# Ales and Alger Hiss

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ales-and-alger-hiss/259539>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [August 12, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ales-and-alger-hiss/259539 "2004-08-12T15:08:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ales-and-alger-hiss/259539/1 "2004-08-12T15:08:00Z")

</div>

In Cecil’s column on [the Rosenburgs](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040806.ht), he mentions the “Ales”/Alger Hiss connection. While, as Cecil points out, the weight of evidence points to Hiss being a spy, the “Venona” connection identifying him as Ales is really a red herring.

[This page makes the argument that Hiss was innocent, partly by taking apart the “Venona Connection.”

> [@](#):
>
> Ales conducted espionage throughout the 11 years 1935-45 (message paragraph 1), whereas Hiss was accused, and in effect convicted, of having conducted espionage only in the mid-1930s and not later than 1938. Ales was the leader of a small group of espionage agents (par. 2); Hiss was accused of having acted alone, except for his wife as typist and Chambers as courier.  
> Ales was a GRU (military intelligence) agent who obtained only military information and did not regularly produce State Department materials (pars. 1 and 3), whereas Hiss was charged with having obtained only nonmilitary information, and the papers used to convict him were nonmilitary State Department materials that he allegedly produced on a regular basis.

Now, the author admits that he was a firend of Hiss’, and that he’s an NYU professor, which suggest he may be biased, but his arguments are referring directly to the relevant [URL=http://www.nsa.gov/venona/venon00006.cfm]Venona papers]([http://homepages.nyu.edu/~th15/lowsoviet.html](http://homepages.nyu.edu/~th15/lowsoviet.html)), compared to Chambers’ testimony. The rest of the argument involves assassinating the character of Whitaker Chambers (He was a homosexual and received treatment for mental illness at one point, apparently.), but I think he pretty effectively demolishes the case that Ales was Hiss.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ales-and-alger-hiss/259539/2 "2004-08-12T15:18:50Z")

</div>

Sorry, I must have deleted something important. That post should have looked like this:

[This page](http://homepages.nyu.edu/~th15/lowsoviet.html) makes the argument that Hiss was innocent,

> [@](#):
>
> Ales conducted espionage throughout the 11 years 1935-45 (message paragraph 1), whereas Hiss was accused, and in effect convicted, of having conducted espionage only in the mid-1930s and not later than 1938. Ales was the leader of a small group of espionage agents (par. 2); Hiss was accused of having acted alone, except for his wife as typist and Chambers as courier. Ales was a GRU (military intelligence) agent who obtained only military information and did not regularly produce State Department materials (pars. 1 and 3), whereas Hiss was charged with having obtained only nonmilitary information, and the papers used to convict him were nonmilitary State Department materials that he allegedly produced on a regular basis.

Now, the author admits that he was a firend of Hiss’, and that he’s an NYU professor, which suggest he may be biased, but his arguments are referring directly to the relevant [Venona papers](http://www.nsa.gov/venona/venon00006.cfm),  
compared to Chambers’ testimony. The rest of the argument involves assassinating the character of Whitaker Chambers (He was a homosexual and received treatment for mental illness at one point, apparently.), but I think he pretty effectively demolishes the case that Ales was Hiss.