TROTSKY'S LIFE IN MEXICO

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 172, 7 August 1937, Page 11

TROTSKY'S LIFE IN MEXICO

New Book Nearly Ready

| Leon Trotskyis at present working s twelve hours a day on his new book, ( "The Crimes of Stalin,'.' which he I hopes to finish very shortly. He is ■ no-w a voluntary prisoner and lives like a recluse in the sicnply appointed J house of the artist, Diego Bivera., This house is in- Coyoacan, a picturesque local suburb. Sinee he came to Mexico ' Trotsky has "only left" the place three 1 times, each time for a biref outing, ' always in' a motor-car,*ac'eompanied by eithei; or both of his male seeretafies. j 5 He is always foliowed by an armed I guard. Indeed, the house where he c lives somewhat resembles a military j. police barracks. There are eight unic formed and heavily-armed constables , on constant duty at ' the ' do'or," ' wliile . twelve plain-clothes - policemen, also f heavily armed, are always in the neighi bourhood of the house. " Everybody and evory thing that ap- ; proaclies the establishment " is scrutin-

ised, and only those who; are well known to the guards or members of the household ' or ' whose credehtials are authentic, are admitted. - Very. few of the limited number of callers 'are abld to see Trotsky personally. " He only, sees a few visitors — mostly journalists and authors, and practically all of them foreigners. Trotsky 's new book deals with' the recent Moscow trials and will be about 100,000 words long. He is a rapid worker. He dictates every thing first and then goes over it very caref ully. The secretaries then have to Yranslate il into the various languages in which he desires the production to appear. . Trotsky takes no exercise, unloss an occ.asional stroll' in the garden can be called exercise. But he keeps remark* tibly Ht and seems to havo adjusted himself to Mexico City '§ altitude oi 7,450. ft,