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we hadn't heard much about what was going on there. Hardly anybody paid the slightest attention to Russia and there was no publicity about it. Whatever she knew about the Communists was strictly local.

At any rate, she had no independent sources of information and she never was clear, but apparently somebody had gotten into her head the idea that some of the things that were being recommended would not have been recommended except by Communists. I don't remember who she accused, but there were various people in the Department who were responsible, perfectly ordinary people who didn't stand out at all.

The first time that she muttered that I was a Communist was when I wouldn't reappoint Richard Flinn. I did appoint him once. He was number one on the civil service list and he turned out to be a total loss - absolutely incompetent and very disagreeable and very unsuitable for any connection with the public, utterly rude and so forth. Yet he had a way of passing number one on every civil service examination. He was one of those bright people who can pass examinations, but can't do anything. It was a great revelation to me about that. Anyhow, he was Irish and Roman Catholic and she associated anybody who didn't appoint him as not appointing him because he was a Catholic. The only people who wouldn't jump to appoint Catholics were