Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-04-27
BY CHARLES Il. SEIB
sunday Editor Of The star

nv CHAKLES II. SEIb
sunday Editor OF The star
Z" In the Alger Hiss
case there can be no COM
promise. Either Alger Hiss
was a traitor to his country
and remains one OF the most
colossal liars and hypocrites
in history. or he is an Amer
lean Dreyfus. framed on the
highest levels Of justice for
political advantage"
Thus does Fred j. Cook, a
New York newspaper re-
porter. set the stage for an
engrossing examination Of the
events that led to the 1850
perjury conviction OF Alger
Hiss. In the UNFINISHED
STORY OF ALGER HISS
to be published Wednesday
by William Morrow a. Co.
($3.75), he sees the conviction
as a disturbing nettle on the
American conscience" and he
presents an impressive array
Of reasons why.
Was II a Raw Deal?
This is no dispaSsionate re-
counting Of the pros and cons
Of the Hiss case. Mr.. Cook
clearly feels that Mr.. Hiss got
a raw deal. that here we're
important flaws in the Gov
ernment's case against him.
But this position does not re-
duce the value Of the book
as a discussion OF the facts
in that complex case and a
catalog of the mysteries that
have still not been adequately
explained.
Probably the most fasci-
nating-and yet frustrating
section Of the book which
appeared in large part as a
long article In The Nation
magazine) is the story Of
Woodstock 230,099." That
is the typewriter which pur-
portedly belonged to Mr..
Hiss and on which some Of
the discriminating documents
Whitaker Chambers said he
got from Mr.. Hiss purportedly
were typed.
Forgery by Typewriter"
1t is a fascinating story
largely because of the re-
sourceful detective work of
Mr.. Hiss lawyers in their
unsuccessful attempt to get
a new trial on the basis OF
the charge that he had been
a victim of forgery by type
writer" Their investigation
demonstrated that despite
common belief a typewriter
could indeed be forged
that is, made to perform so
much like another typewriter
than an expert could not dis
tinguish between the work
of the two machines. 1t also
raised the possibility that
the Woodstock 230, 099" that
came from the factory could
not have had the same type
face as the machine produced
in court. 1t produced expert
opinion indicating that Mrs.
Hiss did not type the docu-
ments, as charged, and that
there was some question
about the age and condition
of the documents. This sec
ton is frustrating because
much OF the material 1t de-
scribes was uncovered after
the Hiss trial and has never
been properly explored in a
court Of law.
But the books main con-
Germ is the credibility Of
Whitaker Chambers. Mr..
HISS ccuser. Mr.. Cook
brings that credibility into
question by examining Mr..
Chambers contradictory tes-
timony on important points
the date he himself left
the Communist Party, wheth-
er party dues were collected
from Mr.. Hiss. the relation
ship between the Chambers
family and the Hiss family.
An Important Date
The date Mr.. Chambers
left the party is particularly
important because logic de-
mands that 1t be later than
the latest date on the State
Department documents Mr..
Hiss is supposed to have
passed to Mr.. Chambers. Mr..
Cook points out that it was
only late in the game that
Mr.. Chambers testimony met
this requirement. He also de-
Scribes some provocative out
side testimony, supported by
a piece of documentary evil
dence. which would indicate
that Mr.. Chambers left the
party at least a month be-
fore the crucial date.
There are other interest,"
ing points raised: The strange
selection of stolen documents,
testimony by disinterested
outsiders which would APP
pear 70 undermine the Cham