Newspaper Page Text
Cljc Sj’Mlkdfto So ur nal
VOL. XXIII. NO. 34.
DETECTIVE CHIEF
.CHARGES'BIGIffIr
.TBE'UFTEBJEWEBS
Declares Any Man Who Re
flects on His Honesty Is a
"Liar and a Coward."
Praises Beavers
Exoneration for the Atlanta police
force was expected in the report be
ing prepared Friday by the council
manic committee investigating al
leged Inefficiency in the department.
Following a sensational sitting
Thursday, the committee went into
4»xecutlve session Friday.
Chief of Detectives Lamor Poole
created the most dramatic scene that
yet has occurred before the council
manic committee investigating the
» police, when, testifying before the
committee Thursday, he suddenly
* broke his calm composure and with
tears streaming down his cheeks and
with his hand pounding the table, de
nounced the accusers of the police,
declared any man who reflects on his
own honesty Is a liar and a coward,
and charged that some of the big
gest men in Atlanta have been trying
to "get” Chief Beavers, "the flnlest
man who ever breathed the breath of
life.”
Chief Poole’s denunciation came
like a bombshell. He had been testi
fying calmly, introducing a mass of
documentary evidence designed to
> show that the police have been ef
ficient, active and honest. Then
Chairman Harvey Hatcher began to
question him in a personal way. Mr.
Hatcher explained afterwards that
> he was merely doing this in justice
to Chief Poole.
Objects to Questions
He asked Chief Poole where he llv-
> ed, if he owned his home, how much
he paid down on It, and how much
he was paying on it monthly. He
asked him if he inherited some prop
erty from his father.
"Have you any cash in the bank?”
he asked.
"No,” said the chief.
"Any Liberty bonds?”
"No.”
“Any stock in any corporation?”
"No.”
“Any jewelry?”
“Yes; a watch and two or three
* rings.”
“Anybody owe you anything?”
“Not a cent.”
While these questions were being
put, it was evident that Chief Poole
was controlling his emotions with
. great difficulty. Finally he said, his
voice trembling somewhat: "I ob
ject to this; my personal affairs are
no business of the committees. I ob
ject particularly to the question about
, what my father left me.”
•Suddenly he stood up and struck
.he table with his hand. “My father
left me a few hundred dollars,” he
said. "My father was an honest man,
iad any man who says he was not
is a liar. 1 have worked hard for
every dollar I ever had. and 1 have
anade it honestly. Any man who says
* Otherwise is a liar and a coward. I
have worked hard for the city of At
lanta, and 1 never received a word of
i hanks for it, except from the chief
of poltee.”
9 Praises Beavers
Tears were streaming down Chief
Poole's face, his voice echoed through
ihe room, and his uplifted arm was
shaking as he continued:
“I defy any man, woman or child
to say 1 have not been an honest,
fearless and upright man in the
.* eight of God. 1 defy them to say
I ever did a single man out of a
nickel. 1 want the public to know
how 1 feel about this. 1 have tried
to put men in the department above
reproach. The good people will bear
me out that I have tried to do my
duty.”
Shaking his hand towards Chief
Beavers, who was seated across the
table. Chief Poole cried:
. ”1 have known Chief Beavers all
my life, and a more honorable man
sever breathed the breath of life. 1
have stood by him when he has been
slandered. I am his friend and 1
{still stand by him. I have fought
for him. There is not a man living
today I would do more for than
for James L. Beavers. If this city
stands a million years, it will never
know a better man than he is.”
"My Life an Open Book”
"Men have come to me—your
friends” —shaking his fist at a mem
ber of the committee —“your friends'
—turning tp another member, “and
your friends’; they have made every
. proposition on earth to me to ‘get’
Chief Beavers. I won’t call their
names, but you know them. I could
have had his job by saying ‘yes,’
but I would not be a hypocrite, and
I’ll not be one now. Put me out if
you want to, but I’ll be damned if
I’ll ever see a man treated that
way. They tried everything on God’s
green earth to ‘get’ this man, but
as God is my helper, I will stick by
him.
