Evening star., 1936-02-24
HOFFMAN ACCUSES
WH|TED OF LYING"
AND CITES RECORD
Perjury Action May Result
From Charges Against
Hauptmann ldentifier.
SWORE HE SAW BRUNO
NEAR LINDBERGH HOME
Governor Stresses Fact That Log.
ger Was States Lone Witness
for Extradition.
BY the Associated Press.

0y inc ASsOCldteO FTeSS.
TRENTON, N. j.. February a.
Gov. Harold G. Hoffman today ac-
cused Millard Whited, Sourland
Mountain lumberjack and one of the
States chief witnesses against Bruno
Richard Hauptmann, with lying" a
charge which might be the basis OF
perjury action against him.
The Governor, who questioned
Whited at length Saturday. said the
printed and written record shows that
he was lying"
Whited was one of the two witnesses
who placed Hauptmann near the Lind
bergh estate at Hopewell about the
time of the kidnapping, March /. 1882.
The Sourland logger was the only
witness New Jersey called at Haupt-
m ms extradition hearing in New
York to place the Bronx carpenter
near the scene of the crime. Whited
swore he saw Hauptmann prowling
around the Lindbergh grounds on two
occasions late In February, 1882. He
repeated this testimony at the Flem-
ington trial.
Whited's Credibility Attacked.
The defense, both at the extradition
hearing and at the trial. produced wit
nesses who attacked Whited's credi-
bility. Whited held to his identifica-
ton. and Saturday told Gov. Hoffman
that he had described the prowler to
Col Charles A. Lindbergh the day
after the kidnapping.
In view of the fact that there
seems to be a studied effort to sup
press from the public certain impor-
tant information concerning the
Hauptmann case and my interest in
it from the standpoint Of seeing that
final and complete justice is done in
the matter" the Governor said, Il
wish to make this further statement
in connection with Millard Whited:
Il did not question this man upon
whose Identification Hauptmann was
brought back from the Bronx to
stand trial in New Jersey because
thought he was not telling the truth.
but because the printed and written
record shows that he was lying.
ION April 20, 1892, he gave to the
State police a signed statement in
which he said that he had never seen
any cars or suspicious persons in the
woods nor in the vicinity of the
Lindbergh home. His next signed
statement is dated October 6, 1884,
when, after having been repeatedly
shown photographs of Hauptmann by
Corpl. Wolf of the State police and
having been promised payment and a
part of the reward, he went to the
Bronx County Jail and identified
Hauptmann as a man he had seen
twice in the vicinity of the Lindbergh
home prior to March /, 1882"
The Governor said he had both
signed statements in his possession.
On Saturday he issued photostatic
copies of the April 26, 1882, state
ment.
THE 'alibi boys may try to laugh
this off. but If these records and the
wide discrepancy in the testimony
given by Whited at the Pennington
trial are not significant" he said.
then do not know just what is i'm
portant in this case"
Untruth Held Deliberate.
Prosecutor Anthony M. Hauck. jr.,
of Hunterdon County, who was pres
ent when Whited was questioned Sat-
urday, explained that Whited had
purposely lied to the two detectives
who questioned him in 1882 because
he did not know them and his sus-
picious nature moved him to tell un-
truths.
There was apparently no written
record of Whited's report to Lindbergh.
but Hauck said he and other prose-
cution officials had been apprised of
Whited's statement to Lindbergh long
before the trial. He said there was
no necessity of calling Col. Lindbergh
back from England to confirm the
statement.
A report that Gov. Hoffman plans
to make another death house visit to