V. I.

Lenin

Under this headline the German Social-Democratic news paper Vorwärts
recently published an extremely valuable document—the original text of a
letter written by M. Jules Gouin, the manager of a large machine works in
Batignolles (a suburb of Paris), to a ministry official in St. Peters
burg. Through the medium of this gentleman the French works received an order
for 114 locomotives. The total value of the order (at 27,700 francs per
locomotive) is some 3,000,000 francs, or about 1,200,000 rubles. For his good
offices in this transaction the honourable ministerial official (who, we may
add, probably occupies a fairly high post) receives for a start, as we see from
the letter, two per cent of the purchase price. This amounts to about 25,000
rubles. It further appears from the letter (which we do not quote in full for
lack of space) that of this sum 13,000 francs have already been received by the
go-between; the rest is payable in instalments. Moreover, alterations in the
standard type of locomotives to the specifications of the Russian railways are
to be paid for separately. The St. Petersburg representative of the Paris firm
undertakes to inform this official in advance what this extra charge demanded by
the works will amount to. If the official can “get” from the Russian Government a higher price than that fixed by the works, the difference too
will be placed to his credit as the “go between”. In the German
translation of the letter (written in French) this is called

Vermittlungsgeb¨hr , “broker’s commission”. Actually, of
course, this expression is merely a veil to cover a most brazen swindle, an
embezzlement of public funds, committed by a French capitalist and a Russian
ministry official working under a collusive contract.

Vorwärts rightly says that the letter casts a lurid light on Russian
venality and the advantage that foreign capital takes of it. The letter is
documentary proof of the usual “business” practices prevailing in
civilised, capitalist countries. These things are done everywhere in Europe,
too, but no where in such a shameless manner as in Russia; and nowhere is there
such “political safety” (safety from exposure) for corruption as in
autocratic Russia. No wonder, conclude the German Social-Democrats, that
European industry is interested in preserving the Russian autocracy with its
irresponsible officials and their shady practices. No wonder Russian officials
fight tooth and nail against a constitution that threatens to establish public
control over the administration. One can gather from this exposure what the
Russian officialdom is “making” on the war with Japan, what sums
have found their way into the pockets of officials employed in the
St. Petersburg ministries from, say, the sale of German marine shipping to
Russia! The national calamity is a gold mine for the war contractors and venal
officials.

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