End of a Long Run

The noisy and unbelievable performance had run longer than most Broadway plays. But last week, after eight months of boorish judge-baiting, earsplitting objections, and windy Marxist double talk, the eleven top Communist leaders charged with conspiring to advocate violent overthrow of the Government finally ended their defense testimony. Weary court attaches guessed that the case would go to the jury within the next three weeks.

Since pre-trial argument began in Manhattan's federal courthouse last January, court stenographers had typed up almost 20,000 pages of testimony. The defense had called 35 witnesses in 109 trial days, the Government 15 in 37 days; between them, opposing counsel had put 761 different exhibits into evidence. Judge Harold Medina had jailed five of the defendants and formally cited one defense lawyer for contempt (his punishment will be set after the verdict is returned).

But even before the big show closed, New Yorkers would probably be reading the notices on a revival of last Spring's thriller. The Alger Hiss perjury trial was scheduled to re-open in mid-October.

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