If  he  could  only  induce  foreign  capitalists  to  undertake  manufac-
turing industries  in  Russia,  they  would,  at  one  and  the  same  time, "

*  In  1892,  when  M.  Witte  undertook  the  financial  administration,  tliere
were  30,020  versts  of  railway,  and  at  the  end  of  1900  there  were  51,288
versts.
t  In  1891  the  total  value  of  the  exports  was  roughly  £70,000,000.  It
then  fell,  in  consequence  of  bad  harvests,  to  45  millions,  and  did  not
recover  the  previous  maximum  until  1897.  when  it  stood  at  73  millions.
Thereafter  there  was  a  steady  rise  till  1901,  when  the  total  was  estimated
at  76  millions.
584  RUSSIA

bring  into  the  country  the  capital  required,  and  they  would  co-
operate powerfully  in  that  development  of  the  national  industry
which  he  so  ardently  wished.  No  sooner  had  he  roughly  sketched
out  his  plan — for  he  was  not  a  man  to  let  the  grass  grow  under  his
feet — than  he  set  himself  to  put  it  into  execution  by  letting  it  be
known  in  the  financial  world  that  the  Government  was  ready  to
open  a  great  field  for  lucrative  investments,  in  the  form  of  profit-
able enterprises  under  the  control  of  those  who  subscribed  the
capital.
Foreign  capitalists  responded  warmly  to  the  call.  Crowds  of
concession-hunters,  projectors,  company  promoters,  et  hoc  genus
omne,  collected  in  St.  Petersburg,  offering  their  services  on  the  most
tempting  terms;  and  all  of  them  who  could  make  out  a  plausible
case  were  well  received  at  the  Ministry  of  Finance.  It  was  there
explained  to  them  that  in  many  branches  of  industry,  such  as  the
manufacture  of  textile  fabrics,  there  was  little  or  no  room  for
newcomers,  but  that  in  others  the  prospects  were  most  brilliant.
