Indianapolis Times, Volume 47, Number 267, Indianapolis, Marion County, 16 January 1936 — Page 3

JAN. 16, 1936

BRUNO WILL DIE, WILL NOT DIE, CONFLICTING REPORTS SAY AS DOOM HOUR NEARS Fate of Condemned Lindbergh Killer Rests in Hands of Gov. Hoffman; Defense Claims New Evidence. (Continued From Page One)

spite the pale glow of a January sun on the long pile of dull red stone, when Mrs. Hauptmann went to the death cell to tell her husband that she had no definite promise of a reprieve or any other such action to save him. Bruno Gets “Silent” Treatment. Wearing a small black hat, from which h e r yellow hair fell to the nape of her neck, she hurried from her cab, across the sidewalk and up a half dozen gray steps to the mam entrance, where an overhanging arch cut off the meager sunlight. Inside, she was passed by the guards and taken to the aeaih house where Hauptmann and five other condemned men live in cells adjoining the electrocution chamber. The convicted kidnaper has been given the “silent t reatment,” has been left strictly a one by Kimberling since last Saturday, But Mrs. Hauptmann saw little change in his appearance. A bright light beamed on his face as she stood outside the bars of the cell and outside a heavy screen, unable to touch him as she said good-by, perhaps for the last time. Little Emotion Shown A skylight gave a vague glimpse of the bright sky but permitted Hauptmann barely to tell that there was daylight outside. There was, as ever, little emotion in their meeting. Hauptmann knew as he peered through the screen at the quiet woman in the corridor, that he might never see her again. But if he recalled their happier days together, if he recalled the desperate battle she has made to aid him since his arrest, there was no mention of it between them. Sorrowfully, Mrs. Hauptmann told him that she did not have any good news. The court battle so far, she said, had been in vair There was, of course, still hope. Something—that vague "something” which defense counsel so frequently have . mentioned—might be done in the courts, possibly in Washington. But there was no news of a reprieve. The nerves which have made the prisoner a man of ice except on rare occasion again withstood the shock of “no news” as the hours sped toward tomorrow night when they will send for him to take a few steps along the corridor, through a door as gray and cold as death itself and into eternity. Neither Sheds Tear Neither Hauptmann nor his wife shed a tear that could be seen by those few who were present when they said their simple good-by. He asked in a toneless voice about the baby and she told him of the child who was brought here last night, but who will never see his father in the house of condemned men. They talked, mostly in German, for more than half an hour. When she returned to the prison lobby, Mrs. Hauptmann was dry-eyed and occasionally, a smile flickered on her colorless lip 6. She sat for a few minutes in a stiff oak chair and then went into the office of Warden Kimberling. While she talked to the warden, the undertaker who usually handles funerals from the prison entered and sat in the chair she had just left. Crowd Awaits Departure Whether Mrs. Hauptmann had made ararngements to claim the body of her husband was not revealed immediately. Outside the prison, a crowd had collected on the sidewalk. old women in white housecaps and shawls had come from the nearby shabby houses to catch a glimpse of Mrs. Hauptmann. An aged toothless woman in an old brown coat leaned against the fender of a motion picture camera automobile and wept softly. Children played on the dirty brown steps leading into the main entrance. Truck drivers in dirty overalls and caps craned their necks to see over the movie apparatus focused on the entrance. Mrs. Hauptmann came timidly from the prison, she appeared to have changed little since the frantic days when her husband’s name was blazoned in headlines at the time police “broke” the Lindbergh case. Gives Evasive Answers The frantic, dazed look that made her face a blank when the battle over Hauptmann began was gone and she seemed more sure of herself, although by no means confident of success. She made her way, under expert guidance, through the crowd and waited patiently as her taxicab was surrounded. She has learned to answer questions evasively. She neatly avoided a query as to whether she had seen the Governor by saying: “If you know that , you know more than I do.” She had learned also how to say: “No comment on that.” “Bruno Still Hopeful” After she had gone, Kimberling said: “This was their final visit unless something develops that would be a reason for allowing Mrs. Hauptmann to go to the death house again. “She told me that she didn't 'tell him he wculd get a reprieve and she advised me that she had no good news for him. She told him of the various court failures. •Hauptmann, his wife said, still thinks he has some chance somewhere." Kimberling said Hauptmann’s, health was “very good” and that he was perfe.tly normal. He is re- 1 ceiving about 200 letters a day but j he is only permitted to see the mail I from his immediate family. His last leter from his aged mother. Pauline Vern Hauptmann, j in Germany, was received about two j weeks ago. His sister in Califo.-nia has been writing Bruno about once a month but he has received no .mail from her during this week, it was stated.

