Evening star., 1947-08-13
Defense Suggestions
For Charge 10 Jury in
Eis|er Case Weighed
By NewboId Moves, Jr.


District Court Justice James w
Morris continued his study today
of 100 suggestions by Gerhart
Eisler's lawyers as to how he should
charge the jury in the alleged
Krem.in agents passport fraud case.
The jurist had considered 80 of
the defense suggestions when the
court recessed yesterday. He had
agreed to grant five of them, re-
serving judgment on many more:
Earlier, he had approved three of
the Governments 10 suggestions and
reserved judgment on the rest.
Meanwhile, there was considerable
doubt as to when the jury of seven
men and five women who have been
hearing the case since July IA would
receive those instructions and begin
consideration Of the defendants
guilt or Innocence.
Delay Hinges on Testimony.
Whether the trial is to be pro-
longed depends on the method in
which the testimony of last-minute
defense witness Is introduced into
the trial record.
This witness is Stewart o. Smith,
identified by the Government as a
Canadian Communist leader who
met IN Buffalo in 1888 with Eisler
and Earl Browder If lawyers for
both sides can agree in a stipulation
as to what his testimony would be If
he were called as, q witness, the trial
might &c. TO- the Jury tomorrow.
II, on the other, hand, It Is de-
eided he must appear in person in
the court, or that a deposition must
be taken from him in Canada, the
ending of the four weeks old trial
will be delayed.
Telegram Denies Meeting.
Mr.. Smith has denied, in a tele-
gram to the defense counsel, that
he was at the 1888 meeting or that
he knew Eisler. who is charged
with fraudulently neglecting to
state, when he applied in 1945 for
an alien exit permit TO his native
Germany, that he. had Communist
Affiliations, had used aliases and
had been in the United States In
| 1885 and 1886.
| The Associated Press reported
from Toronto that Stewart Smith, a
! former member of the Civic Board
of Control, said he had never heard
of Eisler and would consider ap-
pearing as a defense witness, If I
receive telegram from them and
if they offer to pay my way"
But the lawyers seemed to be
leaning toward the possibility of a
stipulation. Chief Defense Counsel
Abraham J. Isserman sought to
reach Mr.. Smith by telephone to see
if certain statements in a proposed
government stipulation were all
right with him.
Won't Hold Up Trial.
The Government offered to stipu-
late that not only that Mr.. Smith
would testify he had not been at the
Buffalo meeting and had never seen
Eisler, but also that he would ad-
NIT having been leading Canadian
Communist in 1888. The Com
munist party was outlawed in Can.
ada at that time, and it was or
this point that defense lawyers were
checking Mr.. Smiths willingness te
agree.
David Rein, another of Eisler',
attorneys. assured Justice James w
Morris, meanwhile, that the defense
would not allow the question of Mr.
Smiths testimony to hold up the
trial "unduly'
Mr.. Smiths name was first men.
toned in the trial Monday wher
Manning Johnson. colored, former
Communist organizer of the Buf.
falo district, took the stand as g
rebuttal witness for the Govern.
ment to straighten out his earlier
testimony about the alleged secret
Buffalo meeting
In his original appearance, Mr.
Johnson, a key Government wit.
ness, told of being introduced al
the meeting tc two Canadian Com
munist leaders called Tim Buck anC
Sam Carr.
Identifies Picture.
The defense subsequently came
up with the information that both
Buck and Carr, prominent Cana
dian Communists, spent the entire
year of 1888 in the Kingston (On-
tario) Penitentiary.
Monday. Assistant United States
Attorney William Hitz showed Mr.
johnson pictures of Buck and Carr
asking him if these were the mer
he saw with Eisler and Browdel
in Buffalo Mr.. johnson said they
were not.
| Mr.. Hitz then showed Mr.. John.
son a third picture, which the wit.
ness said was the man who hac
been introduced to him as Carr
This, according to Sergt. Maj. Reg
nald w. Irvine of the Royal Cana.
dian Mounted Police, was a picture
of Mr.. Smith.
Lloyd Jones in Hospital
| Lloyd Jones, we'll known grair