We review two papers that are of historical interest for combinatorial optimization: an
article of A.N. Tolsto from 1930, in which the transportation problem is studied, and a negative
cycle criterion is developed and applied to solve a (for that time) large-scale (1068) transportation
problem to optimality; and an, until recently secret, RAND report of T.E. Harris and F.S. Ross
from 1955, that Ford and Fulkerson mention as motivation to study the maximum
ow problem.
The papers have in common that they both apply their methods to the Soviet railway network