ceived no word or intimation that a reprieve had or would be granted and that everything at the prison was going ahead on schedule for the electrocution. He added that Mrs. Hauptmann had not asked permission to bring the baby to the prison but if she appeared with Mannfried i he would advise against it. Hauptmann, he said, will be pre- : pared tomorrow for death. Since Saturday Warden Kimberling has not visited Hauptmann once, though previously he had talked to him once a day. For four days, while Hauptmann has felt time carrying him into the embrace of the chair, no official has shown the slightest interest in him. If he is ever to change his story, it was believed that wiCh but one more : sunrise, he would be most likely to | talk under a policy of silence. Attorneys’ Optimism Forced The chair was ready, tested and certified to be in working order. Tomorrow the barber shaves his head, a keeper slits his trousers leg to make a place for the electrode. The hopelessness and helplessness that must be making itself felt in the tiny death cell, was manifest out- ! side the prison. While this drama intensified the atmosphere in the death house, Hoffman was at the Capitol making his decision. With the approach of the execution, his mail has greatly increased and among the letters have been several from persons “confessing” or telling of other persons who “confessed.” The most plausible have been studied and investigated carefully by Gov. Hoffman and police. So far, all those investigated have been j proven fakes. All Leads Investigated One contained information from a criminologist that a man named John, a man named Bruno, and a woman were involved. Two others were from attorneys who they had clients in prisons who had knowledge of the crime. An attorney in Wichita, Kas., wrote that ne knew a man who knew all about the ransom “pay off.” An affidavit from a former Department of Justice agent asserted that he had overheard a gang plot the kidnaping. All have been checked at a huge cost and without result, but still others are on file, being checked or studied. But these maneuvers were far away from convict No. 17400 sitting close to the bars of a death cell deep behind the old red stone walls of the state prison. Only when his minister or his wife visit him does he get a distant glimpse of the court battle outside. Even then his interest is academic. What he wants to see is the tall, mild-mannered Kimberling striding down the corridor with news from Gov. Hoffman. Gets “Silent Treatment” For that reason, the “silent treatment” has been a test of his nerves. Kimberling's daily visits to his cell had lent strength to his courage. Then suddenly, that strength was withdrawn. Hauptmann has given only the slightest evidence of cracking. On Saturday, when the Board of Pardons turned him down, tears filled his pale eyes. On Monday, he was reported slightly nervous. Yesterday, Kimberling said, he began smoking more cigarets. Most of the time he sits with his chair pulled close to the oars of his 9-by-6-foot cell. A few feet away is the heavy door to the electrocution room. On both sides of the corridor are other men—five of them—who are condemned to follow him to the chair. In front of his cell sits a guard. In the corridor, a bright light burns day and night. By sticking his feet, shod in carpet slippers, against the bars he can lean forward and get a better light by which to read. He reads much of the time from history and nature books. Thus, the man sentenced to die tomorrow spins out the hours close to a few other men, yet far removed from companionship. If, at any time oefore 8 p. ti. tomorrow. Hauptmann wants to talk, Kimberling will be waiting. 'Murder/ Says Pastor By T nitrd Press TRENTON, N. J., Jan. 16.—The man who will carry the consolation of religion to Bruno Richard Hauptmann in his last hours believes the j state of New Jersey is going to commit murder tomorrow night. The Rev. John Matthieson, Lutheran pastor, says there are other ; ways of determining guilt or inno- | cence than weighing, testimony. He told about it, seated in a chair outside the barred gate leading to the State Prison death house. “In all modes! y,” he said. “I tell you that I have searched this man’s soul. He is innocent. I am not a sentimentalist. I believe in capital punishment, if a man is a murderer, but if I have to pray for Richard Hauptmann before he is executed, lam going to be sick. It will be murder—legal murder.” Claims He's Religious Mr. Matthieson said Hauptmann was confirmed in the Lutheran faith at the age of 15 in Kamenz, Germany. “Is he still religious?” he was asked. “I think he is,” Mr. Matthieson replied. “But of course we talk about other things besides religion when I go in to see him.” "What other things?" “Oh, politics or science or anything that he is in the mood to discuss.” “How long do you talk?” “Most of the time for about 30 or 40 minutes.” “Does he pray?” “With me. yes. I read him verse or two of Scripture at the end of syX visit and then I say a grayer.” ■w , * J

