501.BB/9–2447: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union ( Smith ) to the Secretary of State
2915. From limited available sources various strata Soviet life, following appears preliminary reactions Vyshinsky’s GA speech. While everything he said has been published ad nauseam in recent months, publication as official high-level speech here has apparently caused [Page 79] considerable concern over imminent possibility of war. Various reports indicate housewives queuing up for sugar, laying down extra supplies of potatoes, and buying or bartering to obtain extra warm clothing. This concern similar to that of year ago which finally reached such proportions Stalin found it necessary dispel war fears in his reply to correspondent Werth.