee-Martin will sho Lorct peck a Buzzard ebry time, he "eets'a 'tunity; ;.so ?now Tom jes watchf'lm for -yo'self an see ef I ain't lIun? tole yo de ; L.orTs troor. . "Thanks Uncle Jake," that's a good. said Tom as he darted out at the aiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiirjiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiHiiinmnn ' WiliniiiAt IIIIU!IIIIII!!I!!IIIIII!l!I!in!llllII!!III!IIIIIII!IIIII!!!ii!iiiiimm,M,nn,, ., r-- v V ' . ' - - ' "mil . I 1 V 1 011 vicicieu. jcnook ITEMS OF INTEREST CONTRIBUTED BY PUPILS iii!imii!iiiiiiiii;iiiiiii!i!iiiiiiiiiiiiim coming in short order. So be it. w Free factory sites and other sights "f vyLUMm nuurt"' T 4 Paul Weaver and 4 JU I tils Rr-nrh ' ' It has been a long time since Hil- 4. " ton left Barbadoes and sanea up me g, (jape near Kiver ana iouua iue au dian Chief Watcoosa on Big Island and J ia ISAAC BEAR. : Emma McCaig, fourth grade student of our school, was the fortunate win ner of the girls' first prize of $7.50 of fered by the Rotary Club for the ten best reasons why Wilmington should have free factory sites. IIIIIIIIINllli ? "milllllll; i 4-TTT HEMENWAY. Nettie Tezchey, Dan pen. Margaret McCarley Edward Koonce We are very busy finishing up the just imagine his surprise when the work of the year and preparing a play red-faced warrior made the pale-raced which is to be given next Tuesday l'i j. iS V. S - t-nrj- 1 f.trrl tt 1 a rrt. i rt j 1 I explorer a present ui ma lww iuycijt nigni. ine story 01 me piay is a. The coming two weeks will be very daughters. 1 have endeavored to tell .visit made to Mother Goose by her bu ones f0rthe entire student body this story in verse and in the language! daughter the Old Woman Who, Lived jof the sch0ol Everyone wants a of James Larkin . Pearson, I will say in a Shoe, with her large family of ; promotion card" and is working very that children and we like to sing the ,, tn ot it 'j rr . - j wui aucuuauvt;,nw:v P - 'l"" dr .. "UL "I Dnec:v. smaller cniiaren. we are verv uiucu j;j . t-i ji i ti ca lur inp nftn... . aiun 4.. The Hemenwav . duced into its curriculum ti, inlr! iautic una arm of th.. "";arr principal as Drill Mast(.r ; ,"h The boys are catchine n . very quickly. UJ ,ne dri mi t x in nemenway schnni , 'O The rhyming may often be rough But still I have found it a pleasure To write them and that is enough." Watcoosa. On what is now "Big Island, Upon the old Cape Fear; Watcoosa and his warriors Lived on year after year. D. sixteen sixty three, Along towards its close, The Indian Chief Watcoosa Met men from Barbadoes. The Chief with forty warriors, To make a grand display; Came forth to meet the strangers On one November day. Pud to1 interested in hearing: the erood reports v.i I sons were won bv thp S 'fa : cuuui luio o yi lug uiau ui;iuib -i - 1 "'lurcn it .1 to otner schools in Z t of our friends concerning their gar-!and Vry few ro0ms have had tardies dens and we enjoy telling about our, recently . own equally as well. " j In the ticket selling contest ' for The Fourth grade, A, planted forty ,Alice in Wonderland" the Fourth the banner school. Th This x, prizes were as follows; fw Joe Stone; Leroy Plyler SPPnnH -,. 1 ... --"Ut ,1.1 Mi in. iiii w iii i in ai. vv i urn iiirr iir: . . . v . . n i t ,. from these eardens. Wp wanted to i. o. s .btone is a member nf m,-c i. uwPt nave scnooi garaens on me vacant gaaen,s mis spring, ana nineteen grade students carred off first honors' """X Z' ft families have already had vegetables anA will hfi axvar thfi nrize offered ?ermce McDon land opposite the school building which I was offered 'us by Mr-. Trask but were can loan for Italy, unable to get it fenced in. Entertaining royal and other dis- We were delightfully entertained tinguisnea visitors trom aDroaa nas by Mr. Wallace Tuttle, a member of the Red Path Chautauqua Company, Washington that the visit of the Duke of the Abruzzi would not cause Watcoosa was the spokesman And eloquent he grew; But no one understood him Except his dusky crew. ed dar an' de lim' swung away down wid him- an' he soon diskivered dat; While Captain Hilton listened, he dun foun a Bee-Martin's nest an' he 'gun to tell de Bee-Martin how on gentlemanly dem bees