Evening star., 1949-02-27
Charges Against -Four
Held in Spy Roundup
BY the Assoeieted Press

PARIS, Feb. 26.-The French
army changed its mind tonight
and charged four alleged Com
munist sympathizers with rela-
lively minor offenses, after first
accusing them of espionage pun
ishable by death.
The reduced charges were filed
after the military court conferred
with War Minister Paul Ramadier.
They allege a threat to the Sc
'curity of the state. punishable by
imprisonment of one to five years.
The arrests came amid a buzz
of reports that the government
was about to crack down on the
French Communist Party, and
that the Kremlin was using
French Communists to help it
fight the proposed North Atlantic
Alliance.
Legal Proceedings Begun.
An official source said yester-
day the government has started
legal proceedings against the
French Communist partly Polit-
buro on charges of melting the
army to revolt during the French
coal mine strike last fall.
Police named the four accused
of espionage as Pierre JUN, editor
in-chief of the Communist picture
weekly Regards jacques Friend
land, member of his staff
Robert Penillaut, business man
ager of the pro-Communist re-
sistence movement weekly organ
and Bertrand Jouenne, drafts
man for the National Central
Aviation Co.
The original charges against
them were delivering secrets con-
corning national defense to a for
eign power, and holding or di-
Ivulging defense secrets. Delivering
defense secrets to a foreign power
is punishable by death.
The semiofhcial French press
agency Said II others who were
rounded up last night have been
released.
Information Given Out.
A police statement said an un-
identified person had consciously
or unconsciously" given military
information to some of the news
men held. The Interior Ministry
said in communique the govern
ment "for some time" had been
checking activities of certain per-
sons who seemed too 1nquisitive
about defense matters.
Frenchmen ask themselves why
Communist Chief Maurice Thorez
stuck out his neck by declaring
Tuesday that Soviet army troops
would be welcome If they pursued
"aggresSors' on French soil.
They supply the answer. too
They say they think he acted un-
der orders from the Kremlin. and
that so did the Italian Commu-
mist, Palmiro Togaliatti, in q
somewhat similar statement In
Rome today.
Strategy behind the statements,
in the French view. is a further
effort by the Russians to cause
discomfort in the West with the
proposed North Atlantic Alliance,
which the Soviets oppose
Non-Communist Frenchmen con-
slider that Thorez and Togliatti
simply used double talk to convey
a threat that their Communist
followers would back Russia in
event of war.
In Service Of Russia
The sober. independent after
noon paper LIE Monde charged in
an editorial today that "the
French Communist Party has put
itself at the service of a foreign
state. Of the Russian state, of an
absolute regime"
The paper interpreted Thorez
statements as meaning that the
Communists have openly and
publicly demanded that, when the
occasion arises, their partisans
will aid a foreign army -
This. the paper said amounts
to 'veritable treason" uttered on
orders from the Kremlin.
The government gave a brush
off today to Russian request that
France turn over to Moscow three
UkrainianS for trial as war Grim
inalS. They were witnesses for
Victor A. Kravchenko author OF
L Chose Freedom" in a libel suit
he filed against a French news
paper which criticized his reports
Of terrorism in Russia. The French
government said the Ukrainians
have returned to Germany and
any request for their custody
should be addressed to occupation
officials there.
Soviet Army Paper Scores