News From Russia.
Four well known members of the Douma, A. S. Posnikov, A. I. Shingarev, I. N. Efremov and P. N. Milyukov, have signed the following memorandum, which they addressed to the President of the Douma:
"At the present time, when all the military resources of the country are strained to the utmost, it is necessary to lay an equal stress upon the financial resources of the country. For this purpose, it is necessary not only to realize loans and issue paper currency, the burden of which will fall upon future generations, but to shift a part of this burden upon those living to-day by the introduction of an extraordinary military tax, which would serve to bring into the treasury a considerable sum of money that would cover at least a part of the war expenses. In view ot the above, we, the undersigned, propose that such a tax be levied during the current year, and that it should be based on the following principles: 1. Every person whose annual income exceeds five hundred roubles is subject to the tax. 2. The amount of the tax 1s determined by means of a progressive scale, and it should be double in the case of income not obtained by personal labor, as compared with the amount on the income so obtained. This amount should begin with a two per cent tax on the lowest income. 3. All persons whose income is less than five hundred roubles a year, but who own property worth 3,000 roubles, or over, are subject to a tax of three roubles. 4. The tax should be collected in accordance with the rules existing for income tax in general."
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A conference of newspaper publishers was recently held in Odessa, at which the question of paper was anxiously discussed. The newspapers in smaller towns find it extremely difficult to obtain paper at the present time. The price has risen enormously. Paper that sold formerly at seven copecks a pound now sells at forty-two copecks, and even at this price it is often impossible to purchase more than two or three weeks' supply. It is expected that the price of paper will rise even above the present high level.
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An estimate of the probable expenditures of the All-Russian Municipal Union for the current year is as follows: monthly expenses of 2,300,000 roubles in European Russia, 1,800,000 roubles in the Caucasus, and 1,500,000 roubles on the western front. This means that the Union spends daily almost 200,000 roubles. A large part of this money comes from the government treasury.
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The jury that was hearing criminal cases at the recent sessions of the district court of Theodosia, drew up a resolution, which will be transmitted to the Minister of Justice. The resolution states that the members of the jury find an unmistakable connection between crime and alcoholism, and express a desire that the sale of alcoholic drinks be permanently forbidden in Russia.
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Rich deposits of tungsten ore have been recently discovered in the Ural mountains. This is the only place in European Russia where tungsten is found, but the deposits are so rich that it is estimated that they are sufficient to provide Russia with all the tungsten she needs.
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