acted in his presence an' dat dey had stung him so had dat his eyes wuz done stuck out on stems an' he- swore eternal friendship to de Bee-Martin ef he'd jes promis' to feed dem little birdlets on bees i" Now Bre'r Rabbit was close by gittin' him a chaw of dis ole 'Rab bit terbacker an' when he heard what ide Buzzard tole de Bee-Martin he tuck Less Than Our Debt Per Capita. But what of the safety of future in-!one ROQ iook at de disannearance o' vestment in Russian enterprise; what 'dat 0ie SCavineer an' he iect lack to of the present market afforded in thejDusted rite wide onen an' laff so bic purchase of Russian rubles? Ljat he los' his chaw o' terbacker an' The United States is now quite scared de Buzzard almost into anas- cheerf ully anticipating the floation of modics an' so de Buzzard f lapped his With wonder in his eyes; It came all unexpected, A great but sad surprise. The Chief's two lovely daughters, With dark and flowing hair, Were given Captain Hilton And placed within "His care. on Tuesday. Following is a list of the grades having no tardies: First ia ripple on the social surface were it not ror tne tact mat tne visitor is the Duke f the Abruzzi. For Wash ington and the Duke are old friends grades Miss an are bound together by pleasant vo-ppirs- Mjoai memories 01 me visits paiu uy me s thir Brock's rnnm ., " '"riuw' Of - allu ,,ern ,, grades Miss Borden, seven weeks; Miss Williams, four weeks; Miss tRiley, four weeks; Miss Cameron, three weeks. Second Eleanor Harriss, four Duke to this city in days gone by. feiau-c, ut-ivuy i iyier is a mil TVunnlH la a mrv,v, ... LeGwin's Eighth grado. ' '' ww., fo.ucui, ui me i;otarv n,i presented the prizes in the form iCv,iv tu tut; winners on Wedn " f'ipai, on hph-iif the school, thanked President f Moore for the opportunity the R 001 to try fK Club extended to the sch( the prizes. A mi i inursaay mornine Mr r,, w.oiiCU tsinooi and l.roueh - - o oimc iciiiifra nnrt Miss Essie Harriss, four weeks ;' Washington remembers the Duke as pictures of the school and to Fourth e'racip. Miss Julia Fnison. four,"' t"u6uijr iCixY, xtlx weeks . He thought of Mrs. Hilton And wondered what she'd do, If those two charming maidens Remained among his crew. something like seven billion dollars This, together with the present debt of the country of one billion dollars will impose a tax of about $80 on every individual. Russia has so far borrow ed about ten billions. Together with her Dresent debt of about three bil- whings and flew away an' up went dat lim' and slung dem little Bee-Martins eye fixed upon the East; even now one of the largest and strongest financial corporations in this country is plan ning to introduce into every Russian lions every Kussian win De inaeDtea ; town one of our greatest American to the extent of about $72.22. So; man j enterprises. Automobiles? Farm for man, Russia after nearly three tractors ?( Fountain pens? Rubber years of war will not be quite so deep-j hfiels? Chewing gum? Not at all. 1 : - 1 ,J Alt a TT : rl Ofnlna nriTi TTTT X 1 f .... iy mvuivtju as lug uuhcu owico, , vv iiitu eiae ot course dui me movies active war still ahead. Add to this the recollection that financing cqndiitions were unusually sbntjhd in thisoutry Imfnedjateiy afd ter tne uivn war notwitnstanaing tue fact that the Boer capita debt was then just about $100. Russia, if neces sary, can borrow vabout five billions more or half "again as" much as has already, been secured before the per capita debt will equal that of our fa- Forest Bigger Than Texas , To the average American the com parative figures recently given out by Ivan Narodny, vice-president of the Russian-American-Asiatic corporation, may well prove surprising. In timber lands Russia leads the world, a single forest in Siberia being larger than the State of Texas. Wheat, oats, barley, rye; all of these Russia pro duces in greater quantity than this country. The total amount of Russian cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, and other domestic animals is larger than that of any other country; while the value of the catch of fish is greater by two than that of any other nation. Never looked upon as anything of an industrial nation it