davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1935-12-21
Mae Assists CoFIeqians

Mae West, now making "Klon.
dixie Lou" for Paramount, recently
presented a water wagon to the
football team at Loyola at Los
Angeles.
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
"NeUer There"

He asked Hauptmann how far
the gate was from his house. The
defendant said:
II don't know how far it Is.
/ was never there"
Q.-You are not, familiar with
it at all? A.-No.
Mr.. Reilly placed a map of the
cemetery on the wall, with the
assistance of Attorney General
Wilentz. He designated the Jerome
Avenue gate Of the cemetery for
Hauptmann.
Q.-Were you at that gate in
March, 1882? Al was not.
Q.-How far, by looking at this
map, would you say your house
is from the cemetery gate? Al
don't know.
Justice Trenchard said to Haupt-
mann:
"WelI, if you have some idea
on this, you might give us your
opinion"
Hauptmann estimated the dis
tance as so blocks plus the width
of the cemetery.
Q-Were you in Woodlawn
Cemetery March II, 1882? A
No. I was not.
Odd you talk to DR.. Condor
there through an iron gate, or
any place else? Al did not.
Odd you climb over an iron
gate and run away from DR..
Condor? Al did not.
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
Was At PGrty

Attorney General Wilentz
leaped to his feet with an OBJ
lection and Mr.. Reilly, who was
beginning to lay the foundation
for an alibi, changed the queS-
ton. He said:
II mean November 26, 1888"
Hauptmann replied:
II was at a birthday party at
home. That is my birthday"
Hauptmann denied he went to
a movie" theater in Greenwich
Village, New York, that night.
Mrs. Cecilia Barr, a theater
cashier, had testified Hauptmann
gave her one of the $5 ransom
notes in payment for a Accent
ticket that night.
Court was adjourned at this
juncture until 1:45 p. m, when
Hauptmann resumes the stand.
AS court was called to order
today, Mr.. Reilly arose, and turn
ing to Hauptmann's guards, asked
them to take him to the stand.
Hauptmann took a comfortable
posture, leaning slightly to the
right on the arm of the chair, os
Mr.. Reilly began to interrogate
him.
The lawyer wanted to know
how long Hauptmann had lived
in his home in 222d Street, the
Bronx. Hauptmann said it was
about two years. Asked if he
helped build the house, he an
s1ryaraL CGNTo
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
Denies Kidnapping

Mr.. Reilly quickly turned from
that phase of the case and pointed
to map of the Lindbergh estate.
He asked:
"Hauptmann, were you ever
in HOpewell in your life?"
Hauptmann, his voice rising
slightly, replied:
''NO, sir"
Q.-Were you ever on the estate
Of Col. Charles A. Lindbergh?
A.-No, sir.
Hauptmann then denied he was
on Col. Lindbergh'S estate the
night of the kidnapping.
Q.-Were you on the estate OF
Colonel Lindbergh the night of
March l, 1882? A.-No, sir. I
was not.
Odd you on March /, 1882,
enter the Lindbergh nursery win
dow and take from it Charles A..
Lindbergh, jr.? A.-No. did
not.
Odd you leave a note there
in the nursery that night? A
No. I was never there at all.
Women in the courtroom stared
at Hauptmann's gray figure as
though fascinated Tha court
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
Eyes Lindberqh

Then, as Mr.. Reilly walked ia
the clerks table to pick up soma
other exhibits, Hauptmann sur
prisingly turned his head so that
he directly faced Colonel Lind
bergh.
He stared the Colonel straight
in the eyes for almost a full min
ute before Mr.. Reilly resumed his
questioning.
Colonel Lindbergh's eyes met
the eyes of the man charged with
the murder of his baby. Ths
famous flier's facial expression
never changed. 1t was one of this
many melodramatic moments of
the day.
Hauptmann categorically denied
writing, addressing or sending
the envelope which contained
the sleeping suit.
One by one, Mr.. Reilly con.
tinued to go through the ransom
letters. One by one Hauptmann
denied having anything to do
with them. or ever having seen
them before his arrest.
AS the morning wore on, the
defendant, for the first time
since he went on the stand,
showed signs of fear.
He seemed vastly relieved when
a fiVe-minute recess was ordered.
His confidence seemed to come
back somewhat when his Wits
leaned over to chat with him at
the defense counsel table.
She was smiling and looked
pleased, as if proud of her hus.
bands performance on the stand.
Hadptmann went back on the
stand after the recess, resuming
his testimony at 11:25 a. m.
The Washington times., 1935-01-25

