Evening star., 1939-09-24
Reds Play Americans
For Suckers Witness
Tells Committee

target of the committees investiga-
ton last week. subject which 1t
suddenly shunted aside after taking
the testimony yesterday of DR.. D. H.
Dubrowsky Of New York, former
Soviet agent in this country, who
IN 1885 severed connections with the
Russian government because he said
he felt Stain had transformed
what was once an idealistic move
ment into what might best be de-
scribed as political gangsterism."
Americans Called suckers"
DR.. Dubrowsky. who in addition
to having many official positions
with the Bolshevik government in
this country from 1919 to 1885 also
was a secretary at the Soviet EN-
bassy in Washington before its OFF,
cial recognition, outlined briefly
some of the things he said Ameri-
cans have done unwittingly to
spread red propaganda.
The Soviet, he declared, has
played the American people as a
bunch of suckers" and they have
swallowed" and paid for the propa-
ganda it has disseminated.
In one instance, DR.. Dubrowsky
said, Soviet front" organizations
with Understanding names" had
collected money from unsuspecting
Americans for relief of the starving
and suffering In Russia. much OF
which had been used for Communist
party purposes.
And since 1885. he declared, mil
lions of dollars of American money,
intended as payments to Russians
and their beneficiaries who fought
with American troops in the World
War, had been conflscated by the
Soviet government and never
reached those to whom it was orig
inally sent.
Taxes Aid Soviet Treasury.
Chairman Dies, aroused by that
statement. asked:
I'm effect, our taxes are helping
to support the Soviet treasury"
"Yes." replied the witness. "And
they still do"
DR.. Dubrowsky pointed out that
from 1928 to 1885. benefits claimed
by Russian dependents of World
War veterans actually reached the
benefciaries through a system of
Torgsin stores in which American
money could be spent at nearly its
exchange value. In 1885, however.
he said. these stores were abolished
and then beneficiaries of veterans
payments were given rubles at an
artificial value, with the result they
received about or S cents on the
dollar and were darn lucky to get
that"
The witness said the Soviet gov
ernment had other means, too, of
raising funds in the United States.
One was the distribution of motion
pictures, 80 per cent of which were
of a propaganda nature. he said,
which produced about $1,0O0,0 900 a
year. In addition, he declared, most
OF the proceeds of estates left by
Americans for Russian relatives were
taken through dollar exchange
manipula ton. And back in the days
following the Russian revolution, he
said, agents of the Bolshevik govern
ment smuggled precious gems into
this country to raise money.
Bad Faith Laid to Litvinov.
DR.. Dubrowsky said he was in
Washington when Maxim Litvinov,
former Soviet foreign minister,
came here to negotiate with Pres
ident Roosevelt, Secretary of State
Hull and other administration lead
ers for official American recognition
OF the Soviet government. He re-
called one incident he said he wit
messed which he indicated showed
that Litvinov, in his negotiations,
was not serious in his promise that
Russia would pay its war debt to
this country.
Litvinov had just returned from
the White House after an agreement
for recognition had been reached,
DR.. Dubrowsky said. The then for
eign minister, his face beaming In
smiles, he declared, rubbed his
hands and remarked:
We'll, it's in the bag. They want
ed us to negotiate our debts to the
United States. I agreed to that, but
I didn't tell them we were going
to negotiate until doom's day."
Witness Explains Stand.
DR.. Dubrowsky, in an explana-
tory statement which he read to the
committee, said he decided to ap-
pear as witness as civic duty"
He came to this country from Rus
sia IN 1905 and was naturalized in
1917. He declared he severed his
connections with the Soviet gov
ernment because Stain had devel-
oped it into "Frankenstein mon
ster," and he wanted now, before
the country of my adoption and
before the whole world" to expose
the Vaccinations of the monstrous
Stalinist machine and to do every
timing in my power to further its