Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-12-29
Continued From First Page.)

questioning in the first half hour
of today's session. Defense At
torney Claude B. Cross immedi-
ately took the 45-year-old defend
ant on redirect examination.
Wife May Be Called Next.
Mr.. Hiss probably will be fol-
lowed on the witness stand by
his wife, Priscilla, who has been
in constant attendance in the
Foley Square courtroom since the
trial began last November II.
Prosecutor Murphy's reading of
the grand jury minutes indicated
that Mr.. Hiss told the panel that
he had heard one juror remark
earlier that Mr.. Hiss story seemed
fantastic" and agreed there were
elements of the fantastic" in the
whole case.
Receiving permission to address
the grand jury. Mr.. Hiss declared
that ordinary legal, logical meth
DDS are not adequate to explain
this case" .-.
He and his attorneys, he said
had been consulting DR.. Bingel
about Mr.. Chambers. and he urged
the jurors to do likewise.
He said he thought that if he
were a member of the panel, he
would want the opinion of q
psychiatrist on Mr.. Chambers
strange, troubled personality
The. record showed that one grand
juror asked bluntly whether DR.
Binger was in a position to ex-
plain how Mr.. Chambers came
into possession Of secret State De-
partment documents which he had
produced as evidence against Mr.
Hiss.
Asked About Motive.
Mr.. Hiss replied that DR.. Binger
was not in a position to explain
this-that his contribution lay In
his ability to explain the matter
Of motive"
Asked whose motive DR.. Binger
could explain, Mr.. Hiss replied,
"Mr. Chambers motive"
He told the grand jury that Dr..
Binger had no other interest in
the case than This belief in me-"
In other testimony this morning
Mr.. Hiss denied that he ever re-
fused to take a lie detector test on
his story that he knew Mr.. Cham
bers in the 1930s only casually,
as a free-lance writer named
George Crosby"
He said that he asked the House
Committee on Un-American Ac-
tivities in August, 1948. for more
time to consider the proposition,
and that they thereupon dropped
the suggestion.
Refers to Family Suicide.
Defense Attorney Gross opened
his redirect examination of Mr..
Hiss by reading some more from
the grand Jury record Of a year
ago.
He brought out that Mr.. Hiss
was asked to explain how Mr..
Chambers might have obtained
copies of secret Government
made on an old Wood
stock typewriter belonging to the
Kisses. According toahe minutes,
Mr.. Hiss said the only .explana-
ton he could conceive was that
Mr.. Chambers might have en-
tered his house secretly. perhaps
having bribed a servant in order
to get access to the typewriter. 4"
II am able to think Of no other
possible explanation" he said.
The prosecutor had brought out
in his cross-examination that Mr..
Hiss father and sister had COM
mitted suicide, and Mr.. Cross
brought out on redirect that both
deaths resulted from financial
difficulties"
Mr.. Hiss said he was 2 years old
when his father died, and that
his sister, a married woman,
killed herself in 1928 while he was
q cf,,Ioy4f at TYor1,orl
II don't suppose you want me
to ask this question, but have
you since contributed to the sup
port of her children" Mr.. Cross
asked.
Mr.. Hiss said this was so.
Before the defense rests, the
jury Of eight women and four men
will hear the testimony
of psychiatric specialists as to the
mental condition Of Mr.. Chambers,
chief prosecution witness in the
case. Judge Goddard is under
stood to have ruled yesterday, in
a private conference with attor-
neys. that such testimony is ad-
Missile.
There was no public announce
ment yesterday of the decision.
He refused to comment last light
on the ruling, which had been a
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