Kim and Congress

Seldom does an ambassador so far lower his pomposity as to descend to a waterfront and greet one of his country's freighters. But last week Comrade Alexander Troyanovsky, knowing well there was no better way he could cater to his country's pride, descended to Brooklyn's grimy docks, greeted the first Russian ship to put into a U. S. port in 17 years. No ordinary ship did he greet but a model ship sent to start the flow of trade between the U. S. and Russia, sent to win U. S. admiration for all things Communistic.*

She was a motor ship of 5,113 gross tonnage, Leningrad built in 1931, trimly painted, carrying a cargo of cement, mica, chalk, fuller's earth, Caucasian wine, oil of apricots, juniper (gin) berries. All her officers and able seamen had individual outside cabins amidship. She carried two young stewardesses to feed and amuse her picked crew of young cadets. Even her name KNM (Kim} was chosen for pronunciation by non-Russian tongues. Aside from the motto "Ahead To World's Revolution" inscribed in the crew's game room (equipped with piano and radio) she took every precaution not to offend U. S. sensibilities. Her crew was forbidden to get drunk ashore, and they kicked down the gangplank a loud-mouthed U. S. Red who tried to turn their polite arrival into a noisy Red rally.

This diplomatic encouragement to start the flow of U. S. machinery to U. S. S. R. --on credit--received a rude rebuff three days later. Secretary Hull, who recently had the pleasure of recognizing Russia, might have been expected to respond by using the State Department's unofficial power to O. K. loans to the Soviet by U. S. bankers. But last week the House of Representatives quietly passed Senator Johnson's bill forbidding the making of loans to any government in default to the U, S. The Kerensky Government left a legacy of $187,000,000 owing to the U. S. The Soviet maintains that this is not its debt, also that it is not in default since it is one of the "claims" which Messrs. Hull & Troyanovsky are now trying to settle. But the Export-Import Bank created to finance trade with the Soviet took a different attitude. It passed a resolution: "It is the sense of the board of trustees of this corporation that no actual credit transactions with the Soviet Government shall be undertaken unless and until that Government shall submit to the President of the United States an acceptable agreement respecting the payment of the Russian indebtedness to the Government of the United States and its nationals."

This decision put Mr. Hull in a good bargaining position to deal with Comrade Troyanovsky. And. more serious still, Mr. Hull might even interpret the Johnson Bill to stop the sale of Soviet bonds to U. S. citizens--a sale which is reported to have netted about $5,000,000 in the last few months. Furthermore if Mr. Hull chooses to treat the Soviet's export company, Amtorg, as part of the Russian Government, he can stop Amtorg's getting any commercial credits, all but bottle up Russian trade with the U. S.

*Returning from the Brooklyn waterfront, Comrade Troyanovsky found the Russian embassy in Washington (onetime home of the late George Mortimer Pullman) finally fixed up and ready for occupancy. A new heating and cooling system, a modern kitchen had been installed, but there had been no Russian money available for replacing the ornate chandeliers, the tsaristic red plush furniture.

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