What follows is a series of letters and one article dating from the 1930's. They all have to do with one Dr.George Estabrooks.

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Dr. George Estabrooks

April 20, 1939 Mr. J. Edgar Hoover Federal Bureau of Investigation Department of Justice Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. Hoover: Just another idea which I, frankly, cannot evaluate myself. I have been very interested of late in certain work done by the Russian and French psychologists. This work runs along the line of causing a regression by means of hypnotic suggestion. In other words, they suggest to the subject that he is now ten years old, or seven, or four. They then test this level of intelligence by means of recognized intelligence tests and to be quite frank results are surprisingly accurate. Much more so than I would have suspected.

This leads to the further thought that this regression may be really genuine. Perhaps it would be possible to suggest a regression to infancy. I have seen two or three examples in which the results of such a suggestiion were pretty convincing. One might follow this with the suggestion that the individual grow up with a different background, say, a definite dislike for crime or a definite dislike for the Germans—some such thing. Such a round-about attack would require longer, to be sure, than a true suggestion without first getting this regressiion which, on the other hand, might possibly justify the time expended. I simply throw this out as an idea which may or may not have value.

Frankly I am not very much convinced that it has myself but then I have practically nothing on which to pass my opinion. By the way, I wish you would note the name of one of my assistants here, who is extremely capable and who is highly intelligent at the same time. As a matter of fact he has succeeded in doing many of my own experiments better than I have and more than once completely deceived me with his results. This man is Mr. G.R. Hopper, now in the sophomore class at Colgate, a pre-medical student but very mature for his years.

Cordially yours, G.H. Estabrooks

May 8, 1935 The Chief Signal Officer United States Army Washington, D.C.

Dear Sir: I wish to submit to you a plan which, in my opinion, has definite value for the department of military intelligence. Let me say by way of introduction that I held my commission with the Canadian forces during the world war, entering as a private and receiving my lieutenancy with the Seventh Canadian Battalion. I was gased and passed two years in the hospital. Afterward I attended Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, was sent as a Rhodes Scholar to Oxford, and later received my Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University. I am now professor of psychology at Colgate University and am, I may safely say, regarded as one of the national authorities on certain phases of abnormal psychology. I have been an American citizen for several years. While with my battalion in France I served in the capacity of intelligence officer, which was combined with the work of scout officer. I mention these points so as to make sure that you give a serious consideration to the very unusual proposal which I advance. Although my proposal may be rather unusual, may I state that, from the psychological point of view, it is absolutely water tight, and I will clearly demonstrate my contentions whenever you wish.

My proposal centers around the use of hypnotism in connectiion with the department of military intelligence. Hypnotism is no longer a thing of mystery. In fact, it is so well understood that we now do our hypnotizing in many cases by means of a hypnotic phonograph record which can be used on any phonograph. I myself “published” the first of these records, which is a regular two faced Victor record, handled by the Marietta Apparatus Company, Marietta, Ohio. This record is in use in most psychological laboratories.

I wish to point out to you three specific applications of hypnotism which could be made with the Army Intelligence Department. I need hardly add that there are many others which I could developwith a little thought.

1. OBTAINING INFORMATION FROM PRISONERS OF WAR. AFter an attack it would be quite possible, working among prisoners of war, to select four or five good hypnotic subjects without creating suspicion as to what was really occurring. It would be possible with these deeply hypnotized subjects to produce the delusion that they were talking to officers of their own forces who were inquiring aobut movements of their own and associated units. If this delusion were carried to the extent of having these mock-officers dress in the uniforms of the officers of the prisoners and having them speak the other language fluently, I think it probable that the information so obtained would be valuable. Needless to say, four or five subjects could be used so that the information could be checked.

2. DISSEMINATION OF FALSE INFORMATION. After an attack and after obtaining four or five good subjects, which would be mere child’s play to a good psychologist, it would be quite possible to load any number of these subjects with false information, which they would actually believe to be true, by means of hallucinatiions in the hypnotic trance. These hallucinations would work in such a way that the individual in questiion would be absolutely certain as to the truth of the statements and it could be impressed upon the subject that it was of importance that he should get the information to the enemy high command. It would then be a simple matter to arrange for these men to escape through the lines into the enemy forces.

