APPENDIX 163 



tional energy and labour is the expansion of the rail- 

 way net of Russia. An adequate railway system is 

 absolutely indispensable for bringing out the natural 

 resources of any country, and the extension of the 

 railway system of Russia cannot be economically 

 accomplished without a full development of her metal- 

 lurgic industries. Even before the war there was a 

 growing feeling in Russia that her railway system 

 was not commensurate to the economic needs of the 

 country; and since that time this has become too 

 self-evident to be questioned. The total railroad 

 mileage in Russia is 47,000 miles. An idea of what 

 this means, in the way of unserved territory, can be 

 obtained by comparing it to the railway mileage of the 

 United States, which country, while only one third as 

 large, has 260,000 miles of road. This means that 

 Russia, on the basis of square miles, has only 5 per 

 cent., and on the basis of population, only 10 per cent., 

 of the railway mileage of the United States. This 

 has been fully discussed, and its importance under- 

 stood, in Russia; and it seems to be considered as the 

 initial problem to confront the country at the close of 

 the war. The government commission has already 

 examined and sanctioned the building of a total of 

 16,776 versts, at an estimated cost of 1,466,000,000 

 roubles, and at the beginning of the present year this 

 program was further enlarged by the sanctioning of an 

 additional 3000 versts, at a cost of 266,000,000 roubles. 

 So the country is already officially pledged to the con- 

 struction of about 20,000 versts, or 13,333 miles, while 

 projects are under consideration for official action that 



