Evening star., 1935-01-25
EARLY TESTIMONY
BY HAUPTMANN
Yesterdays Questions and
Answers, With Bruno
on the Stand.
BY the Associated Press.


with him, walked beside him and took
a position behind the witness stand.
He clenched his hands as he sat
down in the witness chair The whole
court craned forward to hear.
@. You are the defendant in this
action?
A. am.
Speaks in Gutteral
Voice With Marked Accent.
Edward J. Reilly, chief of defense
counsel, was questioning the defendant.
Hauptmann spoke in gutteral voice
with marked accent.
@. When were you born?
A. November 6, 1899.
@. Did you attend school.
A. Yes, years.
@. When did you first work.
A. In mine home town as car
penter
@. Did you continue to work as a
carpenter until the war broke out?
A. Yes.
@. How old were you when you went
to the army?
A. 171a years.
@. How long were you in the army?
A. A year and three-quarters,
think.
@. Were you wounded in the war?
A. Slightly wounded, yes, and
gassed.
Reilly continued his questions.
@. In the public schools did you
learn to write German script?
A. Yes.
@. You went to trade school?
A. Yes.
@. What trade?
A. Carpenters trade.
Leans Forward
Resting Elbows on Chair.
Hauptmanns answers were in q
thin, steady voice He leaned for
ward, resting elbows on the chail
arms and watched his questioner.
@. When did you come out of the
army?
A. About Christmas time
@. About a month after the Arnis-
tice?
A. Yes.
@. Were you able to get any work.
Q. Germany was in very poor
condition?
A. Yes.
Hauptmann kept his glance un-
waveringly on Reilly The lawyer had
cautioned him to keep his husky voice
up as he testified.
The jury listened to his testimony
quietly. Col Lindberg sat firmly back
in his chair regarding the witness
steadily, but without expression.
Convicted and
Served Sentence.
@. During 1919 you were convicted
Of some offense?
A. Yes. The Springtime of 1919.
@. AS a result did you serve a SEN
tence?
A. Yes.
Q. Afterward were you paroled?
A. Yes.
O. When? Was it about March 6,
1928?
A. Yes, about then.
@. When did you obtain employ
ment?
A. About a week after I landed
as a dishwasher.
@. How long?
A. About a month and a half.
@. How much were you paid a
week?
A. SIS.
Accent Noticeable,
Making 1t Hard to Understand.
His accent was very noticeable.
Sometimes it made his words hard
to understand.
All eyes were fixed on him.
Occasionally Reillys strident voice
broke into the spell with a question.
Hauptmanns glance went down to
the floor as the questions on his
record were put by Reilly.
Reilly then led the ashen-faced ex-
convict through the story of his first
unsuccessful attempt to smuggle his
way into the United States. Then
the second unsuccessful effort
Hauptmann's voice at times was
almost throb, a husky throb
@. When was the third time?
A. November, 1923.
Hauptmann related the successive
positions he held after entering the
country and details connected with
them.
Q. And each time you tried to i'm
prove your position?
A. I did
The German, in broken English
told of taking lodging at Ninety
sixth street.
@. In Yorkville?
A. No. 1t is on the west side of
New York
@. And then did you finally obtain
O position as a carpenter?
A. Yes.
@. How much were you getting-a
dollar an hour?
A. Yes.
@. How much would that be day?
A. So a day.
@. When did you first meet the
lady who afterward became your wife?
A. 1924.
O. Her maiden name was what?
A. Anna Schoeffler.
@. Who did she work for?
A. Mr.. and Mrs Rosenbaum.
@. Did you finally live in some
house in Eighty-eighth street-that
is, Yorkville?
A. Yes.
Tells of Smuggling
Way Into United States.
Hauptmann then related how he
and a Albert Diedig were together
when they smuggled their way into
the United States.
Reilly traced the changes of abode
In the Yorkville section Hauptmann
made with Diedig.
@. Did you get position in Lake
wood as a carpenter?
A. I got this position from the
newspapers.