3. THE ACTUAL CARRYING OF INFORMATION This side of the plan particularly interests me, although I must admit that it sounds pretty weird. For instance, it is quite possible to hypnotize Mr. A in such a way that he will carry a certain message to Mr. B one thousand miles away. Furthermore, I can arrange it quite easily so that it will be impossible for anyone except Mr. B to hypnotize Mr. A, and Mr. B can do it only on the giving of a definite code word. Such a technique would have this enormous value. Mr. A would not have the least idea that he had any message to anyone. He would be convinced of his own innocence. He would look up to Mr. B and depart without the least suspicion of what he had done. It seems to me that, in certain situations, this method of transfering information would be invaluable.

Now, Sir, as I mentioned before, I am professor of psychology at Colgate University, and have my Ph.D. from Harvard University, where I did most of my work under Professor William McDougal, now at Duke University and one of the world’s authorities on abnormal psychology. I have written a number of articles on this subject and am, I think, one of the nation’s authorities. It will be quite possible to corroborate any of my statements in a general way by obtaining the opinion of any good psychiatrist. What is more important from my point of view, however, is the matter of a practical demonstration of my plans. This I can furnish you at any time. It so happens that there is a distinct prejudice against the use of hypnotism in liberal arts colleges. I have, however, been working with a gentleman in Binghamton, New York, whom I have taken into my confidence. He is an excellent hypnotist, of the amateur variety. Between us we are able to demonstrate with a number of excellent subjects the truth of our contentions. We have already rehearsed the situations so that we feel pretty certain of what would happen.

I write you on the suggestion of Lieutenant Colonel C.K. Nulsen, General Staff, Military Intelligence Division, War Department. Mr. Stanley Hornbeck, Far East Division, Department of State is a personal friend of mine and would, I feel sure, be willing to act as a reference. It will be a simple matter for me to put you in touch with natiionally known psychiatrists who will be willing to give their opinion, although it seems to me that the matter should receive as little publicity as possible. May I close by saying that, in my opinion and from my own practical experience in the World War, this subject should be thoroughly investigated. I should [..] to consul with you as to the best method in which I could cooperate.

Cordially yours,

G.H. ESTABROOKS GHE:JK Letter from G.H. Estabrooks Archive, Colgate College, Hamilton, NY

October 7, 1940 Superintendent E.W. Bavin Royal Canadian Mounted Police Justice Building Ottawa, Canada

Dear Superintendent Bavin:

I wish to thank you for your last two communications. As I mentioned, either Wells, Rowland, or both have signified their willingness to accompany me to Ottawa. If at all possible, these men should be given three or four days notice so that they can arrange for their regular duties to be taken over by other members of the staff but beyond that I think nothing more would be necessary except, of course, guaranteeing their expenses.

As I pointed out to you when we met, these two men are in my opinion the two best qualified to pass on matters of this description in the entire United States. I am reasonably familiar with the literature in the field and with the various authorities. Wells and Rowland both hold respected academic positions, are firmly grounded in the various theories underlying abnormal psychology and are, above all things, expert technicians.

A demonstration would be comparatively simple to arrange, provided you could put us in touch with potential subjects. For example, if you could allow us to have the run of the hospital for a day. Another technique which I have found extremely useful is simply to allow me to put on a hypnotic demonstration before, say twelve of your enlisted men who are willing to cooperate. From them, I would be almost certain to find one or two good subjects. Wells and Rowland could put on demonstrations in the same manner and I have no doubt whatsoever that we could demonstrate to your satisfaction the usual thing which is to be expected in hypnotism.

Now, as to the unusual things, namely, the possible use of these subjects for criminal activities or the possibility of obtaining from them information which they are not supposed to divulge, we could merely try. This whole question, you must bear in mind, in this particular aspect is still in the realm of theory for the very simple reason that in order to prove many of the points I mentioned you will literally need a war situation.