“My private life and public life is
'V I open book. I am forty-seven
years old, born and raised in At
lanta, and I have not done a single
act of which lam ashamed. Ask me
> anything you want to.”
Before Chief Poole exoloded his
sensational declaration, he gave the
interesting data on the
w.-ork of the police. Among this was
the record of 500 cases made in the
last six months for gaming or dis
order where gaming was doubtful.
Os these, ninety-six were bound over
and 469 resulted in fines and for
feitures of $8,218.
Another record was that in 1918,
state convictions and chaingang sen
* tehees totaled 610 years. That in
—Chief Poole’s first year—these
entences totaled 1,673 years, and in
he first eleven months of 1920 2,144
•ears. <-
Presents Record
Chief Poole presented the following
ecord of stolen property recovered
y the police; \
1918—586,159,63; 1919—5186,01
trst eleven months of 1920—5438,-
81.41. .
Much of this was stolen automo
biles, he said, answering the corp
| laints of people who say the police
o not recover stolen cars.
In the first eleven months of
920. he said, the city has received
5191,900.40 from cash fines in re
corder’s court. During this period
the total arrests made by the po
ice have been 28.843, or about one
eighth of the population of Atlan
ta, he said.
The total sum from fines and for
'eitures in the state courts this year,
Ihief Poole' said, has been $89,441,
jf which the city did not get a
y - cent
“Where does it go?” he was asked.
He replied that the,county offi
cers got about sixty per cent of it
—the solicitor the greater part. Os
the cases from which they derived
•his revenue, he said. 85 per cent
were made by the city police and
detectives. He said the city officers
la not get a penny from this source
Z W that 75 per cent of them have
o spend their off-time in court.
Cites Murder Cases
. He cited twenty-eight murder
cases the police have had bound over,
(Continued on Fags 6, Column 6)
BANKERS OF SOUTH
MEET TO PERFECT
. EMMKEB
Banks Are Called on For Pay
ment of Fourth of Sub
scriptions to Stock in In
ternational Concern
BY RALPH SMITH *
(Staff Correspondent of The Journal)
NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 17.—Bank
ers from all over the south assem
bled here today to perfect the organ
ization of the Federal International
Banking company, the capital stock
of which has been subscribed by
state and national banks and trust
companies located in e.very common
wealth in the cotton belt. Georgia,
Louisiana and Texas head the list.
Robert F. Maddox, John K. Ottley,
Hollins Randolph and Haynes Mc-
Fadden are here for the meeting.
Mr. Randolph wrote the charter and
by-laws of the bank, which were
adopted.
A call for the payment of 25 per
cent of the stock subscriptions,
which exceed $6,000,000, was among
the Important steps taken by the
meeting today, with a view to plac
ing the International bank on a func
tioning basis as speedily as possible.
The payment of 25 per cent of the
stock subscriptions will provide im
mediately over $1,250,000 with which
business may be begun, and it is the
hope and expectation here that the
institution will be in operation by
the first of the year. \
The export bank, which will oper
ate under a charter from the United
States government, bearing the ap
proval of the federal reserve board,
at Washington, was conceived in
Washington in October, at the annual
convention of the American ■ Bankers’
association, and its birth here today,
under the most.favorable and auspi
cious circumstances, presages for it
a period of long life and usefulness
that will be reflected in the commer
cial activity of the south.
Under its charter from the federal
reserve board, the International
Banking company will utilize and
improve every privilege authorized
by the provisions of the congression
al legislation known as the Edge act.
which was passed a couple of years
ago to encourage and broaden the
sphere of American banking activi
ties and influences.’ These activities
will include the establishment of
branch banks in foreign countries,
especially in the war devastated sec
tions of Europe, which require the
raw products of the south, but un
fortunately have no adequate bank
ing facilities for securing them. /
Gov. Catts Threatens
To Go After Publisher
With His Shotgun
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Dec. 17.—1 n
an open letter, given out today, Gov
ernor Sidney J. Cfatts, of Florida,
threatens to go to West Palm Beach,
Fla., with his “double-barrel shotgun
loaded with buckshot,” and have a
“final settlement” with Joe L. Ear
man, president of the state board of
health and publisher of the Palm
Beach Post, a dally newspaper.
