Fragment of a carbon copy of a typed letter : Totnes, to Lady Astor, 1938 October 14.

Arguing his case for Russia and Communism in reply to a comment by Lady Astor that "'Russia was killing all her intelligent people;" citing instances of scientists who spoke out against Communism and were not killed; saying "An intelligent traitor's more dangerous than a stupid one. The Red Army's none the worse for the loss of a few of Hitler's friends. In the Great War it might have benefited England if she had lost some of her generals before it started...Intelligence is often used in the cause of rascality...These yarns of 'killing all intelligent people' are as bright as the one saying that 'Papanin tried to walk across the ice-floes to escape to America.' And isn't England doing all she can to destroy intelligence? Don't you remember the instance of Maudie Mason? Wasn't that enough to show the softening of England's brain? And your own experiences in the Women's Movement showed you the dear broadmindedness of the English mind. Shaw said many years ago that the English lived in mortal dread of a new idea, and they live in mortal dread of it still. But Lady Astor isn't English, therefore -- And Communism hasn't come to Russia yet. But it is on the way. Everything isn't perfect there; but nothing is perfect here."