Hauptmann was stolid as he sat
there on the stand. There was a
lot of pushing in the aisle.
Justice Thomas w. Trenchard
asked that spectators keep aisles
open.
Mr.. Reilly asked Hauptmsnn
when he met ISador Fisch, the
man he claims left the ransom
money in his house. Said Haupt-
mann:
81 met him in March or
April, 1882"
Q.-And were you dealing in
stocks and bonds at that time?
Ayes. I had an account at
Steiner Rouse and Company.
Dwell, did Isador Ftsch go
with you when you dealt in
stocks? Ayes.
Hauptmann looked quite cool
up there on the stand. His hair
was wet back, showing the ridges
of comb marks. He wore a wilite
handkerchief in his breast pocket
His suit was freshly pressed.
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
Went to Bakery

81 went home about S o'clock,
so then went after my wife at
the bakery"
Mr.. Reilly wanted to know if he
remembered anything about a po-
lice dog owned by the Frederick.
sens at the bakery. After some
prodding Hauptmann did. He
said he took the police dog for a
walk around the block and he re-
membered some man had stopped
him and patted the dog. Mr..
Reilly asked:
"Well, what time was it when
you finally got home the night
Of March 1, 1892"
about 8 p. m. We then went
to bed"
Q.-I ask you again. So you did
not go to Hopewell, N. j., on March
2, 1892? Al did not.
Q.-What time did you get up
on March 2, 1892? A.-About the
same time .(6 a. ma
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
Room StifLinQ

1t was getting warm in the
court room when Hauptmann went
back on the stand. The spectar
tors began to wilt. May mopped
their faces with handkerchiefS.
There was no ventilation, the
heat was turned on full force.
Hauptmann perspired on the
stand. His white forehead gliS
tened.
Hauptmann cannot move with
out an instantaneous reaction
from the crowd. When counsel
ordered him out of the witness
chair to examine his tool box,
scores in the audience rose quickly
to their feet in spite of the whis.
pered warnings of bailiffs.
The blue-coated troopers posted
in three directions from the wit
ness chair came up on their toes
when the defendant moved.
Hauptmann's suit is of German
teldgrau, and the troopers uni.
forms are of the French army
wartime horizon blue. Haupt-
mann was familiar with that
color long before he came to
America.
Mr.. Reilly introduced in eW-
dence a photograph of the gate
Of Woodlawn Cemetery where DR..
Condor said he first met Haupt-
mann,
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
Money Was Wet

In much detail Hauptmann ex-
planned what he did when he
found there was money in the
shoebox Fisch had left behind.
There were four bundles of it.
The box ha dbecome wet, so he
took it out to the garage to
squeeze the water out of it"
He squeezed the money, too, and
put it in a pail to dry out.
Hauptmann used his hands
when he talked. During the
testimony about the shoe box he
raised his arms and spread them
wide to show how the shelf was;
he gesticulated with his hands.
After the first tension in his
early recital Hauptmann relaxed
in speech and posture. He talked
in conversational tone, his
voice even and calm. He sat
easily in the witness box.
Four armed guards faced Haupt-
mann from all sides as he left.
A deputy in plain clothes stood be.
hind his chair; one blue-uniformed
State trooper faced him from the
front, another trooper watched
him from a place next to the
vacant prisoners chair; still a
third trooper eyed him from his
position at the corner of Judge
Trenchard's bench; they formed
an almost perfect square.
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
AnsWers SLOW

