money and therefore conditions were extremely bad. But the 
      Trotsky group, representing a great many men in high places, 
      contended among themselves that there was still a good spot here 
      for planning and plotting and Stalin recognized that this was 
      taking place, but, because of the unsettlement and unrest, did 
      not want to take dire steps. Then conditions started to improve 
      in 1934, '35, '36 and'37, and this group, seeing that they would 
      lose the advantage gained by unrest of the people, now decided 
      to carry on with Japan and Germany, going so far as to pledge 
      the Ukraine to Germany and the maritime port to Japan.
 
      
 
 
I said all this might be true, but why did these men hold 
      these high places. He said that in a great many cases Stalin 
      knew of their leanings, but tried to win them over, but finally 
      decided it was impossible and took these steps.
 
      
 
 
He would like to go into this more at length later and I will 
      have a talk with him. To be very frank, he looks scared to death 
      himself. My own belief is that, if the telephone had rung and 
      said "Come back to Russia," he would have died right 
      on my hands.
 
      I don't know whether any of this makes any sense, and, as I say, 
      I never have had any experience as to what you want in news, 
      so please don't hesitate