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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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through. Then I called, and asked to see him again. Again we had the arrangements made, and again Mr. Gambs and I went, and I asked him if he had been able to transmit the memorandum to Russia and what, if any were the results?

He appeared somewhat surprised. I remember that Mr. Gambs and I discussed it afterwards--what was the surprise to him?--because we had stayed two hours on the first occasion, and had left behind a written memorandum which couldn't possibly be mislaid. It was properly labelled, and so forth. But he seemed a little surprised, as though it was the first he'd heard of it. He said, “Oh yes... well...” This was all in Russian, and interpreted through the interpreter. He said he didn't recall what we had talked about, and looked very vague and empty.

Well, of course it was not our place to rebuke the Ambassador for failure of memory. If his memory had failed him, it was our duty to try to--you know--open up his memory and recall it. So we opened it up again, and said what we had said.

Then finally he said, well yes, perhaps he did recall something. Yes. Well, he wasn't sure what had been done with the memorandum.

It was very difficult not to be a little bit angry by this time, you know, because we'd spent some trouble on it. He wasn't quite sure, and he didn't know. This interview





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