## 4915
NOTATIONS ON LETTER OF A. M. GORKY
March 7-8, 1920

Dear Vladimir Ilyich!

Please receive Farbman, a very influential contributor to English and American newspapers. He recently returned from America, was in Germany, and is now going there again. He will be in London, where he could render serious help to Leonard*, as a fellow very influential in the press. From conversation with him you will be convinced that he sincerely sympathizes with Soviet power and that he can be excellently utilized. He speaks Russian freely.

Further: how are things with the scholars?

Will they leave 1,800 rations?

March 5, 1920

All the best!

A. Peshkov

Gave 2 months

Strongly request—leave them—this is absolutely necessary, is of enormous importance.

I also request You: call Felix Dzerzhinsky and tell him to release the chemist Sapozhnikov sooner. The latter has found a way to extract from gas tar—with which they lubricate tramway rails on curves and switches—homo-emulsions, a product of equally strong antiseptic significance as carbolic acid. From a pud of tar one can extract up to 50 buckets of one-percent solution. We absolutely need this product, for we haul manure from courtyards onto Nevsky, and from Nevsky—load it onto tramway platforms and—out of town.

This is fine, but—not very, since now is mud season, the wooden block paving is exposed from snow and absorbs all sorts of decay. Do you understand? Sapozhnikov's products could be poured over entire streets. His production is not complicated.

And further: Manukhin must be given the opportunity to work on discovering a serum against typhus, but here—you cannot achieve anything...

I telegraphed Semashko—he does not answer.

Forgive me for pestering you, but these are extremely important matters,—you yourself understand!