He answered Mr.. Reilly'S ques.
tions slowly, his blue eyes intent
en- the attorney. When he spoke
he opened his mouth only slight
ly so that his cultural voice came
through clenched teeth.
Hauptmann was laying the foun-
dation for the "Fisch alibi." He
said he sometimes bought stocks
from Fisch.
He explained that early in 1892
he had a partnership in the fur
business with Fisch.
Odd Fisch ever give you
any money? Ayes.
Odd you ever lend him any
money? Ayes.
Q.-Do you remember when
Ffsch sailed for Europe? A
Yes. December, 1888.
Odd he come to see you
before he left? Ayes, several
times.
Q.-When was the last time? ?
A.-The last night before he left.
Odd he leave anything with
you? Ayes. A suitcase, 400
skins, and q box.
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
Knitting Halted

For the first time in days the
two ladies who at each session
have knitted steadily had quiet
fingers this morning. A child's
sweater of yellow about half done
and a red scarf nearly finished,
on which these two have worked
for days were not in evidence.
Their neighbors were just as in.
tent.
Like a police sergeant grilling
a suspect, Mr.. Reilly fired ques-
tionS at his client.
Odd you ever see Baby
Lindbergh? A.-No.
Hauptmann then denied ever
seeing the ransom notes, which
Mr.. Reilly had before him, prior
to his arrest.
Hauptmann, when his counsel
stopped to consult with his as
sociateS, looked at Colonel Lind
bergh-one Of those darting, quick
looks. The Colonel, after a split
second, returned the glance with
every appearance of indifference
and then looked out the window.
When Mr.. Reilly asked Haupt-
mann if he kidnapped the baby,
the audience leaned forward per-
ceptibly with one motion, like a
congregation at prayer.
Mr.. Reilly then asked the de-
fendant to trace his movements
throughout the day of March /,
1882. The defendant said:
II got up about 6 o'clock that
day. Took my wife to the
bakery, then 1 went right
home. 1 then went to Ma
jeStic Apartments, where I was
trying to get work already.
They said cannot start work
until March Is.
"Then I go to an employ
ment agency where 1 have
tried already to get work. 1
went there to get back a $40
deposit 1 have made there.
Il cannot get back the $40
bill. They tell me to come back,
they may have something some
other day.
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
Was GiUen Job

II continued looking for work
the same. In the meantime 1
had called up the Majestic
Apartments and they said,
'Okay,' 1 could come to work on
the fifteenth.
"NOw, there is something not
quite clear in my mind.
II don't remember whether I
took my tool kit to the apart
ments on the fifteenth. So
there is possibility l did not
go to work until the sixteenth
of March,"
Hauptmann SCENE to de
light in pronouncing possibility,
which he enunciated very clearly
Hauptmann was asked to iden
tify the tool kit which was taker
from his garage after his arrest
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
Hits Ransom Story

Hauptmann vigorously denied
1ae ever had been in Woodlawn
Cemetery in the Bronx where
"Jafsie" said he talked to him on
the night Of March IL, 1882. He
denied he ever had climbed over
the gate there and talked to DR..
Condor. Asked where he was that
night, Hauptmann said:
II could not say for sure. but
II it was a Saturday night I
probably was playing cards."
He denied he built the three
section "kidnap ladder" which
was lying against the wall. near
the witness stand-one of the
States prize exhibits.
When Hauputmann's attention
was directed to the "kidnap lad
der" and Mr.. Reilly asked him.
"did you build that ladder?"
Hauptmann looked at it. grinned
in peculiar manner, and scorn-
fully cried:
"N0. I am q carpenter!"
The defendant, who learned his
trade in Germany as a boy, was
asked by Mr.. Reilly to step down
from the stand and take a look
at the ladder. Hauptmann did so
reluctantly. And when Mr.. Reilly
wanted to know what he thought
of it, the witness said:
"It doesn't look like a ladder;
IL looks more like a 'mOOSic' in.
Strument."
Hauptmann pronounced the word
music "mooSic."
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
Tools Identified