is nevertheless true that Russia's flour production leads the world, while in textile manu factures that country is a good third. Vast tracts of coal and hundreds of square miles of oil fields are among from the very natureRussia's other as sets, while in the value of gold pro duced Russia is second only to this country. All this development has been, of course, in the face of the most serious obstacles, not only from, in ternal sources but from the very na ture of the country, unsettled,, wild, almost unexplored as it is ; with its only ports during war time ice-bound six months in the year. Enter The Movies. The American investor who sees in the opportunity of buying Russian rubles at about 54 per cent, of their par value a chance to make about 85 per cent, on his investment should, of course, consider not only the unset tled condition of the government, the possibility of a greatly prolonged dura tion of the war, and the probable fi nancial strength of Russia at its term ination; but he must also take into consideration the fact that no t in a single year of peace can the balance of Russia's trade with the United He gave the Chief a hatchet And set the maidens free; But promised four days later, To take them out to sea. Poor, foolish, dusky damsels, For years they watched and yearned; But faithless Hilton left them And nevermore returned. abundance of savoir faire, an adven turer in the highest sense of the word, and, in short, an Italian edition of the American rough rider, who felt i m nigniy congenial company wnen sat at the Roosevelt fireside on the occasion of his previous visits to Washington, D. C, May 5 Having j this country. scarcely recovered from the topsy-! And who has forgotten the roman- turvmess into which the city was plunged by the recent visit of Gen- jalso the building. A ROYAL VISITOR FOR WASHINGTON! he eral Joffre, Arthur J. Balfour, M. Vi viani and other world notables, Wash ington in eager expectancy is await ing the arrival of a guest ot world- Tf inn Vn.ni-U.. I . '"uuiauno i uoiii and Vl ll"uu,uu6us '""ui nave been sucm. ful so far in piling up a "No Tardv record for thirty consecutive weeks" Tiro c cnattAfil Fts I. t-v ououncu. i ne uuKe i),.nnl- unveil. i.u mtj enu oi tne earth on a trip of exploration, and Miss Elkin' ctiuer me lapse oi some years bocam the wife of "Billy" Hitt. u,ic aoiue LiKJiu mis romanw nowever, the Duke of the Abruzzi ha- Duuoiamidi uiaim.s to tamo, for ue nas aisunguisnea himself in boti uie neias oi exploration and scionr I 1 nnn i i , , in xvvv iie completed a serifs o' cnmDs ana observations in the Him, layas which established conclusive me tnira nignest mountain in th world, Broad Peak, which tnw.p t. a height of 27,132 feet. In addition the Duke has to his credit exploits in the Arctic and in equatorial Africa In 1897 he made an ascent ot Moun: St. Elias, the giganlic peak in Alaska almost on the boundary of Canada Three years later he journeyed to the Arctic and attained a nninf far big-timers ahead Of the , United btates ana tier allies in tne of the high-spirited American girl, ther north than had ever been tm "Brooklyn gardner. j war, and the securing ot an Amen-And thus the international romance before. Abruzzi wooed the then Miss Kath erine Elkins, daughter of the late Senator Elkins, of West Virginia, and one of the belles of Washington? For a space of several years the rumors wide fame from across the water, and of an engagement between Miss El- n. ' rOVfl.1 JTllPSt tn hnnt TllA distin- I Vina Q-nA tha. TaUa ilnlra nonunion o . . - , ti - - - - - - " . i iviiiu tt,xA Liiij naiiaii uuac uvuyicu a guished visitor now awaited is Prince prominent place in the American Luigi, Duke of the Abruzzi. This press. According to the stories print royal parsonage, for he is the king of , ed at the time the Duke tried in vain Italy's cousin, and his own father ! to obtain the consent of his royal rel was once king of Spain, is coming atives to his marriage with Miss El over at the head of an Italian mis- j kins. The family remained obdurate, si.on having for its objact the same Without their consent Miss Elkins purpose accomplished by the recent j could not become the Duchess of "Wheat hits