Evening star., 1944-06-23
Sedition Defendant
Calls for Deposition
From Roosevelt
Ciuims President Mode
Agreement With Churchill
To Involve u. S. in War
By CARTER BROOKE JONES.

By CARTER BROOKE JONES.
A deposition from President
Roosevelt in the mass sedition trial
was asked today by one of the %
defendants in a motion filed in Dis
trict Court.
Chief Justice Edward c. Eicher
was requested to authorize the depo-
sition, at the expense of the United
States" in behalf of Robert Noble
of Los Angeles, one of the organizers
of the Friends of Progress and once
a candidate for Governor of Cali
fornia. The trial is in recess until
10 am Monday.
In lieu of the deposition, the de-
fendant asked that the President
be summoned as q witness.
The motion, sworn to by Noble
and filed by his attorney, James j.
Laughlin, urged that the deposition
be taken las speedily as possible,
before President Roosevelt becomes
absorbed in his quest for fourth
term, which political activity will
consume all of his time"
IJfV StdtEuLhk <fuueCo'
Noble said the prosecution against
him was not brought in good faith,
but was directed by the President
because the defendant questioned
the foreign policies of President
Roosevelt and particularly criticized
Candidate Roosevelt in 1910 for
making the statement, I tell you
again and again and again that
your boys will not be sent to die on
q foreign shore. p"
Noble admitted he labeled Mr..
Roosevelt ''as the greatest fraud
and the greatest imposter that ever
lived" At the time, the defendant
alleged, the Presidents words and
promises were meaningless
The defendant said he wanted to
show by the deposition that the
President had made a secret agree
r11ent with Prime Minister Churchill
at the time the President was CAM
paigning for a third term, and that
this pact pledged the United States
to enter the war to preserve the
British Empire.
The sedition prosecution, said the
motion, was directed to "wreak
vengeance" on the defendant and
others for criticizing the President
and the New Deal.
Subpoena for Nye Asked.
Justice Eicher had under advise
ment today demand by Ira Chase
Koehne, defense attorney, for a
subpoena directing Senator Nye,
Republican, of North Dakota to
produce certain documents.
Mr.. Koehne argued at a special
hearing after adjournment of the
trial yesterday that Senator Nye
refused to surrender papers of vital
interest to the defense, although he
previously had promised to do SO.
The attorney quoted Senator Nye
as saying in the Senate that the
defendants in this case are no
more guilty than he was and had
done no more than Others of us"
had done time and again
Chief Prosecutor o. John Rogge
opposed the motion, contending the
on this trial, since Senator Nye
made the speech mentioned in
January, 1943, year before the
present indictment as brought. Mr..
Koehne replied that two other in
dictments against most of the pres
ent defendants were outstanding at
that time and still were pending.
Government Evidence Read.
The Government closed the tenth
week of the trial with a mass of
documents admitted in evidence
some of which Special Prosecutor
Joseph w. Burns read to the jury
yesterday.
William Luedtke, former national
secretary of the German American
Bund, testified that he was an 20.
D." or member of the uniformed
branch of the organization. and that
at a national convention in Buffalo
the uniform was changed from a
copy of the Storm Troopers attire
in Germany to a uniform resem-
bling the uniform worn by the
American Legion.
The official salute of the bund was
changed from Hell Hitler" to
Hell" or ''Sieg He'll" and, finally,
to Free America" Luedtke said.
These measures, he explained, were
to give the hyphenated society an
American favor.
The witness described a series of
"children's crusades" to Germany.
taken at the expense of the German
government and sponsored by the
bund. Delegates were boys and girls
enlisted In the organizations youth
movement, he said, and they were
given special instruction during
their tour of the homeland.