Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1935-01-24
Common Sense Versus Sentiment

We are quite some distance from Pennington, New
Jersey, where the state demands the life of Bruno
Hauptmann. So, it is hardly possible that anything
said or written here will have any effect on Jersey
Justice" as it has become known throughout the
Union.
The radio. the newspapers, the prominence OF the
murdered child's parents and the coldlblooded extor-
ton OF $50. 900 on a false promise have all contributed
to make the trial Of the accused a muchdiscussed
subject in almost every American home.
The defendant, whose stubborn silence has made
the case difficult for the state which is bound by legal
ethics and the rule which says that every man is in
nocent until proven guilty beyond the probability OF
reasonable doubt, will, Of course, proclaim from the
witness stand that he is innocent. He will be aided
INV a clever and resourceful criminal lawyer in an at
tempt to convince the jury that there is a doubt.
The state charges that he murdered the child in
the act of kidnapping. 1t charges murder because only
ON that charge can Hauptmann be condemned 10 ole'
and it believes he is a menace to the peace and hap
plness Of his fellow men and should forfeit his life.
az don't believe they will convict him" and Il
don't believe he was the only one involved and even
Il think he should be acquitted" are expressions one
hears almost every day since the trial began
A woman lawyer in Chicago went so far as to
write a pamphlet which attempted to show that the
baby was not kidnapped at all. Some one with a per
verted sense of justice mailed one of these pamphlets
to every person on the Pennington jury list
It has been contended that the Lindbergh child
was a deaf mute, that it was an imbecile, that it was
defomed; and even certain sensational magazines and
pink sheets" have published some of the above rid
culous statements.
On top of all of this, the defendant is having his
day in court and is being given a fair trial.
What a portion of the public seems to forget is
that this is actually a case Of American People VS..
-u%rr ~ bc hind All kidnaDerS. murQererS,
extortionists and cold-blooded vicousness is ON trial.
With the people rests the entire burden of proof. The
defendant has on his side every legal techn1callty ana
loophole, the resort to perjury, the right TO reluse TO
say anything if he so chooses, the right to hold the
court In contempt; for a man on trial for his lie can
not be adjudged in contempt Of court regardless of his
disregard or disrespect for courts or court procedure.
The facts are plain. The innocent victim OF the
brutal crime was a perfectly normal child, the first
born of intelligent, courageous and useful citizens.
That he was kidnapped and murdered this is no doubt
That the criminal played upon the heart-strings OF dis
tracted parents and collected $4,000 ransom when
he knew the child was dead has been proven.
Bruno Richard Hauptmann, with a criminal rec
ord In his native Germany, was in possession OF con-
siderable of the ransom money, which he had conceal
ed in various hiding places. After the finding OF the
first $4,000 he assured them there was no more, but
the officers later found more money in his home and
garage.
Handwriting experts say he wrote the ransom
notes-al of them DIR. Condor, who paid the $4,000
says he paid the money to Hauptmann- Col. Lind
bergh, a keen observer, has identified him by his
voice. A taxi driver identified him as the man who
paid him to deliver a letter to DR.. Condor 1t was
proven he was in the vicinity the night OF the kidnap-
ing. The state offers to prove that part OF the ladder
used In connection with the kidnapping was made from
boards taken from the attic OF Hauptmann's house.
1t is evident Hauptmann knew the money he had
was Lindbergh ransom money. He claims to have re-
ceived 1t from another German, now dead. That dead
man had a clean, moral record both In Germany and
America He knew his life was drawing to a close
and would hardly plan a kidnapping and murder for a
huge sum which he could never use.
1t is obvious that Hauptmann was a party to the
diabolical crime. He has had and still has an oppor-
tunity to come clean" A man who would brand a
dead friend as a brutal criminal Is not the kind who
would shield his fellow criminal If, by doing so, he
could save himself from the electric chair.
But the trial of Hauptmann continues. The jury
Is composed Of four women and eight men.
The accused mans wife and young son will pro-
woke sympathy. And they need it. The fact that Col.
Lindbergh and his wife are rich will be considered by
many. Sentiment will play its part in the trial and
may be reflected In the verdict Of the jury.
Every criminal knows this. Every criminal, re-
CARELESS OF how debased or foul he may be, has that
sentiment working for him when he faces trial. Hick-
man, Dnlinger, pretty Boy" Floyd and every other
public enemy received hundreds, yes, thousands OF
ian mail" letters.
But the people, through organized government and
laws. will keep on arresting, trying and eliminating
the Hauptmanns, Dnlingers and their tribe as long as
juries can be found who will mete out Justice. regard
less OF the outcome of any one case.
In the final analysis, the people will decide whe-
Their we are to tolerate ~thuggery and crime such as
destroyed the Lindbergh child or whether. we will
stamp out the criminals and their confederates in
crime.
For once, big business is not talking so much
about running the country. After the past few wears