STATUS OF BERLIN

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29270, 30 July 1960, Page 13

STATUS OF BERLIN

Warning By West Urged

WASHINGTON. July 29. The Western Big Three should issue an immediate warning to the Soviet Union against any Communist move on West Berlin, the leader of the Democratic majority in the United States House of Representatives, Mr John McCormack, said last night. Mr McCormack, who represents Massachusetts, said in a prepared statement: "It is very evident from news reports and other reliable sources that Mr Khrushchev and the East Germans are planning some move on West Berlin.”

The statement did not say what kind of move was expected nor did it say where Mr McCormack got his information. There was a report last week that Russia and East Germany planned a military move against Berlin within 30 days. The story said the information came from a confidential intelligence report.

The summer White House at Newport, Rhode Island, and the State Department have denied the existence of any such intelligence information. Another Democratic representative, Mr Daniel Flood, of Pennsylvania, in a speech last Friday at Philadelphia, said he had learned of a military buildup apparently aimed at Berlin. He said his information came from sources outside the Government

Mr McCormack, a backer of the Democratic Presidential nominee, Senator John F. Kennedy, said in his statement that “the aggressive moves by Mr Khrushchev should be a matter of concern to our people and particularly the present administration.”