If you should feel it worth your while to call these men and myself to Ottawa, I think that in, say, one or two informal conferences wherein we were not hurried we could pretty much answer any question you would choose to ask at least on the theoretical side and with reasonable luck demonstrate most of the answers in your own office. If the three of us cannot give you satisfaction, then quite frankly I am willing to retract everything I said and admit I am merely a wild-eyed theorist, but I have no worry whatsoever on that score.

Pg. 2- Superintendent E.W. Bavin

I would like to re-emphasize the fact that many of the questions you wish answered must remain unanswered until we can devise situations much more stringent than any which have yet been imposed. For example, I am quite convinced that I can have a good hypnotic subject enter your office and assassinate you. I am practically certain that I can have a worker in one of your munition plants plant a bomb there. To do so would require that the subject be convinced in hypnotism that the whole thing was just an experiment. It seems to me almost certain from what I know of hypnotized subjects that such cooperation could be obtained, but no one has as yet put through the crucial experiments necessary to prove these contentions. Such experiments could, however, be arranged relatively easily, granted that the experimenter did not suddenly find himself in jail accused of high treason or attempted murder. For this reason, I would particularly like to have Rowland with me. He represents the rather hard-boiled type of individual who does not hesitate to put through a crucial test when necessary without too much regard to the feelings of the subject in question.

Now with reference to your proposal that we try hypnotism on one or two of the individuals who are interred. My own opinion is that you would be reasonably certain of failure. Remember that only one in five people make good hypnotic subjects and from these you have to have cooperation or must use a disguised technique. Provided these individuals could be isolated in a hospital ward and would be willing to take part in a very simple and apparently harmless psychological experiment such as the measurement of blood pressure during three or four periods of relaxation, it would be easy to determine whether they were good subjects. Once this was determined, we could press the other issue as to whether or not they would divulge information. I think they would.

While hypnotism will prove an extremely useful and dangerous weapon, it does have definite limitations. The proposal which now follows is one which takes into consideration all these limitations and which I feel certain is almost bound to succeed. The actual organization of a counter-espionage service based on the use of hypnotism could in my opinion proceed with comparative rapidity along the following lines.

There are in Canada communities containing a relatively large proportion of Danes, Norwegians, Germans, Italians, or other groups which at present you classify as enemy aliens. These communities almost certainly have attached to them hospitals in which it would be comparatively simple to contact these men or women very naturally under the guise of medical treatment. For that matter, almost any large hospital would contain a proportion of these people. Indeed, it would not be completely necessary that they come from enemy alien stock but that would be an advantage in that they would be more readily accepted by fifth columnists and would speak very probably either German or Italian.

Pg.3- Superintendent E.W. Bavin

As I said before, it is a simple matter to train operators. I could probably arrange for a leave of absence to do this fundamental hypnotism myself. Certainly have a leave of absence in which to train your own men in the techniques necessary. It would not require more than two weeks.

With this approach, it seems to me it would be relatively simple to pick out a dozen good hypnotic subjects with the proper background. Once this was accomplished, we would take these people and deliberately set up a state of artificially induced dual personality. We would coach them in hypnotism so that during the waking state they would develop very definite fifth column sympathies, and would be coached to be much too talkative as to their attitude in the normal waking condition.

As a second step, we would inform them that unconsciously they were to keep their ears and eyes very wide open for any information which might be of use to the authorities. We would convince them that by so doing they were rendering a great service to their country, would engender in them a genuine patriotism for Canada and would promise them protection and remuneration for this work.

Needless to say, we would remove from them all knowledge of ever having been hypnotized and make it impossible for anyone else to hypnotize them except such parties as were designated.

This training period should not take more than two weeks and could quite easily be accomplished in a private room of any hospital under the guise of medical treatment. They would almost certainly begin to make themselves objectiionable by voicing their fifth column sentiments in the waking state. For that, you would probably intern them, carefully instructing them in the hypnotic state as to just what information was desired and and what individuals should be cultivated in the internment camp. Then as occasion required, they could be called into the office for an interview, hypnotized and asked to divulge any information which they had.

