Evening star., 1955-02-20

The sudden skyrocketing OF liars
into national prominence and the
consequent burst of public indigna-
ton have served to light up one OF
the most exasperating legal situa-
tions to develop in many a day.
One of the leading characters in
the current drama is Harvey Matu-
SOW, self-styled former Communist
who became a paid Government
witness and helped convict 13 Sec
ond-string Communists Of con-
spiracy charges in 1852. He also
appeared before congressional COM
mittees and State courts. making In
all Is appearances as an expert
witness on communism.
The female lead at the moment Is
Mrs. Marie Natvig Of Miami Beach.
Fla, who says she was once an
active Communist in Ohio and
whose testimony about the alleged
Red affiliations Of Publisher-Broad-
caster Edward Lamb Of. Erie. Pa.
has caused the latter considerable
trouble with the Federal Communi-
cations Commission.
Lowell Watson, Kansas dairy
farmer now serving as a consultant
on communism for the Justice De-
partment, testified before the FEC
and also linked Mr.. Lamb with COM
munism.
All three now say they lied in
their earlier testimony. Not only
that; they charge they were coerced
into giving false testimony by former
United States officials.
So, of course, the 13 convicted
Communists are trying to get new
trial, and Mr.. Lamb Is swinging
haymakers at the FFC for lending
credence to such witnesses. Ger
tain congressional committees are
itching to get their hands on the
culprits. And the public is under
standably confused by the SEEM
= ing overcaution Of Justice Depart
ment lawyers in moving to put be-
hind bars the false witnesses and
any who may have pushed them
into lying.
What Con Be Done?
Why the caution? What can the
Government do about liars? Are
lawbreakers going to get away with
this sort of thing?
The answers to these questions
are far from simple.
Three avenues leading to criminal
charges are open to the Govern
ment: Perjury, contempt and sub
ornation of perjury. But none of
these avenues offers a clear shot
at conviction. Such legal obstacles
as rules of evidence and the statute
of limitations overhang the road
way at various points.
Take perjury, for example. Per-
jury is a major criminal offense,
felony. 1t involves giving false testi-
mony, knowingly and deliberately.
under oath. Under Federal law per-
jury is punishable with fines up to
$4,000 and imprisonment to five
years. g.. T.
But it is not easy to convict for
perjury. and rightly so. If 1t were
easy--simply matter Of one per-
sons word against another-our
courts would have a hard time get
ting anyone to testify about any
thing.
For conviction the Government
must prove, among other things,
that a false statement was made
and it must prove what that state
ment was. 1t cannot merely rest
on the argument that one of two
statements was obviously false; it
must pinpoint the exact lie.
Two Witness Rule
In addition, Federal case law has
evolved the doctrine that in cases
of oral testimony there must be at
least two witnesses to attest the
falseness-or one witness plus exact
corroborative evidence.
Difficulties involved in this doc
trine have a pronounced effect on
the practicalities of bringing per-
jury charges. In the Hiss case, Alger
Hiss was convicted on the basis Of
one witness and corroborative evi-
dence-but not until after Whit
taker Chambers produced the IA
nous pumpkin papers" and micro
filmed evidence and had himself
been the subject of psychiatric ex-
animation. In the Army -McC Carthy
hearings OF last summer 1t was