Page:Raymond Augustine McGowan - Bolshevism in Russia and America (1920).pdf/16

 16 not is a question, for the Bolsheviki have the law behind them for general confiscation. They might perhaps try to take by taxation all land values and leave to the peasants the shell of ownership. But thus far the Socialist theory has run against a stone wall in the peasant's love for personal ownership; the theory has encountered a fact and met defeat. And from all appearances its defeat is permanent.

City real estate has not all been nationalized, but arrangements have been made so that even when property has remained in the possession of its owners, it yields no profit. Mansions, etc., have been opened to the poor of the slums, and the homes of workingmen have escaped nationalization. Thus the situation of city real estate is similar to that of farm lands.

Very early after the Soviet Revolution, all the joint-stock banks were merged into the State bank. The chief purpose of this was to control the investment market. But the coöperative banks were able to resist nationalization and have grown very much under the Bolshevist régime. The most important of these is the Moscow Narodny Bank,. which has branches in sixteen other Russian cities, and in London and New York. The share capital of this bank has even been increased from 10 million to 100 million rubles. Credit socities were also allowed to continue. Being the sole competitors of the State banks, these coöperative banks have made great progress. The large bank deposits have been confiscated, as well as all the gold that had been hoarded in the safety vaults. Besides, only a certain amount of money can be withdrawn from deposit every week. As for the securities, there was no need of confiscating them since they could be reached, if of domestic issue, more easily in other ways. It is reported that foreign securities were confiscated by the Government. Capital levies were also made, and in this way much money was taken from its