Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-11-20
Barghoorn Talks to Red Specialists,
Says He Isn't Sure He Was Framed
BY BERNARD GWERTZMAN
Star staff Writer

Dr. Frederick G. Barghoorn
lectured many Of the Govern
ment's top Soviet specialists on
his latest trip to Russia and
then stopped by a room packed
with reporters to tell how he
happened to spend Is days in
a Moscow prison.
The Yale professor new down
from New Haven yesterday for
five hours behind closed doors
at the State Department.
Planned New Book
Various officials listened to
the scholarly visitor, including
Llewellyn E. Thompson. Presi-
dent Kennedy's Soviet affairs
expert, and assorted intelligence
experts.
He told them, in a rambling
style, Of his trip to Russia to
ferret out information for a
new book on Soviet political
institutions, and the circum-
stances surrounding his unex-
pected sojourn in Lubianka
Prison, the notorious home for
political prisoners.
The arrest was the chief
topic of interest at his 20-min-
ute news conference, given a
touch of drama by the hot
camera lights, which caused
perspiration to flow freely down
the 52-year-old bachelors face.
Ever since his expulsion from
Russia on Saturday. he had
refused to tell the press how
he was arrested.
Gives Details =
Now, advised by his former
State Department colleagues to =
talk, he did, in a cautious,
scholarly way. A
On October 81, the eve of
his planned departure from
Moscow, he returned to the
Metropole Hotel about 1925
pm. Before he entered the
hotel, he was approached by
a "youngish looking man,
carrying what looked like a
roll of newspapers"
He asked me in English If
I was an American citizen"
Il said yes and he pushed !.
toward me the roll of newspa- !.
pers. I took it. I thought per- :
haps foolishly, that it was =
propaganda material, and put /;
1t into my coat. Almost stimuli
taneously I was grabbed and
hustled off in an automobile. :
Told of Photographs
Later on, he was told that :
there were photographs in the =
roll, but he couldn't explain )
what of, since II don't under !
stand military matters at ALL"
To experienced State Depart =
ment officials, DR.. Barghoorn !
was arrested in the classic !
Soviet manner. known as "en- Z
trapment." But DR.. Barghoorn !
was not so sure. !
You can draw your own I
conclusions, he said. He added ,
that the Russian authorities i
said the young man had been ]
arrested, too, but he never raw
him in jail. In fact. he wv I
no one in Jail but a trio Of h
interrogators and his C. II
keeper. Il
& Careful Replies
DR.. Barghoorn. a shy man,
was extremely nervous under
questioning, but very careful
in his replies. ID
He seemed most interested
in the question Of what is
espionage.
Under Soviet law, the term !
is quite broad-to include gath ,
ering information detrimental
to Soviet national interests
and DR.. Barghoorn conceded
that the Russians could argue
that he was doing intelligence
work.
II thought of what 1 had
done as social research" he |
said.
He said the Russians were |
insistent in asking him about
the years 1949-1951 when he
worked for the State Depart
ment as an interviewer of Rus
sian refugees and defectors in
Frankfurt.
1ntelllgence Role
This was an intelligence job,
he conceded. but it was not
done in Russia.
DR.. Barghoorn was asked
what he thought about other
Americans going over to the
USSR. He Strove to reassure
people that he believed his case
was unusual"
My hope is that this doesn't
affect exchanges" he said.
The State Department agrees
with him, and plans to resume
talks soon - possibly after
Christmas-on a new cultural I
exchange agreement with the
Russians. These talks we're
called off when DR.. Barghoorn's
arrest became known. The
present agreement expires De-
cember 81.
LOST
BULovA WATCH, lady's, vic. YwCA.