rebuked severely when they arrive in MOscow. So will their
superior, also ordered out of Britain. To be caught is bad; to be caught as they were caught is outrageous. As espionage goes, their activities seem to have been pretty small beer (although the unofficial story of how one of them was found red-handed, poking about for a tin can in a field near Barnet, made good reading) and the Government has apparently seen no reason to take more than the usual routine action. Nor is Russia disposed to retaliate. But while there is no call here for a great new spy scare, this much may be said : that every incident of the sort, spectacular or otherwise, tends regrettably to offset the welcome mellowing in personal relationships be- tween Russians and foreigners. This greater ease of contact is welcome in so far as it is more tolerable to -have a pleasant relationship with Russians than a boorishly unpleasant one. But one Russian assistant military attache surprised in a field near Barnet is heavier in the scales than the Comedie Francaise welcomed in Moscow or the delightful dancers now in London, and the story makes us take Marshal Zhukov's polite compli- ments to Russia's wartime allies with two pinches of salt instead of the customary one.
Previous page
