davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1953-12-23
Az the Assoeiafed Press

CLEVELAND, Dec. 23.-Otto
Graham. 32-year-old handspring
of the Cleveland Browns, said
today mental fitness more than
anything else may be the de-
Gliding factor in the Browns
Detroit Lions championship
game Sunday.
Professional football with its
evenly matched teams often mar
rows down to a battle Of emo
tions," the passing ace said. "One
day a team is not up mentally
and you beat them easily. Then
the next time they are all keyed
up and they walk all over you "
AS an example. he pointed out
how the Browns trounced the
Philadelphia Eagles, 37-13, Oc-
tober 10 and then suffered their
only loss of the season. 1927,
and one of the worst in their
history. when they met again
December Is.
Hard to Compare Foes.
Because Of the mental angle
Graham finds it hard to COM
pare teams the Browns have
played since they started win
ming championships in theil
first year back in 1946.
He called the Lions "a mighty
good team. very well balanced
with no weak spots and every
bit as good as last year" wher
they defeated the Browns. l7-7
in the championship game. The
game this year is in Detroit.
Graham, one of eight player:
who have been with his clut
since it was started. also heSi.
tateS about comparing thi.
years Cleveland team with those
of former seasons.
"I think it is as good as any
of the others and definitely 1t 4
Evening star., 1953-12-23
Roms' Stor Receiver ,
Released From Army
Sy she Assoe.otea Press

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 23.-Bob
Carey. the Los Angeles Rams
second leading receiver in 1852.
has been released from the Army
because of a neck vertebra in
jury received in college football,
a Rams official said yesterday.
Carey. from Charlevoix, Mich,
was a Michigan State star in
1851 and prior to his release was
q lieutenant at Fort Benning, Ga
Evening star., 1953-12-23
Cubs Have Six in Fold
As GuruqioIu SIGNS
BY the Assoeioted Press

CHICAGO, Dec. 23.-The Cubs
today signed their sixth player
for 1854, Catcher Joe Garagiola.
Others signed include Infielders
Randy Jackson, Ernie Banks and
Gene Baker: Outf1elder Bob Tai
bot and Pitcher Bill Moisan.
Garagiola, q, came to. the
Cubs last June in the same deal
which brought Outfielder Ralph
Kiner from the Pirates. He
batted ,272 in IA games for the
Cubs.
Evening star., 1953-12-23
Dempsey to Present Award

NEW YORK, Dec. % (R.-
Jack Dempsey. first winner of
the Boxing Writers Associations
Edward j. Neil Trophy. will pre-
sent the 1858 award to Kid Cav
ilan, welterweight champion. at
the groups annual dinner at the
Hotel Astor, January IA.
Evening star., 1953-12-23
Win, Lose, or Draw
By FRANCIS sTANN

TT HAS BEEN OBSERVED, and with great amount Of
enthusiasm to be perfectly frank that plans have been laid
match Charles with Sattereld next month
Evening star., 1953-12-23

many as two fights in row, even over
suspect opposition. =.
The whole idea, naturally, is to work
Charles up to title fight with Rocky Mar
ciano, who has just about run out of oppo-
nentS and while there is less than guar
antee that Ez will be a worthy foe, the
Marciano camp and the international Box
ing Club undoubtedly reason that he is bet
ter than nobody at ALL At least, Charles
was the heavyweight champion himself, and
the one who dethroned Joe Louis.
To one who never had seen Charles in
action, his conquest of Coley Wallace by
Evening star., 1953-12-23

Continued on Page Alb. Col. H.
Evening star., 1953-03-06

A Chance Missed.
Russia, under Stain, survived
her ordeal. East and West stood
face to face, at the end of the
war, possessors of the battlefield,
their common foe destroyed.
Few nations have had a
greater share in the world reser-
voir of good will than Russia had
In this moment Of victory-feW
men more than Stain. Here was
no sinister Oriental despot. Here
was a kindly, stubborn old man,
who had proved he could work
miracles in freedoms cause.
It seems long time ago.
In the first months following
World War II, Stain conducted
one of history's most strenuous
and adept exercises in power
diplomacy. Into the ashcan went
the letter and spirit of opti-
mistic wartime agreements at
Teheran. Yalta and Potsdam
One by one, the widening circle
of the Iron Curtain encompassed
the nations of central Europe
whose democracy and sovereign
integrity Stain was pledged tt
protect - YugoSlavia, Poland
Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bull
garia and Romania. The Com.
munists took over China, though
Stain had promised to support
Chang Kai-shek. The Krem.
Inns tentacles twisted into Eu'
rope and Asia farther eacf
passing day.
The reaction was slow but sure
Gradually, with the Unitet
Evening star., 1953-03-06

