Mission to Moscow Page #4

to anyone else

in the world,

but this business

of being a diplomat

kind of frightens me

a little.

Oh, nonsense, joe.

You're behaving as though

you'd been one for years.

You really think so?

Well, i like meeting

people and exchanging ideas,

but the part

that bothers me

is this protocol

of formality-

the diplomatic language

i'm supposed to use.

Then you just stick to

plain joe davies language.

I have an idea they'll

understand that better, anyway.

I'm kind of glad

i brought you along.

So this is russia,

eh?

Da. Da.

Well, where's

the caviar?

You're eating some now.

It's in your bread.

Oh.

Say, do you let girls

ride with the engineer?

She is the engineer.

Hi.

No wonder

napoleon got lost

trying to find

the russian army.

Yes. Could've

hidden for years

right here

in the kremlin.

The soviet leaders

have the same genius

for being hard to reach.

I dread this formality, henderson.

I feel like a fish

out of water.

Mr. Ambassador, may i present our staff.

The representative of the united

states of america, mr. Davies.

How do you do, sir?

How do you do,

sir?

How do you do?

The representative of the united

states of america, mr. Davies.

The president of the

soviet union, mr. Kalinin.

I am happy to meet you, mr. Davies.

Thank you,

mr. President.

May i present

mr. Krestinsky,

first assistant to the

commissar for foreign affairs.

Mr. Krestinsky.

Mr. Davies.

And the public

prosecutor

of the ussr,

mr. Vyshinsky.

Ah, yes. We've heard of your great

legal work even in america, sir.

Thank you, mr. Davies.

May i return the compliment.

Thank you.

My chief

mr. Litvinov

asks me to express his regrets

that he is not here

personally to greet you.

He's still

at geneva.

I have great admiration

for mr. Litvinov

and will look forward

to meeting him.

Mr. Davies,

it is customary

to make

a formal speech

upon occasions

like this,

but with

your permission,

we shall talk

what is on our minds

instead of what

is down on paper.

That would suit me

perfectly.

In fact, i think i've

forgotten mine, anyway.

Oh. Ha ha!

Please.

May i present my

credentials, mr. President?

Oh, yes. That you must

do. I've almost forgotten.

My favorite vice,

american cigarettes.

Spasibo.

Oh, you speak russian?

That one word is

my entire vocabulary.

Ha ha ha!

You and your people

have made me feel

very much at home,

mr. President.

So, i'm glad.

I'm not

a professional diplomat.

The only language

that i know

is to say what i think.

Excellent. Then you

and my people

will speak

the same language.

In that sense, yes,

but there's one thing

i must make clear.

I'm the product of a

different system from yours.

I believe

in individualism

as we practice it

in america.

We know your record,

mr. Ambassador,

and we believe you

are an honest man.

Thank you.

I assure you that

my purpose in coming here

is to see all things

with an open mind

and report them

faithfully to washington.

All we want is that you

see as much as you can

of what

we're trying to do

before you arrive

at your conclusion.

That's what my president

wants. That's why he sent me.

A very great man,

your president...

with a deep sympathy

for mankind.

That is true.

His greatest concern is

to keep the world at peace.

Oh, yes. Peace.

Peace.

There is room enough for

all of us to live in peace.

If only the other nations

will see, and see in time.

If they shouldn't, if war should

come, what would russia do?

We are prepared

to defend ourselves.

We'll be ready.

Nice shot,

lord chilston.

Thank you.

Why shouldn't he

be good?

He's here practicing

all the while.

Who else but the english

would think of converting

part of the embassy

to a billiard room?

Apparently the french have only

room for a wine cellar, hmm?

Touche!

What do you feature at the

polish embassy, mr. Ambassador?

Our house is very

small, mr. Davies.

We are stalin's

stepchildren.

Now,

my dear chilston,

you will how this

shot should be made.

Oh, yes?

Too bad.

I want you men to try some

english ale i've had shipped in.

Good.

Yes. I need something to cool me off.

Well, if you'll

drop in one afternoon...

what a pity you weren't

assigned to warsaw, mr. Davies.

You would enjoy the social

life there much more than here.

We have a saying: A russian

is merely an unfinished pole.

I looked forward to this

visit, lord chilston,

not only to

get acquainted,

but to become better

informed about russia.

I understand-

excuse me.

One can't be too

careful, you know.

You'll be doing the

same thing before long.

There are some very

large ears in moscow,

perhaps because those in

power feel none too secure.

I was under the

impression that the people

are firmly behind

the present government.

Don't be deceived by their

propaganda, mr. Davies.

These russians

are experts

at dressing their windows

for foreign diplomats.

You mean the 5-year

plan hasn't worked out?

Well, 5 years,

10, 15 years,

they will always be

the same russians-

full of great plans,

but small fulfillment.

Most of our colleagues

feel that way, davies,

but i don't entirely

agree with it.

I don't think we should

belittle the many fine works

that the soviets

have accomplished,

but, well, there are more

things going on in russia

than meet the eye,

my friend.

Very interesting.

I guess i should keep my eyes open, huh?

To the honorable

secretary of state.

Finding so many

divergent views in moscow

relative to the internal

strength of the soviet union,

i decided to take a trip

and see for myself.

When i explained my purpose

to premier molotov,

he was most helpful in arranging

for me to go where i pleased

and to find out the facts

without any official guidance.

My first stop

was at kharkov,

an important industrial city

as large as pittsburgh,

where we inspected

a modern tractor plant

employing 12,000 people

and producing 37,000

tractors a year.

When was

this factory built?

It was constructed under

the first 5 years plan

with the help

of engineers

from united states,

france, and england.

Most of the machinery

is american.

The facts and figures

of their output

are astonishing for a nation

which almost overnight

sprang from the middle ages

into modern methods.

But despite

their great progress,

it was my impression

that the efficiency

of their skilled labor

was not yet up to our standard.

These are the production

records, mr. Davies.

We keep experimenting

to find ways

to increase

our efficiency.

Well, what kind of

a tractor is this?

It looks different

from the rest.

Yes, mr. Davies.

The reason is this.

It can easily

be converted...

so.

On my way

through the ukraine,

i passed many divisions of

the red army on maneuvers.

Even to a civilian observer,

this force looks impressive.

It's an army on wheels

and on wings.

In my opinion,

it is greatly underestimated

by the rest of the world powers.

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