860h.00/10–1245: Telegram
The Ambassador in Yugoslavia (Patterson) to the Secretary of State
[Received 6:15 p.m.]
553. Grol received Congressmen Mundt and Bolton at his house Monday at their request. He could not come to Embassy for fear of being attacked in the streets. He reported that Govt speakers at preelection rally Sunday called him “traitor” and “foreign agent” and so harangued crowds that they afterwards wrote his name as “traitor” [Page 1267] on streetcars and marched past his house shouting threats and insults. He said mounting mob violence against opposition is not necessarily Govt’s desire but is direct result of continued press campaign and haranguing speeches condemning all opposition as enemies of the people. He told Congressmen one reason he abstained from elections was that, as he fears to appear publicly for his own safety, he cannot ask his followers to expose themselves to similar danger.
He stressed need for postponing elections, but when Congressmen asked if he wanted American help, he replied “Your help must be given in Moscow.”