Mission to Moscow Page #5

Near the great dneiper dam,

at present the largest source

of hydroelectric power

in the world,

we examined a huge steel plant

which employs 9,000 men.

Its open-house steel capacity

was 440,000 tons,

which compares favorably

with our own mills in gary.

That's really

quite amazing.

How long were

you in america?

I spent a year in

detroit and pittsburgh

studying your metals

and equipment,

mr. Ambassador.

We believe our plant here

combines the best

features of both.

You're pretty young to

run a plant like this.

How'd you get the job?

Like anyone else,

i worked for it.

Watch it, mr. Davies.

Then south

to the caspian sea,

where we inspected

the oil fields at baku

producing 7%

of the country's supply.

The equipment's

pretty well worn out.

We are trying to replace

it as fast as we can,

but our country

needs so much oil.

The supply cannot

keep up with demand.

Beside, our government

is storing up oil reserves

in case comes war.

Every plant,

every industry is prepared

for quick conversion

to a wartime basis,

and some we saw

are not waiting too long.

I certainly

didn't expect to find

an american

engineer here.

They hired me

two years ago, sir,

to give them advice

on installations,

and am i anxious to

get back to texas.

Homesick, huh?

I'd give

a carload of caviar

for just one good

hot dog.

Do you mind

stepping up here

to my office

for a moment, sir?

It isn't

that i particularly

want to get back to the

states, mr. Ambassador.

In many ways,

i like it here.

These are fine people,

and they're good

at their jobs, too...

most of them.

Yeah?

Sit down, mr. Davies.

Is it all right

to smoke in here?

Sure.

Something is happening

in this country

that i don't

fully understand.

There's always a few

who seem to be working

against the rest.

How do you mean?

Thank you, sir.

Oh, they forget

to fill a crankcase

or turn

the wrong valve.

It takes us a good couple of

months to repair the damage.

Production

goes to pot.

From what i hear,

this happens

in more places

than the airplane

industry.

Sabotage, huh?

In the great don basin,

i saw for myself the wealth

of russia's coal resources.

I went down into the mine

and talked with the workers.

Much to my amazement, i discovered

that 30% of them are women.

Excuse me, mr. Davies,

is it true that in america

the women are not allowed

to do work like this?

Well, there's no law

against it,

but we don't like to put them

underground until we have to.

Ha ha!

In odessa, one of

the largest black sea ports,

i visited some

of their machine shops.

Again, i felt a sense of haste;

of pushing production

to the limit.

My friend, you seem

to enjoy hard work.

Of course you work hard.

You make more money.

I thought all your

profits went to the state.

Only a fixed amount.

Anything we

can produce above that

belongs to all of us

who works in a factory

in addition to our wages.

I hope i'm not

speaking out of turn,

but isn't that way of

encouraging initiative

a slight departure from

your original theory?

Ah, perhaps, mr. Davies, but what is

a theory except a means to the end?

The greatest good for the

greatest number of people.

Not a bad principle.

We believe in it, too.

The valley

of the dneiper river

is one of the most fertile

districts in the world.

Most of these farms

are cooperative

with over 600 men and women

working together

on a unit of 5,000 acres.

Again, as an industry,

the workers are entitled

to divide the profits

over and above

the government's share.

My conclusion based on

all i have seen and heard

in the course

of this trip is this:

In spite of many mistakes,

some inefficiency,

and even division

among themselves,

probably inevitable

in any great change,

i am convinced this nation

is aware of its destiny

and is making itself ready

for whatever lies ahead.

The premier is expecting

you, mr. Ambassador.

Premier molotov, the american

ambassador mr. Davies is here.

At once, sir.

No, don't go.

It's ambassador davies.

Oh, yes.

Welcome back,

mr. Davies.

Thank you, sir.

Mr. Litvinov

is here with me.

He just came back

from geneva.

He's anxious to meet you.

Mr. Litvinov,

ambassador davies.

Mr. Davies, i've looked

forward to this meeting.

It's a great pleasure,

mr. Litvinov.

Please sit down,

gentlemen.

Tell us about your trip, mr. Davies.

First, i want to thank you

for making it possible.

We only wish that more

of our foreign guests

were that interested

in what we are doing.

What were your impressions, mr. Davies?

First of all, i was amazed at

the boldness and imagination

behind such a vast

industrial development.

I can think of no other

period in history

where so much has been

done in so short a time.

This is very

gratifying to us.

Of course, naturally,

i saw things

on the other side, too-

things that weren't

working well,

things i didn't like.

Oh, yes,

we make mistakes.

Our method is experimental:

Trial and error.

We hope you will let us

study your criticisms.

Of course.

But there was one thing

that made me very curious.

I noticed that in

some of your plants,

the installations were not

fixed in cement.

They were movable.

Yes, mr. Davies.

If our army is ever

forced to retreat,

our source of supplies

will move, also.

Perhaps the russian bear

will set a trap of its own.

I see. Hmm. Excellent.

Don't you gpuers

ever get any sleep?

Good morning.

Hello. That's

pretty nice.

Da, da.

Marjorie, you look

like the pictures

of catherine the great

in that outfit.

Oh, good heavens,

and here am i about to call

on the wife of a commissar.

Don't be late. Remember,

we got a date tonight.

As if i could forget my

first diplomatic ball.

Joe, will there be

all sorts

of mysterious

intrigues going on?

Oh, yes. Yes.

Some mysterious brunette

will probably try

to sell you the plans

to yokohama.

Ha ha ha!

Good morning, freddie.

Good morning.

How did you rest?

With one eye open.

Freddie, will you

take me to the embassy

and take mrs. Davies

to this address-

i can't even pronounce it.

Yes, sir. And i

can't read it, sir.

Ask the gpu boys.

I cannot get used to being

followed everywhere i go.

What i can't

figure out, ma'am,

is whether they're

protecting us or watching us.

Well, maybe

it's a little of both.

Come on, boys.

Follow the leader.

More applications for

american passports, sir.

The pile is getting

bigger every day.

It reminds me

of animals

scurrying for shelter before a storm.

Spendler?

Please forgive me for

interrupting, mr. Ambassador,

but something has happened i thought

you should know about at once.

Yesterday, workmen who were

repairing the italian embassy

discovered dictagraph

wiring in the rafters.

I think we should make

an immediate examination.

The kremlin may be

recording every word we say.

Well, perhaps

they had a reason.

Moscow is a hotbed

for foreign agents.

But eavesdropping, sir?

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