Evening Star Newspaper, January 24, 1935, Page 3

THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON D G, THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 1935. | : . 19%. P As State Neared Close of Case Against Hauptmann - TRENCHARD DENIES DIRECTED VERDICT Defense Loses Plea and! Fisher Outlines Bruno’s Case to Jury. By the Associated Press FLEMINGTON, N. J., January 24.— | New Jersey brought its murder case | against Bruno Richard Hauptmann to | its closing hours tocay, after three. weeks of testimany. i Arthur J. Koehler, the studious, | middle-aged Federal wood expert, who | turned out to be the State's star wit- | ness, waited in court to tell the jury still more of his conviction that | Hauptmann wood and Hauptmann | tools constructed the kidnap ladder. ‘The Madison. Wis., expert, accom- panied by his wife, arrived early in| the court room, which was chilly and | not as crowded as usual. The heavy | snowfall and the biting cold weather | which followed it had thinned th“ ranks of the early arrivals in the au- | dience. Attorney General David T. Wilentz, | chief of the State’s legal staff, reached | the court room with Mr. and Mrs. Koehler and said Koehler would be | the last witness called in the State's direct case. | Kidnap Ladder | Placed in View of Jury. i The kidnap ladder was carried in | and stacked against the wall near the | jury box and the witness stand. Along- | side of it was placed the floorboard plank from Hauptmann's attic—the | plank which Koehler declares was cut | to furnish one of the ladder uprights. The jurors could not help seeing the wooden evidence cvery time they| glanced toward the witness stand. | Hauptmann and his guards marched into court and took the seats back | of the counsel table at 9:50. | His face was pale but he did not| @ppear nervous. | He looked about the room, but nnl: in the direction of the witness chair, ‘ near which stood Koehler. Mrs. Hauptmann came in just as the jury filed into the box. She and | her husband held their usual morn- | ing conversation. | Supreme Court Justice Thomas W.| Trenchard still had not put in his appearance at the court house, and ! every one sat back to wait, realizing | court would be late in convening. While the appearance of Justice ‘Trenchard was awaited, Hauptmann engaged in a long conversation with his chief counsel, Edward J. Reilly. | Reilly sat close in front of the defendant, who now glanced fre- quently toward the ladder as he talked. Once Hauptmann shot a swift glance toward Koehler, who was seated behind the prosecution table. He appeared very grave, but much more alert and active than before in his trial. After Justice Trenchard arrived Wilentz and Reilly went together to. the jurist's chambers for an extended | conference. Anthony M. Hauck, jr. Hunterdon County prosecutor, missed his first day at the prosecution table. He had & cold and remained at home. Hauptmann Reads Letter During Delay. i As the conference of counsel and | the justice delayed the opening of the | session, Hauptmann read a long letter, given him by counsel. He bent for- ward and held the missive partly folded as though to prevent his guards from seeing the contents. Justice Trenchard, the attorney general and Reilly came out of lhe‘, Jjudge’s chambers together. The justice | took the bench and the jury was| polled. | Court was convened at 10:26 a.m. and Koehler was called back to the witness stand by the attorney general. Col. Charles A. Lindbergh and his companion throughout the trial, Col H. Norman Schwarzkopf, did not ap- pear as the questioning of Koehler began. ! Col. Henry Breckinridge, the avia- | tor’s legal adviser, was seated near | the prosecution table. Wilentz, taking the witness for the rest of his direct testimony, had lh8¢ bald expert tell the jury that the | “rail 16” of the ladder was not part of the lumber shipment traced to the Bronx lumber yard. “Rail 16” is the rail which was allegedly cut from the attic board in Hauptmann's home. Asks to Present Bruno’s Auto to Jury. Wilentz asked the court for permis- sion to introduce Hauptmann’s auto- mobile as an exhibit. “We have it,” he said, “on the court | house property and, if the weather | permits, the jury may have permis- sion to examine it.” ‘The purpose, he said, was to show the car was owned and operated by | Hauptmann at the time of arrest. Justice Trenchard said that a pho- tograph should be produced instead. Q. What was it you traced to the lumber yard? A. Just the two bottom rails of the ladder. Koehler then said the other up- SPECIAL NOTICES. DIVIDEND OF SIX PER CENT (67%) has been declared on the Capital Stock of the CHR. HEURICH BREWING CO. pay: able at its branch office. cor. 25th and | Water sts., n.w. Washington, D. C. on 1. The books of the company. for The transfer of Sock will be elosed Irom January 21 to Feb. 1. 