RUSSIAN RAILWAY SCANDAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 18, 16 October 1907, Page 11

RUSSIAN RAILWAY SCANDAL.

DEFALCATIONS.

Tile scandal in Russia regarding the Transbaikal branch of the Siberian Railway threatens to take enormous proportions. The defalcations arc said to amount to millionsof roubles. These were first discovered by. the denunciation of an employee named Borissolf. M. Gurokoff, the -'hief inspector of the Siberian Railway,, has returned to St. Petersburg, and has presented his report. Things seem to be even worse- than originally supposed. The line was simply plundered right and left by the officials. Ono .of ..the favourite methods of robbery was to.;invoice freight at- a higher weight thaii it really possessed, and then when it was-. delivered the consignee claimed for the .difference which was supposed to have been lost en route. In other cases the goods were simply sold by the employees and then paid for by the company as lost in transmission. _' Then again, goods wore forwarded without invoices of any kind at reduced rates, and the, em T ployees pocketed the'money. > Finally, what with diminished revenues and claims lor compensation the line finished by having 'neither money nor credit. The Minister of Communication had to advance seven ..million, roubles to meet outstanding claims. So far M. Gurokoff has dicoycred defalcations; to the extent of ten million roubles. ■■ The full amount *will probably never be known; The inspector found goods which had been , lying in the stations for two years past. ,- '.'-

The chief of 'the line, M. Schwentitzki, seems to have had no idea that his subordinates had organised themselves into a sort of Russian Mafia, ■ and when the Public Prosecutor appeared'at the head office of the line to seal up the documents found there, he protested against this being done,.and declared everything to be in the very best order. A policeman one day found a packet of papers floating in the river Angara. It was the reports of the inspectors of the lino over goods and freight which hacV got lost in transit. They had evidently been got rid of when the arrivtl of'3l. Gurokoff "was announced. •• In addition to the officials' of the line, a number of business peoplo 'wero in the swindle.' They wore encouraged; to claim as lost goods which they had .already received,, and then divided the sums paid in compensation , with the .fficials. M:'Gurokoff conducted his investigation under the'- most difficult circumstances, as the guilty officials, that is to say 90 per cent, of the"staff, put evory possible difficulty ; n his way. n "''