Harriman Manganese

William Averell Harriman, U. S. financier who has been cruising about central and eastern Europe the last few years seeking opportunities for investing his money, last week clinched control of all manganese ore mined in the Soviet Union. Two years ago the Soviet gave him a concession to mine manganese, invaluable ore for toughening steel, in the Caucasus Mountains, between the Black and the Caspian Seas. He was to pay the Soviet Government $3 for each ton of manganese mined and to rebuild a railroad from Tiflis to Poti. He had to produce at least 500 tons of manganese a year in order to make a profit on his investment.

But, immediately after Promoter Harriman received his concession, Soviet agents attempted to circumvent him by working the manganese mines at Nikopol in the Ukraine, north of the Black Sea.

Last week, according to the Berliner Tageblatt, the Soviet Government, perhaps intending to vex Great Britain, agreed to restrict manganese mining at Nikopol, to take only $1.50 a ton for Harriman-mined manganese, and to waive its demand for renovating the Tiflis-Poti railroad. Those modifications made Promoter Harriman virtual overlord of Soviet manganese production.