Evening star., 1942-07-11
Sdboteurs Given
Chance 10 Tell
Details Of Plot
Eiqht to Take Stand
In Effort to Avoid
Penalty Of Death
By JAMES E. CHINN.


to the United States in subma-
rines will take the witness stand
before the special military COM
mission trying them in a ANAL
effort to save their lives.
Decision of the eight enemy agents
to make a last and desperate at
tempt to escape the gallows or
firing squad was revealed today as
their trial entered its fourth day.
Each of the prisoners. 1t was said,
wants and will be granted. an op-
portunity to give the commission OF
seven generals details OF the chain
of events that resulted in their COM
ing to this country with plenty Of
money and a supply of arms and
dynamite to carry out an extensive
program of sabotage.
Biddle First to Enter.
The trial was resumed about 10
o'clock this morning, with indica-
tions it would continue throughout
the day with short interruption
for lunch.
Attorney General Biddle. carrying
a bulging briefcase, was among the
first to enter the trial chamber.
which is located not far from his
suite of offices on the fifth floor Of
the Justice Department Building.
Army officers, who constitute both
the prosecution and defense stats,
followed shortly afterward. Two Of
them were armed with large bundles
of documents.
The eight prisoners arrived from
the District Jail to face the COM
mission for the fourth successive
day shortly before o'clock. They
came in the same two closed prison
vans that had transported them to
the trial each day, accompanied by
the usual convoy of motorcycle po-
licemen and Army scout cars filled
with soldiers and machine guns.
To Go Into Next Week.
Testimony of the FBI agents.
number of whom already have ap-
peared before the commission-is
expected to exhaust the Govern
ment's witnesses and allow it to rest
the case against the eight Na1s.
Indications are now the trial will
continue through Monday and prob
ably Tuesday. A Sunday session of
the trial commission is possible, but
not probable, according to Attorney
General Biddle, one OF the chief
prosecutors.
Mr.. Biddle told reporters he
| thought a Sunday session was highly
| improbable.
There is no doubt, however, that
the trial is far from its end. First,
the prosecution has not closed its
case, and the eight Nazi agents want
to tell their stories. Furthermore,
the commission admitted in the
third official communique on the
trial that the great volume Of
evidence to be introduced" would
prolong 1t.
Trial, Pictures Taken.
The Trial Commissions third COM
munique of only 80 words, failed to
disclose anything newspapermen
covering the trial did not already
know. It confirmed, for instance,
the story in The Star yesterday
that the trial of the eight Nazis
had been delayed to allow Army Sig
nal Corps photographers an oppor-
tunity to make pictures in the
courtroom-pictures that are to be
distributed by the War Department
to newspapers and news reel Arms
to give the public the first inside"
scenes of the trial.
The communique, issued by Mai.
Gen. Frank R. Mccoy, president Of
the Trial Commission, in obedience
to orders he received to put out to
the press at least one statement q
day on the progress of the trial.
read:
'The commission opened the third
days proceedings at 1927 am.
Before the proceedings opened,
the commission permitted the
United States Army Signal Corps
to make photographs and silent
motion pictures of the trial scene.
Documents Read.
Most of the day was taken up
by the testimony of an FBI agent
and the reading of documents.
Counsel for both sides stated to
the commission that the great VOL
ume of evidence to be introduced
was expected to prolong the trial.
THE commission will sit Satur-
day"
The documents" referred to In
the official statement are said to
be the signed confessions of the
eight Nazi agents. There were
other papers, too, which reporters
saw wheeled into the courtroom on
a small truck-papers in folders
marked confidential, F3I."
Photographing of scene at the
trial, even though the job was done
by the Army, represented results OF
the second effort of Elmer Davis,
head of the new Offlce of Informa-
ton, to break down the secrecy sur
rounding the proceedings. His first
achievement was the issuance of
two official communicates which told
nothing newspapermen already
didn't know, with the exception that
the witnesses who appeared before
the commission during the flrst
two days Of the trial totaled seven.
Representative Monroney. Demo-
(see SABOTEURs, Page A-2J