U.S. DENTES SOVIET ALLEGATION OF SPYING IN MOSCOW

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 August 1948, Page 7

U.S. DENTES SOVIET ALLEGATION OF SPYING IN MOSCOW

WASHINGTON, August 15

The State Department today alleged that the Russian authorities had manufactured the charge of espionage against Lieutenant Robert Dreher, whom the Moscow press and radio yesterday accused of serving as an American, spy. Pravda has said that Lieutenant Dreher on April 23 received military information from a Russian customs official in Moscow.

The State Department’s press officer (Mr Michael McDermott) said today that the American Ambassador (Lieutenant-General W. Bedell Smith) had been called to the Russian Foreign Office on April 26 by the Deputy Foreign Minister (Mr Vyshinsky). who requested that Lieutenant Dreher be sent home ar. once.

Mr McDermott added: “The Ambassador pointed out to Mr Vyshinsky that Lieutenant Dreher had gone to the Moscow customs house at the request of a Soviet customs official in connection with shipments of Embassy property from Odessa, where Lieutenant Dreher had previously been stationed, and that the presence of the M.V.D. (secret police) on the scene would indicate that this interview had been arranged by the Soviet authorities." Asked what he meant by “arranged,” Mr McDermott said: “It was a plant.” He added that General Bedell Smith had told Mr Vyshinsky that Lieutenant Dreher had completed his two years’ tour of duty and was under routine orders before the incident at the customs house. High officials in the State Department believe that it is the Soviet’s policy to create a reservoir of propaganda incidents io be used when the need arises, and that that need has now arisen. This would account for the lapse of time since the incident took place. Lieutenant Dreher is now in Washington attached to the office of the Chief of Operations.