The chief executive states in his
letter that he does not want “any
trouble” with Mr. Earman, but that
he is tired of his “tyranny, arro
gance and big stick bossing.” and
that “this is the last warning.”
The letter from Governor Catts
follows publication by Mr. Earman
in his paper of an article which the
chief executive characterizes as “a
page and a half of vituperations and
bitterness” against him “on account
of reinstating Edgar Thompson,”
state’s attorney, at West Palm Beach.
Governor Catts writes that he is
“not mad” with Mr. Earman and that
he is "not going to remove” him from
office, but states: “I am not going to
let you rule and boss me at your
whim and pleasure. lam a man and
stand in a man’s place, and I do not
run away from any West .Palm
Beachers when they hang me in ef
figy, as you did when they hung
you.”
p.n conclusion, he says: “If you
publish one more page in your paper
like this last one, or bother me or
my business or my children aijy more,
I will go to West Palm Beach, Fla.,
with my double-barrel shotgun load
ed with buckshot and have a final
settlement with you.’ K
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whlim
WAS ABSENT WHEN
KILLED
Americus Man’s Attorneys
Produce Affidavits Saying
That Woman Named Billie
Brown Was the Slayer
Attorneys for Dr. C. K. Chapman,
a former prominent Americus man,
who is serving a life sentence in
connection with the murder of Wal
ter Wade in 1916, Thursday morning
contended before the Georgia prison
commission that Dr. Chapman was
not even present at the time of the
killing.
They .ntroduced affidavits from
four persons who claimed to be eye
witnesses to the killing of Wade in
1916 in the house of Lois Reeves in
Americus, all declaring that they saw
Wade killed by a woman inmate of
the house named Billie Brown; saw
the body removed from the house;
also that Dr. Chapman was not pres
ent at the time of the killing.
The attorneys further declared
that F. F. Sims, a detective appoint
ed to guard Mrs. Yeartie Howell, the
principal witness against Dr. Chap
man, had tdld Attorney W. P. Wal
lace and others, just prior to the
third trial, that Mrs. Howell would
change her testimony in favor of Dr.
Chapman for the sum of $5,000.
Applies to Johnson, Too
The same testimony in favor of Dr.
Chapman will, according to attorneys,
apply in the case of W. I. Johnson,
who was jointly indicted with Dr.
Chapman and also is now serving a
life sentence in connection with the
Wade murder. The prison commis
sion took up Johnson’s plea for clem
ency along with that of Dr. Chapman
Thursday morning.
Wade was killed in 1916 in Ameri
cus In the house of Lois Reeves. In
dictments against Dr. Chapman and
six or seven others followed. The
first two trials of Dr. Chapman re
sulted in mistrials. He was convict
ed on the third trial, sentenced to
life inyjrisonment and already has
served several years.
Dr. Chapman was convicted large-|
ly on the testimony of Mrs. Yeartie
Howell. It was just before the third
trial, according to Attorney W. P. I
.Wallace, that Sims, the detective
assigned to guard Mrs. Howell, ap
proached him and others with the
statement that the witness would
change her testimony for $5,000. It
also was claimed that improper pic
tures of Mrs. Howell were offered for
sale.
Mr. Wallace said that he was un
able to ger the/alleged offer of Mrs.
Howell before the court at the third
trial, and consequently had been un
able to present its until this time. |
Affidavits Produced
Affidavits to the effect that Wade I
was killed by Billie Brown and that I
Dr. Chapman was not present were
introduced from Thelma Strickland
Ike Flasher and two negroes, Andrew
Dudley and Shellman Johnson, all of
whom claimed to have been eye-wit
nesses. The Strickland/ woman is
said to have made her statement
just before she underwent an opera
tion and at a time she believed her
condition to be critical.
There were dramatic scenes at the
conclusion of the Thursday morning
hearing when Mrs. Emma Chapman,
a sister of Dr. Chapman, cried that
all charges against her brother were
false. She and Dr. Chapman’s moth
er, Mrs. J. P. Chapman, were pres
ent.
