Evening star., 1944-01-21
BY BLAIR BOLLFS.

Leaving sick bed, Harry Hop
kins, presidential adviser, ap-
peared at his own request for 10
minutes today before the Dis
trict grand jury investigating the
mystery of the Hopkins letter"
case. Afterwards he told report
erS.
This letter is a forgery. There
is forger in the picture. I think
l know who the forger is"
Mr.. Hopkins arrival at Municipal
Court was surprise. He went there
from his bed in the Naval Medical
Center, Bethesda, and he returned
to the hospital at once.
The presidential advisers an
nouncement that he believed he
knew the identity of the "forger"
indicated that the letter mystery
might be nearing a climax. The
tangled case developed after the
publication by c. Nelson Sparks.
former Mayor of Akron, Ohio, of a
letter signed with the name of Mr..
Hopkins and stating that Wendell
Willkie looked like the Republican
nominee in 1914
Schweinhaut Calls Case Simple"
Mr.. Hopkins turned up at the
Municipal Court Building at HOS
am, accompanied by Assistant At
torneys General Henry A. Schwein-
haut and G. Maynard Smith, who
are conducting the investigation of
the case The grand jury inquiry
was undertaken at Mr.. Hopkins
request.
Mr.. Schweinhaut, who also has
denounced the letter as a forgery.
earlier gave another indication that
the investigators were closing in on
the suspected forger when he said
the case was simple" The Assist
ant Attorney General expected that
Frank Phillips, president of the
Phillips Petroleum Co, Bartlesville.
Okla, would appear before the grand
jury at 80 pm today. Mr.. Phillips
was reported to have had possession
of the Hopkins letter" at one time.
Mr. Phillips has denied that.
Although Mr.. Schweinhaut said
the case is simple" observers asked
these questions:
| Why was the letter forged?
Where is George N. Briggs?
What is the meaning of "Alamo"7
Briggs in Seclusion.
! George N. Briggs, suspended as
sistant to Secretary of the Interior
Ickes, who allegedly procured the
Hopkins letter" for Mr.. Sparks, has
been in seclusion since the day after
Senator LANCER, Republican, OF
North Dakota read into the Con-
gressional Record eight letters and
six kilograms supposedly sent by Mr..
! Briggs to Mr.. Sparks, who published
i the Hopkins letter" in his book,
lone Man-Wendell Willkie."
/ Mr. SchWeinhaut said this morn
ing that Mr.. Briggs had not been
served with subpoena to appear
/ before the grand jury. Alamo" ap-
/ pears, as a code word in some of the
| correspondence said to have been
from Mr.. Briggs to Mr.. Sparks, and
it appeared in the Hopkins letter.
before Mr. Sparks deleted it.
/ Mr.. Briggs is reported to have left
his house in darlington, Va, for an
unknown addresS-said to be in
Maryland-allegedly to escape news
papermer.
Mr.. Sparks at press conference
yesterday maintained Mr.. Ickes is
connected with the affair. The
Secretary, however, has called it
fantastic and bizarre" and denied
any connection with it.
| On the Alamo" mystery Mrt
Sparks urged
Hopkins, Lee CDr. Umphrey Lee,
president Of Southern Methodist
University. Dallas, Tex), Phillips
and Ickes should all be questioned
closely about the meaning of the
word Alamo appearing in the
Hopkins letter, and deleted by me
from the letter, as published in my
book, at the urgent request of Ickes
conveyed to me by letter from Briggs
at the last moment before publica-
ton. This word in itself may fur
nish the key to the frantic attempt
on the part of these men to disown
any connection with the letter and
any knowledge of it."
The Hopkins letter" was ad-
(See LETTER, Page A-l4D