Evening star., 1944-06-11
BY sergt. Walter Bernstein,


Yank stan Correspondent
PARTISAN HEADQUARTERS, Some
where in Yugoslavia CBy Cable Mar
shal Josip Broz-Tito of Yugoslavia-i-
man of high intelligence and sensitiy-
ity, dedicated with his people to the jo
OF freeing his country and establishin
a federal democratic Yugoslavia 4.
/ can report this after walking from
the Adriatic coast deep into liberated
territory to interview Tito. I was the
first correspondent to visit him In his
Partisan headquarters.
The interview took place at night in
the house that Tito shares with other
members Of his stan. The location Of the
house is naturally secret. It Is heavily
guarded by tough Partisan soldiers who
shoot first and ask you to halt after
ward. was taken there by young
Partisan lieutenant.
Tftos house was next to waterfall,
under an overhanging mountain that
protected it from air raids.
We stepped up onto the porch and
stopped in front of the door. The lieu
tenant knocked, opened the door and
stuck his head inside. Then he pushed
open the door and stepped back, and
walked In.
Tito was seated at desk facing the
door, and he stood up when entered.
didn't know whether 10 salute, but he
held out his hand and I shook 1t in
stead. He showed me to chair next to
his desk
Tito's face is the face OF q man who
knows himself and the world around
him. 1t could be the face of an artist or
of a big businessman who directs huge
industry. And, in a sense, this man is
both of these.
He was wearing a gray uniform OF
heavy wool, simply cut and of excellent
material. On each collar he wore three
gold quarter wreaths on a red rectangle,
and on the cuff of each sleeve he had
gold half-wreath inclosing star.
The room was also simple, small and
square, with a patterned red rug on the
floor. The walls were covered with a
kind of wrapping paper, heavily scanned
and reinforced with strips Of some white
material that looked like parachute silk
One wall was covered with a large map
OF Yugoslavia. In the corner of the room
there was pot-bellied stove, It's pipe
running out through the wall. There
was little furniture: A small table In a
corner, four straight-backed chairs,
large fiat desk facing the door and be-
hind the desk q day bed with a dull
green f1owered cover. At the head of the
bed there were two small tables, each
with a radio on 1t. Even here you could
hear the dull roar of the waterfall
Speaks No English
A young girl came in Immediately
after I had entered and sat down on
the other side of the desk. Her name
was Olga, and she was an interpreter
Tito speaks fluent German and Russian
but no English. The girl spoke English
well with q pleasant accent.
Tito would look at her when he talked
and then turn to me when he had fln-
ished. He talked softly and unhurriedly
but without hesitation. AS he talked he
would finger some of the objects on his
desk: A GI fiashlight, copy of "Es-
sential English" a case OF British cigar
cites. He smoked steadily, putting the
cigarettes in a holder shaped like
little pipe. Tito's movements were like
his voice-deliberate and sure.
This was the man who organized
whole people, bewildered and sold out,
$ into a new and powerful state. Know
ing nothing about him, we had called
him the mystery man OF the Balkans"
but the only mystery seemed to be why
we knew nothing about him, why we
had not been informed about this man
earlier.
Tito talked about America. He has