The tool chest lay at the foot
OF the witness stand, and Haupt.
mann got out of his chair and
went over to the open kit to make
the Identification. A State trooper,
who is stationed behind Haupt-
mann all the time he testifies,
hovered over the defendant as he
brushed the tools with a light
caresSing touch. He identified
the chest and the tools in it.
Then Mr.. Reilly went over the
ransom notes, one by one, some
addressed to Colonel Lindbergh,
some to Col. Henry Breckinridge
and some to DR.. John F. "Jafsie"
Condor.
Each one Hauptmann denied
writing. He said he had never
seen them before his arrest. He
also denied ever seeing "Jafsie,"
Colonel Breckenridge, or Colonel
Llndbergh before his arrest.
There was a stir in the court
room when Mr.. Reilly held up
States Exhibit 16'-the Lind
bergh baby's sleeping suit.
Hauptmann shifted in his chair
as Mr.. Reilly held it before his
eyes for several seconds. Mr..
Reilly demanded:
did you take this sleeping
suit off Baby Lindbergh?"
Hauptmann was white as a
sheet. The right corner of his
mouth twitched up in a nervous
half-grin. He gripped the arms
of his chair, shifting again with a
Jerky movement. Then he an.
SWered in a high voice:
II never did. never saw
that sleeping suit until came
into this court rOOmS'
AS Hauptmann denied he had
ever seen the sleeping suit before
he came into the court room, Mr..
Reilly paused for a moment or
two to allow the answer to sink
into the minds Of the iurys
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
Denies Everything

Hauptmann's story was a sue
cesSion of denials. He denied he
had taken the "kidnap ladder"
into New Jersey in his automobile
just before the Lindbergh baby
was kidnapped.
He denied he ever was in St.
Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx,
where DR.. Condor paid the $50 900
ransom money to a mysterious
"John", who "Jafsie" said on the
stand here was none other than
Hauptmann himself. Mr.. Reilly
asked:
"On April 2, 1892 (the night
the ransom was paid) did you
see DR.. Condor or did you re-
Ceive $4,000 from him?"
Hauptmann said emphatically:
81 did not"
Hauptmann's athletic build
showed when he got off the
stand to look at the ladder and
the maps. He is broad-Shoul.
dered. lean and narrow-hipped,
like prizefighter. He walks
lightly. Even after months of
Jail, he is in good physical con-
dition.
At times in his testimony
Hauptmann spoke with a slight
smile playing on his mouth. His
head was bent to the left.
Occasionally he coughed, put.
ting his lean fingers up to his
lips.
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
MOneH in 1t

Hauptmann said he did not
ask Fisch what was in the shoe
box, that he merely put 1t in the
broom closet.
Q.-How long did that shoe box
remain there before you disturbed
it? Am the middle Of 1894.
1t was a nasty day outside. was
looking for a broom. l looked UP
and saw money in the damaged
box.
Q.-Had there been any mois-
ture in the closet? A.-There was
some wet.
Odd you take the box down?
Ayes. I took 1t down to the
house.
Q.-And money was in it? A.
Yes.
Q.-About how much? Al
did not count it.
The court room was tense and
breathless as the long awaited
FiSch story was unfolded.
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
Tells of Box

Mr.. Reilly asked Hauptmann if
he had skins when he was arrested
and the witness replied in the
affirmative. Mr.. Reilly then
turned to the matter of the box
Hauptmann said Fisch left with
him.
Q.-What kind of a box? Al
found out later it was a Shoebox.
Q.-Tell us about what he said
that last night? Ale came
into the kitchen and left a box.
He said, II am leaving something
here with you, if you don't mind.
PLEASE put it Ia q dry place and
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
Can't Give AHbi

