,r—----THURSDAY, JANUARY P4, GOOD EVENIMG EVERYBODY: The predominant news picture tonight is of a man sitting in a chair. He^s a familiar figure and needs no general description - merely those details that become more apparent, more emphatic^ when a person is put in the place of prominence, the Hi spotlight centre of the stage, the witness stand in the courtroom. the With every eye studying him inAcritical ordeal for the fight for his i i life, you noticed that he was dressed with all neatness in a gray suit, : 7T light blue shirt, and dark blue tie. You observed more clearly than ever how swarthy he is. Someone would say ■** swarthy for a German. But then all Teutons are not blondes. Dark complexions are common 5 in Germany, especially in the south and in the Rhineland. Remember how swarthy Max Schmelling was in the ring, also the deep-set sunken eyes of the former worlds heavyweight champion? Vte noticed Hauptmann's sunken eyes all along. Today they were still more deep andl^gsHith that piercing gaze,' so familiar as a characteristic of the Bronx carpenter. One thing we hadn't noticed so much before - | Hauptmann's ears. We are a little surprised now - at how large his - LEAD - 2 ears are. They seem huge, as he occupies the prominence of the witness stand. Now aoout the famous Hauptmann impassiveness and calm. -■m He still has it* stolid* phlegmatic* woodenlike. there is no reason for anything else. It!s^direct examination. He's being questioned by his own lawyer. Yet it is not a cool, easy calm like that of tempered steel, j Somehow Hauptmann gives you the Impression of a hunted creature at bay. He keeps his .sgras hands clasped nervously on his knees* loosening them only occasionally to make a gesture There was no emotion in his gutteral answers to questions - monosyllabic answers. He replied with a mere yes or ‘no'! Still his voice did break occasionally, as when he replied to queries about the prison term he had served in Germany. Now, what was the significant drift of Hauptmann's testimony this afternoon? That can*^ indicated by pointing to the address his lawyer made to the jury just/ before he took the stand. The Defense begun its case with an outline of its contentions^ Lloyd Fisher of the Hauptmann legal staff. Lloyd Fisher began by telling .... the juryThe DefensTprSduct* a complete alibi, approve* that on A A BmioraaD:** the evening of the kidnapping Hauptmann called for his 41 LEAD - 5 wife at the bakeshop where she was employed.— find,that on the night oi the ransom payment the Hauptmanns were having a musical evening at home, a German xstg songfest. With that line of defense formally stated, the direct examination of,Hauptmann was ir straight logical accordance I the qu e s. t i on - and - an s we r form tCUsig was a quick sketch of his life, his birth, in Germany, his learning the carpenterNfc trade, his service in the- German army during the war, his conviction to prison and sentence for robbery^ ^-rrCjk V biographical question-and-answer sequence speedily brought the i story to Hauptmann*s coming to the United States. Then followed details about his jobs in this country; what he worked at and what his wages were. One of his jobs was^a dishwasher, but mostly he v/orked as a carpenter and receiveo the lat ?rages of boom time. The defense emphasized this with repeated questions. and the reason would seem to be that Hauptmann1s work and good wages will he used as an attempt to explain his possession of large sums of money, p The defendant had just come to the point in his career ________________________ 1 LEAP - 4 wh©n he was married. He had just answered the question about his marriage to Anna Scheffler in 1.923, when his testimony was interrupted so that his lawyer might put two other witnesses on the stand briefly — the first alibi witnesses. This new testimony was a logical continuation of Hauptmann’s own because the witnesses were the Danish baker and his wife in whose store Mrs. Hauptmann worked. They were there to swear that on the night of the kidnapping Hauptmann called for his wife at the bakery. Yet their testimony was not altogether precise. The Danish baker swore that as a rule Hauptmann had called for his wife every Tuesday night. But he was not quite certain that he had done so on the Tuesday night of the kidnappirg . He couldn’t answer "yes*1 or “no'1. He merely believed he had «- because of Hauptmann’s regular Tuesday night practice. And the baker’s wife knew even less. Hauptmann bit his lips nervously as he resumed the stand. The muscles in his jaws flexed and unflexed. And the testimony continued the picture of a hard-working thrifty, well- paid Bronx carpenter. Only once did he smile, and then faintly when LEAD - 5 Defense Attorney Reilly questioned him about a trip he had intended to make to California, Hotar aid you get?,? demanded Reilly, And Hauptmann smiled as he said in his guttei’al voicei "Half a block," The orderly sequence of Hauptmann* s biography was broken when, at the close of the day’s testimony, the date of April second was mentioned. The defense contends that Hauptmann was home both on the kidnapping day and the ransom day. The kidnapping day was not brought up tanajs* April second was r the ransom day.’ Hauptmann swore that he was home all evening after supper on the fateful April second. It was the first Saturday of the month. And that was a day when he always nad friends at his house for what he called a "moosic11 evening, a songfest. He declared that his friends stayed with him until eleven-thirty, and that at no time did he leave the house. The testimony as a whole was routine and rather That will perfunctory. The story has scarcely^ happen tomorr^tbaay' t,ir ,T>nm' a ^ „ nictu^e to be observed than any sort of efernon-te*' was more oi a pi dramatic action. STORM live often heard old-time New Yorkers talk about that historic theme of the metropolis - the Blizzard of Eighty-eight. ITve often been wearied listening to the endless terrifying marvels of the big snowfall, but the old-timers seem to get a lot of fun telling it, I don*t suppose when we^get long white chin whiskers. we»ll be able to tell about the Blizzard of Thirty-five^ with any such convincing realism. But it was quite a storm - as many a tale from all over the country will bear witness. I myself saw a sleigh, a trim red cutter and a little brown pony, with two nifty girls muffled in snow, drive down Fifth Avenue and pull up at the Hotel Gotham, and a little further on there were two chaps on skiis, sliding down tl^^venue^2^^ Seventeen inches of snow fell in New Yorkj twelve feet in British Columbia. And a record low temperature was scored at Iroquois, Ontario - seventy five below! And you could pile up pages of descriptions from all over the country of mishaps, tied-up traffic, snowbound people with adventures and the doleful ills that go with a great snowfall and bitter cold. flood It seema curious that a blizzard story should also involve a flood story. Offhand you’d think that a cold snap would freeze up the loose waters. It’s the thaw that most commonly brings about floods. But the flood stories come from the south and I suppose down there the most unusual snowfall melted rapidly. The plight of the marooned town of Sledge. Mississippi, is even more grave than appeared last night. The known dead now are thirteen. Supplies of food are being brought in by boat. The town is near the point where the Coldwater River flows into the Mississippi and with rising waters in both rivers, a huge stretch of country has been turned into an inland sea. All the roads around Sledge are under water, and they’ve got to bring in supplies of badly needed food by boat. The worst aspect comes from reports of disturbances and fighting. Hundreds of people marooned, without food or shelter.' And rioting has broken out. The disturbances in one place after another have become so ugly, an appeal was sent to the Governor of Mississippi to march state troops into the flood FLOOD - 2 territory. And Governor Sennett acted immediately. He has sent Major Birdson of the National Guard to look things over and recommend whatever military measures may be needed. ROOSEVELT Our education in arithmetic is rapidly improving with the panorama of figures on display at Washington. We used to have trouble thinking in millions, but now a million is a mild. figure, a pittance in the eyes of the government* & billion is now the figure that has climaxed the the Presidents financial outline of the Public Works Program, /one hundred billionJ and that's tops* One hundred billion dollars to be spent for national improvements which x±x±tae will at the same time be a means of taking up the slack of unemployment. Of. course there is another figure to be considered - twenty years. That almost unthinkable sum of money is to be distributed over two decades. is to be observed,, that the mere fact of planning over a long period would necessarily boost and multiply the •gTawng^TrTMM'nwy sums of money - that come up for consideration. If you were to lay out your own .personal budget, over years to come. m and you reckoned the total spent on cigars or ice cream sodas, you'd be surprised at the amount of cigar or ice cream money you woulc || be reckoning with. The hundred billion dollar financial schedule represents five billion a year, which corresponds to the Public ROOSEVELT - 2 Works figures tine administration has been proposing all the time. The President gave some details of how he believes the money should be spent. He recommends that five hundred million a year be used for reclaiming the natural resources of the country which hitherto have been wasted. And he made some concession before