Evening star., 1934-09-23

John"-even allowing Tor generous
circulation of undetected bills.
Banks and business institutions and
post offices and other establishments
had been supplied with lists of the
serial numbers of the bills early in
1882, but. it was difficult to maintain
vigilance in the rush Of business.
Checking every $5, $40 or $40 bill
against list of several thousand Sc
rial numbers of interrupted succession
was a tedious task To simplify this
scrutiny, a key" to the list of serial
numbers was prepared and this re-
suited in increased cooperation from
the banks.
Ladder Examined.
A few weeks ago the improvised
wooden ladder used by the kidnaper in
reaching the nursery window, and a
chisel found a few feet away from
the ladder-which had been carried
to spot about 100 yards from the
house-were taken to the laboratory
and subjected to microscopic exam
ination.
1t was noted that the ladder was Of
pine and was in three sections. Two
of the sections obviously had been
made by an expert carpenter. The
third was a makeshift affair, appar-
emily nailed together in hurry and
without care. The middle section had
a split in it-aS though it had broken
under the weight of the kidnaper.
There was soil on the ladder. This
was analyzed and found to have come
from a certain locality peculiar for
its geologic formation. 1t was soil from
elsewhere than Sourland Mountain,
atop which was the Lindbergh home
There were fingerprints on the lad
der-lots of them-for, during the
early days Of the inquiry at Hopewell
police thoughtlessly had permitted
dozens of persons TO handle 1t.
ChiseI Never Used.
The chisel-probably carried to the
scene IN the expectation that the
shutters or window might have to be
pried open-also was analyzed micro
scopically for telltale foreign sub
stances. such as blood. grease. ink or
other debris. that might furnish
clue to the occupation or other activ-
tiles of its owner The chisel appar-
emily never was used at the kidnap
scene. for. thanks 10 a warped shutter
that would not close properly. entry
into the baby's room proved a simple
matter.
The ladder and chisel, coupled with
the geometric design of the circle
symbol, strengthened the conviction
of Federal investigators that the kid
naper was a machanic or carpenter,
probably the latter.
Artist Pictures john
There was. of course. no picture of
John except the vague conception
Of him formed in the minds of the
investigators by the meager descrip-
ton given by DR.. Condor. The justice
agents, as wild stab in the dark.
commissioned an artist to talk with
Condor and attempt TO put down on
paper his impression of the kidnaper
AS described elsewhere in today's Star
the artist chosen for this unique as
signment was James T Bergman
sports cartoonist of The Star. He
produced last July, with Condons
aid, Likeness Of John" that bears
striking resemblance to Hauptmann
All agents on the Lindbergh case
studied this likeness.
Condor himself was questioned re-
peatedly and at great length Identi-
f1cation files Of the division were
searched for known kidnapers, ex-
tortionists and other criminals who
bore even a faint resemblance to
John" Condor examined all these
photographs, but without successful
result.
Director Hoover has special
''modus operandi" file of criminals,
maintained by his identification unit.
With the aid of this file, kidnapping
technique of known gangSters in the
Urschel. Bremen. Hamm and other
noted "snatches" was compared with
actions Of the kidnapers in the Lind
bergh case. None was found to fit
the Hopewell case.
Bill Groups Detailed.
The ransom key cards analyzed
the serial numbers for quick refer
ence. The card briefly set forth that
all S. bills were of the 1928 series.
bearing red seals and red serial num-
bers, and that the numbers had a
certain limited range. All the $40
bills, 1t was stated. were gold certif-
Gates Of the 1928 series. with serial
numbers followed by the letter "A"
and encompaSSing certain range. All
the $40 bill were gold certificates
or New York Federal Reserve
notes Of the 1928 series of certain
range Of serial numbers
Tellers in the New York area were
asked to check all bills of these de-
nominations by reference to the key
card" and if any were found of the
general group specified. to check the
serial number against the detailed list
supplied to each bank.
296 Turned In.
On May /. 1898. final day under
the Presidents order for return of
gold to the Treasury, 296 of the $40
gold certificates and $40 gold cer-
tificate of the ransom money were
turned in to the Federal Reserve Bank
in New York City by y. J. Faux
ner." This name proved to be ficti-
tious. Other gold bills filtered into
official hands sporadically in the en-
suing months, but not in large
amounts
For seven months prior to August
20 of this year, not a single gold GER
tiicate of the ransom money ap-