Some days ago reports reached Berlin that six German engineers
in the mining area of the Don had been arrested fOr sabotage. Two of them, experts of the Allgemeine Electrizitats GesellsChaft, have Since been released. Germany believes the charges to be absurd, designed to cover some industrial failure of the Soviet system.. The negotiations over the Russo-German trade agreement are broken off. Moscow declares this to have been done on an Utterly insufficient 'pretext and tells its people that " it is plirt of the international plot against the Soviet. The' German ConSulit officers cannot get into touch with the prisoners as they haVe by treaty the right to do. • Thongh we haire felt that the disadvantages of Great Britain's rtipture of diphimatic relationa with Moscow outweigh the relief of not having to deal with their incalculable representatives, we are not siire that the - Germans will not follovi our Governnient's course. The feeling there is very strong that it is impOssible to treat with people whase word you cannot trust and' whose actions are dictated by all kinds of hidden ulterior motives. - - - -• * * * *
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