I realize that to the layman such a procedure sounds weird and such claims quite unreasonable. On the other hand, we have from abnormal psychology ample evidence of the Dr. Jekyl-Mr. Hyde type of dual personality. We, also, have undeniable evidence that such personality splits can be projected by hypnotism. Needless to say, the crucial experiments which apply to the type of work I am suggesting have never been put through for the very obvious reason that no one would dare report them even if he had succeeded.

The only way for you to convince yourselves of the possibility of such a scheme is through your observing a first-hand demonstration of hypnotism in the (..) sense of the word. For example, we could show you the extreme rapidity with which hypnosis can be induced in a good subject, his ignorance of ever having been hypnotized, his inability to be hypnotized by anyone else, and the extremely high grade cooperation which the good hypnotic subject will give when handled by an expert. We could even show

Pg.4- Superintendent E.W. Bavin

you that it would be impossible for you to tell whether a hypnotic subject was hypnotized or in the waking state, although that has no particular bearing on this experiment. The great advantage of this counter-espionage service as I have outlined it would seem to be these:

first, in the waking state the subject would be absolutely convinced of his own innocence. He would be a genuine fifth columnist with a very just grievance against the British government and would act accordingly.

Sedond, it would be quite impossible in my opinion for him to sell you out. In the waking state he would recall absolutely nothing of what was told him in hypnotism and no one could hypnotize him except certain specified individuals. Third, for this very same reason

third degree tactics would be a waste of time. He couldn’t talk because he does not know what to say.

Please bear in mind that I make these suggestions with at least some slight knowledge of the difficulties which will be encountered in setting up such an organization. I am not deceiving myself into believing that it will be easy. It will be a very unpleasant, delicate piece of work which will tax the ingenuity of our best men. Nevertheless, given your cooperation, I feel certain that in a month and a half or two months such an organization could be a functioning reality. If necessary, I would hope that Dr. Cutten would give me a leave of absence for that period. As I mentioned before, he was a Major with Canadian forces in the last war and is a personal friend of Mr. Ralyston’s.

While I stress this matter of a counter-espionage service, I would wish, also, to point out that there seems every reasonable probability that in hypnotism information could be obtained from prisoners of war which would otherwise be impossible. For example, any good technician working among captured German aviators in hospital - and a good many of them will be there - could it seems to me reckon on obtaining excellent subjects and very probably some very important information in relatively short order. The fact that these contentions have never been proven up-to-date means nothing. You can appreciate yourself from your official connections that no hypnotist attempting to demonstrate many of the points I have mentioned would be regarded as a very pleasant individual to have in the community if he did not actually land in the penitentiary for running afoul of your organization. Even if there is only a 50-50 chance of success and I maintain the chances are far better than that, it seems to me worth while trying. This is even the more necessary when we realize that the only published literature we have on the subject of hypnotism and crime is in German. The use of hypnotism in crime is practically the same as the use of hypnotism in warfare, and the Germans have a reputation for being a very practical race. Cordially yours,

G.H. ESTABROOKS

MANCHURIAN CANDIDATES OF OUR OWN: WHEN RCMP FLIRTED WITH BRAINWASHING Jim Bronskill explores the secret proposal of a New Brunswick-born U.S. professor during the Second WorldWar to hypnotize enemy aliens and transform them into spies.

The unusual letter that landed on the top Mountie's desk in the early autumn of 1940 offered a glimmer of possibility in the darkest days of the Second World War. The correspondence from an obscure psychology professor in upstate New York, proposed solutions to problems that vexed Canada's police force as it grappled with wartime security. RCMP Commissioner Stuart Wood read the letter with interest, but the rather extraordinary plans outlined by Professor George Estabrooks would require serious thought.

Mr. Estabrooks, who hailed from New Brunswick, was an enthusiastic champion of hypnosis, a powerful tool he felt the Mounties, with some coaching, could surely employ to their advantage. In his September 26 letter, the professor suggested using the technique to extract information from the enemy, but his master plan involved a scheme much more complex and ingenious. Mr. Estabrooks claimed that, with cooperation from the RCMP, he could turn unsuspecting Canadians into a secret team of hypnotically controlled spies.

