Editorials in the American Press Regarding 
the Recent Shipments of Soviet Gold 
to the United States 
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, February 24, 1928 
INTERFERING WITH BUSINESS 
“The World War may be over for most of us, but it seems that 
the Treasury and State Departments are still fighting against Bolshe- 
vist Russia. Five million dollars in gold shipped here by Russia 
to pay for American goods is lying idle in the vaults of the Chase 
National Bank and the Equitable Trust Company because the war- 
time ban on Russian gold 1s still in effect. 
“This is carrying antagonism to the Soviet regime to a ridiculous 
extent. If we permit trade with Russia common sense suggests that 
we should permit the inevitable concomitants of trade, We have a 
trade of $100,000,000 a year with Soviet Russia. Her agencies are 
established all over the United States and her engineers and buyers 
are welcomed everywhere. 
“To maintain wartime restrictions against the import of Russian 
gold is an unintelligent and useless procedure. The gold can, of 
course, be shipped to Canada and handled from there. Or the local 
banks can sell it without putting it through the United States Assay 
Office. But it was intended to distribute it to Federal Reserve Banks 
and this cannot be done while the Assay Office refuses to receive 
and pass on any gold that originates in Russia. 
“Only a few weeks ago the State Department made an offensive 
and unnecessary ruling in forbidding American banks to handle 
the interest payments on Russian bonds sold in this country. This 
is using political power to interfere with private business. It estab- 
lishes a bad precedent.” 
Journal of Commerce. New York, February 25, 1928 
PAYMENT FOR EXPORTS 
“The pen of a satirist is needed to do justice to the idiosyn- 
crasies of our conduct in matters that relate to the present Soviet 
Government. No objection is raised to trading transactions be- 
tween our citizens and representatives of the Soviet Governmetit. 
4.1