The clemency plea of Dr. Chap
man and Johnson was opposed by
Judge J. A. Hickson, of Americus
le was presented by Attorneys Frank
Hooper, B. J. Fowler and W. P. Wal
lace.
Two Women Elected to
Office in Fort Games’
FORT GAINES. Ga„ Dec. 17.—The
city election here Tuesday passed off
quietly with the re-election of Judge
B. M. Turnipseed for mayor for the
next two years. He defeated J. L.
Hurst by eight votes in a spirited
race. W. A. McAllister and M. L.
Fowler were elected as aidermen,
and two women, Mrs. B. C. Brown
and Mrs. W. J. Tatum, were elected
as trustees of the Fort Gaines High
school for a period of six years, as
was also W. A. McAllister.
These are the first women to hold
office in the town and county, and in
view of the fact that the women of
the city did not vote, shows tftat the
women are very strong in the city.
ATLANTA, GA., SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1920.
SEVERAL SUNS BEGINNING TO SHINE! ’
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URY TO PROBE
MILLS’ SHOOTING
TWO YEARS AGO
Two physicians who attended Ed
Mills, the alleged gambler, who was
shot and killed by Floyd Woodward,
said to be the “brains" of the gam
bling syndicate, in a local hotel two
years ago, have been summoned to
appear before the grand jury. Ef
forts are being made to locate Frank
V. Demandel, house officer employed
at the hotel at the time of the shoot
ing.
The grand jury resumed its session
again Thursday morning and will
continue the investigation of alleged
gambling, fake horse racing and
swindling. Indications were that the
investigators will continue their work
regardless of the Christmas holi
lays.
In view of the fact that a num
ber of witnesses have been ailed
relative to the slaying of Mills it is
understood that an indictment may
be returned against Woodward At
the time of the killing Wooc ward
was exonerated by a coroner’s jury
and he* never was brought to trial in
the courts. It is believed that the
coroner’s jury based its action on the
testimony of Demandel.
Further information to the effect
that Mills knew the “gang” was go
ing to get him and had called atten
tion of a hotel man to the fact that
a knife had been “planted” in his
pocket to make it appear whoever
killed him acted in self-defense, has
been presented to the grand jury, it
is said.
It is believed by the solicitor gen
eral that Mills was killed as a re
sult of a quarrel over the division of
$25,000, said to have been fleeced
from a Pennsylvania man in a gam
bling swindle.
Woodward is now under indict
ment for operating alleged gaming
houses at 49 1-2 Central avenue,
35 1-2 .South Broad street and 59 1-2
Cone street, wjiich places were raid
ed recently oy the solicitor general
and his aids. Woodward left the
city before a warrant could be served
on him and he is now being sought
by the solicitor general.
$2,000,000 BLAZE
SWEEPS DRY DOCKS
AT NEW ORLEANS
NEW ORLEANS. Dec. 17.—Heroic
efforts of the local fire department,
aided by river fire fighting apparatus
of every description, probably saved
the Jahncke Dry Dock and Shipbuild
ing company from total destruction
by a fire which swept 1,200 feet of
the Jahncke wharf and damaged one
steel and one wooden dry dock late
yesterday. Three steamships—the
Dillwyn, under charter of the Stand
ard Oil company, the Bavington and
Dade County, owned by the United
States shipping board —were also
damaged before firemen brought the
blaze under control.
After a careful check of the fire
swept area officials of the Jahncke
company estimated the total losses,
including damage to ships n dry
docks, and to those anchored nearby,
at between $1,500,000 and $2,300,000.
No lives were lost and only one
mansuffered severe injury, being
taken to the hospital suffering from
a broken leg.
Scores of workmen, caught on the
wharf with the flames blocking their
escape to the levee, were compelled
to leap into the river to escape be
ing burned. At first it was feared
sev ral of these had been drowned,
but a careful check failed to reveal
any missing.