The RCMP's small intelligence section had grown since the war began, assuming responsibility for keeping Canada safe from agitators, saboteurs and fifth columnists -- sympathizers with the enemy.

The Mounties rounded up thousands of so-called enemy aliens, including many Canadians of German and Italian background, placing them in internment camps.

Widespread fingerprinting of Canadians took place. Businesses, factories and government agencies were advised to keep an eye out for the disloyal. Guards were posted at power plants and other sensitive installations. Canada would not tolerate the prospect of enemies in its midst. And as the Nazi juggernaut swept through Europe, the homefront urgency only grew.

The letter from Mr. Estabrooks clearly piqued the curiousity of the Mounties at a time when no possible weapon was being overlooked. On October 2, Ernest William Bavin, head of RCMP intelligence, sent a secret reply to the professor at the quiet campus of Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. Supt. Bavin said Commissioner Wood had read the proposal, but indicated the commissioner needed more time -- and information – before deciding what to do. "You, of course, will realize that it is necessary for the commissioner to give a matter of this kind very careful consideration and weigh the possibilities from all angles," wrote Supt. Bavin. The Mounties were concerned what would happen if word leaked out "that the police were utilizing this science," in their work.

However, despite little knowledge of hypnosis and a "certain amount of skepticism", the RCMP was intrigued with the possibilities. "We have some subjects interned at the present time who we feel possess knowledge, which if disclosed, would greatly assist us in establishing security in this country," continued Supt. Bavin. "They have been interviewed at length, but no information of any value was obtained. Would it be possible for you to take any one of these subjects whilst here and endeavour to exercise your knowledge and powers with him?"

Mr. Estabrooks, who had already had one meeting with Supt. Bavin, was eager to visit Ottawa with two other hypnosis experts, Wesley Wells of Syracuse University in New York and L.W. Rowland of the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma. He sent Supt. Bavin a copy of a recent article by Mr Wells called "Experiments in the Hypnotic Production of Crime," which concluded that hypnotized subjects could be persuaded to steal money.

Mr. Estabrooks had established links with leading researchers, displaying a talent for networking that would later help him become an influential figure in the shadowy world of intelligence. "He wasn't just an isolated kook," said Colin Ross, a Canadian-born psychiatrist, who now practises in Texas, who uncovered the classified correspondence in the Colgate archives while preparing a forthcoming book on government-sponsored mind control research. "He was academically very highly connected to all the leading hypnosis experts in the world, really."

George Hoben Estabrooks was born in Saint John, N.B. in 1895. He studied at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., before attending Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar.

PHOTOS: Psychology professor George Estabrooks, left, discussed his idea of creating hypnotically controlled spies in 1940 with the RCMP Commissioner Stuart Wood, centre, and RCMP Supt. Ernest Bavin. The Mounties rejected the plan, but Prof. Estabrooks

later claimed the U.S. used his proposal. Prof. George Estabrooks' idea was to use enemy aliens, like those shown above in the Kananaskis Internment camp in Alberta. The RCMP was initially intrigued with the possibilities, but eventually rejected the proposal, fearing the public was not ready for such radical ideas.

After earning a Ph.D. from Harvard University, he settled into a comfortable teaching career, becoming chairman of Colgate's psychology department in 1938. Colgate president George Cutten had taught Mr. Estabrooks at Acadia. They shared not only Maritime roots, but a keen interest in the mysterious science of hypnosis. Mr. Cutten was considered an authority on the subject, having evaluated hypnosis as a treatment for drinking problems in his pioneering 1907 book "The Psychology of Alcoholism".

Another early influence on Mr. Estabrooks was Boston neurologist Morton Prince, who explored the idea that an individual might have several distinct personalities. Mr. Estabrooks researched telepathy in the late 1920's, then delved into hypnosis, despite its dismissal by Sigmund Freud and its lowbrown reputation as show-business chicanery. He soon came to believe the hypnotist could use his skills to foster multiple personallities in subjects and program them to conduct specific tasks. Mr. Estabrooks saw valuable military applications in this mind-control technique, and the onset of war provided a unique opportunity to put them into practice.

