Newspaper Page Text
®he Attala SrHOwHa lauraal
VOL. XXIII. NO. 50
DR. CALEB I. RIDLEY
CLEAREDOFCHARGES
BROUGHT BY WOMAN
Pastor of Central Baptist
i Church Cheered When Re
i corder Johnson Announces
i Decision
Charges of disorderly conduct
brought by Mrs. J. B. Hamilton, ot
16 Cooper street, against Dr. Caleb
A. Ridley, pastor of the Central Bap
tist church, were dismissed by Judge
George Johnson, in recorder's court,
Saturday afternoon. The minister
was given an ovation by the large
audience which jammed the court
room.*
Dr. Ridley was arrested Friday
night on Mrs. Hamilton’s complaint
that he had made insulting advances
to her on the front porch of her
home. A demand by her husband for
an apology for the alleged effrontery
was flatly refused by Dr. Ridley with
the statement that the charge was
“an infernal lie in its entirety.”
Dr. Ridley’s church congregation
was well represented at the trial.
Several of his deacons were present,
along with other officials of the
ehurch and many laymen, all of
whom voiced their faith in his inno
cence. Dr. John W. Ham, pastor of
the Baptist Tabernacle, entered the
court roo mwith Dr. Ridley and lis
tened intently to the evidence. Both
Dr. Ham and Dr. Ridley Indicated
they would discuss the case from
their pulpits Sunday, as preludes
to their sermons.
Mrs. Hamilton, the prosecutor, en
tered the court room on the arm
•f her husband, who is a railroad
clerk. Her testimony opened the
hearing.
Mrs. Hamilton Testifies
Mrs. Hamilton apparently was
quite indignant when she began her
testimony, and immediately launched
into a vigorous attack on Dr. Ridley
for what she termed his “outrageous
conduct” on her porch.
She said she knew Dr. Ridley cas
ually. “I did not seek his acquaint
ance, but he introduced himself to
me,” she said. ‘‘He walked U P
mv porch while I was sitting
my baby in the swing I bowed and
told him to come in. He took a sea
in fhp swing and played with the
said about two girls who lived witn
their parents in a part °J flirt-
I said I thought they had been flirt
Ing with the workmen who are build
ini. th? new church across the stree..
4 “PresentTy, Dr. Ridley moved closer
to me and I felt his arms about me.
I°was horrified and drew’
like an iceberg. He wanted to
if mv husband worked at
MW other
«”h. Sti ° I ?'S “STi
Tni ’along: *. a°e»’t ’«">
d man I ™
teS at Dr. Ridley, who was
:?a r ndmg%ea S r a her, closely following
her Examl a
Once she
«nse th i e wTuld have landed a hard
W^rs On Hamnt h on ad ’ declared that a
M .reporter who interviewed
Sy night misquoted her when
“ -..Hiieshed the statement that sne
Dr Ridley and went into the
house D when his advances became in-
SU »l in did not go into the house until
after Dr. Ridley left, she said.
Judge Johnson interrupted to re
murk that “the newspaper reporters
generally tell the truth” and to sug
gest that the reporter who wrote the
article in question be placed on the
-iand Counsel for Mrs. Hamilton
evidently did not take kindly to this
suggestion, for the reporter, who was
In the court room, was not called.
D. K. Johnson, of counsel for Dr.
Ridley, cross-examined Mrs. Hamil
ton and drew from her the statement
that Dr. Ridley entered her porch
after she had told him to “come in.
He drew the further admission that,
although a number of workmen were
within a short distance of the porch,
she did not call for help when he
minister’s alleged attentions became
offensive to her.
“How long did Dr. Ridley remain
in the swing with you,” asked Attor
nev Johnson.
“Probably 8 or 10 or 12 or 15 min
utes,” Mrs. Hamilton replied.
Ire Aroused by Questions
Further questions by Attorney
Johnson relative to what happened
on the front porch finally aroused
her ire, and she told the attorney
that his questions were repulsive.
“Dr. Ridley had no business on my
front porch for I am not a member
of his church -nd do not want to
be ” she said.
“If Dr. Ridley was offending you,
whv did you not call Mrs. Bedding
field your next door neighbor and
Close friend?” pressed the attorney.
“I don’t know," was the reply.
“Was not Mrs. Beddingfield on her
front porch, less than eight feet
away, while all of this outrageous
conduct of Igr. Ridley’s was taking
dace?” was the next question.
“If she was there I did not see
her,” replied Mrs. Hamilton.
Mrs. Hamilton then concluded her
testimony with the statement that
she told Mrs. L. M. Johnson, who
lives in the house with her, of the
occurrence immediately after Dr.
Ridley’s departure, and that she
bared the whole story to her hus
band when he came home from work.
