4 JANUARY 1997, Page 22

Castro's OK

Sir: I wish to cancel my subscription to The Spectator immediately because of your arti- cle The spy of the century' (23 November), in which someone called James Srodes does a hatchet job on recently dead Alger Hiss based on 'a week of research in the papers of Drew Pearson, the pre-eminent Ameri- can investigative journalist of the mid-cen- tury'. Mr Pearson was a hack gossip colum- nist, as everyone now remembers who was alive when he was doing his numbers.

Mr Srodes wrote the article but the mag- azine accepted and published it. There still is a family which will be hurt by this yellow journalism. Where is your decency? They, along with Mr Hiss, have long maintained his absolute innocence in attempts to clear his name, long after this affair was ended. Perhaps you will publish a rebuttal if one is submitted by one of them. Perhaps an appropriate author would be Mr Hiss's sur- viving son, Tony. Perhaps you should con- tact him rather than waiting on the off chance of hearing from him.

Damn you! I never wish to see your pub- lication again and if you send any more I shall simply throw them in the bloody dust- bin where they belong.

You don't deserve your columnist Taki and your cartoonist Castro (especially 'I'm the new archdeacon and this is my friend

LETTERS

Sandy'; does he wish to sell the original of that?). The rest of you, go to hell and rot! Edward C. Wilson

71624 Biskra Road, Rancho Mirage, California 92270, USA