But in late 1940, the United States was still more than a year from entering the conflict, and the ambitious professor's attentions turned to his native country. In a four-page reply to Supt. Bavin dated October 7, Mr. Estabrooks spelled out his elaborate vision for using hypnosis to assist the Canadian war effort. Mr. Estabrooks said hypnosis could indeed be used to make enemy sympathizers reveal secrets, but proposed an even more sophisticated plan: a spy service of hypnotically controlled agents. He confirmed that Mr. Wells and Mr. Rowland were willing to accompany him to Ottawa for a series of demonstrations.

Mr. Estabrooks believed he could have a good hypnotic subject stride into an office and shoot someone, or that he could program a worker in a munitions factory to plant a bomb there. But he acknowledged that hypnotic tests involving explosives or assassins had never been attempted. "Such experiments could, however, be arranged relatively easily, granted that the experimenter did not suddenly find himself in jail accused of high treason or attempted murder," he wrote. "For this reason I would particularly like to have Mr. Rowland with me. He represents the rather hard-boiled type of individual who does not hesitate to put through a crucial test when necessary without too much regard to the feeling of the subject in question."

The professor said trying to extract information from one or two internees would likely fail, since only one in five people made good hypnotic subjects. Mr. Estabrooks suggested, however, that the suitability of internees could be assessed under the guise of routine medical testing, such as blood-pressure measurement. "Once this was determined, we could press the other issue as to whether or not they would divulge information. I think they would."

But Mr. Estabrooks felt the establishment of an espionage service, made up of unwitting civilians, held the most promise. He proposed using Canadians of "enemy alient stock," such as Germans or Italians, receiving treatment in hospital. Once a dozen good candidates had been found, the hypnotists, pretending to be doctors, would create a dual personality in each patient.

When awake, the subject would openly express sympathy with the enemy. Unconsciously, however, the person would keep eyes and ears open for any information of use to Canadian authorities. After two weeks of surreptitious "training" in hospital, the dozen candidates would be allowed their freedom.

"They would almost certainly begin to make themselves objectionable by voicing their fifth-column sentiments in the waking state," Mr. Estabrooks explained. "For that, you would probably intern them, carefully instructing them in the hypnotic state as to just what information was desired and what individuals should be cultivated in the internment camp."

Occasionally they would be called in for an interview, hypnotized and asked to divulge useful information they had gathered. In the waking state, they would have no knowledge of their clandestine role. "I realize that to the layman such a procedure sounds weird and such claims quite unreasonable," Mr. Estabrooks allowed. "On the other hand, we have from abnormal psychology ample evidence of the Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde type of dual personality. We also have undeniable evidence that such personality splits can be projected by hypnotism.

"Needless to say, the crucial experiments which apply to the type of work I am suggesting have never been put through for the very obvious reason that no one would dare report them even if he had succeeded." Mr. Estabrooks was aware of the project's complexity. "I am not deceiving myself into believing that it will be easy. It will be a very unpleasant, delicate piece of work which will tax the ingenuity of our best men." Nevertheless he felt certain that, with the RCMP's cooperation, a team of hypnotically programmed spies could be assembled within two months.

Supt. Bavin was well prepared for the security challenge of wartime. After a stint with the NorthWest Mounted Police, he had served in France during the First World War. Returning to civilian life, he had joined Alberta's provincial police before becoming a Mountie. As head of the intelligence section since 1939, Supt. Bavin was undoubtedly familiar with the cloak-and-dagger tactics and understood the intricacies of tracking subversives. In early 1941, he left the force to join the Office of British Security Coordination in New York city, a key intelligence bureau, where he worked under William Stephenson, known as Intrepid.

But even in the formidable struggle of war, the RCMP felt the public was not ready for the radical ideas of George Estabrooks. "This whole proposition has been very carefully studied and weighed from all angles," Supt. Bavin wrote on October 21. "The value is keenly appreciated, but it is felt that, in spite of same, public reaction would be against it and, therefore, it is felt that at this stage we are not in a position to entertain the idea of carrying out the experiment."