It made him “awful mad," she said.
The husband of Mrs. Hamilton was
not called to the witness stand. The
only other witness for the prosecu
tion was L. M. Johnson, who acted
Friday night as “go-between man”
and arranged the conference between
Dr. Ridley and Mr. Hamilton. He de
clared Mrs. Hamilton had been great
ly wrought up due to the reported
advances of Dr. Rid'.ey.
Witness for .Defense
The defense then introduced testi
mony by Mrs. Robert L. Beddingfield,
the next-door neighbor of the Ham
iltons, that Dr. Ridley chatted pleas
antly with Mrs. Hamilton for several
-ktes from the sidewalk before he
entered her front porch and sat
with her in the swing.
‘My porch is just eight feet away
from Mrs. Hamilton’s porch, and I
think I saw everything that took
place,” declared Mrs. Beddingfield.
“Dr. Ridley had been talking with my
brother-in-law, J. F. Turner, across
the street near the new church, and
(Vvuouuva on x-age 6, Column 4)
MRS. BACHELLOR
LOYALTOHUSBAND:
NOWUNDEHARREST
Palmetto Banker, Held in
Dallas for Alleged Embez
zlement of $50,000, Will
Be Brought Back
*
The announcement Monday morn
ing of the surrender in Dallas, Tex.,
of R. C. Bachellor, wanted in Geor
gia on the charge of embezzling
about $50,000 frim the Bank of Pal
metto, came as a shock and yet a
relief to one Atlanta woman—the
wife of Bachellor, who has not seen
him since the day, ten months ago,
when ,he kissed her goodby in the
front parlor of their little Palmetto
home.
“I am glad he has given.up, glad
that it’s over at last and that he’s
coming back," she declared. “I love
him as I have always loved him for
twenty years, and I am going to stick
by him through thick and thin.
Whatever the world says, I know he
is not guilty of a moral wrong—he
was just too ambitious and the luck
was against him.”
Mrs. Bachellor, a pretty, blue-eyed
woman of 38, has been working for
several months past behind the coun
ter of an Atlanta department store,
and living with her sister at 468
South Pryor street. Her family is
with her —the eldest boy, John, who
also works in the department store; (
Gertrude, 13, and Elizabeth, 11.
As she talked to a reporter dur- ,
Inga pause in her work Monday ,
morning, tears stood in her eyes and ,
her voice shook with feeling. (
"We have been married twenty ,
years,” she said, “ever since he was
seventeen and I was eighteen. His i
mother died when he was only a ’
I’ttle boy and his father, who re- ]
married, sent him to a boarding
school. He was unhappy there, so he ’
quit school and got him a job as a <
telegraph operator at Alamo, Ga. (
That’s where I first met him. He' i
told me he was 23 to overcome ob- I
jections to the marriage, so I mar
ried him. and at eighteen he was a .
father. ’ f
Good Husband f
"He was the best husband and fa- t
ther in the world,” she went on, 5
crying softly. “He was never in any j
trouble before. It’s not true that he t
left me penniless. He had provided i
for me years before this trouble ’
came up. But he had not put the
house in my name, so last August, <
when I saw they were going to take |
it away from me. I left Palmetto t
and came to Atlanta."
Mrs. Bachellor declared that her 1
husband never meant to rob any 5
man. j.
“I didn’t know that he was specu- ,
lating, for he never told me much s
about his business affairs!,” she said ®
“but knowing him as I do, I can un- t
derstand what motive prompted him. I
He wanted to get ahead, to be a E
wealthy man and to give his family .
a good position in life, and he want
ed to make the bank the best in
the chain. The luck was just against
him; he was caught where many an
other man is never caught.”
Mrs. Bachellor declared her hus
band ran away because he wanted
to recuperate his losses and pay the J
bank back. <
“I know that’s the reason,” she as- 1
serted. “Yes, I’ll admit I’ve heard 1
from him since he left, but I don’t .
want to talk about that. He left '
in a terible hurry; hardly time to '
kiss me goodbye. But he told me
why he was going. He was crying, I
and he said he was going to make j
up the money and pay it back. I |
suppose that’s why he gave himself 1
up—because he failed.”
Mrs. Bachellor said she had al
ready retained a lawyer to defend
her husband, but would not state
the attorney’s name. She said she
and her children would stick by him
no matter what happened.
Sheriff Xieaves Monday
A warrant is out against Bachel
lor, charging embezzlement, <and
Sheriff Jenkins, of Campbell ooun- ,
ty, will leave;Monday night for Dal
las, it is stated, to bring Bachellor
back to Georgia. He is reported to
have waived extradition.
