Evening star., 1953-11-12
FBI Spy Ring Report
Shocked Leaders Of
Nation in 1045
(continued From First page J

AAO0oS Oh-AAuCI1 1Cd1 ACClVlC1eS
Committee in the sensational
events which unmasked him
Hiss connection with Soviet es-
pionage was made definite by the
FBI.
They supplemented this by
informing the President that
their best information was that
then Secretary of State Edward
StettiniuS had an assistant who
was an agent of Red Army in
telligence. Hiss was an assist
ant to Stettinius.
Two separate spy rings had
been operating in the Govern
ment. with direct couriers carry
ing information to Soviet Off
cialS. Some of the members of
these rings were still in the Gov
ernment employ.
The top officials Of the Com
muniSt Party of the United
States were not merely the lead
erS OF an theological political
movement. they were Soviet es-
pionage agents. It would not be
possible to stop Soviet espionage
unless the Communist Party of
the United States were stamped
out. These Communist officials
were named and their activities
described.
Atom Project Penetrated.
The atomic bomb project in
this country was thoroughly pen
etrated, with a complete survey
OF its activities having been
handed to Col. Nikolai Zabotin.
Soviet military attache in Can
ada. and including a specimen
OF the essential new isotope of
uranium, U-235.
White and an official of the
Foreign Economic Administra-
tion were "in contact" with the
six individuals prosecuted in the
"Amerasia" stolen documents
case, a prosecution which Mr..
4IuIIdu IldQ duCnOrlZeQ.
More than 80 individuals had
been named as connected with
Soviet espionage organization, of
whom 81 we're identified as then
employees of the Federal Govern
ment. Most of them were Subse-
quently questioned by congress
sional committees, and refused
to answer questions concerning
Communist or espionage activi-
ties on the ground that their
statements might incriminate
them.
Bentley, Chambers Quoted.
An American allegedly spying
for Soviet Russia was located in
the highly sensitive Office of
Research and Development.
where the great scientific
developments of World War II
were headed up.
All the pertinent statements of
Whitaker Chambers and Miss
Elizabeth T. Bentley. the two
spy courierS whose information
taken separately by the FBI
dovetailed into a broad picture
OF espionage, were transmitted
by the FBI to the White House,
long before the public or con-
greSSional committees knew any,
thing Of them. Miss Bentley's
accusations, checked in con-
siderable detail, were taken to
the Presidents Office within one
month after she walked into FBI
headquarters in New York to
tell her sensational story of
stolen secrets and documents. It
was to be three more years before
these stories were divulged to
the public in congressional in
vestigations. Then they were
derided as hysterical outpour-
ings.
The story of still another wit
ness, Mrs. Victor Perlo, nee
Katherine Wills, naming her
husband, White and % others as
members of spy apparatus was
transmitted to the Presidents
office by FBI Director j. Edgar
Hoover.
PerlO in WPB Post.
Perlo held many government |
positions. including a job in the
War Production Board. He was
once an assistant to White in
the Treasury When called years
later to testify before congress
sional committee, he pleaded the
Fifth Amendment.
The complete story of Steve
Nelson, whom congressional
committees have since tagged as
a big time atomic spy at the
radiation laboratories of the
University of California, was laid
before the President.
Soviet espionage had reached
into the Department of Justice
where a Justice Department at
torney was furnishing conflden-
tial FBI documents to a Soviet
operative. The operative was
arrested but the Soviet Embassy
intervened. He was finally per-
mitted to leave the country in
exchange for six American citi-
zens or their wives who were
being held behind the Iron
Curtain.
Got Industrial Data.
Nine Russians were part of
q Soviet official NKVD organ
ization and we're operating in the
United States to obtain the
widest possible range of informa-
ton on American industry. The
result was that Stain knew as
much. if not more, about Amer
ican industrial operations and
capacity than officials of the
United States Government.
One official of the Soviet Pur-
chasing Commission carried out
with him six big pouches of ma
terial regarding new and secret
developments in war industry in
the United States. This included
inform tiOn m fonLc oiroraFA