Show mcarow n to tractor ra C to rs 01 bovio eto russia would 1 turn romanoff ili DI monds Dia aw american farm 3 11 J 1 8 M 11 7 ch 4 x 1 47 1 4 44 ajjia ay JiA ar 14 A h X aa cacy 4 by JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN ERRS a job for the sob slaters no ordinary manipulator of tho the typewriter to la HERBS equal to the magnificent possibilities 11 ties ldes of the theme they shall beat their A swords into plowshares and V their spears into pruning hooks books nation shall not lift v up sword against nation neither shall they learn war any more so go run tho the famous and familiar words from isaiah but in the language of mr average citizen isaiah in it with a soviet high tip painting the word picture of the selling of the russian crown jewels so that lie he may get to work with american farm machinery we want to turn afie glitter of our 2 carats barats of diamonds diamond si into the glitter of american steel says the soviet these jewels were bought by dussias Rus sias former tyrants with the sweat toll and trial of our peasants we desire now to give them back to the peasants in the form of cimpl implements c ments with which to till the ground or machinery for industries we have already turned millions of military bayonets into plowshares we wish now to turn the imperial jewels which now ere are a dead asset into american tractors and farm machin ery 11 russia makes no secret of the fact that she lacks money tor for equipment to reconstruct her shattered industries having failed to obtain loans abroad inthe in the last eight years she to is obliged to utilize her own resources for the rehabilitation of the economic i fabric the government intended to spend the receipts from grain exports for american machinery but despite the crop the plan for coll collecting ecUng grain from the peasants was not fully real iced and orders for foreign machinery had to be curtal curtailed ledL officials point out that the crown jewels are only one of many resources that russia it if pressed might convert into cash others include mid tog ing and oll oil concessions and museum treasures among them several hundred paintings by such masters as rubens rembrandt van dyke and ra valued at the soviet officials say gay they are deter hoi however Viver notto part with the museum Inus etim frea treasures the jewels in question date firc from F peter eter the great to nicholas ir II they comprise separate pieces of jewelry the total weight of the diamonds alone is carets carats pearls emeralds and uncut rubles 1800 and also a great variety of miscellaneous stoned no other historical collection of gems whether royal or private according to the russian officials approaches pro aches the crown jewels either in value or interest the pires present collection does not represent all tb the russian crown jewels only those covering the last years the jewels IS worn by russian potentates previous to the seventeenth century are still in the kremlin at moscow or the 4 r hermitage gallery at the jewels offered for sale are arc appraised by russian french and czechoslovakia gem experts variously but the average of their estimates Is about greater than dussias Rus sias debt to the united states of the items in the collections 20 per cent were supplied by peter the great 40 per cent by elizabeth catherine the great and paul 25 per cent by alexander J I 1 and nicholas choloa Nl 1 I 10 per cent by alexander 11 II and alexander III and 6 per cent by nicholas 11 II so contrary to general belief the last czar and czarina were relatively moderate in their expenditures for crown jewels during the last years of her life the empress was so absorbed in mysticism that she regarded the wearing of jewels as unlucky and cast them aside the imperial imperia I 1 crown of all the Rus pictured herewith Is con among the display it was made for or the coronation of catherine the great in 1762 and contains diamonds 75 huge pearls and many other large stones surmounting the crown Is a superb cross of diamonds supported by an uncut ruby of carats barats oneff one of the worlds largest resembling sem som bling the dome formed by the miter this diadem typifies the association of the sovereign with the ar the crown Is valued at next in interest comes the coronet worn by the slain empress alexandra picture herewith perhaps the most beautiful mass of diamonds ever brought together in a single ornament it Is appraised at another object of great attention is the imperial scepter of power used used by the last czar which Is surmounted by the world famed orloff orion diamond as largo as a bisected egg and containing carall carats this slender blender graceful emblem Is valued by the at according to tradition this famous diamond blid lay in the forehead of an idol in cochin china until the bayonet afa a french soldier pried it from its resting place that soldier dea deserted arted with his booty but murder aboard ship was his lot then began the trat trail I 1 of death that has followed BO many of the celebrated crown jewels of the world until at last an armenian soldat sold it to count gregory orion in parts paris for half haaf a million dollars and the count presented it to catherine the great asa as a peace offering the emblem rif of the imperial realm a globular object of gold fur eur mounted bya by a cross of diamonds sap ehlies and rubles and valued at comes next in interest among the single gems the so called shah diamond of 80 89 carats barats and appeal appraised ced by the soviet authorities at Is probably the most striking it la is a unique of the respect entertained for imperial russia by her mohammedan neighbors la in the days before tho the took power the great stone being a gift to the emperor of russia by the shah abah of persia among the other articles are scepters and chains of one fine craftsmanship containing diamonds pearls and rubles weighing as much as 60 50 carats barats each 23 magnificent crosses many stars miscellaneous ornaments 10 gorgeous necklaces of diamonds and pearls 50 brooches ten tiaras giaras nine diamond studded lockets dockets lock ets 20 pairs of earrings including one set of gigantic emeralds of carats barats each 42 rings 74 pins and 19 gold snuff boxes bear lly jeweled at this writing the sale la Is on the soviet authorities selling a minimum of worth of stones at a time the first sale was of diamonds emeralds and sapphires sapp hires weighing about carats barats they became the property of french diamond merchants coer chanta who paid the soviet government for the lot or more than offered by american jewelers among the jewels was the magnificent crown worn by the last baat empress it will be disjointed and the stones scattered on the french market jewelers from a dozen capitals who had flocked to moscow when it was waa announced that the government intended to dispose of the imperial gems contended sharply against the americans for possession of the jewels most of the bidders however retired when the government decided I 1 that it would sell only a minimum of 2500 OW worth of stones at one time this left the field to the anglo amer lean ican group and the armenian buyer frankland Fran klano representing a number of paris firms the government had bad accepted Fran kianoa kianos initial offer of when william a new nevi york lawyer representing gla amerl can group alleged to th the kremlin of that his group group had bad not been given it fair chance to counter frank lanos bid the government thereupon a annulled the sale and ordered now new bids the anglo american then made it a fresh offer of but this was topped by frankland Fran klano with and the gems became the property of the firms he represented although the Amer americana lenno thus lost the first chance to acquire a part of r the famous imperial treasures the intercession ter cession of the americans added to the bolshevik treasury which the government would otherwise have lost in the meantime the soviet govern ment Is turning an honest penny by exhibiting the treasures |