1935 both dates inclusive. W._F. DISMER. Secretary. TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: TAKE Totice that the certificate of sale for taxes on lot 14 square 2776, Washington. D C. on 13th day of January. 1932, is- sued ‘to Real Estate Mortzage and Guar- anty Corp. has been lost or destroved and that T have applied to the Commis- soners, D. C_ to issue to me a du of said _ certificate. EAL ESTA' MORT]((‘-‘\(‘E AND GuARANTY GO ) K st A D) NOT RESFONSIBLE FOR ANY DEBTS Contracted by any one other than myseli. ELLIS E. GLYCOFRIDES. T WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANV gebis, contracted by others ihan moself Ja R. HANSEN. Hotel Logan. WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR Eents sontracied b by any one other than myself. VERNON WHITE, 912 Md. sve_co, WILL NOT BE RESFONSIBLE ron ente contraried "By nny one other than mysel. ROY H. DRUMMOND. 2013 Kalo- rama rd. DAILY TRIPS MOVING LOAI AND art loads to_and from Balto.. Phila., and ew York. Frequent trips 1o other East- At left: The jury in the Haupt-" mann trial braves a blizzard on way to court. At right: Arthur J. Koehler, Federal wood expert, shown with his wife after he left the witness stand. He testified some wood in the Lindbergh kidnap ladder come from the attic of Bruno Hauptmann's home in the Bronx. Inset: Mrs. James A. Farley, wife of the Postmaster General, as she watched [m‘ n‘l’\l Copyright, A. P. Wirephotos. rights were of fir, with the exception of “rail 16" and the rungs were of Ponderosa pine. Wilentz showed Koehler the picture | of the Hauptmann car. Have you seen this automobile? 1 have. Did it have a New York license? | It did. Did you take this ladder and attempt to fit it in that car? A. 1 did Q. Did it fit? A spare. front It fitted in on top of the and rear seats. Hauptmann Examines Photograph of Automobile. A photograph was shown by C. Lloyd Fisher, defense counsel, to Hauptmann, who studied it for several minutes. The defendant showed increasing in- terest in his case as the time for his appearance on the stand approached. He pointed out tc Fisher that the | photograph showed a trunk at the rear of the car. The State brought the car to Flem- i ington without the trunk, and Justice { Trenchard admitted the photograph with the difference stipulated. Frederick A. Pope of the defense began cross-examination of Koehler, questioning him on his testimony in prior cases. As the cross-examination proceeded Col. Lindbergh and Col. Schwarzkopf arrived and stood in the doorway of the library adjoining the court and looked on. They had apparently been delayed by the snowy roads. The bulky little defense attorney di- rected Koehler’s attention to Federal Trade Commission suits in which he testified on “wood failures.” Koehler explained the cases in- volved questions of wood weakness or overloading. Q. You have never undertaken in court before to identify chisel or plane marks on lumber? A. No. Q. This is the first time you have been called upon to testify to that? A. Yes. Shown Only Tools Owned by Hauptmann. Q. Now you demonstrated to the jury yesterday that one of the notches in the ladder rail was made by a 3-inch chisel? A. Yes. Q. It could well be made by any standard 34-inch chisel? A. Yes. . Q. You were shown by the prosecu- tor these chisels, one a quarter inch, one a half inch and one three-quar- | ter? A. Yes. Q. Were you shown any other stand- ard set? A. No. Q. You were shown the set in Haupt- mann’s chest? A. Yes. Koehler said three rails of the lad- der were North Carolina pine and | the others Douglas fir. Q. You do not know the ladder con- tained a piece of Douglas fir when it was originally found? A. I didn’t see it when it was found. It did with several inches to| The chubby Pope then directed the expert's attention to the ladder sec- | tion which contains the alleged attic | floor board as an upright. The other | upright was Douglas fir, Koehler said. Q. You do not know whether both those uprights were originally Doug- las fir? | A. I do not. Pope Hints at Possibility of “Plant.” Pope was apparently hinting at the possibility the floor board rail was a real “plant.” Pope asked the expert to designate the other North Carolina pine rails in the ladder. bottom section of the ladder. that the two bottom rails were of bet- ter “quality” than that of the top sec- | tion, allegedly taken from the Haupt- mann attic. Koehler gave a long explana(ion of his understanding