The Washington times., 1938-03-12
BLAU'S DEFENSE
RIPPED APART.
BY NEUDECKER.
Mass of Evidence Puts
SiriCa in Trouble
BY CARROLL PEEKE
Reporting the fictiOnal murder trial
of Baron Won Blau

Whether the Baron Won Blau is
or is not a spy-one thing came
out of last nights gripping session
his valet, Kataburo Hiroshigi, is
not.
The little japanese who for
seven years now has been a fresh
man student for georogicar en-.
gineer," made a practically bur
glarious entrance upon the wit
ness stand to plead in moving
tones:
Somebody preese ask-'Hir-
Oshigi-yOu spy?'"
PROSECUTOR SUCCUMBS
Even the special prosecutor, who
had permitted the Nipponese naval
reserve lieutenant to take the
stand, Succumbed to the agonized
earnestness of Hiroshigi's appeal,
land the little butler fairly screamed
his triumphant impression upon
the records:
"NO, preese, I NOT spy!"
Much more than that, however,
was impressed into the record by
the swift blows which Special
Prosecutor Raymond Neudecker
took at the mid.week successes Of
John j. Sirica, former Assistant
United States Attorney, who has
so valiantly conducted the Baron'S 5
defense.
PAPERS PRODUCED
Neudecker brought Andrew Kali
horn, the contractor, to the stand,
to produce a sheaf of requisitions
and other papers written and
signed by Fritz Blauheim, who
had acted as his construction fore.
man on many of the late Ronald
Brooks jobs. The special prose-
cutor followed this move. by call.
ing upon j. Worthington Johnson,
handwriting expert, to identify
the handwriting of the threatening
note pressed into the hands of
Tom Wilson, the cab driver, dur,
ing the special Grand Jury pro
ceedings, as that of Blauheim
Sirica did not contest this evidence
which Neudecker produced with
the evident purpose of linking
Blauheim and the Baron in the
threats against Wilson, which the
Government apparently contends
were made to keep the Baron's
name out of the Brooks fictional
murder charge.
Never has a prosecuting attor
ney 1abored more relentleSSly tc
bring a vital fact from maze OF
apparently hopeless direct exami
nation than has Mr.. Neudecker in
his efforts to elicit from the Capi
tails SocialiteS, who move in the
Baron's orbit, the fact Of his pres
ence at Brooks house on the night
Brooks was fictionally slain.
MRS. ALLEN TESTIFIES
None of the baron's friends
among the elite could give
this testimony except Mrs. George
Allen, wife of the District Com
missioner, who, after teStifying
that she had seen the Baron Won
Blau at the Brooks home at mid
night of last December S, saw her
testimony fall to the ground in the
minds of the jury by the subSti-
tutional ruSe of the defense coun-
sci Wednesday night.
Brilliant as this stratagem was,
clever as it proved, Neudecker is
expected to shatter it's effective
ness in his anticipated fiery sum-
nation tonight.
Last night Fritz Blauheim him
self put into the record as an in
disputable and unchallenged piece
of evidence that he saw, without
possibility of mistake, the Baron
Won Blau at Brooks house at the
time Mrs. Allen said she saw him
there. He further testified that
he had sold the Baron Won Blau a
gun such as has been identified
without challenge from the de-
fenSe as the weapon with which
the murder of Ronald Brooks was
committed.
CASE IS TIGHTENED
Nor was that the only tighten
ing of the Governments case. 1t
was a bad night for Sirica, and
worse one for the baron. Ruby
Robert, against whom Sirica'S
adroit questioning did consider
able damage Thursday night, shat
tered the ugly significance of the
Brooks insurance matter by offer
ing to prove that she was only
one of many beneficiaries equally
and similarly named in the late
architects will. She vitiated the
effect of Sirica's insinuations still
further by her revelation that
when she quit her dancing career
she lost all the implied benefits.
SIRICA IN BAD HUMOR
Sirica would not tell me last night
what witnesses he intends ito call
AS a matter of fact, he was in a
very bad mood owing to the sue
cessive victories of the prosecution
I knew that tonight Mr.. Neu.
decker will recall the Countess
Czerny, Brooks sister; Miss Ruth
Overton, daughter of the dis.
tinguishec Senator from Louisi
ana: Mrs. Mehitable Larkin, the
States "peek-a-boo" witness, and
Erich Holbein. I believe these
witnesses are to be questioned
hriaflv The Government will rest