Evening star., 1944-08-04
Eicher Studies Validity
As Evidence Of 200
pe|Iey Documents
Refuses to Allow Defense
To Scon Eoch Poper
In Moking Objection
By CARTER BROOKE JONES.

OF vital Importance to the Govern.
ment's case against some of the q
defendants In the sedition cas-.
hinged today on ruling by Chic
Justice, Edward G. Eicher, expected
when the trial is resumed Monday
The prosecution ms offered more
than 400 documents, seized, accord.
ing to Government testimony, in ar
FBI raid on the Fellowship Press al
the Noblesville Und) plant main.
tanned by william Dudley Pelley, 9
defendant. AL the defense attorney.
objected to the exhibits on various
grounds, among them that 1t could
be proved, If the court gave them
the opportunity, that the papers
were confiscated on an illegal search
warrant.
Justice Eicher took the matter
under advisement when the triaI
was adjourned for the week end yes.
terday and noted legal citations Of
fered by the defense in support OF
the contention that the exhibits
were not admissible. Most of the
day was consumed with arguments.
FBI Aide Identifies Papers.
Bliss Morton, who led the squad
sent from the Indianapolis office OF
the FBI, identified the documents
Attorneys described them In general
terms as letters, magazines and
pamphlets.
When Lawrence Dennis, a de-
fendant acting as his own attorney
started to take. up the papers one
at a time, prepared to make his
objections to each, Justice Eicher
interrupted to say he would not
allow the defendant to consume the
time to adjournment on an indi-
vidual scrutiny of the many ex-
hibits and make a laughing stock
of this court"
Justice Eicher told Mr.. Dennis he
could object to the exhibits as a
whole or take them up in groups.
The Harvard-educated author and
lecturer. a former counsellor in the
State Department, sat down, after
commenting that he wanted the
record to show he was denied his
constitutional right to object to all
the exhibits.
The record will speak for itself" {"
said Justice Eicher.
Attempts Political Parallel.
Mr.. Dennis said that while none
of the documents mentioned his
name or affected him, he protested
against them because the Govern
ment's theory in this case was that
any defendant was responsible for
the act of any other.
On the same theory, he added
President Roosevelt could be held
responsible for everything done at
local elections in the bailiwicks OF
Mayor Ed Kelley of Chicago OF
Mayor Frank Hague of Jersey City
because all three were members of
the same party.
Political activities such as most
OF the defendants admittedly en-
gagged in, Mr.. Dennis argued, could
not be treated as white slave trafiic
or restraint Of trade. In fact, he
pointed out, labor unions had been
exempted specifically from the anti
trust laws.
Mr.. Pelley," said the defendant,
has metaphysical philosophy and
. belief in the occult to which I, as
a free thinker, could hardly sub
scribe. To say that conspired with
him is absurd"
"Pelley has said he. believed in
Hitler" retorted Chief Prosecutor O.
John Rogge. That's enough. He
believed in national socialism. It
doesn't matter what other philoso-
ply he had"
Hits "Inflammatory Material"
P. Bateman Ennis, counsel for
Gerhard Wilhelm Kunze, former
national leader of the German
American Bund, said the documents
were concerned largely with anti
Semitism, which had no place in
this case.
II the Government has any direct
evidence of this conspiracy" he ex-
claimed, "let them lay their cards
on the table and quit hiding behind
this smoke screen of inflammatory
material"
The defendants are charged with
conspiring to undermine the loyalty
Of the armed forces.
Joseph H. Bilbrey, attorney for
Franz K. FerenZ, said the exhibits
were concerned mostly with race
politics and religion, adding: If
people can't petition Congress for
fear OF being charged with counsel
ing insubordination, we've lost our