The New York herald., 1921-05-01
.LENINE, IN PARIS,
LIVED FRUGAL AND
CIRCUMSPECT LIFE
Concierge Who Cared for
Him Before War Tells OF
Strange Visitors.
WAS TEACHING RED RULE
Trotzky, Zinovieff and Other
Radicals Were Perfecting
Plan to Rule Russia.
WAS TEACHING RED RULE

Special Cable to THE New York HERALD.
Copyright, 1921. by THE New YoRK HERALD.
New York Herald Bureau,
Paris, April 80.
Whatever the present faults Of
Nikolai Lenine he still has a warm
place in the memory Of the concierge
who cared for the daily wants Of the
present Bolshevist Premier, his wife
and mother-in-law. from 1910 until a
year before the war. According to
that authority Lenine's family life was
more circumspect than is usually the
case in the vicinity Of the Rue Maria
Rosa. where the Communist Car once
occupied second floor front.
TT was often remarked that it
would be difficult to find a more agree
able family or one more ready to help
the neighbors," says the concierge.
while he was with us he Received
innumerable visitors weekly, chiefly
Russians. and especially in the eve
nings, but the most frequent visitor
was neighbor named Shatzky Rodo-
milsky in those days, but who since
has been called Zinovieff and Is
Lenine's right hand man."
While Lenine was busy writing and
reading and making daily trips to a
nearby print shop his wife took special
courses at the University OF Sarbonne.
She spoke English. French and German
fluently and was reputed by her fellow
students to have advanced IDEAS In phi
losophy and to have refused to enter into
the Latin quarter gayeties to which she
was invited. She admitted being 40 years
old. And, believe me-" says the con-
cierge, there is nothing coquettish about
her. She always wore the same dress
and ashioned hat throughout the
summer. The family always had plenty
Of money. but never used taxicabs. both
Lenine and his wife prefcrring bicycles
and urging the neighbors to invest like
wise and become rich and healthy at the
same time.
Forced to Pay Rent I'm Advance.
Although they brought good recon-
mendatons from their former landlords
they had only few pieces of furniture
so / was forced to insist that they pay
six months rent in advance. instead Of
Just one month like other tenants"
When Lenine's family left In 1913 they
sold their furniture but carried with
them a dozen heavy cases containing
Lenine's books.
Incidentally they showed anti-capital-
istic leanings by breaking the staircase
and refusing to pay the proprietor's
claim for damages. The concienge' s
recital has called attention to what for
a long time was the secret headquarters
Of what were then called the Social
hut
guiding Russia to ruin. Apart from
Zinovieff. who was known In the neigh
borhood as Lenine's valet because he
was assigned to numerous duties IN
Guiding the daily buying OF vegetables at
a nearby market while Madame Lenine
was studying, both Kameneff and Lou
nacharsky were daily visitors at the
strange household.
The former, who was known as Ro-
senfeld enjoyed Lenine's fullest con-
fidence, but Lounacharsky never was
able to prove the sincerity of his So
cialistic professions. In fact, when he
wrote his masterpiece. Two Religions,
Lenine considered It SO uninteresting
that he openly proclaimed Lounacharsky
to be not Socialist but merely a vii
lage cure in disguise.
Lenine Did Not Like Trotzky.
And just as to-day. when war Is brew
ing in the Soviet grand headquarters.
Lenine then could not bear the presence
OF Leon Trotzky in the Maria Rosa
apartment. his occasional visits ending
in midnight discussions from which
Lenine emerged gloomy and thoughtful.
a mood that lasted for days afterward.
II has also been discovered that the
famous school Mt Longiumeau. near
Paris. for teaching Communistic propa-
ganda was really inaugurated by Lenine
along the line of the Russian school at
Capri where dissidents like Gregoire.
Alexinsky. Cork. Maouilsky. Krassine
and Lounacharsky strengthened their
political faith by founding the principles
of Russia's present Government.
The school mystified the neighbors
for more than year. never possessing
more than thirty pupils. all poorly clad
and apparently belonging to the labor
ing class. But Lenne succeeded In
cvading police inquiries and inculcated
the Bolshevst doctrine through lectures
and textbooks written by himself and
his friends. And. with few exceptions.
as soon as few months course was fin
ished. the graduates took passage for
Russia, having their fare paid for them,
and there were launched on career OF
anti-Czarism which since has provided
the world with one OF Its most difficult
social and political problems.