Boy Fatally Burned
Falling Into Kettle
Os Boiling Syrup
DONALSONVILLE. Ga.. Dec. 16.
Joseph Petty, sixteerf-y ear-old son
of Rev. and Mrs. M. E Petty who
live near Donalsonville, fell into a
kettle of boiling syrun Wednesday
■fternoon. He was rushed to a hos
pital at once and all possible aid
-endered. but he was burned so se
verely, medical aid failed to do
much good. He died about twelve
o’clock last night.
FAY, GERMAN SPY
IN PEN HERE, IS
SEEN BY OFFICIAL
Peter B. Olney, Jr., assistant Unit
fl States attorney for the southern
listrict of New York, came to At
i lanta Thursday and went immediate
ly to the federal penitentiary, where
he interviewed Robert Fay, the fa
‘ mous German spy, whose activities in
this country during the early stages
-of the war created a sensation
hroughout the world.
I Fay was convicted under the es
pionage act, and is now serving his
sentence in the Atlanta prison. He
escaped from the prison a few
months after his imprisonment and
made an extensive tour of the United
States, finally going to Spain before
he was retaken. Government officials
regard him as probably the most in
telligent and successful agent of the
lerman government who operated in
he United States.
District Attorney Olney said, Friday
he visited Fay to secure information
to aid the government in investiga
tions now under way. He declared
the interview had no significance in
so far as Fay’s own case is concern
ed, and added that his visit was not
made with any view toward executive
clemency for the prisoner.
It was the opinion of Atlanta<fed
eral officials that Mr. Olney came to
Atlanta to obtain information from
the famous spy which may aid the
government in the prosecution of
other cases now in the courts.
Fay’s activities against the United
States in 1917 included a gigantic
'conspiracy to sink all American
ships transporting troops and war
supplies to France and England. Gov
ernment agents at once recognized
that Fay was the master mind be
hind the conspiracy, and it was only
by the effective work of a large
squad of department of justice
agents that his efforts were unsuc
cessful. Among the department of
justice agents who worked for many
weeks on Fay's case was Colonel A.
J. Wismer, now associated with the
Atlanta offices ol the department.
FOUR NEW MONS
GIVEN MEMBERSHIP
IN Wo> LEAGUE
Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Fin
land and Luxembourg Ad
mitted — China Takes
Place of Greece in Council
GENEVA, Dec. 16. (By the Asso
ciated Press.) —Four new nations
were made members of the League
of Nations by the assembly of the
league here today. They were Bul
garia, Costa Rica. Finland and Lux
embourg. France and Australia ab
stained from voting-when the d
mission of Bulgaria was before the
assembly for decision.
Rene Viviani, the head of the
French delegation, declared it had no
objection to Bulgaria as a member,
but preferred not to vote in view of
the Incompleteness of the informa
tion given in regard to Bulgaria’s fit
ness.
Thirty-five states voted affirmative
ly when the balloting took place and
Australia joined France in not record
ing her vote.
The question of admitting Costa
Rica was the next on the day’s agen
da. Dr. Nansen, of Norway, explain
ed that the only doubt in his mind
was whether Costa Rica was not too
small a country, but in view of the
membership of its neighbor, Panama,
4ie decided Costa Rica could not be
excluded on that score.
Costa Bica Vote
Antonio Honeus, of Chile, and Sen
or Restrepo, of Colombia, asked that
the assembly vote unanimously in
admitting Costa Rica.
It was stated before the voting
took place that France had no ob
jection to Bulgaria in particular, but
would not vote because there was
some analogy between ttie eases of
Bulgaria and Germany. It was as
serted the delegation desired to main
tain a consistent attitude on ques
tions relative to qualifications of ap
plicants for admission.
Debate was expected when the re
port relative to the admission of Bal
tic and Caucasian states was to be
ada, gave notice to the committee
that Canada, as a Pacific ocean
power, took a special interest in
the Russin question. He declared
that question had been raised in its
entirety by the proposed relations
between the league and the states
considere... N. W. Rowell, of Can
carved out of the former Russian
empire.
