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