Page:The Russian Review Volume 1.djvu/128

106 application. Therefore, one of the most important factors of the future Russian-American business relations will, no doubt, be American investments in Russian enterprises. There are unlimited prospects in this field of application for American capital.

The field of mining industries, metallurgical in general, and iron and steel in particular, deserves special attention. Russia possesses very rich deposits of gold, platinum, copper, manganese, mineral oils, etc. Her iron ores are of the best quality in Europe, and the supply is so enormous that it cannot be calculated. In many places iron and coal deposits are found almost side by side.

Now, despite the fact that there are in Russia many blast-furnace, steel, and rolling mills, there is still much to be done in this field. Let me quote a few statistics. In 1910 the production of pig-iron was as follows: Russia, 3½ million tons, Great Britain, 10½ million tons, and the United States, 26 million tons. This means per capita production as follows: Russia, 45 pounds, Great Britain, 500 pounds, and the United States, 660. The need of iron and steel increases very rapidly and these figures show that their production should and must be increased about tenfold. In other words, the number of factories or the productivity of those already in existence can easily be increased tenfold without flooding the home market.

Let me turn now to the railroad industry in Russia. In this industry a great deal has been done, but present conditions do not as yet satisfy the demand, and there is still much to be accomplished. Russia now has 45 thousand miles of railroad. In this respect, she occupies the first place in Europe and the second place in the world, being outdone only by the United States, with their system of 260,000 miles. By the way, it is interesting to note that no other country in the world has such a long line as that between Petrograd and Vladivostok, which extends for 5,500 miles and over which a passenger may travel without changing cars.

But if the Russian railroad system appears large when the figures are taken absolutely, it proves to be totally inadequate if taken in relation to the area and the population of the country. Comparing Russia with other countries, we get the following picture: In European Russia there are 16 miles of railroad per thousand square miles of territory; in Asiatic Russia, 2 miles; in the United States, 65; in France, 142; in Germany, 176; and in Great Britain, 181 miles.