with respect to movement of goods; in fact, while in Darien I learned that some 80,000 cars of freight had been moved within the past week. I also found it possible to arrange for a car to transport the Gillette goods, but owing to the fact that the importation of razors had been prohibited I was obliged to defer forwarding the goods until I reached Petrograd and obtained a permit to import.
One cannot travel in Russia as I did two years ago, nor pass through Siberia and parts of Russia as I did in April and May, without feeling, as well as seeing, the great future possibilities, industrial, agricultural, mining, commercial, etc. Its undeveloped wealth is perhaps greater than that of any other country in the world. Within a generation or two Russia will doubtless be one of the greatest nations on earth.
After nine days on the train from Harbin I reached Petrograd about ten o'clock Sunday morning. In proceeding from the station to my hotel I noticed an absence of police and I found later that immediately following the Revolution all the police of Petrograd were either imprisoned for offences or were sent to the front and that no police protection is given the city except a few private watchmen hired by owners of buildings, tenants in apartment houses, etc.
During the two weeks that I was in Petrograd I looked somewhat into the political and economic condition of Russia, as well as the possibilities for increasing sales of Gillette razors. Our agent, Mr. A. G. Micheles, is a very able merchant. Eight years residence in the United States has acquainted him with American enterprise and energy and he has displayed American energy in the development of Gillette business in Russia. Mr. Micheles evidently believes, and I share his belief, that our sales in Russia will exceed 50,000 razors per annum and upwards of 800,000 dozen blades per annum.
It will probably be found to our advantage to have some one in authority visit Russia at least once a year and very likely it will be found advantageous to have a sales representative in Russia, calling on the trade and doing missionary work for our agent, Mr. Micheles. Russia is one of our greatest markets for the future. We should, therefore, advertise with reasonable liberality and should in every way cooperate with our agency with a view to increasing sales and establishing ourselves upon a permanent basis in Russia.
The Russian population is largely composed of peasant farmers and workmen. The peasant farmers live in villages and they go out from the villages each day to work the land which is owned by the nobility and other rich people. The wages paid to the peasant farmer are only sufficient to enable him to buy coarse food and the necessary clothing to keep him warm. His bed is a pile of straw in a corner of the room. Such conditions have prevailed for centuries. The workman is also paid a very low wage and in many instances two, three and even four families live in one room owned by the factory. The wage paid was only sufficient to enable them to live in this primitive, un-sanitary condition.
With the Revolution and the word