highest figures" says delegates from England and France, j the Abruzzi, and it was equally cer- the headline. The writer of that j namely, the perfection ot arrange- tain that a "left-handed" marriage line should look up the records. There ' ments for co-operation between the was out of the question in the case are scores of big-timers ahead Of the ! United States and her allies in the of the high-spirited American girl. ichers, All the Music of all the world, and most of the fun of it, too; is yours the moment you own a vLoMinnibiia m if ti n wairoinioMi whole continent of North America . States ibe .'completely retrieved. In with a small slice of South America thrown in for good measure. Russia, with her one hundred and eighty mil- r lions of people, has almost as many f inhabitants as the whole western hemisphere. And the natural' resour i oes, ia- agriculture, in ..timber, in I metals, have been scraped on the sur face. And picture a country with so wide ar range of climate that among '-its exports, are numbered pomegran ates, oranges and cotton; sealskin, 'rmine, and the ivory tusks of; the pleistocene mammoth. : - The "Stolypin's Necktie" Regime. .That is a suggestion of the limitless future of the. Russian people. Now 'si world as to their past. Imagine a people of a hundred and eighty mil 'lions with one hundred and twenty four millions more people than live "in all Canada and the United States unable , to read or write (and these figures do not include children under the recent years when tlie Russian ruble was worth its full par value of a trifle over fifty-one cents, Russia's exports to the United States were al ii est equal to, and In one year 1913 in excess of, her imports from this country. ; . It will certainly take some time to re-establish the old trade relations which prevailed before the war; not even the United States settled its gov-, ernment secure in the saddle im mediately 'aftei "6vlt .revolution. All of these things take time. But when once peace comes, when once again Russia is open to us, and the more open in that it will be bound by the ties of friendship and alliance; there would appear to, be a wonderful field open for the American investor. Even now plans are being laid to take ad vantage of the welcome of the new Russia; even now big business has its c$ntuf -jvetteme&J.woreTAOIN We. have Columbia instruments that conform to everj 2equirtment of cost or surrounding. Between $J5 and $200, the price you want to pay is met by an instrument that gives you the money's worth, even if measured solely by its intrinsic value. Measured by its musical quality and its capacity for bringing you "all the music of all the world" the money value is multiplied beyond any computation. And any Columbia Grafonola may be purchased on terms so satisfactory that the instrument is paid for before you know it. You can buy any ma chine in the store on easy credit terms. Columbia Double-Disc Records give you an unlimited variety of music. Not only the voices of the great artists of opera, in solo and concerted numbers ; not only the recordings of the world's greatest masters of the violin and the piano ; but the music of the great orchestras and bands, and of the soloists of those organizations and the songs and humor of the stars of every stage music for your, every mood find for every occasion that music meets; music- for the quiet family hour, for the cheer of visitors, for the dance, for indoors or outdoors, at home, at the club, and in the school. " A word regarding our service: Our stock of Columbia Grafonolas and Columbia Double-Disc Records is all new. It will give us pleasure to play the instruments or records for you, whether you purchase or not, and we will assist you in making selections, no matter how amall the purchase. Columbia -..Double-Disc Records Come in and let us play them for you. NEW MAY RECORDS ON SALE NOW Played on any instrument, are indeed a tone revelation to most people. We Are Open at Night JJJra tore New Record Every 20th f tl Month s4
The Wilmington Dispatch (Wilmington, N.C.)
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May 6, 1917, edition 1
12
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