“But this is no ordinary occasion; the gold is from Russia, 
Soviet Russia, and it will be remembered that the right of Soviet 
Russia to all things Russian has never been definitely established 
to everyone's satisfaction, so there is, of course, a little hesitancy 
in receiving this gold for fear there may arise some dispute as 
to ownership. The two New York city banks to which it was sent 
naturally do not care to take the risk; they have receeived it as 
agents, but they do not care to buy so much gold to which there 
is not a clear title. And the position of the United States assay 
office and the treasury is, of course, very clearly defined by the 
law regulating the purchase of bullion—it must be tendered by 
the owner. This gold is not tendered by the owner, and those 
who do tender it do not care to purchase it. 
“Which gives us the unique situation of $5,000,000, not in goods 
and chattels, not in promissory notes of either individuals or gov- 
ernments, but in the pure, solid, yellow metal, gold, that is abso- 
lutely without purchasing power in this country. Unless some 
change is made in its status it must be returned to the source from 
which it came, Soviet Russia. The gold having been sent to facilitate 
trade, which reached the sum of about $100,000,000 annually, it 
seems unfortunate that a cloud on its title should; render it useless 
and send it a-begging.” 
Scranton, Pa., Times, April 4, 1928 
FIGHT FOR GOI.D 
“The American public finds unique interest in the situation 
created by a legal battle between France and Soviet Russia over the 
five million dollars in gold bars now held in New York banks in 
the name of the Soviet government. France is suing for possession 
claiming to have deposited this very same gold in the State Bank 
of Russia before that institution was seized by the revolutionists 
“ “Washington's attitude is clear cut,” says the Louisville Courier- 
Journal of the treasury department’s refusal to permit the gold. to 
enter the channels of trade in this country. ‘Since 1920, there has 
been an embargo on Russian gold. It is regarded as the property 
of the czarist regime. The seizure of it by the revolutionary fac- 
tions does not change its title, as the United States does not recognize 
the ‘Communist state. Further, the czarist regime owed debts to the 
United States which the Soviet will not acknowledge. So five millio? 
dollars in Russian bullion lies idle in two American banks and the 
treasury department will neither assay nor buy it.’ The incident 
suggests to the Courier-Journal ‘how little trust is put in a natio? 
RYO