Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1913.djvu/1340

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RUSSIA

III. Posts, Telegeaphs, and TelephonJis. The following are the postal and telegraphic statistics for five years :- Internal and Extep.nal Communications.

—

Letters and postcards

Book post, i Letters with lieriodicals and money and parcels ' postal orders

1906

1907

1908

1909 .... 1910

886,035,900 967,930,000

1 1,081,918,000 1,209,656,000

I 1,351,956,000

513,757,758 ' 21,911,544 553,095,000 37,582,000 571,291,000 38,628,000 610,926,000 ' 41,828,000 677,553,000 ^ 46,055,000

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Telegraphs

Lines

Wire

Telegrams Carried

1906 1907 1908 1909 1910

Miles 106,146 106,238 119,117 120,865 126,483

Miles 399,743 415,897 415,004 425,969 453,530

Number 156,766,533 161,657,733 163,363,094 181,748,546

1

—

1906

1907

1908

1909

1910

Revenue Plxpenditure

74,821,198 46,079,254

77,092,269 46,520,211

80,307,884 50,361,680

88,340,475 56,246,914

98,387,928 62,285,545

Money and Credit.

By an Imperial decree, dated January 3 (15), 1897, it was ordered that the State Bank should accept paper money and exchange it for gold money.

A regular value of the paper currency having thus been introduced, a law was passed on August 29, 1897, to the effect that paper currency may be issued by the State's Bank, when necessity occurs, but on the following conditions : If the amount of paper currency does not exceed 600,000,000 roubles, it must be guaranteed by half that sum ; while every issue above 600,000,000 roubles must be guaranteed to the full amount in gold deposited at the bank. The growth of the paper currency and the fluctuations of the guarantee fund on January 1 (14), of the last five years are represented as follows in millions of roubles : —

1908

1909

1910

1911

1912

Paper currency

1,260-0

1,200-0

1,300-0

1,350

1,450

Guarantee fund (in gold) at the Bank and Treasury.

1,169-2

1,220-0

—

—

—

Cash and gold at the Bank.

l,3-2S-9

1,402-5

1,611-2

1,627-3

1,620-7