Evening star., 1952-03-20
By Harry Macarthur

right in the front yard. which Is
what Senator Neely's committee
has done, ].
There Is nothing even family
Inebulous about this. These wit
lnesses aren't remote figures. These
are people you might have passed
lin the street the other day. inao-
cent appearing on some sinister
mission. The addresses they men,
ton are not distant ones; they
are familiar ones around the
corner or up the street or just
across town.
The corruption discussed IS not
something vague "in high places.
|It involves. If it is proved to exist.
the police department you pay to
protect you from. among other
things, corruption.
Whether truth is ultimately
found to rest with 1t. H.
H. Carper and Detective Sergt,
w. L. Taylor or with the story OF
ibribes told by admitted and con-
Ivicted dope peddlers remains to
be seen. And Washingto tonians,
who have a rather vital stake in
this, after all, deserve to see it.
Televising these District crime
hearings is q fairly clear-cut ex-
ample of the use Of television to
push back the walls so the town
meeting house can admit all those
with q legitimate interest in
what's going on. Chairman Nicely
and Stations WNBW and WNdAL-
fTv rate your thanks for giving
IWashingtonians this first-hand
look at crime on their doorsteps.
The Senator, you know. could
have ducked television with i'm
Ipunity and the stations could have
decided not to underwrite the
added expense the telecasts repre-
sent. >
\ Landslide-This matter OF tele-
vising Congressional committee
hearings came up the other night
on Keep Posted" CWTTG-Tues-
day, $50 p.m.) and Moderator
Martha Rountree asked for . show
of sentiment from the viewing
audience. More than 1900 replies
had been received when Miss
Rountree and her co-producer,
Lawrence Spivak. announced the
result yesterday. The vote was
more than 98 per cent In favor
of television in the hearing halls.
Experiment - The televiSion
broadcasters are sure to watch
with interest the reaction to a new
summer dramatic series planned
by WOR-TV in New York. Broad
way TV Theater," to be seen only
in the New York area served by
WORTH, will be true program
ming innovation. Television adap.
!1tations Of past Broadway plays
Twill be used, but they will not bt
the hour long, once-and-done al
fairs of TV drama up to now.
! Each will run from 1880 to {
lpm. and each will be played OF
1--we consecutive nights. A new
Iplay--or rather a "new" old play
will be presented each week fol
26 weeks.
1.-THE Trial of Mary Dugan" viii
he the opener, starting on Apri
IA, to be followed by Three Mer
ION Horse" Warren Wade, whit
/ lis producing Broadway TV The
|ater," will stage the plays as the!
were done on Broadway, with onl.
those changes necessary to con
form to the television code Of goot
practice.
a This could be the forerunne,
lot a future television trend. !
might demonstrate the feasihilit,
of several performances Of tn
same TV play on different night
Of the week, especially when tn
audience is vastly enlarged by tn
end Of the freeze"
Certainly it does seem a vast
to stage one of these one-hou
dramas so lavishly, then hav'
nothing to show for it but empt.
lsets to tear down. And some sor
Of arrogance is implied. too, b
ltelevision's assumption that tn
hour It wants TO present q par
ticular program is the hour whei
you don't have another thing b
do.
Think how it would be
Studio One" and "Celanese The
later" were on several times eacl
week instead Of just once. Yol
could see both of them withou
passing up Robert Montgomer.
Presents" and the Wednesda,
night fights to do it. It coul'
happen some day.
- -
Programs and People-A spe
cial documentary Aim, "Allianc
for Peace" with narration by Ed
ward r. Murrow, win be televise,
tomorrow night at 1890 by CB'
(WTOP-Tv). It was pro
duced for SHAPE by 1t. Samue
Goldwyn. jr.. and deals with tn
Western den1ocracies' co-opera
tive answer to the threat Of Com
Imunism. i. "The Adventures q
Ellery Queen" will be back O
ABC television tWMAL-Tv) O
April 16 as q Wednesday-at-9 fea
Iture. Lee Bowman win pla
lthe title role. s. Abbott an
Costello win pay Washington
visit and appear at the Warne
Theater ON. April Is. ... They1
lon q 15-city tour TO promote "Jac