The Wilmington morning star., 1947-12-22
STAIN OBSERVES
68TH BIRTHDAY
Western Eye Saw Him In
1916; We Will Do
All Right

LONDON, Dec. 21-W.D-Pre-
mier Josef Stain of Russia ob-
served his 68th birthday today
after a year of unprecedented
seclusion and, at his person,l re-
quest, Soviet newspapers and
magazines ignored the anniver-
sary of probably the worlds
most powerful figure.
He had not made a major pub
appearance in 1947. West n eyes
last saw him on October IA,
when an unofficial leftists dele
cation Of laborite members of
the British House of Commons
called upon him in the little
Kremlin" near Sochi on the
Black ca.
Those eight British laborltes
reported that he looked tanned,
healthy and alert, although he
has been reported suffering from
a heart ailment for the last two
years.
He was believed to be still at
Sochi, in refuge from the rigors
Of the Moscow winter. The strict
Moscow censorship, however.
prevents correspondents in Rus
sia from speculating on his
whereabouts or his health.
BY - tradition, Stain should
dine tonight at the Kremlin with
his old Bolshevik comrades of the
revolutionary days. But here
was no indication from Moscow
whether he actually would.
Municipal elections in five of
the Soviet republics conceded
with Stalin's birthday, and Stain
was reelected to the Moscow city
Soviet, roughly corresponding to
a municipal council. Radio Mos
cow ported his electic as fol
in the 58th electoral district in
lows:
The whole procedure of voting
the Stain district of Moscow
took only five hours and by II
a. M, 100 per cent of the lec-
tors had voted for Josef Stain. "
Students of Soviet affairs be-
leve Stain will hold a firm rein
on the Russian government. They
believe that Russia's refu. Il to
give way on reparations issues
at the foreign ministers confer
ence and the drastis devaluation
of the Ruble last Tuesday could
not have been decided by anyone
except Stain in an authoritarian
regime such as Russia's.
of the London weekly paper, the
The diplomatic correspondent
D people, wrote today, however,
that Stain had called foreign
minister Viacheslav M. Molotov
on the carpet for failing to pre-
vent a breakdown of tn, foreign
ministers conference. The article
gave no source for its informa-
ton.
Other Soviet officials were
Strongly critical" of Molotovs
uncompromising attitude, The
People said, predicting that Rus
sia might take "a more diplomat
ic approach to the western pow
ers, next time they meet"
There has been no lessening of
speculation about an heir to the
aging Stain. There has been an
increasing tendency on Stains
part to divide his duties among
four men.
His community party duties
have been delegated more and
more to Col Gen. Andrei Zhad-
nov, first secretary of the party's
central committee. A member of
the all-powerful Pilitburo, he
also is chief of the committee on
foreign relations of the Soviet
and was chosen to establish the
nine-nation Cominform to fight
the Marshall Plan.
Government duties are coming
more and more into the province
of 1Tolotiv, who is the best
known of Russian personalities
| I the ives, N nations. AS fore
ign minister nd allegedly Sta
Inns closest friend, he is con-
sidered by Many as the heir ap-
parent.
Stain has delegated the prob
lem of security to Marshal Laur-
enti P. Beria, who, like Stain is
a Georgian. For a long time, ne
was head of the dread NKVD
(now MVD). Last January he
believed to be organization of
was released for spec1s' duties,
ato1 :" research.
The army is under control of
Gen. Nikolai A. Bulganin, better
known as a communist party
man than as a soldier. Early this
year, Stain turned the ministry
Of the armed forces over to him,
thus bypassing wartime generals
and marshals who had much
more popular appeal.
One of these four is expected
to be leader of Russia one day.
but on Stalin's 68th birthday they
all were believed to be taking
and obeying his orders.
practically bounding him why
cl o,,1d ,,o,, suddenly decide vo,1