The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1953-03-04
CONDITION OF STAIN
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Wet Union to display the greatest
unity and =. redouble their ener.
gies in building communism.
Stain has led the government
since 1924, when v. l. Lenin died.
He led the Soviet people to victory
in Word War II, and his illness
comes only few weeks after the
10th anniversary of the Battle of
Stalingrad, turning point of that
war for the Soviet forces.
The paralytic stroke Stain suf-
fered evidently is similar to that
which killed Franklin D. Roosevelt,
his wartime ally. President Roose-
welt, who met with Stain at Tehran
and Yalta in wartime conferences,
died at So in 1915.
The announcement of Stains ILL.,
ness was made over the Moscow
radio as many Muscovites were 60
ing to work. The announcers gave
the words slowly, end the bulletin
was read over and over again.
Crowds gathered in front of
newspapers plaearded on bill.
boards. There was a look of con-
Germ on many faces. Pravda, Of
fetal organ of the Communist par
ty, headlined the news with the
black letters-"Government Com
munique. 1t was subheaded: "Of
the illness of the chairman of the
Council of Ministers of the USSR
and secretary Of the Central Com
mittee of the Communist party,
Comrade Josef Vissarionovich Sta
lin"
The official announcement dis
closed that the Soviet Union has a
new health minister-A. F. Trety-
akov. 1t said the treatment was
being conducted under direction of
Tretyakov and l. Kuperin, chief of
the Medical Sanitary Board of the
Kremlin. The previous minister of
health was Y. /. Smirnov.
TasS, the official news agency,
telephoned foreign correspondents
brief bulletin about 1920 am.
The AP correspondents in Moscow
called their London and Paris Of
fees Immediately, with the calls
going through quickly. These calls
we're placed from the central tele-
graph office. The lines had to be
held while censors cleared news
copy for transmission abroad. All
copy was subject tc censorship.
Soon the news of Stains illness
blanketed the Soviet capital with
a pail of grief. On the streets peo-
pie huddled into little groups. As
they moved on, only one sentence
was heard--over and over again.
stain is i'll. Stain is i'll. Stain is
ill.,"
At the office Of Tass, the girl
who handed out the agency's bull
letins to foreign correspondents
was red-eyed fro mweeping.
People surrounded the newspa-
per stands scattered throughout the
city as the morning editions carry
ing the government announcement
and the medical bulletin were sold.
At points in the city where the
earliest copies Of Pravda were
posted on walls, dozens of Russians
gathered to read the details. They
were a still and Somber lot as
they absorbed the news.
Stain had been active within the
last few weeks.
On Jan. IL he appeared at the
Bolshoi Theater for a concert by
a group of visiting Polish artists.
The next day he received the vice
president of the Soviet Chinese
Friendship Society and the presi-
dent of the Chinese Academy of
Science.
On Jan. Fl he attended the men,
orial ceremonies for Nikolai Lenin
at the Bolshoi. On Feb. 7 he re-
ceived the new Argentine ambas-
sador, DR.. Leopoldo Bravo. and
10 days later the new Indian am
bassador, K. P. s. Menon, and
DR.. Saifuddin Kitehlu, chairman of
the AIl-India Peace Council.
Both Bravo and Menon reported
that he looked Strong and vigor.