States taking the lead, the West
stiffened its resistance to an ap-
parent threat to its civilization.
Greece, Iran and Turkey were
supported in their efforts to de-
fend themselves. The. Marshall
Plan signaled the start Of a
drive to rebuild Europe's shat
tered economy with American
help. The Atlantic pact signaled
the start Of a drive to rebuild
Europe's sense of military secu-
rity with the same help.
Yugoslavia bolted the Russian
camp. and other satellites de.
veloped symptoms Of restlessness.
AS the balance slowly redressed
itself-as the issue Of peace or
total war teetered precariously-
the West looked anxiously to the
Kremlin for a sign Of Stalin's
response.
Was Korea the answer? What
did this limited war" in the Far
East portend for the future?
Still, all eyes remained on Stain.
Evening star., 1953-03-06
He Worked II Years
For the Revolution

This was the start Of a IT.
year period in which the future
Staliin worked against the crum-
bling czarist regime as an un-
distinguished revolutionary ap-
prentice. It is clear that he
made no impression, in the
beginning, on the leadership Of
the coming revolution, or figured
In any important way in the
councils Of the party. But that
he was a persistent. thorn in
the side Of the police cannot be
doubted. He was arrested Is
times, jailed eight times and
exiled six times to Siberia.
He used, during these years. no
less than 10 aliases. One that
stuck was "Koba," name Of the
hero of a patriotic Georgian
novel. A few Of his old friends
"a very few-called him Koba
after he came into power. He
adopted the name Stain in 1912.
"Stal" means steel; stain"
may be translated "steely."
For the revolutionary cause, in
presumed pursuit Of it's dream of
freedom, he worked in illegal
printshops, wrote and distributed
contraband literature, and or
ganized strikes and demonstra-
tions. He was jailed in 1902 for
his part in a workers demon
Stration in Batum. He moved
often.
SlOvenly, Hard Bitten.
He was, then. by all accounts,
swarthy, slovenly. hard-bitten
little man, black-bearded and
pock-marked. the typical capital
ist caricature of an agitator. His
means did not allow him to dress
we'll, but, as a matter of fact, he
had no interest in keeping his
clothes clean and in order" a
friend reported.
This was the man who. in
1908, at the age Of "a, married
a simple Georgian woman named
Catherine Svanidze. who subse-
quently bore him a son Jacob.
Catherine was to die in 1917.
A year after his marriage,
Koba was exiled to Siberia. The
sentence was three years. He
escaped In 1904 and went back
to Tiflis.
A great split in Socialist ranks
occurred in 1908. Koba bided
his time for a year and a half,
watching the controversy develop
before deciding where he stood.
When he did choose, he sided
with the Bolsheviks Qater to call
themselves Communists). He sat
out the abortive revolution of
1905. He knew how to wait.
Between 1905 and 1907. Koba
may have attended several party
congresses abroad. although the
record is not clear. It was at the
Tammerfors session that he is
supposed first to have met
Ienin, leader Of the Russian
revolution. He later said this
meeting made q tremendous i'm
preston on him. II the meeting
actually took place. there is no
evidence that Lenin was similarly
impressed at the time.
BY 1907, Koba was a member
Evening star., 1953-03-06

ings more than they did. They
were the intellectuals who di-
rected the movement from the
outside. Most had waited out the
war on neutral territory: Men
like Lenin, the master. and Trot-
sky. his flrst lieutenant-men
like Gregory Zinoviev and Leon
Kamenev. When these shook
hands with Stain. the rough,
plodding disciple who stayed at
home, they did 1t condescend-
ingly.
He eventually succeeded Lenin.
The other three he disposed Of,
In his rough, plodding way.
Stain virtually drops from the
view Of history into the revolu-
tionary vortex which Russia be-
came during that first spring and
summer. There are q dozen ver-
sions Of the part he played. He
is even said by some to have lent
his temporary backing to the
KerenSky government, q shaky
coalition setup which early took
power and through which the
country's capitalists sought to
take to themselves the fruits of
the disorganized upheaval against
the Car.
No one really knows what
Stain did when Lenin and his
group staged their abortive Boil
shevik coup in July. Lenin and
Zinoviev were forced into hiding
when the plan failed; Trotsky
and Kamenev were jailed. Stain.
apparently. knew how to wait.
And. meanwhile. the SNOWFALL
was rolling, as the Bolsheviks
steadily gained control of local
governing bodies, known as So
vietS.
Wherever he had been, Stain
emerged In q position Of rela-
tive Importance in the party
councils after the Bolsheviks
seized control Of the central gov
ernment in the so-called Oc-
tober revolution. which took
place on November z. according
to the Western calendar. He was
recognized as one of Ienin's
lieutenantS and became q charter
member of the Politburo. q CEN
tral directing group Of the Com
munist Party. In the new gov
ernment he took over the re-
spectacle, If unexciting, post Of
CommiSsar of Nationalities.
Success Causes Debate.
He did well for himself at this
critical stage. How he did SO
well. considering the modesty Of
his previous political circum.
stances. is a fundamental ques-
ton with regard to the Develop
ment Of his career. His admirers
say his coming into a position
of responsibility proves that the
story Of his unimportance before
1917 Is q Trotskyite lie; that
Stain was always one Of the
revolutionary elect.
His foes say he was admitted
to the inner circle only as q
colorless workhorse whose think
ing was to be done for him by
his more brilliant comrades.
The truth presumably lies
somewhere between these two
extreme claims. In later life,
however, when he could well af-
ford the luxury, Stain himself
limited that his early career was
not particularly inspiring. IT,"
he said, "was the hall-sweeper
Of the revolution"
Evening star., 1953-03-06

