◆ SpookStack

(ll-22-55) -Presto—Burgess and Maclean —— Episode Designed to Split U.S. and Britain + May Produce Just Opposite Result The real story of what is back of the public appearance in Moscow of Messrs. Maclean and Burgess, the British diplo- mats who turned traitor, has yet to come. Bringing them out after a concealment of nearly five years is not ex- plained by rationalizing that ell the Communists want ta dao Gea Gale SIMUIgos Walt oO ai this time is to drive a wedge between America and Britain. The episode may turn out in the end to have been a big blunder by the- Soviets. . For, instead of producing a rift in Angio-Anmverican reia~ tions, it will assure the oppo- site—namely, the strengthening of the security measures which oth London and Washington ill take hereafter against those engaged in spying or in infiltrating government offices. It will also increase distrust of Ehrushchey and the other members of the Kremlin who have denied repeatedly that Maclean and Burgess were in Moscow. Sir Anthony the British Prime Minister, lost no time in emphasizing this very point to the House of Commons. ; What probably Drought about the sudden appearance last Saturday of the two diplomats was the publication of a well- documented book by the edi- tors of the London Daily Ex- press. Copies had undoubtedly just reached Moscow. The weaknesses in the British sr- curity system are fully exposed in that took—-to which, by an odd coincidence, U.S. News & World Report had obtained from the London Daily Express exclusive rights for publication mits current issue and for release to the press of the United States this very weck. Talking on the telephone today with Lord Beaverbrook, publisher of the London Daily Express, this correspondent was told that, if Maclean and Burgess thought they were doing anything that could strain relations between Brit- ain and the United States, they were very much mistaken, be- tanse the incident world br ing ae ‘ a. i ™ the two countries closer to- gether in a common front against any such contingen- cies in the future, He said: “Ti warns us of what's up. We pet a good warning of what we have to avoid—a warning to us to beware — beware!” The Deaversrock nhewspa- pers fro the start have pressed for closer surveillance and criticized. the British Se- curity Service for not main- taining a watch on Mrs. Mac- Jean before she, too, disap- .Beared behind the Iron Cur- tain. Weak spots in the recent British White Paper are also pointed up with the criticism that Maclean and Burgess could have been stopped from leaving England if the author- ities had been on their toes. There were plenty of red tape obstacles of a legal nature that could have been placed in the way of their escape. The extent of the damage done by Messrs. Maclean and Burgess cannot as yet be as- sessed. Perhaps the biggest injury to America, however, came during the Korean War. Maclean took charge of the American desk in the British Foreign Office on November 5, 1950. He was in a position to read all confidential mes- sages and to know the British reaction thereto. The van- guard of the Red Chinese armies had already come into Korea from Manchuria a few days before, and Gen. Mac- Arthur requested authority to bomb the bases in Manchuria 50 as to isolate any Chinese troops already in Korea and prevent ojner “a sions coming in. The United States Joint Chiefs of Staff formally re- quested the permission, on be- half of Gen. MacArthur, about November 13, 1950, in a mes- sage which was relayed to 12 allied governments. The re- quest was rejected in the next few days, and the Red Chinese naturally stepped up their offensive -on November 25. Here is what Gen, MacArthur DELETED RORY SUNT COB. tae Kean iel JUN 22 197 PER FOLA Rego es BY LEEiE: UiVisions ITGTFi‘: only last week was saying in a statement apropos his con- troversy on this point with former President Truman: “Only if he were certain that we could continue to protect his bases and suyply lines would a commander have dared to throw the full weight of the Chinese army into Korea .., The Maclean- Burgess defection has shown how be could have known... “Tt was not until the recent exposure of the British spies, Burgess and Maclean, that the true facts began to unfold ‘These men with access to se cret files were undoubtedly links in the chain:to our enemy in Korea through Pei- ping by way of Moscow.” Why did the Soviet govern- ment fail te produce Maclean and Burgess before? They may have believed that they could eonceal the two diplomats indefinitely. But the Daily Express book showed circum- stantially that this was no longer possible. In fact, the London Daily Mail corregpond- ent in Geneva, Frederick §ands, telegraphed in November, 1555, to his newspaper saying he had been told by a Russian diplo- mat that Maclean, having been brought to East Berlin, had been analyzing all the plans put forward by the West, and was being consulted a ‘every stage of the big Genev Conferences of 1955. Sand said: “The Russian told me: ‘Yes, I have met Maclean. I saw him ha Geet time in Moscow in for the first time in oscow the summer of 1954.’” Messrs. Maclean and Burgess probably will soon lose their propaganda value inside Mos- cow and will want to come out from behind the Iron Curtain. Perhaps their advisory the Soviets might even decide to liquidate them. They cer- tainly didn’t act like persons free from duress when they were produced for just five minutes at a press conference last Saturday attended only by two British and two Soviet re- porters. The revelatiéns add more mysteries than they solve. (Reproduction Rights Bssom a role” * now may be suspect. Some day Totson — Nichols _.-- Boardman _~ Belmont Mason Mohr — Parsons ——_____-_ Rosen — Tamm Nease se Winterrowd Tele. Room Holloman ——— Gandy Wash. Post and ——__ Times Herald va Wash. News Wash. Star N. Y. Herald Tribune N.Y. Mirror — N. ¥. Daily News Daily Worker The Worker New Leader Date w&-/#-S6