The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-15

" ~ ~ OuSIlO OuC SOllCSI illllS Vi
ers Company as an agency Of
the British Secret Service in
Russia.
Thornton, one of the accused, adj
nitted gathering information about
conditions at the power plants and
about the economic position and po-
litical sentiments of the workers;
with a view to ascertaining the
strength Of the Soviet Union. The
Court heard Thornton's statement
given at the preliminary examina-
ton. admitting widespread spving
activities for the purpose of finding
out about the defensive facilities of
the Soviet Union; they heard him
admit in Court that his immediate
superior in the firm of Metro ickers
wes Richards, a former intelligence
officer in the British army, who was
in charge Of intelligence work at
Archangel during the British inter-
vention of 1918.
Old Time Spy
All information gathered by Thorn
ton, Macdonald, Monkhouse and
other engineers in the employ of
Metro-Vickers, with the aid of bribed
Soviet engineers. was sent directly to
Richards There was a tense atmos-
pl1efe in the Court when 1t was made
clear that the operations Of Metro
Vickers in the U. S. S. R. are in
charge of man who headed the spy
service of the British interventioniSt
army sent against the Russian work
ers. Thornton denied his confession
made at the preliminary inyestiga-
ton, but he was miserable failure
in his efforts to substitute a tissue
of obvious falsehoods for his earlier
statements in which he had con-
feSsed his espionage and wrecking
plots, and his communicating secret
military and economic information to
Richards. The denial of his former
admissions appeared the less substan-
tial since his statements at the pre-
liminary examination had been in
several instances made in his own
handwriting. Thornton could not help
admitting these statements as his own,
but maintained brazenly that he had
not told the truth in the earlier ses-
sions, though he had to admit that
no coercion had been used in obtain
ing his earlier confessions.
Macdonald Tangles Up
Macdonald, at the morning session,
tried to retract some of his testimony
given at the preliminary examination,
particularly his admission Of having
directed Gussev and Sokolov, man
ager and assistant manager of the
Zlatoust power plant, to obtain secret
military information, and cause a
breakdown of the power plant through
criminal acts of wrecking and sabo-
tage. However, he was unable to
maintain his retraction, and later
again re-aff1rmed his completely in
wrecking and spying activities, as well
as the guiding role played in these
activities by Thornton and Monk
house.
Macdonald cut sorry figure in his
attempt to repudiate earlier testi-
mony. He became involved in mesh
of contradictions, and some of his
replies to the Prosecutors questions
were so absurd that, despite the tense
atmosphere, laughter broke out in
the courtroom. He said, for instance,
that he had been gathering military
information just out of mere cur
iosity."
Admits Wasn't Coerced
In answer to a question by Vishin-
sky as to why he had made a con-
fession at the preliminary examina-
ton if he now repudiates it, Mac
Donald mumbled something about
finding it convenient" at that time
to make admissions. He admitted on
several occasions that no coercion Of
any kind had been used in obtaining
confessions from him. Under persis-
tent questioning from the prosecution
and in the face of testimony by the
other defendants Macdonald grad
ually abandoned point after point of
his retractjon, and again admitted
the truth of his earlier statements
which revealed the network of es-
pionage and sabotage plots directed
from London by Richards.
Can't Describe Suggesting"
Thornton's denials of his earlier