Evening star., 1935-02-02


5-foot-4. They were smoking cigar
cites.
Q. Did you get a good look at them?
A. Fairly good look at them.
@. Do you thing you would be able
to identify a photograph of one Of
them. Is that the man? A. No, but
I saw this man on the ferryboat.
Sommers said he sat opposite the
| man for or 10 minutes during the
river crossing.
The witness said the ferryboat
| reached the New York side about
12:40 am. and he went to the cross
town Forty-second street trolley car
The man he noticed also left the ferry
Pair Helped Woman.
@. What did you see this man do?
A. Him and the other man assisted a
woman holding a baby on to a trolley
car.
He described the woman as very
nervous, as though ready to jump
out" She was dressed in a brown
coat with brown fur cuffs and wore a
pearl necklace.
THE baby was a blond about 2
years DID," he added
@. When you went home that night
did you report the incident to the
police? No, I told my folks
An objection interrupted him.
@. Well, when did you learn the
Lindbergh baby was kidnapped? A. At
10:45 the next morning, March 2,
1882, when it came over the radio.
@. Did you report it eventually to
police? A. Yes, that very day, to De-
tective Mullaney at the Eighty-first
precinct station, Fulton street, Brook
lyn.
@. Ever do anything else? A. Yes,
wrote to the State Police at Trenton,
N. j.
@. Did the police ever investigate
you and your story? A. No, never.
No Effort to Reach Police.
piOu61Ao
out that Sommer made no effort to
reach the police Immediately after
Hauptmann's arrest
The police, he added, once at head
quarters, took his story but told him
that there were hundreds of reports
of men with babies" that night.
Then Wilentz showed Sommer the
pictures of Violet Sharpe and Of the
man. receiving his II wouldn't say
yes, wouldn't say no" answers.
His uncertainty continued as Wilentz
prodded him on whether he had seen
before the picture of the man Reilly
showed him.
st wouldn't say I did, I wouldn't say
I didn't" he answered.
He testified the men went to an
automobile after assisting the woman
on the trolley, that the child's blanket
slipped and that he was able to see
the baby.
Sommer protested Wilentz was try
ing to mix him up when he pressed
him for a better explanation Of the
whereabouts of the short and tall men.
Sommer could not recall whether the
short man with the tall one at the
trolley was the same he had observed
on the boat. He declined to identify
small photograph Wilentz displayed
of 'the short man."
Writing Expert Attacked.
He said the men met the woman
outside the New. York ferry house.
The volunteer handwriting witness,
Trendley, asserted Osborn had based
his conclusion on only one word, els. I"
A State objection met Reilly's ques-
ton, And do you consider that suffl-
cient to send a man to the electric
chair?"
Justice Trenchard sustained the OBJ
lection.
The moot points of the handwriting
testimony were canvassed by Reilly in
his direct examination-the "x's," the
"a's," the hyphenated "New-York"
which appeared on the envelopes.
Trendley said the unusual "x"
which appeared in both the ransom
and the Hauptmann writings was q
common form among writer's from
countries under Teutonic influence" T"
Hyphenated proper names, he said,
also were common among foreign
writer's.
The testimony proved dreary listen
ing. The audience stirred restlessly.
Reillys recess pronomcements on
the Fisch angle of the case and
skirmish between Reilly and Lanigan
provided breaks in the monotony.
Envelopes Offered.
As Lanigan prepared to cross
examine Trendley, Reilly offered in
evidence envelopes bearing hyphenat-
ed addresses. Lanigan objected, ques-
tioning the custody Of the envelopes.
eff you are going to stand on tech
nicalities, don't want them," he said.
"If you want me to bring here every
man and woman who received those
letters, I'll do it."
"Is that threat?" Lanigan asked.
Reilly said something which could
not be distinguished and left the
court room for several minutes.
Trendley told Lanigan he was un-
able to prepare charts Of the hand