The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1946-03-26

WASHINGTON - There's a revealing case
history on getting along with the Russians"
in the only-partially- publicized story OF the
two short-lived weather stations which the
u S Navy managed to maintain for three
months recently in Siberia
It was agreed at Potsdam, according to the
story told this week at (but not by) the Navy
Department, that Russia would allow the Unit
ed States to establish two weather centrals'
in eastern Russia to assemble and predigest
weather data from Russian weather stations
and send it out to the American Pacific fleet
Suddenly came VI Day. but the Russians
agreed to allow the weather centrals to be
established anyway, Washington having ar
gued that data furnished would be useful in
protecting fleet operations and mlne-sweeping
around Japan.
The story begins when the Navy prepared
to fly 80 tons of astrological and radio gear
into Siberia on Aug 81 of last year, en- route
to Khabarovsk on the An1ur River and Petro-
pavlovsk on the Kamchatka peninsula, sites
for the stations.
Here is the bill OF complaints as presented
.by Capt Arthur A Cunberledge, in COM
mand at Khabarovsk, and his fellow officers:
At Fairbanks, Alaska, the flight in was de-
layed for some days because Russian officers
'had not been properly instructed as to clear
ance for United States personnep'-the Navy
was sending 60 men to Khabarovsk and 80 to
Petropavlovsk During the flight. the American
planes were required to keep to carefully pre-
scribed course.
At Khabarovsk, the weather camp was To-
Gated "a miles east of the city, whereas it
should have been next door to the Russian
weather station in town; so that services, ex-
perience, and data could have been pooled
At Petropavlovsk, only tents were furnished,
~ IL
Quonset huts eventually had to be imported
Even the smallest details had to be ar
ranged with the Russians by formal confer
ences. Soviet officers had the convenient habit
of being out or disappearing when they had
no directive from higher quarters on pres
sing matter. American officers found it i'm
possible to contact the top Soviet commander
of the region; all communication was required
to be carried on through an ubiquitous '1iaison
officer"
Communication between the two Navy sta
tons was allowed but travel between them
was expressly forbidden. Contact with local
citizens was unrestricted, but the liaison Of
flee kept a strict account Of the movements
of all American personnel. Russian sentries
stood guard at the camps barbed-wire en-
closures AS Captain Cumberledge summed
up, Russian cooperation was very disap-
Well, what OF the Qualifications?
First off. the naval officers comment that
if directive to cooperate had gone out
from Moscow to each local commander and
mayor, cooperation would have been extern
sive and lavish. 1t was so at Lend-Lease
ports in Russia, where fellow naval officers
were located.
Secondly, the war was over, weather Sc
curity was off, Moscow felt that Russian
broadcasts were good enough and only grudg
ingly agreed to the Navy's project. This was
an instance Of formal agreement but un-offi-
cial sabotage in the hope Of discourage and
ending the project. In December, 1945 the
Russians finally requested that the Navy close
out its stations.
Thirdly, here were foreign stations inside
Siberia transmitting data via radio teletype
which the Russians probably could not inter-
cept. Suspicious Soviet officials undoubtedly
expected espionage
Fourthly, the old Russian secretiveness was
manfestng itself, and the fear lest the Amer
leans would discover that Russian weather
methods and equipment were inferior to West
ern standards.
Individually, the Russians were most friend
ly, going out Of their way to provide free
movies and entertainment But combine pro-
ject out Of favor in Moscow with chronic
Russian obfuscations, and this Is the resultant
level Of thinking with which Americans some
times have to deal:-Christian Science Mont
tor.