True Blue Execution

While four British engineers protested in Soviet jails (see above), no protest was heard last week from 35 Soviet officials jailed at the same time on charges of sabotage. All were dead. Of the guilt of 34 there would have been some doubt in any but a Soviet Ogpu court. But on one, Vice Commissar for Agriculture Feodor M. Konar, Soviet justice was willing to go before the world.

Every Ogpu man dreams about a man like Konar. In 1920 he was expelled from the Communist Party on charges of sabotage. Replied he, "Oh, you must mean Polashchuk." He was reinstated. Moving to Moscow to live with his "brother," he became a tower of orthodoxy while honest men fell on every side for peccadillos of opinion or efficiency. Konar rose rapidly. In his apartment gathered the "true blue incorruptibles" of Communism. Last month by blind chance the Ogpu discovered that Konar was on too excellent terms with "a prominent foreign diplomat." When police came for him, he told them he need only telephone Ogpu headquarters. They showed him the Ogpu signature on the warrant and he buried his head in his hands. On trial, he admitted he was Polashchuk. He admitted Konar-Polash-chuk had been selling out Russia to Poland for 13 years. He admitted his "brother" was a brother-agent. He admitted he had deliberately mismanaged grain collections to lower the grain supply and ruin peasants. The Ogpu council members looked silently at one another. They did not even leave the courtroom to pass sentence. Certain of the justice of this one perfect execution they marched him outside and shot him at once. Later on the same day the other 34, whose crimes were more debatable, were shot equally dead.

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