Evening star., 1951-04-09
Klaus Fuchs Labeled
As 'DeadIiest Spy;
Pontecorvo Second

Pontecorvo Second
A rounded-up picture of So
Wet atomic espionage was placed
before the American people to-
day by the Senate House Atomic
Committee with the Somber con-
clusion that damage to this coun-
try from four individuals has
been "indisputably severe"
Summed up, the committee
said:
/. An H-bomb scientist and
three confessed spies have ad-
vanced the Russian atomic pro-
gram by "18 months as a mini
num-"
2. In the H-bomb scientist.
Bruno Pontecorvo, who disap-
peared behind the Iron Curtain
last fall. the Russians may have
obtained the knowledge of "a
first-rate scientific brain" and one
whose work in Britain was on
tritium, "a substance intimately
related to the hydrogen bomb"
Fuchs Is Most Deadly.
8. Klaus Fuchs, the German
born naturalized British citizen
now serving 14-year prison SEN
tence in England for passing
atomic secrets to the Russians.
can be rated the deadliest spy in
all history. It added that Fuchs
not only betrayed vital weapons
data but also was "the great be-
trayer" of the gaseous diffusion
theory behind the mammoth pro-
ductions at Oak Ridge. Tenn. and
elsewhere.
4. Important. even vital, infor-
nation also was passed on to the
Russians by DR.. Allan Num- May,
the Canadian scientist now Serv-
ing a 10-year sentence for espio-
mage, and David GreenglaSs. the
only American-born one of the
four, who supplied the Russians
with mechanical details of the
bomb and its operation.
The report said that Fuchs was
the most damaging of the four
and it rated, in order, Pontecorvo,
May and Greenglass All their in
formation added together. the
committee said, greatly increased
Russian work on atomic weapons.
I'm other words" the report
amplifed, 'if war should come,
RuSsia'S ability to mount AM
atomic offensive against the West
will be greatly increased by rea-
son of these four men,"
AS for Fuchs role, the commit
tee added:
1T is hardly an exaggerationI
to say that Fuchs alone has in
f1uenced the safety of more peo-
pie and accomplished greater
damage than any other spy not
only in the history of the United
States but in the history of ma
tions."
Costly Mistakes Avoided.
AS result of information sup
piled by Fuchs and the others the
report said the Russians could
'avoid making many of the mis-
takes and following many of the
costly leads that inevitably at
tended the pioneering days of the
American program"
1t added that Fuchs "took part
in the making of the earliest
atomic bomb" knew about the
ideas and plans for improved
atomic weapons and possessed
the insight into the thinking of
the period as regards the hydrogen
bomb"
AS for Pontecorvo, naturalized
British citizen, the report said it
was not known whether he sup
piled atomic secrets to the Com
munists before he disappeared be-
hind the Iron Curtain. I'm any
event." the report added, "as of
September, 1850, the Soviets ac-
ouired in Pontecorvo not only a
human storehouse of knowledge
about the Anglo -American-Cana-
dian atomic projects but also
first-rate scientific mind"
The report said that May, the
Canadian scientists, supplied the
Russians with information still
not in the public domain six years
afterwards.
AS for Greenglass, who was
given 15-year prison sentence,
the committee report rated him
as the least effective of the spies.
But it added in the narrow field
OF his work-on high explosive
lens molds-he may have been
able to convey practical data "and
know-how beyond Fuchs under
standing"
The committee emphasized,
however, that its evaluation of
Greenglass' contributions "does
not detract one iota from the
horror of this mans crimes nor
lessen his legal and moral guilt"
Couriers' Roles Explained.
Greenglass was the major wit
ness against his sister and brother
in-law, Ethel and Julius Rosen-
berg, who were sentenced to death
by Federal court in New York
last week for their part in the
Russian atomic espionage.
The report also deals with the
RoSenbergs and others who had
roles as couriers and participants
in the Russian espionage scheme.
One of these was Harry Gold,
the courier for Fuchs while the
British scientist was operating in
this country. Gold pleaded guilty
upon apprehension and has been
sentenced to 80 years in prison.
OF interest here is the disclo-
sure by the committee report that
the two Federal Bureau of In
veStigation agents who worked
0lIt the i6nptitv of Gold fro,,o