Snubbed

Foreign Minister Aristide Briand, to celebrate his advent in the Quai d'Orsay, invited the Bolshevik Ambassador, M. Leonid Krassin, to visit him. The Ambassador accepted the invitation, was closeted with M. Briand for some minutes.

As matters reached the ears of those omnipresent lords of the press--the reporters--it appeared that M. Briand taxed M. Krassin with maintaining at his Embassy a Communist propaganda service and in particular charged one Voline, First Secretary, with having addressee! a public meeting in a tenor most displeasing to the French and entirely subversive of the public weal as be saw it.

M. Krassin, so the press minions averred, was shocked at the charge, asseverated that his sole duty was to maintain and constantly seek to strengthen the cordial relations existing between France and Russia; that he had not, either by word or deed, encouraged Communist propaganda and would not, nor would he be director of any activities against the social order of France. As for M. Voline, he had merely represented M. Krassin at a memorial meeting for the late Dr. Sun Yat-sen and had eulogized that dead leader.

M. Briand shrugged his shoulders, remarked that if M. Voline did it again the Government would ask for his removal.