of *“quality,” in- dicating the pitch content and the number of knots might vary in pine wood. Koehler declared, “speaking com- mercially,” the attic flooring and | “rail 16" were of the same quality as the North Carolina pine found elsewhere in the ladder. For certain purposes, Koehler ex- plained, the bottom rails were better section. Fewer Knots In Bottom Rails of Ladder. There were fewer knots, he said, in the bottom rails. If the knots were large enough, in exposed condition. Q. Is there any difference between North Carolina pine, South Carolina pine and Georgia pine? A. North Carolina pine comes from all three of those States and from Virginia. It shows no great varia- tion. for a minute before the examination proceeded. Pope sought to show that the side sway of a ladder was a greater strain on a ladder than downward stress, tending to cause breakage. The defense counsel, hands in pock- ets, entered into a chatty discussion with the expert on the technical fac- tors which would induce breakage of wood, -including fiber severance and the effect of nails on strength. Q. These rungs are spaced wide, unusually wide, aren’t they, on this ladder? A. Unusually wide, yes. Wide Spacing Would Result in Sway. “Unless a man took precautions,” Koehler said, “the great width separ- ating the rungs would result in some sidesway on the kidnap ladder.” Q. The spacing of the rounds wide apart does have a tendency to weaken its resisting power, to a man coming down? A. Yes, sideways. Q. An ordinary carpenter would ap- preciate that, wouldn't he? A. I suppose so. Pope next directed the witness to « « « these Steuart Supervisors are trained to diagnose service He pointed to the two rails of the | Pope sought to bring from Koehler | than the single runner in the top | he added, they might make a difter- | ence in strength if the wood was used | Pope and Koehler talked pine wood | variations in the width of saw cuts in | the ladder. | Koehler said he used a mechanic’s thickness measure and tested the cuts | | with the instrument’s various blades | until he found those which fit. The cuts varied from 35 to 37 thousandths of an inch. The expert said he had not made comparisons with standard saws. Q. Taking this ladder structure as |a whole, would you say it was built | by a mechanic or an amateur? A. Do you mean by a carpenter or a machinist Q. Do you think it was built by a mechanic? A. No, I do not. Q. It was a rather poor job, wasn't A. Yes. Hauptmann held frequent whispered | | conversations gith Fisher during | Pope's cross-exdmination of Koehler. | Believes Ladder Would Bear 175-Pound Man, | Pope told how officers had pre- viously described how the first two sections of the ladder were used for the kidnaping. Then he shot the question: ‘rom your knowledge of wood would you say this ladder would hold | the weight of a man 175 to 180 ‘ pounds.” | Koehler's brow furrowed as he| looked carefully at the ladder. “Yes,” ne said, “I think it would.” Q. Could he go up and down, readily, | without the ladder breaking? A. He might. Q. The nearer the rounds are to- gether the stronger the ladder? A. I wouldn’t say that. The longer the step of a man, the heavier the jerk on the ladder. Pope asked if Koehler observed no lead or red paint in the ladder. “Yes,"” he said “on rail 14.” The expert picked up the section of the ladder and pointed to a small smear. He said he found no other paint on the ladder or rounds. | Pope took a new tack and asked if | the North Carolina pine such as found | is the ladder was not used for boxing and crating purposes. “It is.” | He asked then if Douglas fir were not also used for such purposes. | ‘The 1 by 4s. Yes. Extensively.” Q. Speaking of the ladder, did you notice any difference of construction between sections 1, 2 and 3? A. I did not. Q. Didn't Nos. 1 and 2 seem to be a little better than 3?2 A. No difference except a more knotty grade of lumper was used in 3. Q. A little weaker? A. Yes. Q. Did you find in your search for lumber, lumber of the same type grade Police Records . rrarome HENRY NESTOR The Singing Cop and The Silver Shield Chorus W-H-HESSICK&SON,in¢ IGTH EWATER STS.S.W. problems accurately Thousands of car owners know these Steuart men. Washingtonians have learned that work entrusted to them is SAFE! No guesswork, because the many years of practical automotive ex- perience has given them a knowledge | the kidnaper's trail back into the in line with the | § and quality in a lumber yard at Hope- well? A. No. Q. If such lumber was found by the | State police in Hopewell, it was not shown to you? A. No Q. If some was found at the epi- leptic village at Skillman (near Hope- well) was it presented to you? A. No. Koehler said he discovered a few | hammer marks on the ladder rungs. Q. A good carpenter doesn't .eave hammer marks, he uses a nail set? A. These were common eight-penry | nails, driven directly. Pope, interrupting his questions with. frequent visits to the defense | table to consult notes, turned Koeh- ler’s attention to the dowel oin tied to the third section of, the ladder. Koehler said it and the other found near the ladder were birch wood Q. Did you examine a small piece of dowel said to be found by the State pelice in the Lindbergh house? | A. I don't remember any little piece. No. Q. Then you never saw it—that piece said to have been found in the | house? A. I did not. Attempts to Turn Trail to Lindbergh home. Pope was apparently trying to turn Lindbergh home, repeated defense hints of an “inside job.” Pope next got on the subject of | “annual rings,” which show the age | and growing conditions of a tree. For several minutes Koehler had only chance to say “Yes"” or “No” occa- a sonally to Pope’s discussion on the | Quality . subject of tree culture and lumber. The amateur wood worker of the de- fense seemed to be enjoying himself. As the rustling among the disinter- | ested crowd increased, Pope said, “Just | one or two questions about the milling machines.” ‘The discussion turned to revolu- tions per minute and planer knives. WHERE TO DINE. Try Our 4-Course Appetizing DAILY DINNERS 5 to 8:30 P.M. Special at Choice of 2 meats or sea food IVY TERRACE 55c 1634 Conn. Ave. 727 20th and R Sts. N.W. 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Included are beautiful velveis, crepes and taffetas. 24 Regular $49.75 Cloth Coats Trimmed Coats in sizes 14 to 42. Buy . The Lowest Always and Dresses Sizes 14 39 Gray Kidskin, $ 8 8 $4.95 $6.95 $10.95 reduced to.... $12.95 $16.95 Skunk rice! $2400 | picked up a tool Pope terminated his cross-examina- tion of Koehler. Wilentz, on redirect examination, elicited from Koehler that he had traced no lumber such as used in the ladder to Hopewell or Skillman. Q. Does this ladder look the work of a $100-a-month carpenter? A. I don't know. Expert Declares Ladder Was Homemade. Hauptmann's pay before the kid- naping was $100 a month, previous testimony has brought out. Q. Is this the work of a carpenter? A. A rough carpenter, yes. Q. It's a homemade ladder? A. Yes. Wilentz asked if Koehler thought the ladder would break with a man of 170-175 pounds and the additional weight of 30 pounds. Pope objected to the question as not proper redirect examination, but Koehler was allowed to answer. He said he couldn't tell. Wilentz brought out the ladder and said, “I'm going to climb down.” He laid it on the floor and brought from Koehler that the greatest strain would be at the point at the dowel pin between the two sections. The expert indicated splits in the lower section from the dowel-pin holes to the nearest rung. Wilentz next drew attention to the chisels, asking if they were of a make mentioned by Pope. Koehler said he found none of that make among Hauptmann'’s tools. Q. A little fellow like myself would have a hard time climbing rungs? A. Yes. Q. A man 5 “9” or § “10” have an easier time? Pope objected and was overruled. A. Somewhat easier. The jury tittered when Wilentz studied it for a minute and inquired: “What's this?” “A screw driver,” Hauptmann Tools Not Good “Carpenter’s Tools.” Koehler said the Hauptmann tools were not “a good carpenter’s tools” would said Koehler. Without a Doubt! and the plane penter’s plane.” Hauptmann’s face never changed its set expression. Q. Is it still your tPsllmony those plane marks on the ladder were made by this plane? Wilentz .gestured to the plane, A Itis Pope objected and the answer was strlckm “Is it not a fact,” Wilentz asked, as it leadmk to his final question for the State, “that this rung and board found in the attic were one and the same.” Pope objected and was overruled. Koehler said, “It is.” Wilentz turned Koehler back to Pope. Pope took the witness for ecross- | examination and asked if the dowel {pin holes where the ladder split did not weaken the rail considerably. | _ The expert said the holes did ‘weaken the wood. but would not say that the splits resulted from the holes. He blamed stress at the point plus the weakness there for the split Q. This type of ladder now, it is | used extensively in the South, in the fruit industries? A. Not to my knowledge. saw a ladder like that before. Pope asked if “a bo} m a manual 1 never those | Turn your old trinkets, jeweliy and watches into MONEY at ’ A . 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