Hiss, Alger (1904-1996) U.S. State Department official convicted of perjury in January 1950 regarding his dealings with Whittaker Chambers, who accused Hiss of membership in a communist espionage ring. His case came at a time of growing apprehension about the domestic influence of communism and seemed to lend substance to Senator Joseph R. McCarthy's sensational claims of communist infiltration into the State Department. The case also brought to national attention Richard M. Nixon, a first-term Republican congressman from California who was prominent in the investigation that led to the indictment of Hiss.
Long autograph letter signed, 2 ½ pages, 5 x 8 in., New York, May 11,1950. Hiss writes this unpublished letter to a friend (Reverend) Dr. (Walter) Bennett, a Princeton professor and minister, directly relating to his perjury conviction trial. In part: "…There are so many pressing matters to attend to in the immediate wake of the shock and bitter disappointment of the verdict that it just wasn't possible to write to you before we got away to the country for a couple of weeks with our eight year old son. Then after our return the time slipped by… as we worked at the innumerable chores involved in getting the appeal ready for next fall….Your message of courage and others like it have helped our moral a great deal. Man doesn't live for or by himself alone, but its good to have concrete evidence of that in times of stress. We are of good hope that the appellate court will correct the errors of last winter-- the delay in my reply has at least the merit that in the interim my legal research has fortified my confidence that the trial was replete with prejudicial legal error…"
A most interesting letter written by a man whom many historians believe was a victim of the McCarthy era. Whitaker Chambers, a former Communist Party member, testified against Hiss in front of the house Committee on Um-America Activities (HUAC). During his time in front of the committee, Chambers, an avowed communist, claimed that Hiss had been a secret member of the Communist Party while serving in his many government jobs, including as assistant to Stanley Hornbeck, the State Department's Political Advisor in Charge of Far Eastern Affairs. Among other official government duties, Hiss served as a member of the delegation to the Yalta nations, having had a hand in drawing up the U.N. Charter. He was chosen to carry the new U.N Charter back to Washington directly to president Truman for his signature, a great honor. Hiss vehemently denied that he was ever a member of the communist party under oath, but a federal grand jury indicted him for perjury when Chambers produced more evidence against him. He was also accused of espionage but could not be tried on that as the statute of limitations had expired. Hiss was convicted of two counts of perjury, lost his appeal (to which he refers in this letter) by two votes, and served 3 ½ years in Lewisburg Federal Prison. Justice William O. Douglas later wrote that if the case had been reviewed, "…in my view no Court at any time could possibly have sustained the conviction."
Included are two letters by his wife, Priscilla, related to his appeal and sentence, a 1954 Christmas card in the hand of Priscilla, and a letter from his lawyer, Chester Lane, dated March 20, 1952, to Dr. Bennett thanking him for encouragement and stating, "In these days, fighting a case with the overtones and passion and prejudice of the Hiss case is a rather lonely and unpopular business…" There is also a 1955 TLS from Justice Douglas to Dr. Bennett, thanking him for comments on a speech Douglas had given. Estimated Value $1,500 - 2,000
U.S. Statesmen
