ATOMIC ESPIONAGE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27259, 9 December 1949, Page 7

ATOMIC ESPIONAGE

Russian Activities In

Washington

War-time Chief’s Evidence

NZPA—Copyright Rec. 11 p.m. WASHINGTON, Dec. 7. Lieutenant-general Leslie Groves, former head of the United States atomic bomb projects, said today that Russian spies tried to steal American atomic secrets during the war. He told the House Un-American Activities Committee that the month after he took charge of the atomic bomb project in 1942 he found that the Russians were engaged in atomic espionage in Washington but not at Oakridge (Tennessee), which was one of the main centres of the atomic project.

The committee is investigating wartime shipments of atomic materials to Russia and whether they were influenced by the former Vice-president, Mr Henry Wallace! General Groves said that the only record he had of the shipment of atomic materials to Russia was for 2001 b of uranium oxide and 2001 b of uranium salts in the spring of 1943. He did not try to stop this shipment because it would have tipped off the Russians to the importance the United States was placing on uranium. General Groves said that in addition to their Washington activities the Russians were trying to find out what was going on in nuclear research at the Universities of California, Chicago and New York. These activities were directed by the Russian Embassy. He did not think the Russians obtained any information that would be useful to them in atomic bomb development. General Groves said that neither the late Mr Harry Hopkins (former Secretary, of Commerce) nor Mr Henry Wallace had ever tried to get any atomic secrets or materials from him for the Russians.