The Washington times., 1935-03-13
K|DNAP TRIAL
INSPIRES NOTE
TOPRES|DENT
This Is the third of a series OF
articles BY the star reporter OF
the HGuptmann trial on untold
stories of the case.
Bv JAMES L. KILGALLEN
Copyright, 1895. by International
Navs Servicel

Copyright, 1895. by International
News ServiceD
NEW YORK, March 13 O.N.SO. E.
Writers covering the Bruno Rich.
ard Hauptmann murder trial were
swamped with the heaviest "fan
mail" they had ever received in
reporting a story in this country.
From all parts Of the nation
came letters, day after day. Some
of the communications were COM
plimentary, others bitterly resent
full and all showing how keenly
the public was reacting to what
was transpiring in the Hunterdon
court room in F1emington.
"Hauptmann IS guilty" "Haupt'
mann is innocent" That was the
general tenor of the communities
tionS.
I received an amazingly large
number of letters myself. I have
been covering stories Of national
interest for International News
Service for years and never had I
seen anything like this. Every
body, it seemed, knew something
about the celebrated Lindbergh
case.
Writes To President
One writer even asked inter"
vention by President Franklin D.
Roosevelt. For obvious reasons, I
will not disclose names OF the
writer's of some communications,
taken from those I have on file,
which it is of interest to quote
here because they reveal what
typical Americans are thinking
about this case.
From the head Of an electrical
firm in Bonham, Tex, I received
q letter stating that the writer
had read my interview with
Hauptmann in his cell after the
defendant was sentenced to die
in the electric chair. He COM
plimented the interview as "the
only other than q dark side OF
the picture turned out" and asked
would I see that an attached let
ter to President Roosevelt was
delivered into the latter's hands.
Letter to President
His letter to President Roose.
velt said in part:
"Having read all the news &C
counts of the mOmentOuS case
Of Hauptmann, finishing with
the 4O-minute interview by
James L. Kilgallen IN the de-
fendant's cell, am firmly con-
vinced that q desperate mis-
carriage of justice has occurred.
circumstances point to
Hauptmann's guilt-but not
conclusive. Other circumstances
proclaim his innocence. Mr..
President, hear his cry-a for
eigner pleading as only q for
eigner can. He says he will
die like a man-if he has to
for q job he didn't do"
A woman in Washington, D. c.,
wrote that she had been following
the trial stories closely. She said
she had studied abnormal psychol-
ogy under DR.. William A. White
at st. Elizabeths Hospital. in
Washington, and that naturally
her work brought her in contact
with many. psychopathic person
alities. She wrote:
81 think that Hauptmann is
Q psychOpathic personality. 1t
occurs to me that the State has
not attached much significance
to the kidnaper's instructions to
DIR. John F. "JafSie" Condor
about how the ransom money
was to be delivered. He tells
him to put it in a bOx-and in
Structs him how to build that
box.
Doesn't it appear rather sig
nificant that only a man with
q methOdicaI, mechanical turn
of mind would stop to consider
in q time like that-juSt how
he wanted the box built?
''MethOdical-a typical Ger.
man trait. I know whereof /
speak, because / was once mar
ried to a German singer, who
drove me to divorce because Of
the same trait. And they all
have it-whether they are born
here or in Germany.
mechanical. Hauptmann
is q carpenter. Now, who but a
carpenter would care how a box
was built?"
ARTICLES PRAISED
From Pasadena, CAL, I received
q letter which said, in part:
"YOur article about Bruno
Hauptmann February Is was the
first sane and fair one in a
long time am convinced
that Hauptmann has told the
SM CONTINENTAL
I'M