184 tioii' to Pay for the War 



and labour representatives of Great Britain is in course of 

 formation, upon which it is hoped all important interests 

 will be represented. 



Russia is a country which covers about one-fifth of the 

 habitable globe, and its natural resources in all the 

 essential materials for the establishment, maintenance 

 and development of every kind of trade and industry are 

 practically unlimited. At the present moment Russia's 

 resources are virtually untapped, although many important 

 industries already established in the country show the 

 extent to which Russia could contribute a large propor- 

 tion of the world's requirements of food stuffs, oil, minerals 

 and metal, flax, hides, cotton, tobacco, &c. 



The importance of the means by which the resources of 

 Russia will be eventually developed must be appreciated 

 if the present War is not to be lost economically after it 

 has been won militarily. 



To this end it is necessary to consider from the economic 

 point of view the relative positions of Great Britain and 

 Germany in the world's trade. Both are essentially 

 industrial countries, which are dependent upon consider- 

 able supplies of foodstuffs and raw materials from other 

 countries. The British Empire through its Dominions 

 and Colonies has at its disposal large supplies of raw 

 material, which, as the War has proved, were being slowly 

 dominated and controlled by Germany, through her policy 

 of peaceful penetration ; in fact, a large proportion of the 

 entire raw material resources of the British Empire was 

 more or less under German influence in some form or 

 other. Now that this influence has all been, or will 

 shortly be, eliminated, Germany will find herself forced to 

 seek other sources of raw material supply. By turning 

 to Russia she finds at her own doors a vast reservoir of 

 raw materials in the hands of a nation unable of itself to 

 develop the same, and these she aims at using for her own 

 profit and to the detriment of Russia and the other 

 Allies. 



In addition to the natural resources above referred to, 

 Russia possesses a population approximating 180,000,000, 

 of whom 85 per cent, are peasants or agricultural workers. 

 There are, therefore, in Russia, the main essentials of 

 material and labour, for the establishment and development 

 of great industries. 



With Russia under the economic domination of 

 Germany a position would arise in time which might 

 seriously jeopardize the economic life and progress of the 