young Soso's feelings, it served
also to stiffen his already stub
born will. It was about this
time that he wrote the only
poem he is known to have writ
ten during his life. It was four
lines long. and decidedly pro-
phetic.
know thou" he wrote-'he
who has fallen, like dust upon
the earth, he who at one time
has suffered oppression. will grow
to be loftier than the mighty
hills and winged with re-
splendent hope!"
Evening star., 1953-03-06

Stain played his full part in
this. Fancy braiding appeared
on his formerly severe uniforms.
A witness reported that at one
Of the magnificent state ban
quets Stain drank no less than
80 do adna" (bottoms up)
toasts in vodka. and walked
away from the table. To the
end, however, he disapproved of
fancy dishes and mixed drinks.
His tastes were always a
strange mixture of the simple
and the sophisticated. He was
surprisingly well-read. familiar
even with the Russian transla-
ton of Shakespeare's plays. At
one time he is said to have played
polo. He liked wild boar hunt
ing. In the 1930s he enjoyed
driving his own car-very fast.
He liked the movies. He played
a good game of chess; strangely.
he always wanted the black
pieces.
A Hard Worker.
He did his own work. No one
wrote his letters or statements
for him; he dictated. keeping
three secretaries busy. one at a
time. ir six-hour shifts. His
Office was said to be the best run
in the Kremlin. He read every
thing that crossed his desk, and
everything crossed his desk, even
newspapers, fan mail. local re-
ports from all parts of the coun-
try.
He had an enormous regard
for detail, an astonishing ability
to concentrate. He never got
excited, and would not tolerate
excitement in others.
He got about five hours sleep q
night during and after the war.
until illness forced him to slow
down. Arising at II, he would
be at work within an hour. In
midafternoon he ate lunch at
his desk. During dinner in his
apartment. which began at 10 or
II pm, he would discuss current
problems with selected hench-
men. Then he would work some
more. alone, often until 6 am.
Always the Boss.
In war and in peace, Stain
was the boss. He ran the general
staff as he ran the Politbureau.
The men sat around a table;
those who had an opinion gave
it. Stain listened. Then he
made his decision.
Observers at Teheran, Yalta
and Potsdam noted that Stalin's
chief advisers felt free to offer
him advice at the conference
tables. But they never saw Stain
ask any ones opinion.
On March 3. 1947, Stain sur
prised the world by giving up his
position as titular chief Of the
Russian armed forces. There was
speculation that this was the first
of a series Of moves in which,
growing old and tired, he planned
to transfer his power gradually
to the men who, presumably.
would WELD it after his death.
To the end. however, he seems to
have retained the hard core of
the great power he had welded
through the years.
He was 5 feet 5 inches tall
exactly 2 inches taller than Ma
poleon.
Evening star., 1953-03-06