Mr.. Reilly wanted to know
where he was that night and
Hauptmann replied, after long
thought:
81 couldn't say for sure, but
If it was Saturday was prob
ably playing cards"
Odd you ever talk to DR..
Condor at a frankfurter stand?
A.-No.
Odd you ever stand cough.
ing at DR.. Condor? A.-No.
There was laughter at this. The
laughter was stilled when Mr..
Reilly suddenly called for the kid
nap ladder.
Mr.. Reilly leaned the three sec
tions of the rickety contraption
against the front wall of the
court room. He demanded:
Did you build that LADDER"
Hauptmann turned his mead
and a queer grin came over his
face as he replied:
'NO! / am q carpenter1"
The Washington times., 1935-01-25

He said yes he had been dealing
in stocks and bonds at the time,
that he had an account with Stei-
nsr, nsGoai Rous and Company He
Yes, Fisch went with me when
I dealt in stocks"
Mr.. Reilly was attempting to
show that Hauptmann and Fisch
were linked up in all kinds Of
business operations and that
Hauptmann was a sort Of front
man."
Hauptmann declared he some
times bought stocks for Fisch. He
said he found the Shoebox Fisch
left with him in August, 1884.
Rain had leaked through the roof
and, Hauptmann said, he tok the
box out to the garge Ito squeeze
the water out of it."
The witness said he was a
partner of Fisch in the fur busi-
ness in 1882. He said he some
times bought stocks for FiSch. He
said Fisch sailed for Europe in
December, 1898. 1t was several
months afterward that Fisch died
in Leipzig.
Hauptmann testified that when
Ffsch sailed he left with Haupt-
mann a suitcase. 400 skins, and
the shoebox. He quoted Fisch
as having said:
II am leaving something
with you. Please put 1t in a
dry place and keep it till /
come back"
The Washington times., 1935-01-25

Fisch owned only $4,000 of that
amount. The rest was his. He
said:
"When Fisch went to Europe,
he comes to me and says-T
think I will sell some of them
furs.' 1 said all right. We had
$4,000 worth of furs."
Hauptmann rambled on in his
laborious explanation of the bust.
ness deal, gesturing awkwardly
with his hands. He said he gave
Fisch a check for $4,000 and Fisch
owed him money. His discussion
was confusing, however.
Mr.. Reilly then asked the de-
fendant:
you know where you were on
November 26, 1929. don't you?"
Hauptmann quickly said:
you mean 1888, don't you?"
The Washington times., 1935-01-25

Q.-And you read in the paper
of the Lindbergh kidnapping for
the first time? A.-Yes.
Q.-And that was the first you
knew of the kidnapping, or Of Hope
well? Ayes, the first.
Mr.. Reilly held the second ran
some note before Hauptmann, and
the defendant denied he ever had
seen it before his arrest. He de-
MED specifically that he had writ
ten it. Mr.. Reilly asked:
"After March l, until March
Is, 1882, did you continue to fol-
low your daily routine of look.
ing for work."
Hauptmann went on:
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
VOICE OU|VERS
AS He ASSERTS
INNOCENCE
CONTINUED from Page 1.)
mann S own story for a waiting
world.
Never SGD Baby

A gasp came from the crowd at
one point when Mr.. Reilly. show
ing Hauptmann the Lindbergh
babys sleeping suit, asked him If
he had taken it. The witness, in
sharp tones. replied:
II never saw the baby, dead
or alive"
Hauptmann was shown the IA
ransom notes. He denied he had
written any of them. He denied
he ever had seen DR.. John "Jaf-
sic" Condor, the Lindbergh inter.
mediary who testified he paid the
$50,000 ransom to Hauptmann.
He denied he ever had seen
Colonel Lindbergh or Colonel Lind.
bergh'S close friend, Col. Henry
Breckenridge, prior to his arrest.
Hauptmann paled when he was
shown the baby's sleeping suit.
But he denied he ever had seen 1t
before. In a high voice that
pierced the courtroom, he cried:
II never saw that sleeping
spit until came into the court
ROOM"
Hauptmann's voice was shaking
with emotion.
Hauptmann told the jury he
never had been in Hopewell, N. J.,
where the home from which the
baby was kidnapped was located.
When Mr.. Reilly asked him if he
had been on the estate of Colonel
Lindbergh on the night of March
!, 1882, he cried:
''NO, sir. 1 was not!"
did you on March I, 1882,
enter the Lindbergh nursery
window and take from it Charles
A. Lindbergh, jr.?".
"No, I did mott"
"Did you leave a note in the
nursery there that night?"
"NO, was never there"
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
Dealt in Stock

