WHEN BRITISH SPIES OPERATED IN NEW YORK

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000400140008-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 15, 1998
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: October 17, 1963
• Content Type: NSPR

OCT 1 7 1963
Approved For Rem 2000/05/24X -
e Bookshelf
When British S.. ies
erat''ec'"~i New ork
CPYRGHT
Every country at war maintains an elab-
orate secret service to advance Its cause by
penetrating the :'enemy's military, political,
economic and diplomatic positions - while
;carding its owl
The functions of such an agency are ;far-'
flung and vaned, from stealing ciphers and
piecing toj'etj r information about enemy
agent, by intercepting mail to cultivating
influential pers?ons`in allied and neutral coun-
tries and passing out selected tidbits of
propaganda and information to friendly reptive and should be rnade fully aware of
journalists and coihfnentators. our requirements end dPfirienciei and can
"Room 369F-5 a frank account of. how oe trusted to re;,regent our needs in the
(li' ' f "83 atn carried out one phase of such ;'fight quarters ap,i In the right way in the
:,. clandestine operatidn from a base in New fT?S.A."
York during r I,I. The director 8s No wonder Donavan. received an over-
r'anada-born r Jain Stephenson, who whelming red carpet reception from the Brit-
had been.'. . corn pilot in World \Ta I lab authorities: And according to Mr. Hyde,
and subsequently4t;quired a fortune In the Donovan was Instrumental In bringing about
field of telegrapl' ; jransmission of pietUres. ,in anti-Axis coup in Yugoslavia which may
The, ap.'thor,;a',i Iton named H. Moritgom- have fi ected the later ckurs'e of the war by
Pry Hydes? :is,! a. i!s?rzner member of ' Seen- delaying Hitler's Invasion of Russia by some
son's organization,al~d seems to proceed, on six weeks.
the "now i can be }7~ " basis. The resat, is On November 27, 1941, James Roosevelt
a story of considerable intrinsic fascination visited Stephenson with a message from his
which casts a number o sidelights on the father which Stephenson telegraphed as fol.
purely nominal, char ctet of American 1eu- lows to London: "Japanese negotiations off.
t7 ality, as 'iTlterpretcd `fly 'President Roose- Services expect action within two .weeks,'
welt. a Pearl Harbor Eiccurred days after this
As Mr. -F yde reeogr ices, . Stephenson's message was delivered, which
makes the
growing organization "represented an obvi- question of U.S. unpreparedness, f this blow
cue threat to' ti i ej. neutrality.' 1tut still more Aught
J. Edgar Hoover f . 'BI could not ha , In the intetafs of `a n th
p Yi g perpetual
b2L ioz2 co r ve. Hoover suggest-1 gams= of hide.and-seek with Na4l,agente to
its camp y :'n' ,$ritish - Securit. ;Coo. i a ;l: ra ni litQ+eA
posal theif '$S tai le'A, channel which pro- : dal --? + u?~~ uiv, e'urope rn .1 close titephensoli foound time to keep a close
vided the .o y s eons of communiea ; wa`, n on int ~' troniS and isol~tionist or- "(He) kept extensive records, both in his
Lion with Lond as Mr. Hyde pill* it. ai ,,a-tion, in .5.,'and prepared several head and on his files, of the misdemeanors
"On a personal basis 'he (Hoover) worked hasments er a. First, among 0th- of important public men, mainly of politi-
very closely with Stephenson to further What : er: nuntef?e is for a ra11
clans in Washin
kp.
to
f
h
H
g
y o
n.
at
t
e knew which Sena.
'Alas then the wholly unneutral purpose of or.. nization ill he hope of causing confu- tors and Representatives had been financial.
protecting and fu,QteringBritish interest in ly 'taken care of' by big business lobbyists,
the war against Corr gLny. and Italy
and, be. A wGn
ots'Tet' b and which had
d b
,
g
.
een unfaithful to their wives.
e episodes the author
instructed his officers to.assist BSC in every ! tribes a quick-wltt
Moreover
he was s
id t
d
,
a
e
.woman operative of
o be adroit at hint- i
way open to them,,' v-_ u?'kanizatiori who made ing that he would not use the information, if
a ndeturnal ren-
they made a point of telling him now a
aa rid' oils with a"`e`on rate irl the Vichy nd
Help from Wild i eh EmbasS for th again what was
Gen. William tf S' Ronovan,wa5 va.l code ,*y e purpose of stealing
departments," going on in their offices and
a t#rCi`~`y lritiah ea? to 6diverted the suspicion of
, ?.rcnman by taking off her clothes andr Hyde explains to the uninitiated the
th.e U.S. during the perlod'ot America's for ,n the i advantages
g MPW-lion-that nothing more o and disadvantages of using
the
mal neutrality When' Don anns went oa a ` a;ly sigtiifiearit than a liaison was. pin services of "double agents" and gives a
fact-finding missign to t vlka andj,tje
'C1ect. ]"rid account of the t
Mediterranean 'r'99
i
i
ra
n
tiering o! 1941 he
ng in mayhem,
was accompanied by,'tla.{';s enthusiastic rec- 3v for a Columnist , ras,.rult and battery, assassination and sabo-
am given t
me
d
ti
ti
ro
o
n
on opera
a
f
ves prepared for work
m StepHenson. i?ere are some`iiiteresting data on anflu- behind, enemy lines.
"Donovan exerca controlling influence .the AmeriVess. Iii the case of Fr is over Knox, strong nfluence over Stimson lar columnist, Stephenson, accord- , Bnt rs l bodit etff Service in A9ne ica proof inl Wor the
friendly advisdry inf ue`iice 'over .Press 14
the strongest nt F: t'r ihe'a was not only able to.~.ppLace yyax r' ads in World War was a smooth-
and Hull. . .. Bel ] 2e ublican, a c?,.,.+ in f olumn, but "on occasiba to 1'U
lit and of Irish d BG t lie has foil fn of rep}Y him h 'copy' for a part or even the nm* a.d efficient operation. hose e sup-
7iis n tothe A f the, column itself." Even with this r t,lrve support for those hie
dn`tinistra- whole o ans whoo briinve that the decision to en nter
er tion. It fvan who was responsi- japse of?:time it hiay come as a little surprise the war ag u the Axis was, for all prat- blefor getting e destroyers, the bomb- it
aders p~ this columnist that th
~rne
ey were tical purpose ken long before Pearl Har-
sight and other urg'ent requirements. g offe4 'hot bis inde a fe
There is n A r"dFot R Fe~Se~ roc n e i l e r ROO04o~~ -8.
finitely more roc h onovan than through (:8 o a foreign ? government, Of another T .ra;u E Nr5 14AMBERLIN
IH
any other individual. . . He is very re- ?US4 Ti
named columnist Mr. Hyde wr;tPa? y, ie.
rarM+rr0svm.r a ,..a ,