William C. Bullitt, Moscow, 15 July 1935, to Judge Walton Moore
[ excerpt ]

. . . Some of the Bolsheviks feel quite violently about the meeting of the Communist International A few evenings ago Karl Radek was at my house for a dinner and dance that I was giving in honor of the Italian Ambassador who is about to leave for Berlin. I said to Radek in a most friendly way that I hoped he and his friends in the Third International would not raise such hell at the communist congress that they would compel us to break relations. I never saw a man grow more instantaneously and violently angry. He sprang up and said, �We have lived without the United States and we can continued to live without the United States. We shall never allow you to dictate to us what we may do or what we may not do in Moscow.� I replied that Litvinov had made certain formal promises on the subject whereupon Radek stalked away.

It is unquestionable that in spite of Litvinov�s note to the President a lot of the Communist International members intend to disregard the propaganda pledge at the first favorable opportunity. I do not, however, believe that they will consider the present moment a favorable opportunity. They are much too worried about the general international situation. It is, however, perfectly clear that to speak of �normal relations� between the Soviet Union and any other country is to speak of something which does not and will not exist. All the diplomatic representatives here, myself included, are increasingly being placed in the position of representatives of the capitalist enemy . . .

Whatever we do, we should do promptly — instantaneously if possible. I think we should avoid at all costs the usual practice of writing a large pontifical note of protest. The Soviet Government would merely answer by a large, more pontifical and intensely insulting note and we cannot compete with the Bolsheviks in invective . . .

I hope that the Bolsheviks may show some common sense and not compel us to do any of these things but they have been so dumb in the handling of their relations with the United States that I should not be surprised by any action that they may take . . .

For the President   Personal and Secret
Correspondence Between Franklin D. Roosevelt and William C. Bullitt
ORVILLE H. BULLITT, EDITOR
Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1972, pages 134-5.

William C. Bullitt, Moscow, 3 August 1935, to Franklin Delano Roosevelt
[ excerpt ]

The emotions of the Congress in deciding to cooperate with the Socialists and bourgeois Democrats in a fight against Fascism are, of course, on all fours with the emotions of the tiger when he went out for that historic ride with the young lady of Niger. The Communists feel sure they will come back from he ride with the Socialists and Democrats inside.

idem, page 135.

Platten, Fritz, 1883-1942. Title Die Reise Lenins durch Deutschland im plombierten Wagen [microform] / Fritz Platten. Imprint [Berlin : Neuer Deutscher Verlag, 1924] Division Humanities- Microforms Descript 78 p. : ill. ; 22 cm. Note Master microform held by: NN. Microfilm. New York, N.Y.: New York Public Library, 19--.