Evening star., 1951-08-23
Fraudulent Passport
And Bribery Allowed
Sorge 10 Sail 10 Russia
By |. Edgar Primo

SpymaSter Richard Sorge used
a fraudulent passport obtained
from an American Communist and
bribed a United States customs
official in 1885 so he could sail to-
the Soviet Union, the House Un-
American Activities Committee
disclosed today.
Frank Tavenner, jr., counsel for
the committee, read into the rec
ord excerpts from the confession
of Sorge, who headed a prewar
Soviet spy ring in Japan.
The excerpt follows:
When I went to the Soviet
Union via the United States from
Japan in 1885. Communist
Party contact man in New York
gave me a forged passport. =.
The passport I received in the
United States was not new =.
but 1t bore my picture and de-
Scription. The nationality was
given as Austrian.
Slipped Officer $50.
i shall give an illustration of
how loosely everything is done
in the United States. did not
pay my exit tax and forgot to
get stamped receipt when Il
went on board the ship for
Europe.
Just as the ship was about to
Sail, a customs officer found out
about it. and it looked as though
he were going to take me off the
ship, but I slipped him $50 and
the matter was dropped at once.
Things are very flexible in the
United States"
Mr.. Tavenner commented that
a forged passport mill" evidently
existed in this country and sup
piled Sorge with his.
Gen Charles A. Willoughby
former chief of intelligence for
Gen. Macarthur, again was on the
stand, but the committee concen-
trated for the most part on read
ing excerpts from the confessions
of members of the Sorge appa-
ratuS.
Tells of StOpover in u. S.
In connection with Sorge's stop
over in the United States on his
way to Tokyo in 1888, the record
shows that the Russian-born spy
chief stopped at the Hotel Lin
coin in New York for several days.
I registered at the hotel and
saw a contact man who Instructed
me to contact an employe of the
Washington Post" Sorge wrote in
his confession.
II met the man from the WASH
ington Post on Chicago Worlds
Fair grounds on the shores Of
Lake Michigan. He told me a
certain japanese Tin this coun-
try) soon would return to Japan
and told me how to get in touch
with him"
This japanese. the committee
developed, was Tokugu Miyagi, a
member of the American Com
munist Party who was instructed
to join the Sorge ring in Tokyo.
Can't Identify Employe.
According to Sorge's confession
he spent three days in Washing
ton in 1888, but no details as to
his activities here were recorded.
Chairman Wood declared at this
point the committee had ex-
hausted every means available to
identify the Washington Post en-
ploye but has been unable to do
so. And Mr.. Tavenner pointed out
Sorge had been asked to identify
the individual but had not done
so.
Gen. Willoughby today reversed
his testimony of yesterday and
declared that the record does not
lshow the Russian had previous
Specif1c knowledge of a japanese
plan to attack Pearl Harbor.
Pearl Harbor is a fixed date
and did not appear in the Sorge
messages" he said. But that's
not important-the important
thing was that the japanese were
aiming South into a collision with
the United States and Britain" 4"
He added that had the United
States had the information Sorge
gave Moscow 'it would have con-
stituted an enormous economic,
political and military warning"