Evening star., 1949-07-07
Hiss

Hiss
Continued From First Page)
last December Is, when he denied
having given secret material tt
Mr.. Chambers and said he die
not see, his accuser between 1885,
and 1d(s.
Could Have Had 800 Testify.
II could have brought 800 wit
nesses in here to testify to his
character" Mr.. Stryker added
"but no court would let me dc
that"
At the close of his address. Mr.
Stryker's voice dropped almost te
an inaudible whisper.
THE case will be in your hands,
he said, speaking directly to the
poker faced jurors. Il beg you
pray you-to search your con.
sciences we'll. And I have no fear
1t was expected that the Gov
ernment would take three hours
to round out it's evidence and f1nal
arguments. Then Judge Kauf-
mans instructions were all that
remained before the jury files into
it's closed room. probably between
4 and pm.
Fate knocking at the door has
become more than a symbolic in
depreciation at this trial of the
44-year old former State Depart.
ment officer on perjury charges.
Defense Blasts at Chambers
For more than three spellbounc
hours yesterday Mr.. Stryker beat
relentlessly on a basic theme Of q
few sharp words. 1t was just as
simple, but just as overwhelming
he said, as the four-note recurrent
opening bars of Beethoven's Fifth
Symphony"
IF you don't believe Whitaker
Chambers. then the Government
has no case" he chanted over and
sover again. >...',
In a voice. that growled with
rage, withered with scorn, purred
persuasively or chatted converse
tionally, the ruddy-faced lawyer
argued that the perjury case
against Mr.. Hiss was born Of q
libel suit last fall. 1t was con-
ceived, he said, as long ago as 194C
as a side swipe" against Mr.. Hiss
Taken From Prosecutors Speech
He asserted it was spawned as .
"red herring" effort by Mr.. Cham.
bers during the 1948 presidential
election campaign, fostered by the
House Committee on Un-Americar
Activities. and fed l. sometime.
"unfairly"-by the FBI.
The "if-you-don believe Whit.
taker Chambers" theme came
word for word from the speech o1
Mr.. Murphy to the jury when the
trial began more than a month
ago.
Both sides necessarily dea
with Mr.. Chambers as a majol
part of the dramatic score. Mr.
Hiss was indicted last December
when he denied he gave secce1
government papers to Mr.. Cham.
bers in 1887 and 1888 and thai
he saw Mr.. Chambers aftel
January 1, 1887, until the HOUSE
committee hearings last August
Mr.. Hiss also has denied hi
ever was a Communist or pink
or that he knew Mr.. Chambers
except for about 18 months ir
1885 and 1886 in Washington al
a down. the-heel free lance
writer who called himself George
Crosley and never paid debts.
Issue Is Which Is Lying.
Long before the trial started
May 81 the issue boiled down to
a question as to which of the
two is lying.
Mr.. Hiss carved out a brilliant
career in the State Department.
the formation of the United Ma
tions and until last May as $20.-
000-a-year president of the Car
negie Endowment for Interna-
tional Peace. His main accuser
admitted a sordid past, but said
he broke with the Communists in
1888, became a God-fearing cit
izen and worked up to a $50, ,000-
a-year editorship on Time Mag
azine.
THE only man in the whole
world who says he got secret doc
uments from Alger Hiss" Mr..
Stryker reminded the jury, lis
Whitaker Chambers"
How did documents, admittedly
in the handwriting Of Mr.. Hiss in
early 1888, get into the hands OF
Mr.. Chambers?
Where, when or how Chambers
got them or the typewriter cop
les and summaries Of State De-
partments documents I don't
know" the defense attorney said
Either Henry Julian Wadleigh
or some other thief and rogue
got the hand written notes after
Mr.. Hiss was done with them in
his Office.
Typewriter Question Raised.
1.-THE real solution Of this case
although we might never know
some of the answers-is that the
typewriter papers were the type
of thing that could have been
and undoubtedly were picked up
in a wastebasket."
What about the ancient type