Evening star., 1936-04-01
"Jersey Justice. :"

JSAONy JAStASCs
More than year ago, February 13,
1885, Bruno Richard Hauptmann was
convicted of the murder of little Charles
A. Lindbergh, jr., in the State of New
Jersey.
Last night, for the second time, his
execution, which had been set for the
week of January l3, 1886, was post
poned. On the first occasion Gov Hoffman
granted reprieve of 80 days. The new
date for execution was set for the week be-
ginning March 81. Last night the warden
of the penitentiary where the murderer
is confined granted a forty -eight-hour
suspension of the execution of sentence
at the request of the foreman of New
Jersey grand jury, which had declined to
indict disbarred New Jersey lawyer, who
is alleged to have confessed to the actual
kidnapping and murder and has subse-
quently repudiated his alleged confession.
Not an iota of evidence to warrant this
travesty upon justice has been presented.
There has been loose talk as to executive
misgivings," separate and unofficial in
vestigations, confessions by one uni
versally discredited criminal and by an
other who is under the ban of the law and
utterly unsupported aspersions upon the
New Jersey police, the prosecuting au-
thorities and major witnesses.
The result has been inevitable:
Hauptmann. convicted of as brutal and
despicable a crime as the records set
forth, is today alive. The faith of hun
dreds OF thousands of Americans in the
originally palpable justice of his convic-
ton has been shaken. Baby-snatchers
and extortionists and murderers have
been encouraged and heartened. Con-
scientious and competent individuals,
interested only in the performance of
their duty to society, have been be-
smirched.
AS it contemplates this picture the
newspaper-reading public should bear
in mind these basic facts: Entirely aside
from any direct or individual testimony,
the circumstantial evidence inevitably
damns Hauptmann. To him alone has
the ransom money been traced, hidden
with slyness which proclains guilt. A
revolver was hidden with the money. To
the least expert of students of hand
writing it is apparent upon any careful
study that only the most fantastic of
condolences could account for the SINH
larity in his handwriting and that of
the ransom notes. The greatest author
1ty on wood in the country has testified
that beyond peradventure of doubt a
step in the famous kidnap ladder was
once part of board in Hauptmanns
attic. DR.. Condon's unlisted telephone
number was found penciled upon Haupt-
mann's door jamb. A disinterested
artist was able, from DR. Condons de-
scription of the man to whom he paid
the ransom, to draw an excellent likeness
of Hauptmann months before he was
ever connected with the case in any way.
Any one of these phases of circum-
stantial evidence could, and properly
oAAOAN, W AAS1S% 40 AlASO14SlOolfC. SOliL-
bined, unless they are forgotten or dis
regarded they must compel any normal
intellect to full Endorsement of the ver-
dict found in Pennington.
That the murderer of the little boy
should have been permitted to live six
months after his guilt was established
and affirmed would have been almost
impossible in any nation on earth except
the United States. In view of the facts
that every competent court in the pic
ture has sustained the Pennington ver-
dict, that not scintilla of bona fide
new evidence has been adduced, that
every known and few novel tricks
inciaent to the defense of criminals have
been exhausted, that American criminal
justice has been made tragic farce and
q shameful travesty before the world at
large, it would be en1inently in order
that competent authorities now thor.
oughly investigate the recent series of
events and, after Hauptmann shall
eventually have been executed, seek so
to amend American criminal law as to
render forever impossible repetition of
such absurd and demoralizing procedure.