Help from Big Brother

Outer Mongolia, a lonely, landlocked area twice the size of Texas, is a place that the rest of the world refuses to regard as a nation and Soviet Russia refuses to treat as an equal. But last week the 1,000,000 Outer Mongolians found themselves promised unexpected favors by their master. The Russians announced their surrender to the Mongolians of all Soviet interests in Mongolian oil and metals, of two Soviet airports and of $25 million worth of other unidentified Soviet property in Mongolia. In addition. Moscow agreed to send 2,500 tractors, 550 harvesters, 200 power stations, 3,000 trucks and other equipment on credit to help in building 18 industrial and agricultural enterprises in Mongolia.

The reason for all this generosity was not simply Soviet responsiveness to the "requests" from Ulan Bator. It was the fact that in Outer Mongolia the Russians are competing for favor and dominance with Communist China. Under agreements reached between Mongolia and Peking. 10,000 Chinese workers and technicians have gone west to build factories and railroads in roadless, underpopulated Outer Mongolia, and can remain on as Mongolian citizens.

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