THIS IS WAY SNOW-COVERED CIRCLE APPEARS FROM MONUMENT TOP

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What downtown Indianapolis looks like from the skies! An enterprising young cameraman jour-

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And hiking back through town he stopped to look at a line of parked automobiles. Below is what he saw.

Jh.opfes Moonlight Sale Friday Night 7 to 9 Men’s Trousers _ S Occasional 00 .Tables *B W HE A sturdy well made occasional table at this clear- *1 ance sale price. Finished in beautiful walnut with DOWN carved legs. Qn Radios and Furniture $3-49 Clearance SALE . Men’s Ready-Made Interest 1 | 9 Ls? Suits and Overcoats S Now is the time to buy—Take ad- , vantage of these great clearance Carrying fl “ '"517.95 1 Ch * r|! ‘ T3SS fyopfes Outfitting Go Washington at Capitol The Peoples Corner

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

neyed to the top of the monument today and here (above) is what he saw when he locked down

on the snow-flecked spire of Christ Church and the north segment of the Circle.

NEW GLASS TO CHECK DRIVING PERIMSCLAIM Material Eliminates Glare, Makers Say; Other Uses Indicated. B.y Science Service 'BOSTON, Jan. 16.—A new optical material which promises to save thousands of lives now snuffed out in night driving because of headlight glare is announced by the J md Wheelwright Laboratories of this city. Known as Polaroid, the new material is also to be used for sun glasses which take away dazzle without darkening the view and even more important make possible motion pictures in three dimensions that have the optical illusion of depth similar to viewing a scene with the naked eye. Other Uses Indicated Other uses promised include .oneway glass for cross-court privacy in apartment buildings and brilliant building exteriors that change color as one walks by. Polaroid resembles a sheet of glass, but has the ability to polarize the light which passes through it. Now ready to be produced in unlimited quantities the new material is the first practical use of what has formerly been a laboratory and research phenomenon. Polarized light is light which vibrates only in one direction in contrast to the helter skelter vibrations in the ordinary light ray. Polaroid acts to produce the polarized light. Polarization Is Explained Best way to think of the complicated phenomenon is to regard ordinary light vibrations as a mass of straws tossed up in a vind. They are blown against a picket fence. All straws are stopped except those parallel to the slats in

Here Is Your SA LE oi socks r thousands of pairs, in the ' kinds and colors you like—at This is the sort of sale—that a man feels like writing to Ripley (believe it or not) about! Here are socks—in the good staple kinds—and in the The Sale 1$ On! p ure thread SILKS with a mixture of Sweaters —LISLES with rayon mixture. jlJmJjjm These are the —Mercerized shadow LISLES. r;>| 1 looking —RAYONS in smart patterns. §fi I —Plain shades, rib effects, I iff I colors. stripes, clocks, plaids, checks IS m! £ |§ f 1 Also—several hundred pairs of fIBm f ••Shorts” SHORT SOX—(6O% wool). | Gentlemen’’, in. Self supporting—fine for right 1 now . through the spring 2^ c THE HOSIERY SQUARE will be given over to this sale—everything will be arranged to insure prompt service. L. STRAUSS & CO.

