Evening star., 1950-01-23
Former Russian Spy
Hede Massing Tells
OF Intrigue in u. 5.
(Continued From First Page }

and goings of emissarieS from
lover there" But we certainly did
not think Of ourselves as spies or
agents in the sordid sense.
We were members of a devoted
apparatus" trusted soldiers of
"the Revolution" assigned toI
perilous tasks behind the lines In
the enemy camp. Far from feeling
guilty as traitors" we saw our
selves romantically as patriots of
the world-embracing Soviet Union
Of the future.
People Still Incredulous.
A great deal has been revealed
In recent years about the Krem-
Inns spying on this side of the At
lantic. The espionage expose in
Canada was especially educational.
Yet to most Americans-my farm
neighbors, for instance. or my fell
low workers in the Todd Ship
yards during the war-such things
still sound far-off and incredible.
That is why I have decided to
tell in the press the story I told
in exhaustive detail to the FBI
some years ago. The people of
my adopted country. which have
learned to love profoundly, should
know the truth in order that they
may be more vigilant.
Perhaps straightforward ac-
count by one underground agent
will help open their eyes. The
pattern and techniques of Mos
cows secret operations here have
not changed. except that the
scale is undoubtedly larger and
the danger to America greater
than ever before.
Hiss Trial Ended Quiet Life.
was living quietly on my farm
in Quakertown, Pa, convinced
that my past was buried and for
gotten. Many of my new friends
had no inkling that I had ever
been a Communist, let alone a
member of spy ring. I cherished
my obscurity as my most valuable
possession. Even the vague fears
of a delayed Soviet vengeance had
ceased to haunt me.
But suddenly the Alger Hiss
affair exploded and catapulted
me, entirely against my will, into
the limelight. Beginning with the
grand jury hearings in late 1948,
was billed by the newspapers as
a mystery woman" And in the
second Hiss trial, which recently
ended in a Federal Court in New
York, I was put on the witness
stand to testify to my one meet
ing with the accused State De-
partment official.
When first heard the news of
the charges against Hiss on my
radio in Bucks County, my heart
sank within me. I sensed that my
treasured retirement" was In
danger. Though I had met Hiss
only once, the unusual circum-
stances were pertinent to the
charges made by Whitaker
Chambers. Precisely as I feared
and much to my distress, I was
quickly drawn into the case.
Some Episodes Were Bloody.
At first I resisted attempts of
the press to uncover my personal
history beyond the facts directly
related to the Hiss-Chambers
drama. But in time I decided
that, since my secret was out in
any case, 1t had become my duty
to tell all I knew. In some small
measure. I came to think, I might
thus help balance the score for
past mischief.
Some of the episodes In the
story are bloody enough. My first
espionage boss" in America, for
instance, met a violent death in
New York and it may have been
political murder as some contend
The fabulous Ludwig, European
spymaster who first initiated me
into the secret brotherhood, was
trapped and machine-gunned in
Switzerland by his own agents on
Moscow orders. A few others
whose paths crossed mine in the
underground were purged, or
cheated the burgers by commit
ting suicide.
While was just a rank-and-
file agent, few have been so deep
in GPU activities and lived to tell
the tale after renouncing the Or
ganization. That my husband and
survived eight weird months of