Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-07-10
Out of the Night

The one behind me grinned
brightly. waving both hands
in a gesture which among sea-
men signifies "All clear" l
waited. every nerve tense. The
man came straight up TO me.
His companion crossed the
street.
"Zum Teufel," the first one
laughed. you run on like a
cockroach, you with your long
legs"
He had spoken in German.
His companion nodded wei
come.
1--WE come from Harry Ber-
ger" the German said.
Harry Berger was the cover
name for Arthur Ewert. The
two were guards sent to meet
me to insure the safety of my
consignment. We all boarded
cab, and drove to a small
restaurant on the Gale Viejo.
the back room of which was
the Office of the MonteYideo
liaison agent.
There l produced my cre-
dentials. which had been typed
on linen and sewed into the
shoulder lining OF my coat.
The liaison agent. burly,
fluff-faced German. at once
dispatched a courier TO the
Monte PASCAL 10 smuggle the
heavy metal film containers
ashore.
Montevideo and Buenos
Aires served as cOmintern
headquarters for all countries
south of the Panama Canal.
Communism in South America
was entirely under the direc-
ton OF foreign agents. Rus
slams, Germans. Poles. Let's
and Firms were in responsible
positions. and there were a
number of New Workers in the
corps of travelling agitators.
GAVE UP SUITCASE
My stopover in Montevideo
lasted several weeks. A female
representative of the YUAN
tory office in Buenos Aires
came to Montevideo on one of
the weekend excursion steam
ers.
She was a thin. bloodless
person of about 35, smartly
dressed and harshly matter
of-fact. She was the secretary
OF the Bolshevik party cell
among the Yujamtorg person
mel. and probably a stationary
agent of the G. P. Y. To her
l surrendered the cowhide
suitcase.
She scrutinized the lining Of
its cover with a magnifying
glass, and. finding the identifi-
cation marks and the lining
intact. she handed me a re-
ceipt for "one case OF electric
bulbs.
Incidentally. less than
year later. on July 81. 1881,
the Yujamtorg was raided and
closed by the Buenos Aires
police. 1t then moved across
the La Plata, and was re-
established in Montevideo.
Proof Of the close connec-
ton between the Yujamtorg
and the bloody Communist
instructions in Brazil caused
the Uruguayan government to-
close its offices and expel the
Soviet trade envoy. Minkin. in
December. 1885. 1t was then
that Arthur Ewert was ar
rested as the leader OF the
revolutionary GU breaks in
Brazil. where he is still i'm
prisoned. although renounced
and abandoned by the comm
tern.
The hospitality of the Com
munists of Montevideo ex-
ceeded anything / had so far
encountered in Europe or in
the United States.
LIFE OF LUXURY
/ was given a luxurious
room in a private house on
the outskirts of the city. l
was lavishly fed. Each day
brought invitations to dinner
in the homes of local Commu-
nists-which included doctors.
tallymen and tugboat captains
now on the pay roll of the
profintern.
There were many pretty
girls showing their eagerness
to throw themselves into the
arms of the foreign camarado.
Germans in general were at
that period most popular in
South America. Even the
tough-looking hombres in the
Communist rank and Ale tried
TO Guido each other TO win the
patronage Of a Bolshevik from
overseas.
l declined. / was hungrily
waiting for a letter from
Firelei. ] had told her to turn
over mail for me to Comrade
Anton, who would forward it.
But none arrived.
My sojourn ended after I
had spoken as a delegate of
the Maritime Section of the