produce butter to compete in Western Europe on account of the inflated value of the raw material. Much money was lost and stagnation set in. Since then, however, the industry has revived on a much sounder footing.
The export trade in butter from Western Siberia to England used to be largely monopolized by Danes and Germans, but English firms have of late years been taking considerable interest in this business.
All successful firms have their representatives stationed in the principal butter-producing districts of Western Siberia and the Altai, and the first condition of success is that these representatives should have a good knowledge of the Russian language and the character of the peasants. Butter is bought direct from the peasants, or from the private and communal creameries, and sent to the refrigerating stores on the railways. Successful butter export firms also do considerable business in dairy and agricultural machinery by opening credit and debit accounts with the peasants. As the peasants are without capital they can never pay cash, and it is therefore customary to debit them with machinery and stores sold to them, and to credit them with butter and eggs bought from them. On the whole, the peasants are honest, and, if properly treated and understood by tactful representatives, can be successfully dealt with. On the other hand, it is almost useless to use the law to get judgment against a debtor. Although it is possible in theory to obtain judgment in a Russian law court, in practice the delays are so interminable that this course is never worth pursuing.
