An Impractical Cipher

One short story that will never win an O. Henry prize as the best short story of the year appeared in Word Ways as Ivan\u27s Letter in the February and May 1982 issues. It first appeared in The Enigma of June 1930, at which time a paltry prize of ten dollars was offered to anyone who could solve the cipher in the story. The prize was never claimed, and in my opinion it was not worth one\u27s time or trouble to solve such a cipher. In fact, the story should have never been reprinted. But, since Word Ways has resurrected it, some words of explanation are in order