Representative Ford.

Is there any other port such as Helsinki, in the context you are using it?

Mr. Mcvickar.

I am sorry, I hope I haven't confused the record. Of course, when you are actually talking about a port of entry, Helsinki is not a port of entry. It is a point of departure for the Soviet Union, and you could come in and land at the Moscow airport from Helsinki.
What I think--what I was referring to is a point of departure for the Soviet Union which would then be more likely to be Copenhagen, for example, or Warsaw or Vienna. Helsinki is a frequently used one, but it is way up north and it is----

Mr. Dulles.

Wasn't he traveling by boat, however?

Mr. Mcvickar.

He traveled by boat to Helsinki.

Mr. Dulles.

That is where the beat went?

Mr. Mcvickar.

That is right.

Mr. Coleman.

No; he traveled by boat to Le Havre, France. He then went by boat from there to London but then he flew by plane from London to Helsinki.

Mr. Dulles.

He did? He went by plane?

Mr. Mcvickar.

I didn't realize that. But he flew from London to Helsinki and then entered the Soviet Union from Helsinki.

Mr. Coleman.

By rail?

Mr. Mcvickar.

By rail.

Representative Ford.

What is so unusual and relatively uncomplicated about point of entry?

Mr. Mcvickar.

Well I was thinking of this in the terms of a person who didn't know the situation and wasn't very familiar with it, and I think that it be more logical to try to fly into the Soviet Union from Copenhagen or from London. It might be more logical for some people to take the train into the Soviet Union through Warsaw.

Mr. Dulles.

Where did he get his visa?

Mr. Mcvickar.

He got his visa in Helsinki.

Mr. Dulles.

That is it then. I think that is the answer to the thing. It is much easier to get a visa right there than go through the mill of a great place like London or Paris or any of the other places.

Representative Ford.

So it is the ease of getting the visa.

Mr. Dulles.

I would think the ease of getting a visa there. If you could get it at all, you could get somebody to pay some attention to you. There, in London, you would have a much bigger problem, I think.

Mr. Mcvickar.

And it may be that the Soviet Embassy in Helsinki is accustomed to processing unusual cases or something. But my point is that if a completely ignorant person might well apply for his visa in Paris or in London, and then go in from there, but you have to know a little bit about what you are doing if you go straight to Helsinki and get your visa there. I am afraid this is a rather marginal point, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Mr. Dulles.

Had he made any attempt to get a visa or to announce that he was going to try to pick up a visa in Helsinki? Do you know if he took any steps at all with the Soviet authorities prior to arriving in Helsinki?

Mr. Mcvickar.

This I do not know what is known about that. It did seem to me that he moved very quickly, if he could arrive in Helsinki and then get his visa and go right into the Soviet Union.

Mr. Coleman.

Sir, the fact that he didn't go by ship from New Orleans to Helsinki but he went to Le Havre by boat and then to London but then flew to Helsinki, doesn't that change somewhat the thrust of your paragraph?

Mr. Mcvickar.

Yes; I must say that it explains a little bit more clearly how he was able to get all this done in such a relatively short time, because he would have saved himself, oh, at least a week of time, I should think, if he got off in France and flew from there on.

Mr. Dulles.

Can any ordinary tourist, unknown tourist, just go to Helsinki and get a visa there and pick it up and get into Russia?

Mr. Mcvickar.

Yes; I think an ordinary tourist can go to any one of their Embassies and get a visa.