Spies
The suspicions and alarms created by the Canadian Government's revelation of the activities of foreign agents continue to grow and may have serious repercussions. Their most dangerous feature, of course, is that they are directed against Russia, but fortunately there are indications that no one is going to be spurred into an anti- Russian spy scare. There are, however, powerful forces on both sides of the Atlantic which would like to create one. In such matters as this, where dependable information is hard to come by and speculation has an unlimited field, it is as well to preserve a sense of proportion and to remember certain basic, if ugly, factors in the practice of modern States. Espionage is a normal part of their activities, conducted against friends as well as enemies, and covers the whole of the military preparations of other Powers. The atomic bomb, if indeed it is the atomic bomb that is in question here, has been consciously kept in the same category of secrecy as other military weapons, and it is no more true to say, as some have been saying, that espionage in Canada is the inevitable result of this policy than it would be true of the secrecy of the latest gun or air- craft, or radar equipment ; all are grist to the mill of the same organisations. The surprising feature of this case is the apparent clumsiness with which operations have been conducted and the publicity they have been given. It is natural to believe that the crucial political and military importance of the atomic bomb has forced the Canadian Government to lift the impenetrable veil with
which both spies and 'spied on normally cover their own and each other's activities. One must remember, however, that the Canadian Government-has been forced to make several arrests, and that in a democratic country in peacetime arrests require specific evidence and specific charges. Habeas Corpus is a great enemy of secrecy. The findings of the Royal Commission on this case will be awaited with the greatest impatience and curiosity. The Moscow com- muniqué, dismissing the whole thing as trivial, plainly means nothing
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