8/22-8/28/48

8/22 Sunday Played a little with Sam Farr.

8/23 Russian troops arrested a U.S. official who had stepped into the Soviet zone, in the continued Soviet crackdown on the black market. Missouri ruled the Progressive Party off the ballot without any explanation. Several hundred Georgia Negroes were bought at $35. a head and transported to Michigan for work in a canning company.

8/24 Lost to Lavender. The Dean of Canterbury was barred from a speaking tour here. Russia released three seized Americans. Western envoys met with Stalin. New Sec'y of Labor Tobin attacked the Taft Hartley Bill.

8/25 Left wing N.M.U. leaders defeated in the elections are now up for expulsion by Curran and his gangsters. Greek gov't and guerilla sources continued to give contradictory reports on military results.

8/26 Lil's Birthday Left for Farm. I gave Lil a musical powder box. It hit 100° in the city today. O'Dwyer barred all leftists from City Hall. Mrs. Kasenkina in an interview said she jumped to escape from Russia. Russia in a retaliatory measure for the ousting of Lamakin, closed its N.Y. and S.F. Consulates and asked us to close our Vladivostok office. Alger Hiss confronted Whit Chambers in a 5 hour session. He stuck to his denial of any communistic activity and questioned the latter's sanity. Leftist Dept store Union officials were ousted by Int'l Union leaders but were fighting back. We saw outdoor movies at the farm.

8/27 Both kids have colds due to the heat wave which has even hit the mountains. Lillian took the kids temp. in the afternoon and found Eugene had 101.2 and Sylvia 100. They went to bed. Eugene got argyrol packs and aspirin. At night he had 99.8° and Syl. 99.4°. Mom & Pop called from the Overlook in Loch Sheldrake. Pop's eye in which he had gotten rust while at work was better. A World Cultural Parley was held in Poland with 500 delegates representing all great countries including U.S. and England.

Our grandfather ("Pop", above) was an iron-worker, so rust in the eye would not seem unusual. 

8/28 Sylvia was allowed out. Eugene had 100.8° at night. He stayed in all day splitting a pair of chess games with me. Lillian has a bad cold and had a miserable day. The heat wave ended here, tonight.