Evening star., 1951-09-06
'Yugosldv Newsman
Is Convinced Adamic
Was Murder Victim
BY the Assoeio,sd Press

BY the Assoeiotsd Press
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. g.
A Yugoslav newspaperman said
today he is convinced Louis
Adamic was murdered. The au-
thor was found dead from a rifle
shot in his New Jersey home
Tuesday. The death tentatively
was listed as a suicide pending
Investigations.
M. Anton Smole, correspondent
for the Yugoslav news agency,
Tanjug, said he had been a close
friend of Mr.. Adamic since 1947.
Mr.. Smole. in San Francisco for
the Japanese peace conference,
told the Associated Press:
"Mr. Adamic's life was threat
ened four times, twice by an
American connected with Com
inform agents operating in the
United States" The Cominform
Communist Information Bureau)
lis a Russian propaganda agency.
Threats Began in 1949.
Mr.. Smole said he last saw the
I52-year- old writer in June in New
York. Mr.. Adamic told him:
The threats began in 1949,
when he returned from Yugo-
Slavia with material for an anti
Soviet, prolific book.
Mr.. Adamic said he was beaten
and kicked unconscious one night
last March near Los Angeles. He
blamed persons determined to see
the book was not written.
| He said the book would be pub
lished at the end Of this year.
(Mr. Adamic's secretary, Mrs
Ethel Sharp, said he had written
all but one chapter of the book
THE Eagle and the Roots" The
manuscript was missingD
Work lmost Finished.
In New York, Timothy Seldes,
Doubleday & Co. assistant editor,
who was handling Mr.. Adamic's
new manuscript, said that the
work was 80 per cent completed.
Mr.. Seldes said he had gone over
the material, but that Adamic
had taken most of it back to New
Jersey for revision.
Mr.. Seldes said he has not been
able to learn how much of the
manuscript was destroyed in the
fire at Mr.. Adamic's house. If
that copy is gone, Mr.. Seldes said,
the only chance for reassembling
the work would be If Mr.. Adamic
left carbon copies in California,
where he did much of the writ
ing.
He always made a lot of car
bons," Mr.. SeldeS said.
New Disclosures.
Mr.. Seldes added that most OF
the anti-Stalinist material the
book contained had been publi-
cized before. but that there was
"a lot of new and stronger" dis
closures against anti-Titoists.
This could have had some
thing to do with what happened, -
he said
In Milford, N. j., Mrs. Ethel
Sharp. Mr.. Adamic's part time
secretary. said that part Of the
manuscript was found"
I'm not sure how much was
in the house at the time of the
fire" she said, "or if what was
found was the latest typing."
| In recounting threats against
Mr.. Adamic's life, Mr.. Smole said
The first threat was made in
the summer of 1919, when a man
went to the Adamics' isolated
farmhouse near Milford.
Told to Quit Writing.
"His wife was away" Mr.
Smole said. THE men bearing
threats usually came when Mrs
Adamic was away.
"Adamic said he knew the man
slightly
This man advised Adamic tc
cease writing favorable articles
about Yugoslavia and particularly
warned him against publishing
the book. He said there would be
a bad ending if Adamic did not
take this advice.
"In October, 1949, the man
came back and threatened, stop
writing that book. You are q
traitor to the working people. You
are connected with the Fascist
clique. the Tito clique. There will
be bad ending for you
Four Men Called.
I'm the middle of 1850, while
Mrs. Adamic was in New York
seeing her doctor. car with
Michigan license plates drove up
to the farmhouse. Four men got
out. He knew none of them.
They demanded the manuscript.
Mr. Adamic gave them curt re-
plies, but he was frightened.
"Adamic decided against call
ing the police and to leave the
farm and finish his book in Cali
fornia."
Mr. Smole said the Adamics left
New Jersey secretly and took a
seaside house near Los Angeles.
"Adamic worked on the book at
night When he got drowsy, he
would take walk along the sea
nliHs