Congress today passed the four billion dollar budget - concessions to the congressional complaints that Congress was being asked to appropriate four billion without knowing where the money was to go. Mr. Roosevelt to-td the law-makers in his special message today that a large proportion of the four billion would be paid out for the salvaging of land, of mineral, of timber and of water resources. To the message the President attached a report of the National Resources Board. This is a government agency charged with the survey of the native wealth that lies idle in this land of ours^ The Board approves the hundred billion dollar program, which no doubt was formulated in accordance with its advice. MUNITIONS The Senate Inquiry concerning munitions was greeted today with a brisk ,1No% nnothing doing!” The refusal was spoken by C* L, Bardo, former head of the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. He was asked to sign a ’’waiver of imlaunity,,. They wanted him to testify without the usual legal safeguard and his testimony Could be used against himself. But he answered 5 ”1 respectfully refuse to renounce my constitutional rights.” It all concerns those United States cruisers about which there is so much discussion in the Munitions Inquiry, warships which, the accusers claim, cost too much and weren't good enough. The witness who refuses to waive immunity used to be the chief of the company that huilt the cruisers, though he's no longer connected with it«»em The Munitions Inquiry, in its recently resumed sessions, hasn’t developed any violent sensations, but it now seems to be developing a red-hot row - on the subject of those cruisers. i msswmm, JAPAN Just within the great Vsiall of China stands the ancient city of Tushikou, ot long and venerable record in the history of the celestial empire. There, for many a century, the Emper£or who held the Mandate of Heaven, maintained his most sacred palace. Yes, Tushikou was a sort of summer capitol for the old monarchs of the dragon throne. Tonight, it is a city of terror. For the City of the Karpsvirams Emperors is a focal point of that new Japanese drive into Chinese territory. I Reports tell how Japanese airplanes came roaring over the great Wall of China and swooped low over Tushikou, releasing great bombs of high explosives. Ten struck and burst within the city. Ancient walls crumbled and toppled. The number of casualties isn,t known, but there were many. Japanese sources are minimizing the disturbance, saying there's not much to it. It is still doubtful what plan has been formed within the secretive brains of the Tokio general staff. Perhaps, as I observed last night, it may be only a punitive expedition to strike terror into the hearts of the north Chin*.. war lords, ihe Province Of Chahar is only feebly controlled by JAPM - S the central Nationalist Chinese government at Nanking. Its real ruler is the general in command of the army in the Province. This war lord is described as semi-independent. The Japanese have been claiming tnat he is responsible for bandit raids across the boundary into Manchukuo. So the Nipponese generals may tenalt■ md no more than a bit of heavy handed militarism to frighten the Chahar war lord. Butj on the other hand, there is the geographical fact that the Chahar Province would round out the territories of Manchukuo in a most convenient way, and would, for that matter, put the Japanese army in intimate contact along an extended border of Mongolia - that rather analogous stute, formerly a prominent part of China, which is now dominated by influences from Moscow. The real issue may be Eastern Asiatic politics between Russia and Japan, with China in the position of the innocent bystander who gets between two more powerful contest MARRIAGE We have some news about that heart-throbbing theme - love, courtship and marriage. In Colorado, a girl has just been released from jail, and she emerges with the explanation: "RineJ Just as I expected, I am cured - no wedding bellis for mejw She had herself sent to jail to keep from getting married. Several weeks ago, Margaret Caro, seventeen years old, appeared in a juvenile court and asked the judge to put her behind bars until after January twentieth. That was the day set for her wedding. She explained she was engaged to be married to a man much older than herself, she didn»t want to, but she just couldn’t help it. Just couldn’t resist him when she was in his presence. He had some sort of fatal charm. So she asked the judge to put her behind bars, so she could be away from him and thus break the spell. And that’s the way it all turned out. The judge sent Margaret to jail and she’s released - cured. At least, she says so, but you can’t tell what might happen when she sees that aged cooing wooer again. And this aged microphone wooer is cooing SO LONG UNTIL TOMORROW,