Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-12-20
Hiss Denies Revealing State Secrets 4,sf
Continued From First Page.)

ing lunch together occasionally at
the States Restaurant, across the
Capitol Plaza from the Senate
Office Building. Still they talked
about articles Crosby was going
to write about the munitions in
vestigation.
1t was in this period. Mr.. Hiss
said, that he learned that "Cros-
ley" was planning to move to
Washington with his family, and
offered him the use of the Hiss
apartment at 1881 Twenty eighth
street NV. from which he and
Mrs. Hiss had just moved, but
on which they still held q lease.
In testifying about "Crosley's"
occupancy of the Twenty-eighth
street apartment Mr.. Hiss raised
question as to whether his Wood
stock typewriter. on which the
copies of secret Government docu-
ments are alleged to have been
made, remained in the apartment
at that time or went with him
(Mr. Hiss to his new house. zoos
P street NV.
81 don't remember taking it
over to P street." he said.
Letters in Evidence.
It was not clear what point the
defense was making in this testi-
mony, since letters admittedly
written by Mrs. Hiss on the Wood
stock machine, dating from more
than year after the move to P
street, are in evidence in the trial.
Mr.. Cross closely questioned his
witness about the sale of his old
Ford roadster, in 1886, to the
Cherner Motor Co. Mr.. Chambers
says Mr.. Hiss was, in this deal.
actually turning the jalopy over
to deserving Communist worker.
Mr.. Hiss denies this, contending
that he had given the car to Mr..
Chambers before the transfer to
Cherner occurred.
District of Columbia motor We
hicle records show that Mr.. Hiss
signed the transfer papers for the
car in 1896, and that the Cherner
firm reasSigned it to one William
RoSen. Rosen. a Government wit
ness in this trial, refused to answer
questions about the transaction on
the grounds of possible self-in-
elimination.
Tells of Loan of Car.
Mr.. Hiss told of lending "Cros-
ley the car at first and finally of
giving it to him when he acquired
a new Plymouth in 1885. He said
Crosby" took the machine that
year, then returned it to him for
"a brief period, and then: He
picked it up sometime in the
spring of 1886, and I never saw it
again."
Mr.. Hiss acknowledged his sig
nature on the papers transferring
the Ford to the Cherner Co. His
explanation is that he thinks
these papers. dated July %. 1916.
must have been presented to him
for signature after the car had
left his possession.
do you have any independent
recollection of this transaction.
MI. Cross asked.
mo I don't" said Mr.. Hiss. Il
don't remember it at ALL"
Didn't Know ROsen.
He said he did not know Mr..
Rosen and had never seen him be-
fore his appearance in court. He
denied he had ever told any one
that he wanted to give his car to
the Communist Party.
1t was at this point that the de-
Tense lawyer began asking the
questions which resulted in Mi
Hiss denying any Communist as
ISOLATION.
Dressed in gray suit and neat
gray four-in-hand tie. Mr.. Hiss
took the witness stand in his own
defense at 2:45 pm. yesterday.
The rest of the day was consumed
in a detailed recital of his now
familiar career of Government
service in the Departments of
Agriculture, Justice and State.
The defendant added one new
touch to his previous accounts of
the ,16-year span since he first
came to Washington, fresh from
Harvard law school, as clerk to
the late Supreme Court Justice
Oliver Wendell Homes.
Describes Memorandum.
He revealed for the first time
that on September 26, 1939-one
month after the Hitler-Stalin
pact-he wrote a memorandum in
the State Department arguing
that there was no legal bar pre-
venting the United States from
aiding Britain with arms ship
ments in her fight against the
Nazis.
| He said this memorandum, re-
ceived in evidence in the trial,
was in answer to letter to the
New York Times, expressing a