Evening star., 1948-08-26
Probers' Hiss Chambers Report Due Saturday

the Chambers testimony stands up"
Mr.. Mundt invited an answer to
his summation from Mr.. Hiss. The
witness replied that Mr.. Chambers
had been "peddling" his accusa-
tions against Mr.. Hiss to various
Government agencies for 10 years,
during which he had plenty Of time
to check up on "all sorts of details"
of Mr.. Hiss life, including what
in Who's Who.
Mr.. Hiss had testified he knew
Mr.. Chambers in 1934-5 as George
Crosley." When Mr.. Mundt pointed
out that Mr.. Hiss had failed to pro-
duce any witness who knew Mr..
Chambers as Crosley. Mr.. Hiss re-
piled that the time had been short.
IF this man actually was Com
munist at that time" Mr.. Hiss add
ed, lit is not surprising that he was
secretive, not surprising that it is
difflcult to get information about
him."
Points Of Disagreement.
The points on which the two men
were in most open disagreement
were on the question Of Communist
Party affiliation, the disposal Of the
1929 Ford, the circumstances of their
first meeting. how long they knew
each other, the arrangement under
which Mr.. Chambers occupied Mr..
Hiss apartment and whether or not
they attended underground meet
ings at the St. Matthews Court
apartment of Henry Collins.
MIR. Chambers said he first met
Mr.. Hiss in a Washington restau-
rant with Peters, the alleged head
Of the Communist underground,
and the late Harold Ware, who,
he said, came here to organize
Communist cells in Government
agencies.
Denies Using Name Of Crosley.
Mr.. Hiss told the committee Mr..
Chambers came to him in search of
article material while Mr.. Hiss was
chief legal counsel of the Nye Num-
tions Investigating Committee. The
meeting, he said, occurred in his
office in the Senate ONCE Building.
Mr.. Chambers said Mr.. Hiss knew
him only as Carl" his party name;
fully understood" Mr.. Chambers
was a Communist and told Mr..
Chambers that Peters had told Mr..
Hiss who I was so ! assume he
knew my name" He said he had
never gone under the name OF
Crosley.
Mr.. Hiss insisted he knew Mr.
Chambers only as Crosley and never
as Carl, that he had not known Mr..
Chambers was a Communist and
that he made no connection between
Chambers and the man he knew as
Crosley until last week. On August
5, his public testimony that as far
as he knew, he had never laid eyes
on Mr.. Chambers was what started
all the fuss.
On the length of time they knew
each other, Mr.. Chambers said he
saw Mr.. Hiss ''constantly-at least
once a week" through 1887, made
Mr.. Hiss home "a kind of head
quarters in 1896 and 1887" and came
to his home in the latter part of
1888 to urge him to break away"
from the Communist Party.
Both men agreed that Mr.. Cham
bers and his family at one point in
1885 lived in the Hiss apartment at
1881 Twenty-eighth street NV.
Mr.. Chambers, however, said Mr..
Hiss did not suitcase the apart
ment to him through an oral or
written agreement He said there
was no question of a suitcase, no
payment requested and that 1t was
not unusual for one Communist to
let another use his apartment. He
added:
Hiss considered it a privilege to
have a superior in the Communist
organization at his home"
Says Chambers Failed to Pay.
At that point, Mr.. Hiss-now lis
tening carefully from the sidelines-
grinned and made a note.
Earlier, Mr.. Hiss testified he gave
Mr.. Chambers suitcase oral
agreement" on the Twenty-eighth
street apartment and charged Mr..
Chambers rent, which he failed to
pay. He said it was his recollection
that Mr.. Chambers WEIGHED" on the
rent and on the small loans Mr..
Hiss said he had made to Mr.. Cham
bers under the name of Crosley.
Mr.. Chambers gave this explana-
ton of what happened to the aged
Ford on which the committee ques-
toned Mr.. Hiss for more than an
hour:
According to the organization of
the underground, he said, there is
supposed to be no connection be-
tween the open Communist party
and the underground. There was
a firm rule, he said, that cars
must be traded in and not turned
over to other party members.
But, he said, Mr.. Hiss was a de
voted and rather romantic Commu-
mist" who wanted his old car to