railroads are already short of engineers, and this shortage becomes more and more apparent, while the need for more engineers is constantly becoming more pressing. The present plan of relieving the situation has the indorsement of the Assistant-Minister, N. L. Shchukin.
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A representative of the Moscow newspaper, the "Outro Rossii" has recently performed a daring feat which almost cost him his life. Disguised as a "neutral traveller," he went to Germany and Austria-Hungary, visiting Berlin, Dresden, Vienna and Budapest. In the latter city he aroused the suspicion of the authorities, and decided to give up the projected trip to Sophia and Constantinople. Instead, he went to Bucharest, and thence wrote a series of articles for his newspaper, dealing with the political and economic situation in the Teuton countries. The man is a well-known journalist. His name is still withheld from publication.
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The Ministry of Interior has received the results of an investigation conducted by several governors concerning the question of the supply of provisions, high cost of living, sanitary conditions, etc. It has been announced that the results of this investigation will not be made public.
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A memorandum has been presented to the Council of Ministers by the Ministry of Communications, recommending that the firm of Gerhardt and Gei be permitted to organize a system of cart-service between several railroad stations in Finland and certain sea points in the North, which are ice-free in Winter. The cart-service is to be used for the transportation of merchandise, which is accumulating in great quantities on the northern seaboard of Russia.
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A Federation of the Grusin Educational Societies was recently organized in the city of Tiflis, in the Caucasus. This Federation embraces most of the educational societies in the Caucasus, each of which is represented by three delegates. The organization of the Federation has been sanctioned by the local government.
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Military training has been introduced in all secondary schools in Russia. Its aim is to prepare the students to enter war colleges upon their graduation. The measure, according to the Assistant-Minister of Education A. K. Rachinsky, is only temporary, and its application will be governed entirely by the events of the War.
***
Representatives of the Russian fur industry recently held a conference at Moscow. The questions discussed were largely those concerned with the exportation of furs to Russia's allies and to America. It was pointed out that the export of fur increases very rapidly, due to the cheapness of furs in Russia and the advantages of export operations in view of the present low value of Russian money abroad.
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The Municipal Committe for Combating the High Cost of Living has opened ten storage houses and thirty-three retail stores, in which all articles are sold at cost price. This experiment has proved to be very successful as a means of combating inflation of prices. Within a very short time, the business done by the Committee has amounted to over one million roubles.
