Evening star., 1943-03-01
High Court ReveIses
Viereck Verdict;
Hits Foul Blows
Majority Opinion Read
By Mr.. Stone; Two
Justices Dissent
Continued From First Page

he should not seek to arouse pas
sion or engender prejudice. On the
other hand. earnestness or even a
stirring eloquence cannot convict
him of hitting foul blows"
Viereck was convicted on three
counts of an indictment which
charged that in three successive
supplemental registration statements
which he had filed between April,
1910. and April, 194l, he had know
ingly and willfully failed to make
"a comprehensive statement OF ma
ture Of business" as prescribed in
regulations issued by the Secretary
of State to implement the registra-
tion law.
Agent for Newspaper.
In registering, Viereck at first in
September, 1899, described himself
as an agent and American CORE
spondent for Munich newspaper
and also as an agent and editorial
writer for the German Library OF
Information, an agency of the Ger
man Government In March, l94l,
he registered his contract with a
person associated with the Munich
newspaper to act as agent for the
publication in the United States of
a book-"The 100 Families Who
Rule Great Britain"
The court recalled in this connec-
ton that there also was evidence
from which the jury could have
found that in the period covered by
the registration statements he had
controlled and financed Flanders
Hall. which put out publications
highly critical Of British foreign and
colonial policy,
During this period the court
said petitioner actively partici-
pated in the formation Of the Make
Europe Pay War Debts Committee
and the Islands for War Debts
Committee and made use of these
tributing propaganda through the
press and radio and under congress
sional frank. He also consulted with
and was active in writing speeches
for various members of Congress
and in securing distribution of the
speeches under congressional frank
Response to Request.
In making the statement re-
quired by the Secretary Of States
regulations, 1t was added, Viereck
responded to the request for the
comprehensive statement of the
nature of his business by using the
single phrase author and journal
ist" 1t was added that he made no
further disclosure of his various oc-
tivities during the period covered
by the supplemental registration.
The case went to the jury with
the instruction that Viereck could
be convicted if it was found that "he
engaged in the activities, whether
in behalf of his foreign principal or
principals or on his own behalf"
Under that circumstance, Chief
Justice Stone said the conviction
could be sustained only if Viereck
willfully failed to disclose such ac-
tivities and that this failure was a
criminal offense.
To this the Chief Justice added:
The Secretary's regulation ''s
on which the Government relies
plainly does not call for any state
ment Of registrant's activities. I" .
Purpose Of Congress.
while Congress undoubtedly had
a general purpose to regulate agents
of foreign principals in the public
interest by directing them to regis
ter and furnish such information
as the act prescribed, we cannot
add to its provisions other require
ments merely because we think
they might more successfully have
effectuated that purpose. And we
find nothing in the legislative his
tory of the act to indicate that any,
one concerned in its adoption had
any thought of requiring or author
izing the Secretary to require more
than a statement of registrants'
activities in behalf of their foreign
principals"
In the dissent, which was written
by Justice Black, the belief was
stated that the act authorized the
Secretary to obtain the information
described.
The general intent of the act was
to prevent secrecy as to any kind of
political propaganda activity by for
eign agents." Justice Black said.
When both House and Senate COM
mittees reported the bill for reg
istration, he continued, they de-
clared it their purpose to turn the
spotlight of pitiless publicity on
propaganda activity.