Henry Collins (official)

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Henry J. Collins was an American citizen employed as a government official in the New Deal National Recovery Administration in the 1930s and later the Agricultural Adjustment Administration. He was a member of the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) and allegedly part of the Washington D.C.-based Ware group of spies, along with Alger Hiss, Lee Pressman, Harry Dexter White and others.

Collins was allegedly the Ware group's treasurer and collected Communist Party dues from its members. Collins also allegedly acted as a talent spotter and recruiter for Soviet intelligence. "Worthington Wiggins" is the pseudonym of a State Department employee Collins recruited. He later served as Director of the American-Russian Institute in New York. J. Peters, head of the CPUSA's secret appartus recognized Collins, Hiss and Pressman had the potential for advancement within the United States government. So in 1936 a decision was made to separate Collins from the larger Ware group, and Whittaker Chambers became Collins's contact with Peters.

Former State Department official Laurence Duggan, shortly before his suicide, told the FBI that Collins had attempted to recruit him for Soviet espionage.

[edit] Sources

• Alexander Vassiliev's original Russian notes titled "A.Gorsky's Report to Savchenko S.R., 23 December 1949", "Failures List".
• Whittaker Chambers Testimony before HUAC 3 August 1948