Although the Baltic states had the
full sympathy of Canada, he assert
ed, the situation in Russia might
change, and the league might find
itself faced by n w government
claiming access to the sea, in which
eventual] the league would incur
grave responsibility.
At the opening of today’s session
President Hymans announced that
the request for consideration of the
Tacna-Arica case at this session of
the assembly had been withdrawn
with the request that it be put on
the agenda of the next assembly, to
meet in September.
League Budget
It was planned, If the assembly
finished the election of new members
soon enough to take up the league
budget and pass appropriations for
the coming year, which have been
somewhat criticised at committee
meetings with regard to salaries of
men connected with the secretariat.
The committee reported unfavora
bly on the applications of Armenia,
Esthonia. Lithuania, Letvia and
Georgia. It failed to recommend the
admission of Armenia because au
thority over the entire territory of
that nation was not being exercised
by the government. The hope was
expressed that Armenia might be
admitted at an early date.
WAR FINANCE
BOARD REVIVAL
MEETS FAVOR
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17.—The sen
ate resolution directing revival of the
war finance corporation and exten
sion by the federal reserve system of
more liberal credits for exportation
of farm and other products was or
dered favorably reported Thursday
night by the house banking and cur
rency committee. Prompt consider
ation of the measure by the house
also was recommemndeix
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$1.50 A YEAR.
SHEPARD’S SISTER '
® MBS. GOTTS
TOLOmF PLOT
Declares Mrs. Cutts In
formed Her Shepard Was
Poisoned by "Paula and
• Her Gang"
BY ED H. BRADLEY
(Staff Correspondent of The Journal)
MACON, Ga„ Dec. 16. —The first
piece of general evidence in support
of the state’s charge that there was
a conspiracy to kill Fred D. Shepard,
the wealthy Fort Valley peach grow
er, was given this afternoon by Mrs.
Alice Crandall, sister of the dead
man, testifying at the preliminary
hearing of the four defendants, Mrs.
F. E. Elmer, former wife of Shep
ard; Mrs. loma Henty, her sister;
Ernest Hopson, her son, and Mrs.
Annie Cutts.
On Friday the prosecution recalled ,
Mrs. Crandall to the stand and used
other witnesses to strengthen the
charge that Shepard was the victim
of a poison plot.
Mrs. Crandall declared on oath
that Mrs. Cutts, after Shepard’e
death, revealed to her the details of
an alleged plot by Mrs. Elmer,
Henry Hopson and Dr. Elmer to kllLr-'
Shepard to secure his property, say
ing Shepafd was poisoned by “Paula
and her gang.”
As Mrs. Crandall took th© stand,
her testimony held the strictest at
tention of th© crowd of spectators.
She told of being summoned to
Perry from Los Angeles, Cal., on ac
count of Shepard’s death, and of th©
part taken by his wife, the present
Mrs. Elmer, in the handling of th©
Shepard estate as ' administratrix.
Mrs. Crandall declared that on July
17 she went to Abbeville to see Mrs.
Annie Cutts, at the latter’s invita
tion transmitted through Mrs. Cran
dall’s attorney, L. L. Brown, of Fort
Valley. She did not see Mrs. Cutts
that day.
“Paula and Her Gang”
In relating an alleged conversa
tion July 13 between hei‘ and Mrs.
Cutts, Mrs. Crandall testified that
Shepard’s widow, now Mrs. E. F.
Elmer, was the “Paula” referred to
and that Mrs. Cutts told her that
“Paula's gang” were Mrs. lone Henry
Ernest Hopson and Dr. Elmer.
Mrs. Henry, Hopson, Mrs. Elmer
and Mrs. Cutts are the four defend
ants in the case, but it was the first
time there had been reference to
Dr. Elmer’s name. Mrs. Crandall
went into other details without an
effort being made to clear up this
feature. After lengthy argument,
the court held that the testimony
regarding Mrs. Cutts’ alleged state
ment should apply only to her case,
and was not applicable to the other
three defendants, all of whose cases
are being heard together.
