Evening star., 1949-05-26
Court Bars READING
IN Article by Gates
Despite Red Protest
by ne Akseesesed pssss

| NEW YORK. May 26.-Bo,h
sides are doing q lot Of reading
TO the jury AT the Communts,
conspiracy trial-but defense law.
yers claim they're not being al
lowed to do enough Of It.
They centered their protests on
Federal Judge Harold r. Medina
again yesterday. after he refused
to admit In evidence an article
written In 1899 by John Gates,
editor of the Daily Worker. Com
munist newspaper.
Defense Attorney Richard Glad
stein demanded whether Gates. q
defendant. is being tried on some
thing from q book by Marx" or on
what he himself wrote"
The prosecution has quoted
numerous passages from Marx and
other Communist writers. as has
the defense. Sometimes. both
sides have used excerpts from the
same manuscript TO back up con-
f1icting arguments.
Judge Medina sustained objec-
tions of United States Attorney
John F. x. McGohey to the Gates
articles.
The Judge commented that the
court necessarily had to confine
oral reading within limits that
would keep the trial from being
prolonged indefinitely.
Defense lawyers told The Judge
he was preventing Gates, who was
on the witness stand for the third
day. from "summoning to his de-
fense the deeds of his life"
II renew my request" Mr.. Glad
stein said. that Mr.. McGohey
give his grounds-and grounds
why he objects to something
Gates wrote"
The Judge. who had walked OF
the bench earlier in the day to
halt a courtroom clash OH legal
points, threatened to do so again
unless Mr.. Gladstein sat down.
The lawyer did SO.
Dennis Takes Up Argument.
Eugene Dennis. Communist
Party general secretary. who is
acting as his own defense lawyer.
then took UP the argument. He
said the Gates article has a direct
bearing on what we said and
believed :. It Is chapter In
the history of our party We are
extremely proud off,
"You know, Mr.. Dennis" the
Judge said. "the way we run our
courts here Is that a lawyer makes
an offer Of evidence and the judge
rules on it. - . The ordinary per-
son sits down when the judge
makes q ruling. but you people
keep on and on.
1T seems to me you feel these
defendants are privileged persons
and should be allowed more lati-
tude than other persons. but I
don't see why they shouldn't be
treated like everybody else In our
courts"
Judge Medina said the Gates
article was iaadmissab3e - evi-
donoe, but that If his ruling Nero
kror. "osi Jaws prcft61 ntU
td1rrect tfNt" sss.s.:. sss.s.
cafes, one 81 II top communists
on trial on charges Of conspiring
to advocate forcible overthrow Of
the Government. testified further
about his background.
. He said he fought with the
apaAinh repuUsjcan army from
Ftbruary. 1887. to December.
1882 rising from the rink of pri-
vate, to rank corresponding to .
United States lieutenant colonel.
He specifically denied testimony
of Louis F. Budenz, opening Gov
ernment witness and former Daily
Worker managing editor. that
American Communists are basic
ally committed" to violate over
throw Of the Government.
The defense and prosecution
took turns reading from q publi-
cation entitled Volume I. Marxist
Study Series" Each side quoted
passages to show different things.
The defense read excerpts seeking
to show exploitation Of the work.
ing class, and the prosecution
quoted passages calling the United
States an imperialist state.
STrJ.~ ,,~rd any,rrvsU UaR orig.