Evening star., 1941-06-11
Telephone Executive
Recalled TO Testify
Against Bookniga
Prosecution Seeks New
Links Between Firm and
Russion Book Trust

With mass of documentary evil
dence already in the record purport-
ing TO link the defunct BOokniga
Corp. of New York with MeZhduna-
radnaya Kniga of Moscow, the Rus
clan book trust, the Government
today continued to build up the
case against three former officers
of Bookniga who are on trial in Dis
trict Court, charged with failure to
comply with the law requiring
agents of foreign principals to reg
lister with the State Department.
On the witness stand as the trial
entered the third day was Thomas
P. Cassidy, manager of the bus
iness Office of the New York Tele-
phone Co., through whom the prose-
cution late yesterday developed that
from the winter of 1929-30 to Oc-
tober, 1885 the same telephone
number was successfully assigned to
the book department of the Amtorg
Trading Corp; official Soviet trade
agency; the Amkniga Corp, and
Bookniga. successor to the latter.
1t is the Government conten-
ton that Bookniga served as the
American outlet for publications
distributed by the Soviet-controlled
book trust. Accused of violating
the registration act are Morris Lin
kin, 54, former BOOkniga president,
who already has pleaded guilty to
failure to register and is standing
trial on conspiracy count; Ra-
phael Rush, SO. former vice presi-
dent, and Norman Weinberg, 20.
who was secretary treasurer. The
two latter are charged with con-
spiracy and failing TO register.
Authorized to Purchase.
After laying the background for
the Government case earlier in the
DAY by showing that Mezhunarad-
maya is the State monopoly for dis
tribution of publications. Benjamin
Parker, special assistant to the At
torney General in charge of the
prosecution, yesterday afternoon in
troduCed a letter, written in De-
cember, 1887, and bearing Mr Rush's
signature. in which the former
Bookniga official, discussing business
machines, told the Underwood Ell
lott Fisher Co. we are legally
authorized to make all purchases
Gncluding machines in this coun-
try in behalf of Mezhunaradnaya-
Kniga of Moscow, an organized unit
of the U. S. S. R"
The letterhead identified Book
higa as sole distributor for North
and South America for State Book
Corp. Mezdunaradnaya knlga
Antiquariat" The communication
was identified by F. d. Lehn, in
charge of foreign sales for the busi-
ness machine company.
Form Letter.
introduced at the same TIME was
a form letter written on October
s. 1885 on the stationery of the
Amkniga Corp. of New York, which
carried the notation that it was
the sole representative in North
and South America of the State
Book Corp" of Moscow. This let
ter, addressed simply Dear Sir, "
announced an agreement with
Bookniga Corp whereby they will
act as our sole distributor tor North
and South America" This letter
also said that Bookniga was we'll
equipped to take care of all business
transactions formerly handled by
Amkniga Corp"
Edward E. Harper, acting deputy
chief of the Corporation Division
of New York State, identified the
papers of incorporation in the State
of Amtorg, Amkniga and Bookniga,
and Abram Norman, in charge Of
the foreign department of the Chi
cago Public Library, identified
mass of advertising matter in which
Soviet publications were offered for
sale through Amtorg and Amkniga.
Earlier, Spencer Williams, who
represented the American-Russian
Chamber of Commerce in Moscow
for 10 years, doing trade promotion
work, testified that the Soviet gov
eminent exercises monopoly in all
fields of business endeavor.