Talk:Solomon Adler

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    [edit] Mao works translation

    This article seems seriously flawed to me. Just two small points:

    • Why is he called "Schlomer" in the article? I don't think that his name was ever spelled like that. Is that an anti-semitic jibe?
    • I doubt that Adler, Coe and Rittenberg were translating Mao's works into English. (But in the eyes of an anti-communist westerner, what else should a foreigner do in China?) What are the sources for that claim? (Far Loon Goon?)

    It is also weird that his family background, wife and children are not mentioned at all. Babelfisch 00:54, 18 August 2005 (UTC)

    The "Schlomer" is a direct reference as per the FBI investigation, which link to the FBI file should be available on the articles' main page pgs. 44-47 PDF format). Other pertenant biographical material is welcome. (Please note, in these espionage cases, all known names, code names, previous names, aliases, cover names, CPUSA code names and cover names, cryptonyms, foreign spellings, and maiden names, are included). Thank you for your interest and participation. nobs 01:51, 18 August 2005 (UTC)
    As per the citation of Adler translating Mao, see John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America, Yale University Press (1999), pgs. 144-145, text as follows,
    Sidney Rittenberg, another American Communist who emigrated to China, wrote in a memoir that in 1960 Adler, Coe, and he were working together on translating Mao's writings into English. In 1983 a Chinese Communist journal identified Adler as having worked for twenty years for the Chinese Communist party's Central External Liaison Department, an agency that included among its duties foreign espionage. He also appeared in a photograph in a memoir published in China as a colleague of Henshen Chen, a senior official in Mao's government who had worked as an intelligence operative in the United States from the late 1930s until the Communist victory in China in 1949.

    footnote reads as follows,

    Sidney Rittenberg and Amanda Bennett, The Man Who Stayed Behind (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993), 251; Selected Shanghai Culture and History Materials (in Chinese), issue 43, April 1983, Shanghai People's Press; Henshen Chen, Sige shidai de wo (My life during four ages, in Chinese) (Beijing: Chinese Culture and History Press, 1988). The authors thank Professor Maochun Yu for calling our attention to the latter two Chinese sources. When the United States established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, Adler petitioned for and received restoration of his American citizenship. (pgs 412-413). nobs 02:23, 18 August 2005 (UTC)

    "all known names, code names, previous names, aliases, cover names, CPUSA code names and cover names, cryptonyms, foreign spellings, and maiden names", not to mention spelling mistakes ... But in a Wikipedia article, those should be clearly distinguished, so I've changed "Schlomer" to "Salomon".

    The book you mention may be published by Yale, but the way it quotes its sources is poor. "A Chinese communist journal" - that's a weird description, and the quotation is dubious - the authors obviously don't read Chinese at all. The man they call "Henshen Chen" is in fact Chen Hansheng 陈翰笙. Two spelling mistakes in one name - well done! Did they get that from Professor Yu Maochun over the phone? The fact that Adler is seen on a photograph next to Chen Hansheng proofs nothing, of course, and it isn't mentioned whether he is referred to in the text of Chen Hansheng's book - probably not. That book by Haynes and Klehr is a rather dubious source, at least in this case. Babelfisch 10:05, 18 August 2005 (UTC)

    Here is another source, the Adolphe Berle notes of 1939; will get full text and citation by name sometime today I hope. nobs 16:39, 18 August 2005 (UTC)
    Adolf Berle notes "Underground Espionage Agent" (1939), reprinted in the Interlocking Subversion in Government Departments, 6 May 1953, part 6, 329–330. nobs 19:48, 18 August 2005 (UTC)

    [edit] Name

    Once again: His name is Solomon Adler. He also called himself "Sol". Names given to him by the CIA, FBI and other agencies can or even should be mentioned, but clearly marked. I've deleted "Schlomer" once again.

    This declassified FBI document[1] mentions his name as "Schlomer Adler" in the section heading and once in an indirect quote of Whittaker Chambers, and repeats that name once again, but all the other references in the text are to "Solomon Adler" (eight times, including the paragraph with the title "Results of Investigation") and "Sol Adler" (four times). It's not clear at all why they call him "Schlomer" in these three instances. — Babelfisch 03:10, 5 September 2005 (UTC)

    [edit] citizenship

    The article says he 'emigrated' fron Britain to China. Did he become a Chinese citizen? When? Thanks Hmains 16:14, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

    [edit] Errors of Fact

    This article contains a number of factual errors.

    For example, Adler did not start working for Treasury until 1941. Previously he taught at a well-known U.S. university.

    Adler did not move back to China until 1961 (or 62?), not "the 50s." He was invited by Zhou Enlai, who he knew from Chongqing in the 40s, to work as an advisor on international economic issues.

    The nature of Adler's employment in Peking is a matter of dispute. Adler's knowledge of Chinese was rudimentary, and he certainly could not read Chinese well enough to translate Mao.

    The idea that Adler worked for the CCP's liason department is laughable. While there's no doubt that Peking took pains to extract as much information out of Adler as they possibly could--as is their habit with all "foreign experts"--Adler told me that they were mostly interested in his views on what was going on with international trade and global macroeconomic conditions. Moreover, the thought that a "big nose" would be allowed to work in such a sensitive party office is simply not credible. Adler was assigned to a think tank (Institute for World Economics) that served as his official "work unit" for much of the time he worked in Peking.

    Looking beyond the factual errors, it's clear that the purpose of this article as it's written is to slam Adler for his involvement in communist espionage. Adler made no secret of the fact that he was a die-hard Marxist economist and fellow traveler. Seems to me the least Wikiworld can do is tell his story straight. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.152.238.1 (talk) 13:56, 11 September 2007 (UTC)