Evening star., 1941-06-21
Bookniga Corp. Case
To Continue Into
IFS Third Week
Defense Opens After
Directed Verdict for
Acquitted Is Denied

~P~"S N''S'
Directed Verdict for
Acquitted Is Denied
The defense in the case of three
officials of Bookniga Corp. indicted
on charges of conspiracy and fail
ure to register with the State De-
partment as foreign agents is sched-
uled to go forward next week in
District Court, the third week of
the trial.
Justice F. Dickinson Let's in Grim
inal Court yesterday overruled all
defense motions and in their open
ing statements, defense counsel said
that the Corporations business was
legitimate, that it obtained its
charter in the regular way and that
there was never any conspiracy or
desire to avoid lawful obligations.
On trial are Morris Liskin, presi-
dent of Bookniga Corp: Raphael
Rush. vice president, and Norman
Weinberg. secretary All
three were indicted on charges Of
conspiracy and failure to register,
but Mr.. Liskin pleaded guilty to the
failure to register charge and he is
on trial only on the conspiracy
charge. while the others are facing
both accusations. The governmen.
says they distributed Communist pro-
paganda.
Naturalization Claimed.
Attorney David A. Hart. repre-
senting Mr.. Liskin, told the court
and jury yesterday afternoon that
his client came to the United States
in 1906: was naturaliZed as an
American citizen in 1914; has eper-
ated a dress shop in New Rochelle
N. Y. for 20 years; that witnesses
will be produced to vouch for his
character: that he was interested by
Rush in the corporation and put in
$4,000 of his own money, as did his
friend Isaac Kaminsky, clothing
manufacturer: that Mr.. Liskin at
No time ever heard of or knew OF
any requirement of registration
with the State Department until he
came before the grand jury; that
he never entered any conspiracy
For Mr.. Rush. Attorney ISadore
0f cd
that the government has failed to
show that the corporation was an
agency of the Soviet Book Trust.
as claimed in the indictment, and
that there was no conspiracy. Mr..
Englander in his opening statement
to the jury declared that Mr.. Rush
is an American citizen, that he was
in the banking business from 1919
to 1888 and worked for the National
Public Bank Co. of New York City;
that he lost his job in the depres-
sion; that he worked as an ac-
countant and got a job with the
Amtorg Trading Corp and worked
for its subsidiary; that Mr.. Rush
interested Mr.. LiSkin in going into
the book importing business, which
the former knew and was permitted
to buy into it, and that Mr.. Rush
consulted an attorney. who in
formed him that it was not neces-
sary to register the corporation with
the State Department.
Export Activities Cited.
Appearing for Mr.. Weinberg, At
torney Leo A. Rover. told the jury
that his clients father put $4,000
into the corporation and took out
only $1,000: that these funds came
from the family and from cashing
life insurance policies to put into
what was thought to be an import
and export book business that dealt
also in art and periodicals. He said
Mr.. Weinberg worked in the cor
poration as "trouble-Shooter";
that he built up a typewriter ousi-
ness of American-made machines to
be sold in Russia; that he also built
up a food-exporting business; that
the evidence will show that the
amount of goods exported from New
York to Russia was greater than the
imports from Russia.
He said Mr.. Weinberg holds a
certificate as ground instructor in
the Civil Aeronautics Authority
and never has believed in Com
munism, and recently took an ex-
animation to be appointed an en-
sign in the Coast Guard. He denied
he had ever conspired with Mr..
Liskin, Mr. Rush or anybody else to
do anything wrong in any failure
of the corporation to register; that
he never regarded Bookniga Corp.
as a propaganda agency and as
sumed it to be legitimate busi-
ness.
Investigated by F. B. /.
Benjamin Parker, special as
sistant to the Attorney General
closed the governments case yes
terday afternoon, after Eldred D.
Kuppinger, acting assistant chief
of the Division of Controls of the
State Department. which super
vises registration of agents, took
the witness stand and testified that
a search OF departmental records
failed to disclose any registration
statement by Bookniga Corp. He
said that the State Department re-
ported to the Justice Department
and suggested that the F. B. I. in
vestigate and that this was done.
The defendants contended in
making motions for a directed ver-
dict, to strike out certain evidence
as irrelevant. including that of the
Rev. Edmund A. Walsh, vice presi-
dent of Georgetown University pre-
sented as an expert on Russia.