“I asked her whyl Fred v?as pal--
soned,’ added Mrs. Crandall, “and ‘
she replied for his money, of
course,’ ’
Prec< g Mrs. Crandall, a number
of other witnesses told of the last
week of Shepard's life. OOn cross
examination of L. L. Brown. of
Fort Valley, attorney for the Shep
ard family, the defense' sought tc
bring out that Shepard was a chronic
sufferer from a complication of dis
eases and was a “heavy drinker.”
Mr. Brown mentioned seven affile- 1
tions, of which he said Shepard had
complained, including throat trouble,
dyspepsia, varicose veins and appen
dicitis. He also said Shepard drank
“frequently.”
Dr. G. D. Nelson, of Marshallville,
described a severe attack of nau
sea Shepard suffered while visiting
Marshallville four days before his
death. He said he did not sus
pect mercuric poisoning then, but ad
mitted the symptoms were similar
to those following poison.
When* Mrs. Crandall saw Mrs.
Cutts. -she had with her her son
Fred Crandall, her son-in-law, David
Hume, and her friend, J. W. McMil-
At this point counsel for Mrs. El
mer, Mrs. Henry and Ernest Hopson
interposed objection to the admis
sion of testimony as to conversa
tions between Mrs. Cutts and Mrs.
Crandall-’ffisofar as it might affect
those/'three defendants. After argu
ments by both sides Judge Mathews
ruled in support of the contentions of
Mrs. Elmer, Mrs. Henry and Ernest
Hopson.
Story of Alleged Revelation
Mrs. Crandall went on to tell of
her private conversation with Mrs.
Cutts, saying that it lasted three
hours.
“She took me Into a bedroom," said
Mrs. Crandall, “laid her hand on mine
and said:
“‘I was my father’s favorite
daughter and in the presence of his
spiifit and in the presence of God and
his hosts, I swear I am tellng the
truth when I tell /you that your
brother. Fred Shepard, was poisoned.
“I was terribly shocked and asked
her what she meant. Sho replied
that my brother was poisoned by
Paul and her gank, explaining
that Mrs. Henry. Ernest Hopson,
Mrs. Elmer and . Dr. Elmer consti
tuted the gang.
“Mrs. Cutts said the gang had
planned to kill my brother, talking
about putting potash in whisky, and
about other poisons. When I asked
her why anybody should want to poi
son my brother, she said it was ‘for
his money, of course.’ ”
Fairy Tale,” Says Defense
While counsel for the defense
characterized Mrs. Crandall’s story
as a “fairy tale” and made sarcstio
references in making objections to
certain questions by Solicitor Gar
rett. the four defendants appeared
highly in’erested in th" witness’ re
cital. Mrs. Elmer’s face remained
impassive, while Mrs. Henry was
moved to visible indignation at soma
of the statements made by M»s.
Crandall Ernest Honson wore an In
credulous, ionic smile at intervals
during' *he testimony of Mrs Cran
dall. while Mrs. Cutts herself shook*
her head, laughed and showed’ other
evidences of derision as Mrs. Cran
dall told her story.
Judge Mathews’ ruling that al
leged statements of Mrs. Cutts wo”ld
not be taken as affecting the other
three defendants, w-s regarded by
the defense as a distinct point in
their favor.
“Mrs. Cutts told mo something of
her life.” said Mrs. Crandall, “say
ing that she was a poor woman and
that she hoped to get some money to
pay off the debts on her farm at Ab
beville. Her husband, she said, spent
his money on Paula and did not pro
vide for her adequately.”
Says Shepards Quarreled
Mrs. Crandall then went on to tel!
how Mrs. Cutts described the last
time Shepard was at the Cutts farm
on May 20. According to her testi
mony, Mrs. Cutts’ story was to th©
following effect: That Shepard came
out of the house, his face scratched
badly, and said that he had had a
disagreement with Mrs. Shepard, de
claring he was through forever and
was going to California. Mrs. Henry,
who was present, remarked to Ernest
Hopson, who was preparing to take
Shepard back to Fort Valley, that “if
anything is going to be done, now_js
the time to do it." Mrs. Henry then
(Continued on Fag© 6, Column 4)