ooA0Ay WdO 4dSV 1CPO1 CCO-441
1937-as the Russian equivalent
Of 500 a month. BY that time.
however. he needed no money.
The evolution Of Soso into
Stain had its germ in Tiflis. The
schools rigid discipline was re-
sented by other students as well
as by the bitter youth from Gori.
Hatred Of Russian overlordShip
and czarist oppression added fuel
to the smoldering flames, and
many a budding priest was con-
verted into a revolutionist. $3.50
Joined a group Of juvenile con-
Spirators; at the same time he
began to dabble with the doc
trines of Darwin and Marx,
Joined the local Marxist Social
Democratic organization and at
tended the Socialist meetings of
group of Tiflis railway men.
He lost interest in theology. and
his marks, which had been re-
spectacle, began to drop.
Time of Ferment.
Stalin's years in Tifiis were a
time of ferment everywhere.
Coxey's army Of 10000 un-
employed Americans marched
on Washington. Miners struck
in this country, and Eugene v.
Debs led the railway workers in
a bloody battle against Federal
troops. In France, Capt. Drey-
fus was degraded-not to be re-
stored to rank for IL long years,
when the public conscience had
been stirred by the pen of one
Emil Zola.
Cuba had an abortive revolu-
ton. The Maine was blown up
in Havana Harbor; Spain
warred with the United States
and Admiral Dewey destroyed
the Spanish feet in Manila Bay.
The Queen of Korea was assassi-
nated-her body soaked in oil
and burned. The Ethiopians,
under King Menelik. smashed
the proud Italians at Adowa.
Empress Elizabeth of Austria
Hungary was killed by an an
archist.
Three Danish explorers left
Spitzbergen in a balloon. bound
for the North Pole. (Their
bodies were found 80 years
later, 1T miles from the take
off, And two people named
Curie discovered something
called radium.
II the testimony of school,
mates at Tiflis can be admitted
as trustworthy. Stains interest
in theology was never great.
"You know they deceive us
God does not really exist" he
is supposed to have whispered
to a friend. Nevertheless, he
bore the stamp Of religious edu-
cation throughout his life. His
speech and writings, almost in
variably, had a dull, liturgical
turn Of expression, with repeti-
tions reminiscent Of the litany.
Answer to Pepper.
And when Senator Pepper
asked Stain in October, 1945,
whether he believed a basis for
an agreement between Russia
and the United States could be
found, the former theological
student made up for any pos
sible lack of candor with the
promptness Of his reply: Christ
said, Seek and We shall f1nd.'"
Soso was expelled from the
seminary in July, 1899, having
been branded by the rector as
politically unreliable" The
development was reasonable
enough: The rector had on his
desk a series Of reports indi-
eating that young Djugashvili
was reading dangerous books to
his fellow students.
There is reason to believe that,
while the incident may have hurt
Evening star., 1953-03-06
He Moved Carefully,
Consolidating Power

In the government, Stain for
a while displayed symptoms of
severe Illustration. The political
situation had not yet crystal
lized to the point where a man
could simply give orders and
get results, and Stain was not
adept at persuading others
through the process Of debate.
A colleague named Pestkovsky
later contributed a picture Of
Stain at work in his commits
sariat under these conditions.
When tired of the endless argu-
ment, Stain would get up. an
nounce he would be back in q
minute and walk out Of the con-
ference room. He would not re-
turn.
Liked to Hide Out.
ut was impossible to find
him." Pestkovsky said. "At first
we used to wait for him. Later
on, we merely dispersed"
Sometimes while Stain was on
one of these sitdown strikes.
Lenin would insist on seeing him
Immediately even though Pest
kovsky, answering the bell. ex-
planned that the Commissar of
Nationalities had disappeared"
"Then," Pestkovsky reported.
my task became difficult. I be-
gan to walk through the endless
corridors of the Smolni or the
Kremlin. Eventually, I would
find Stain in the most unpre-
dictable places. Once I discov-
cred him in the apartment Of
the sailor, Vorontsov. He was
lying on the sofa in the kitchen.
smoking his pipe"
Stain knew how to wait. He
waited until he was in a posi-
tion to change the system which
made argument necessary.
Apparently Lenin was not too
upset by this idoSyncrasy in his
disciples behavior. Muscovite
gossip soon had it that the
man in the government about
whom few Of them had heard
was being looked upon by the
master with considerable favor.
"Lenin trusts Stalin," the say.
ing went. Stain trusts no.
body"
OutdOne by Trotsky.
But although Stain was gain
ing in reputation. Trotsky seemed
easily to outshine him. It was
a case Of the tortoise and the
hare: Stain. at that stage, the
monotonous plugger, quietly be-
ginning his campaign to organ
ize and control the party works
from within; Trotsky, an ex-
Menshevik, as the governments
first Foreign Minister. the bril-
liant lone wolf, his fur unspotted
by grease from bureaucratic ma
chinery.
Stain played a prominent
part in the civil war in which
the government soon became
embroiled and through which,
for three bloody years, it fought
for its life. But Trotsky was his
commander in chief. It was in
this period that the enmity be.
tween the two appears to have
come to a head.
A member Of the Revolution.
Continued on Next Page.)
Evening star., 1953-03-06


