First U. S. newsgatherer to obtain a formal interview from Dictator Josef Stalin was United Pressman Eugene Lyons (TIME, Dec. 1 & 8, 1930). First and only correspondent to chat with the grim Dictator's sweet-faced, cackling old mother was Hubert Renfro ("The Red Trade Menace") Knickerbocker (TIME, Dec. 8, 1930). Last week cheerful Ralph W. Barnes, comparatively a newcomer in Moscow and correspondent of Manhattan's Herald Tribune, was first to report Mrs. Josef Stalin, First Red Lady. He reported her:
Age: 29
Height: medium
Figure: slightly stout
Face: broad, intelligent
Complexion: clear, ruddy
Eyes & eyebrows: dark
Hair: brown, knotted...