Before receiving the rejection, the persistent Mr. Estabrooks had fired off another letter. Mr. Cutten, the Colgate president, was headed to Ottawa. He was friendly with Defence Minister J.L. Ralston, as both were from Amherst, Nova Soctia. Mr. Estabrooks suggested Mr. Cutten could allay any fears the RCMP might have.

"I feel that discussion of this matter with an older man might remove, perhaps, the feeling that I am largely impelled by the enthusiasm of youthful ignorance." Sgt. Bavin sent a firm but polite reply. "The opportunity of Dr. Cutten's trip to Ottawa was something that we should have taken advantage of but were advised to the contrary."

Larry Hannant, a history professor at Camosun College in Victoria, isn't surprised the RCMP seriously considered Mr. Estabrooks' proposals before rejecting them out of fear of a public backlash. Mr. Hannant said the Mounties' interest is consistent with their use of technologies such as fingerprinting and, later, quasi-scientific methods to detect homosexuals in government ranks. "I think it's all part of the same process," said Mr. Hannant, who documented wartime security efforts in his book "The Infernal Machine: Investigating the Loyalty of Canada's Citizens." "It gets advanced at times of emergency or perceived emergency, such as the war, and the Cold War as well. Because during those times, the police can justify their actions by saying the conditions merit it."

Mr. Hannant believes, however, the Canadian authorities were generally more cautious with experimental methods. "Perhaps it has something to do with the Canadian character." Mr. Estabrooks had also pitched his ideas to the Defence Department, which, like the RCMP, expressed initial interest before deciding not to proceed. But the professor believed in his ideas and succeeded in attracting the interest of the U.S. military. What he actually accomplished in the course of this work, though, is shrouded in mystery. In his 1943 book, Hypnotism, Mr. Estabrooks promoted the idea of creating couriers and assassins. He even co-wrote a novel, Death in the Mind, in which Nazis hypnotize Allied personnel to commit treason.

Military-sponsored behaviour control captured the public imagination in 1959 with the publication of Richard J. Condon's "The Manchurian Candidate". The best-seller featured a Communist plot to program a captured U.S. soldier to assassinate the American president. Two years earlier, though, in a revised edition of "Hypnotism", Mr. Estabrooks suggested his ideas were more than the basis of sensational fiction, saying they were "too true to be good."

He would later admit in a newspaper interview to having been a consultant to the U.S. army, FBI and Central Intelligence Agency. In 1971, he detailed his military work in "Science Digest", claiming he had helped the U.S. create hypnotic couriers and spies during the war. He described hypnotizing an army captain, and feeding him a vital message to be delivered overseas. The message could be retrieved only through hypnosis by the intended recipient. If the soldier were captured en route, the enemy would be unable to unlock the information. "The subject had no conscious memory of what happened, so couldn't spill the beans."

Mr. Estabrooks also told of splitting the mind of a marine lieutenant, one personality being an outspoken Communist, the other a loyal American. When awake, the lieutenant spouted rhetoric, winning the confidence of Communist sympathizers. Under hypnosis, the American persona would emerge, eager to betray Communist secrets. The technique worked well until discovered by the enemy, who then tried it on the Allies, Mr. Estabrooks wrote. "The use of 'waking hypnosis' in counter-intelligence during World War Two occasionally became so involved that it taxed even my credulity."

Mr. Estabrooks died in 1974, and official accounts of his work for the U.S. government have not been published. Did he actually carry out the very wartime experiments the Canadian officials apparently wouldn't dare try? There remains some doubt as to whether his fanciful ideas actually became reality.

However, Colin Ross is persuaded, on the basis of Mr. Estabrooks' correspondence and extensive contacts, that the professor did help create hypnotic agents as early as the war. Mr. Ross believes these acts placed Mr. Estabrooks in the forefront of government-sponsored mind control research, a field that would alter expand to include drugs and brainwashing.

"In terms of 'Manchurian Candidate' experimentation, he's the No. 1 person."

Jim Bronskill The Ottawa Citizen December 28, 1997

Following these letters, there appear several from Aldous Huxley. Read by clicking on the link below.