OFFICIAL WEATHER __l'nited State* Weather Barren

Sunrise 7:05 I Snnset 4:45 TEMPERATURE —JB. 16, 1935 7 a. m IS 1 p. m 33 —Today—--6 a. m IS ia a. m 59 7 a. m 13 11 a. m 59 9 a. as 59 II (Noon) 30 9 a. m. . S9 1 a. m 30 BAROMETER 7 a. m. 59.93 1 a. m .... 59.60 Precipitation 24 hrs. ending 7 a. m... .02 Total precipitation since Jan. 1 54 Deficiency since Jan. 1 1.31 OTHER CITIES AT 7 A. M. Station Weather. Bar. Temp. Amarillo. Tex PtCldy 59.86 38 Bismarck. N. D Snow 30.18 —2 Boston Clear 29.30 40 Chicago ...Snow 29.92 30 Cincinnati Cloudy 29.96 32 genver Cloudv 29.78 28 odge City. Kas Cloudv 29.96 30 Helena. Mont Clear 29.70 12 Jacksonville. Fla Cloudy 30.04 52 Kansas City. Mo Cloudv 29.94 24 Little Rock. Ark Clear 29.78 42 Los Angeles Cloudy 30.08 54 Miami. Fla Clear 30.06 66 Minneapolis Snow 30.02 8 Mobile Ala Clear 29.98 52 New Orleans Foggv 29.96 50 New York ... PtCldv 29.70 38 Okla. City. Okla. .. Cloudy 29.88 34 Omaha. Neb Cloudv 30.08 10 Pittsburgh Cloudy 29.98 28 Portland. Ore Cloudv 29.74 44 San Antonio. Tex. Clear 29.85 64 San Francisco PtCldy 30.08 54 St. Louis Cloudv 29.82 28 Tampa. Fla Clear 30.02 58 Washington. D. C PtCldy 29.94 36 the fence and all straws coming through are lined up in one direction. The material Polaroid acts as the picket fence. For use in automobiles all headlights would send out polarized light vibrating in one direction and all windshields would be “crossed” so that they would not permit such headlight rays to enter and blind the driver. The light from one’s own headlights would strike the ground ahead, be scattered with a destruction of the polarization and hence make possible vision down the road just as headlights act now. LIEDERKRANZ TO DANCE Winter Frolic to Be Staged at Hall Saturday Night. The Indianapolis Liederkranz will give a winter frolic and dance at its hall, 1417 E. Washington-st, Saturday night.

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FOUR COUNTRIES CONTINUE WORK AT CONFERENCE U. S., Britain, France, Italy Proceed With Parley on Naval Strength. By United Press LONDON. Jan. 16.—American. British, French and Italian delegates constituted themselves a fourpower naval limitation conference today. Japan’s delegation prepared to leave for home, after withdrawing because other nations refused to concede them the right of full equality of strength with America and Britain. It was forecast that Viscount Monsell of Evesham, as chairman of the conference, would invite the Japanese today to leave observers at the conference. There was little excitement today as delegates prepared for a fourpower meeting.- Nobody ever expected the conference to succeed, at the present time, in its task of replacing the Washington and London naval treaties which expire Dec. 31. Delegates remaining at the conference intend to invite Germany and Russia to attend. The Japanese, in withdrawing, emphasized their desire to avoid a building race. Their demand is for equality with other powers. The American argument is that equality does not mean real security, because the United States is so situated geographically, and has such possessions to defend, that it needs a navy superior to Japan’s to feel secure. Clothing Reported Stolen Seven suits of clothing were stolen from a cleaning establishment at 2180 N. Meridian-st by a thief who gained entrance by breaking a rear window, Charles Eller, manager, told police today.