Capitalist & Commissar

Moscow's reddest carpet rolled out last week, not for a visiting Communist, but for a Homburged, blue-suited visitor who looked like what he is: a capitalist tycoon. On hand to greet the TU-104 jet that brought Cleveland Industrialist Cyrus S. Eaton (Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, Steep Rock Iron Mines) were crowds of children bearing flowers, and Soviet Minister of Agriculture Vladimir Matskevich bearing official greetings. Three years ago Eaton gave Matskevich's department a prize Shorthorn bull, which had nobly performed to improve the quality of Russia's herds.

The Russians had another reason to welcome Eaton: as a self-starting elder (74) statesman on a personal campaign for "world peace," Eaton had been corresponding with Premier Khrushchev, had been recently praised by Khrushchev for his efforts to soften U.S. policy toward Russia. The Reds were plainly grateful for such help--especially from such a prize specimen of capitalist. At an agricultural fair, Eaton was presented with a gold medal for his "great contribution to Russian agriculture." Later he was escorted to the Kremlin for a 1 1/2-hour talk with Khrushchev, whom Eaton found a "clean-desk man."

"I have heard," Eaton told the Premier, "the Soviet impression that American industry is in favor of war so that war orders will continue to flow. Speaking solely as a capitalist, we industrialists are not at all happy about spending $40 billion a year for implements of war that, if they had to be used, would mean the destruction of all our property, and our annihilation at the same time. Don't forget that this arms race places a crushing burden of taxation on industry." Khrushchev understood, "because of the expense to us of our own defense effort," but said: "We are being driven most reluctantly to these expenditures." To illustrate the U.S. desire for peace, Eaton told Khrushchev about Industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who amassed a fortune of $500 million, gave a great deal of it away to promote peace. To make this more meaningful. Eaton paused and asked the translator to convert the $500 million into rubles. Added Eaton: "I would like you to think of a man like Andrew Carnegie as being representative of American industrialists."

Later, Capitalist Eaton gave his impression of the Communist leader: "He is a man who is not to be pushed around. You get the idea when you're with him that he's the boss. I have spent most of my life persuading myself that I can read men and their minds. Of Khrushchev I am convinced that he wants peace." For Mindreader Eaton, the Red boss seemed to have an equally high opinion. As a farewell present, he gave Eaton a troika, an old-fashioned open carriage, and three matched horses, plus a trainer's services for two months.

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