remained one. Others have
started with Stain the Great
Man, twisting and distorting his
past in an attempt to demon
Strate he always was one.
Stain. himself, did nothing to
dispel the mystery. He made no
effort to enlighten the public
about his early life or the details
Of his personal existence after he
became. in the middle '2Os, ef-
fective Soviet chief with all gov
ernmental reins in his hands.
His origin was loWly. The set
ting was the village of Gori.
province Of Tiflis, in a mountain
Gus, poor, strife-ridden section of
what was loosely called Russia,
lying between the Caspian and
Black Seas and known as Geor-
gia. The time was December 81,
1879.
Injured at Birth.
A certain Catherine, comely
wife of a shoemaker named Wis.,
sarion Djugashvili, gave birth to
her fourth child on that night.
She was only 20 years old. The
boys left arm was injured at
birth, resulting in a partial but
lasting paralysis; the second and
third toes of his left foot were
joined.
In other respects, the infant
was normal, and he was the first
Of GATHERINGS children to sur
vive, despite an attack of small
pox at the age of 7. His name:
Joseph Visarionovich Djugash-
viii. His nickname: Soso.
Family life in the cellar be-
lieved to have been the Djugash-
viii home was not the sort likely
to bring a child to realization of
his higher potentialities. The
father was coarse and heavy
handed, a hard drinker. The
mother baked, sewed and washed
for more prosperous neighbors,
supplementing with these earn
ings her husbands income. Her
position in the family, however,
was typical of the slave status of
the European peasant woman.
One of JoSeph's childhood ac-
QuaintanceS later said that Wis
sarion's brutal relations with his
wife and frequent beatings of his
children drove from Soso's
heart love of God and people
and caused him to hate his own
father"
/ Slated for Priesthood.
Vissarion planned to appren-
tice his son to another shoe
maker. and early made arrange
ments to that effect. But
Catherine wanted the boy to be
a priest in the Russian orthodox
church. She Cancelled the ap-
premiership arrangement when
Vissarion died. and Soso, aged
II, was enrolled at the Gori Ec-
clesiastical School.
Here the future leader of all
the Russians first encountered
the Russian language-in all
respects a foreign" language in
that part Of the world. He spent
nearly six years at the school.
unhappy in the society of the
children of priests. government
officials and petty mobiles.
In 1894 he went on to the Tiflis
Theological Seminary, described
by those who knew it as a sort
of monastic prison Offering its
inmates an insufficient allow
ance of food compensated for by
a great deal of prayer, seasoned
with plenty Of sharp punish
ment. More than ever, he felt
his poverty here. "ae didn't have
any money" a fellow student
said in later years, whereas all
the rest Of us got packages and
spending money from our
parents"
| Soso never got rich. His
Evening star., 1953-03-06
Stains Beginnings
Were LowIy and Sad

None of his many biographers
has succeeded in bridging con-
vincingly the gap between Stall
ms inauspicious beginnings and
his eventual achievement. Some
have started with the fact that
in youth he was an obvious
mediocrity, and have devoted
Evening star., 1953-03-06

Continued on Next Page.)
The Detroit tribune. (Detroit, Mich.) 1935-1966, 1953-04-04

Too many veterans and 9th.
srs." he said. are carelessly
relying on ielevision and radio
nswscasis to enable them 10
make decisions now required of
all citizens. This leads 10 apathy
in important events. and ulii-
mafelY 10 corruption and mis-
management"
II Us 't.r.sarv 10 bl ing tins
s'li of g cawnaien 10 the aiien-
non OF any group in America. il
neeos To be brought 10 the at
IGNITION of our Negro citizcnrv.
Only we have iwo-fold lob 10
20 We must read the dailv papers
to keep up with the fast-movins
events OF the world.
But II IS equally important
mat we keep up with the events
CT the Negro world" too. The
reason fot his is simple no
Where else can we get a picture
~ what our people are doing and
how we'll they are doing il and
non where else can we got the i'm
spllatlon that comes from hesrine
about our accomplishments
True. we get q little more ~,
IT in the daily newspapers Than
we used 10. but most often We
must uncover" our own dceds
a Few years ago ono OF the
New York SUNDAY new spapers
carried q full page story win
artist sketches (not photne,a
-rhsl OF q little icn-vesr-oId
e'rl VINO was attending 2 Mid
western University.
She was a genius and she had
Teen psrsded before an arrav If
psychologists and educators 20
see what made her tick She u,.e
described as pretty. active
wholesome little genius.
me articles failed to say. how
ever. that She was a Nep,o OF
course. New York papcrS had
lohg since agreed moi To mention
me race Of individuals in then
columns but there were MANY
who felt that if she had hacked
hei grandmother to death with
meat ak. she would have been
identified az Negro in no IN