7 Hauptmann was questioned
closely concerning his financial
activities.
Mr.. Reilly was trying to show
that he had earned and saved
plenty of money before March /,
1882, the date Of the kidnapping,
and that he was Gin the market"
in Wall Street before as we'll as
after the abduction.
AT one point Hauptmann said
he had $4,000 cash in the banks
tn 1929-three years before the
kidnapping. He came to the
United States in 1923.
Hauptmann said he met Isador
Eisch "in March or April. 1882" I"
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
$500 Profit

Defense Attorney Reilly wanted
to know about lunchroom Haupt-
mann bought in New York in 1929.
Q.-How much did you pay for
1t. A.-$900.
Q.-How much did you sell it
for. Assoc. I made a profit
of $400.
Q.-How much were you worth
in cash and in the banks in 1929.
-A.-Ahout $1,000
The Washington times., 1935-01-25

keep it until I come back"
1t was Hauptmann's longest
speech of the trial. He seemed
calm as he told it. He kept his
eyes on Mr.. Reilly's face but had
a mildly defiant expression on his
face as he talked.
Mrs. Hauptmann, in her usual
place at the defense counsel table,
was inconspicuously dressed. AS
Hauptmann testified, she listened
with her head on one side in an
intent pose. Her lips seemed to
move as he talked.
The Washington times., 1935-01-25

room was packed, and more than
half the audience were women,
many of them fashionably dressed,
q few wearing mink coats.
They jammed the court benches
and filled the aisles, and some
stood on the window SillS. But
their eyes were all on Haupt-
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
$4,000 in Furs

Hauptmann testified that at
the time Fisch sailed for Ger
many their account" was &12,-
900. He explained he meant they
had $12,0Q0 In stocks He said
The Washington times., 1935-01-25
RGTRE DESTINY Thai SHAPES BURRS JENKINS RM
NEVER VISITED.
HOPEW WELL.
He SAYS

Odd you mail that suit to
DR.. Condor? Al did not.
Q.-You never saw it before
you came into this room? A.-No,
Evening star., 1935-02-10
Silver for Travel Curbed.

Travellers in China have been or
dered not to carry more than $3.50
in silver.
Evening star., 1935-02-10
.F|ERMONTE TALKS
TOSECOND SPOUSE.
Fighter Later Spends Night
With Brother of His
First Wife.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
NAPLES, February 10.-Young
EMO Fiermonte, shorr of his pass
port. arrived in Naples from Rome
last night, had a post-midnight hours
talk with his second wife at her
sumptuous hotel and then left to
spend the night with a brother in
law through his first marriage.
Fiermonte arrived in a taxi at the
hotel and started up to his wifes
room without registering at 1890
am. Hotel officials asked him for his
travelling papersAa requirement of
law in Italy-and were told at the
elevator that be did not have them
with him.
They permitted him, however, to
visit his American wife, the former
Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor Dick,
without summoning police. The
pugiliSt left about 80 am. with his
bfother-in-law, Signor Ugo Persico.
Hotel officials said apparently
Naples police had not yet received
orders concerning the boxers pass
port difficulties.
Rome police retired his passport"
last night shortly before Fiermonte
slipped out of the city for Naples, his
latest of frequent moves which have
kept Italy guessing as to his plans.
Mrs. Fiermonte No. 2 had waited
his arrival to start their second
honeymoon"