U.S. MILITARY SECRETS

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25679, 16 December 1948, Page 7

U.S. MILITARY SECRETS

COMMITTEE REPORTS THEFT GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES BLAMED (N.Z. Press Association— Copyright) (Rec. 8.30 pjn.) _ WASHINGTON, December 14. The House Un-American Activities Committee said to-day that secrets of “great military significance” had been stolen from the proving grounds at Aberdeen, Maryland, where army weapons are tested. The committee issued a formal statement saying that Soviet agents had been “aided and abetted by officials and employees of our own Government, whose crime in effect is treason.” The committee said that information obtained from Aberdeen had already been sent to Russia. , . Later, Mr Karl Mundt, acting-chair-man of the committee, said that evidence obtained by the committee led it to believe that Communist espionage activities had continued throughout the war. "The committee feels that there is still an espionage ring operating in Washington,” he said. “The evidence indicates that Russia did it while she was an ally, and certainly she would step it up in a time like this, particularly since we have done nothing to check it.” Mr Mundt said that the alleged leaks from Aberdeen occurred in 1937 and 1938 and involved “formulas, descriptions, and leading information concerning hitting and defensive power.”