The Wilmington morning star., 1940-09-21
WASHINGTON
REPORT
BY CHARLES p. w
Central Press Columnist

WAo11A1NI4ON, oePI ~ FOr a prose
cutor to drop a case against an accused
individual. because he doesn't think he
has evidence enought to get a conviction,
isn't unusual. It's a novelty. however, for
a prosecutor to move a cases dismissal be-
cause his evidence is too good.
Yet those who noticed the item will recall
that the latter was just what United States
Attorney William F. Palmer recently did in
the case OF Herbert Hoehne, recently ~arraign-
ed before Federal Judge L. R. Yanwich in Los
Angeles upon a charge Of being an unregister-
ed Nazl agent in this country, in violation of
our newly enacted law requiring all foreign
governments representatives in our midst to
record themselves as such with Uncle Sam.
Attorney Palmer had just remarked that he
had Hoehne dead to rights and invited him to
plead guilty, thus perhaps emitting himself
to such little mercy as the bench might see
Mt to dish out. Hoehne wouldn't do it though.
Thereupon the attorney was in the very act
OF opening his mouth to present the prosecu-
uons story when a telegram was handed him.
Palmer peeked inside the envelope. qasped
slightly, they say, then Immediately requested
a dismissal, which Judge Yankwich hadn't
much option but to grant, the prosecutor him.
self having asked for it. So Hoehne went free
after three weeks in jail, though it was under
stood he planned to leave the United States
soon.
AVN Nv OC0A0T
There was considerable comment to the ef-
fect that this procedure was rather peculiar.
Upon investigation in Washington it appears
that it wasn't especially so.
The telegram Prosecutor Palmer received
was from Assistant Attorney General John
Rogge, who specializes, at the justice depart
ment, upon matters of alien espionage and sa-
botage in the United States.
1t seems that the justice departments bu-
rPSll Of invest Oatinn uyoc fI,111, e,fief;oI ,,;{L
the evidence it had gathered against Hoehne,
but 1t didn't care to have the source of it
revealed to convict him. And that would have
dried up the source that the FBI's information
came from.
FBI Director ]. Edgar Hoover has referred
before to this tactic on his bureaus part.
If the bureau finds a good leak in some for
eign espionage organization, it isn't its policy
to cork that leak up. The leak having disclosed
the fact that such an organization exists, the
FBI's game is to keep the leak leaking-not
to warn the organizations entire personnel
that it's under surveillance, for the sake of
panning some single individual.
Amateur Detectives
That's one reason why the FBI doesn't like
volunteer, unofficial, irresponsible detective
work, independently of it's own operations. 1t
considers that the unofficials, we've well
meaning, generally haven't a lick Of judgment.
If they dig up any good dope the FBI wants
to hear about it, but it deprecates outright &C.
ton by vigilantes who don't know anything
about the detective business.
It's no secret that German diplomats in the
United States are pretty closely watched.
Herr Hitler's embassy in Washington is rea-
sonably discreet, but some of his consuls are
more or less suspected-Captain Fritz Weide-
mann, consul general in San Francisco, es-
pecially.
Still, an embassy or a consulate general ism
as much of a worry as an unofficial fixer is,
for the very reason that an embassy or a
consulate automatically is suspected. The unof.
ficial, unregistered chap is the one the FBl
has it's eye on.
Italians, for some reason or other, aren't re-
garded so decidedly askance.
It's funny. We used to speak Of 'em as our
prime racketeers, our hard customers gener-
ally. Now they're scarcely mentioned, either,
by the FBI or the American public as a war
time consideration. 4