First of Ten

John Howard Lawson went on trial in Washington last week for contempt of Congress. The heavy, sharp-featured screenwriter, one of Hollywood's most notorious Communist-liners, had refused to give a yes-or-no answer when asked last fall by the House Un-American Activities Committee: "Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?" He was the first of the famed "unfriendly ten" to go on trial.

One or another of his eight defense attorneys objected to everything in sight. They were repeatedly overruled by whitehaired Judge Edward M. Curran. Judge Curran refused to disqualify himself when the defense pointed out that he had been the U.S. attorney in the trial of previous contempt-of-Congress cases. He refused to move the trial when the defense contended that a jury of federal employees would be "intimidated" by the committee. He refused to hear Producer Dore Schary as a character witness, ruling that Lawson's character and political beliefs were not at issue. He refused to see The Jolson Story or any of the other Lawson films which the defense had stacked in cans outside the courtroom door. And he indignantly brushed aside a defense contention that he was guilty of misconduct in asking the purpose of the Thomas Committee's inquiry, which the defense contended would "bias" the jury against Lawson.

Dapper, pudgy Committee Chairman J. Parnell Thomas was the Government's star witness. After he had given a dramatic reading of the transcript of Lawson's testimony before the committee, he was cross-examined. His aggressive, cocksure manner gone, he hedged and fidgeted as he was asked if he had been active as the committee's chairman. It took swarthy Defense Lawyer Ben Margolis five tries before he wrung from Thomas the reply: "Well, I don't want to be facetious or even egotistical, but I would say yes to that question."

In instructing the jury, Judge Curran said: "If you can come to the conclusion from Lawson's answer to the committee whether or not he ever was a member of the Communist Party, then you must return a verdict of not guilty. If you can't, then you must return a verdict of guilty." The jury did, in two hours and 15 minutes.

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