1 64 APPENDIX 



will bring this up to about 17,000 miles, at an esti- 

 mated cost of over a billion dollars. 



It is the declared purpose of the government, pro- 

 vided capital can be obtained from the international 

 money markets, to enter upon a policy of construction 

 that would produce approximately 5000 miles per 

 year. It is highly improbable that any such exten- 

 sive program can be carried out, with the result that 

 only those projects presenting the most attractive 

 opportunities to capital will be taken up. What this 

 means to the steel industry in Russia is apparent 

 when we consider that each mile of road requires 

 approximately two hundred tons of metal. Further- 

 more, the existing railroads, while well constructed, 

 are designed to bear only a light unit of transportation. 

 With long hauls and heavy traffic, Russia is being 

 forced to the large unit of transportation adopted in 

 this country, which will require re-laying the existing 

 roads with heavier rails and the strengthening of all 

 right-of-way structures. It will be prohibitively ex- 

 pensive for Russia to import railway metal, owing to 

 the high cost of transportation, therefore the pace of 

 her railway development will be determined not only 

 by the readiness with which capital is obtained, but by 

 the extent and speed of the enlargement of the steel 

 industry. The country is fairly well supplied with 

 coal, and it has iron ore in very great abundance. At 

 the present time the development of both coal and iron 

 is by unrelated and comparatively small units; ade- 

 quate and economical results will not be obtained until 

 the whole industry is organized along comprehensive 



