Evening star., 1949-07-07


claims the confidential material
was typed while the machine was
in the possession of Mr.. and Mrs.
Hiss in their Georgetown homes?
Whether those documents were
typed on the old Woodstock plea
type machine which once belonged
to the Hiss family and which de-
fense attorneys found several
months ago in Washington" Mr..
Stryker declared. Il don't know
or care.
"The evidence shows that the
typewriter left the possession OF
the Hiss family in December. 1887.
We offered to let the FBI examine
the machine after we found it but
they never accepted our invitation.
Instead they called in one OF their
employees who said he was an ex-
pert. On the witness stand the
only thing he said was that the
typeWriting on the document
copies and on some samples OF
personal correspondence by Mr..
and Mrs. Hiss were the same. He
did not say anything about Wood
stock or pica.
Il was not convinced by his
testimony. I did not choose to
cross-examine him because I knew
Mr.. and Mrs. Hiss did not have
that typewriter in February and
March when most Of the docu-
ments were typed.
Prosecution Claim Ridiculed.
Moreover. the FBI wrote to sew
eral hundred members Of the Har-
ward class OF Mr.. Hiss IN search
for samples written by Mr.. or Mrs.
Hiss on May. 1887. months before
the Government document copies
were typed"
Mr.. Stryker ridiculed prosecu-
ton claims and the Chambers
story that Mr.. Hiss furnished. de-
livered and transmitted" vast
variety of restricted documents to
Mr.. Chambers to be forwarded to
the Soviets. r
ITO believe the Chambers story" !"
he said, you have to believe Alger
Hiss was below normal, in intelli-
gence. Nobody contends that.
Most of the informatio in
those papers was trivial and Of no
Importance. II Alger Hiss were q
spy he wouldn't have taken them.
The defense summation brought
out for the first time that some
of the typed copies have inter
lineations." Mr.. Stryker and Mr.
Murphy differed on the extent and
significance of those markings on
the sheets or between the lines.
Defense counsel described them
as editing changes or corrections
in handwriting. Mr.. Stryker re-
marked to the jury that he did not
know in whose handwriting they
were and that nobody had testified
they were in the handwriting OF
Mr.. or Mrs. Hiss, or Mr.. Chambers
for that matter.
Mr.. Murphy declared after ad-
1ournment that he did not know
of any "interlineations" of the
sort mentioned by Mr.. Stryker.
A few pencil markings" on the
top of some of the sheets appar-
entity had been put on in recent
months for numbering or identi-
fication purposes, he surmised.
Previous Perjuries Cited.
What of the Chambers explana-
ton that he committed numerous
previous perjuries before the
grand jury and the House COM
mittee last year so that he would
not unduly hurt Mr.. Hiss whom
he respected for his high talents
and achievements?
WELL" Mr.. Stryker unused,
"even before the House commit
tee last summer Chambers called
Mr.. Hiss an enemy of the country.
That doesn't sound like he wanted
to protect him.
THAT reminds me of a story
about a woman who pointed a
double barrel shotgun at her hus-
band and let him have both bar
rels and blew off the top Of his
head. Later, when asked about
it, she said she had pulled the
trigger gently because she had
been fond of her husband"
How did Mr.. Chambers happen
to center on Mr.. Hiss?
Lets 60 back to December 13,
1940," Mr.. Stryker suggested to
the jury, you remember the testi-
mony Of Malcolm Cowley, the
writer, who was told by Chambers
that day that Francis B. Sayre,
former Assistant Secretary of
State and -in-law of Woodrow
Wilson, was in q Communist un-
derground in the State Depart
ment.
Refers to Political Polls.
chambers is q man not with
out ambition. He hoped to be a
Communist commissar, perhaps
down at the New York City Hall.
He was trying on possible targets
for size. In his mind at the
time he talked to Mr.. Cowley he
picked Mr.. Sayre as his target.
II don't know whether he hao
those typewriter papers at the
time but anyway it would have
fitted very well. Mr.. Hiss was
Mr.. Sayre's assistant and Juliar
Wadleigh, who confessed he stole
documents for Chambers, was ir
the department at the same time
"The pattern became quite plair
last summer. Chambers saw his
opportunity. It was presidential
campaign time. We all read the