Dispatches from Dallas Monday
said that Bachellor refused to dis
cuss his surrender, his statement be
ing that he “had a wife and children
to think about,” and he “didn’t want
to cause them any sorrow,”
Bachellor’s surrender Saturday
night in Dallas to the Pinkerton Na
tional Detective agency, put an end
to a ten months’ search for him that
has led to every part of the United
States and is said to have developed
the fact that Bachellor won and lost
a fortune on the stock market after
fleeing from Georgia.
Why he gave himself up volun
tarily after the many months he
has remained in hiding, is a point
not yet brought out in dispatches
from Dallas.
The Atlanta office of the Pinkerton
agency has received word, however,
that Bachellor says he will waive
extradition and will come back to
Georgia to stand trial for his alleged
crime. He is said to have confessed
to the Pinkertons that he embezzled
the bank’s funds.
Missing Officer
Os Georgia Bank
Held in Dallas
R. C. Bachelor, former vice pres
ident of the Bank of Palmetto, Ga.,
who has been wanted since March,
1920, on charges of embezzlement,
surrendered in Dallas on Saturday
according to advices reaching here.
Bachelor Is reported to have ad
mitted a shortage of about SIOO,OOO.
Since he disappeared, he is credited
with saying he doubled this amount
in Wall street only to lose it later.
Dato’s Cabinet Resigns
MADRID, Jan. 24.—The cabinet of
Premier Dato resigned today.
FUTURE MEMBERS
OF QIBINET WIND
UP HOMEAFFAIRS
Hoover, Wallace and Mellon
to Get Portfolios Hert
Left Out —Dawes to Suc
ceed W, P. G. Harding
(Leased Wire Service to The Journal.)
(Copyright 1921.)
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
WASHINGTON, Jan. 24. —There
are two ways to tell who will be
in the. cabinet of President Harding.
One is Mr. Harding’s own announce
ment, and the other is definite ar
rangements made by the individuals
concerned to enter public life, such
as severing business connections and
packing their household goods.
Definite evidence has come to the
writer that John W. Weeks, former
senator from Massachusetts, is pre
paring to take over the portfolio of
secretary of war. Within the last
week Mr. Weeks has sent for prelimi
nary data so that he may make a
survey of the entire war department.
Charles Evans Hughes is winding
up his legal affairs so as to be
ready for the secretary of state.
Hoover to Get Post
A. W. Mellon, of Pittsburg, has
resigned as director of the Pennsyl
vania railroad and will become secre
tary of the treasury.
Charles Grosvenor Dawes, of Chi
cago, who was previously mentioned
for this place, probably will become
governor of the federal reserve board,
succeeding W. P. G. Harding, who is
about to resign to become president
of the $100,000,000 export corpora
tion.
Harry M. Daugherty will be attor
ney general and Will Hays postmas
ter general.
Herbert Hoover will be in the cabi
net as -secretary of commerce.
Henry Wallace, of Des Moines, la.,
will be secretary of agriculture.
A. T. Hert, of Kentucky, who was
conspicuously mentioned for score
tary of war, will not be in the cabi
net, but will be rewarded by being
given some other post of prominence.
Three Dlaces Still Open
This leaves the portfolios of navy,
interior and labor undetermined, and
every one of Mr. Harding’s advisers
and close friends who might be pre
sumed to know, including some ot
those who had last-minute talks
with Mr. Harding before he went
south, frankly confess that they are
up in the air about those three posi
tions. Indeed, Mr. Harding himself
is weighing the merits of the va
rious eligibles and arobably has
come to no decision yet.
It would not be surprising, how
ever. if after all the talk about
eliminating Lowden, the former gov
ernor of Illinois, finally was asked
The change of Mr. Weeks from navy
to war is at the bottom of it.
Everybody believed that Mr.
Weeks wanted to be secretary of tne
navy because he is a graduate of
the naval academy at Annapolis, but
in truth Mr. Weeks wanted to be
secretary of the treasury, as he is
a banker. His own objection to be
coming secretary of the navy was
that he would be embarrassed m
passing upon promotions of his own
class mates who are now high officers
in the American navy.
Farmers Gather at
Agriculture College
For Annual Course
ATHENS, Ga.. Jan. 24. —The Jan
uary short course on agriculture,
was begun at noon Monday at the
State College of Agriculture, in what
will be the most important course
yet given at the college.
Agriculturists and farmers from
all over the state are attending, and
will receive instructions in some of
the most important problems now
confronting the southern farmer.
A great deal of equipment has
been assembled by the various
divisions of the college to assure
the success of every demonstration
put on and the chiefs of the various
departments will be in personal
charge.
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ATLANTA, GA., TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 1921.
Harding Gets Tumultuous
// Confused TH el come;
Mayor and Chief Kidnaped' 1
BY WARD GREENE
President-elect Warren G. Harding
passed into Atlanta at 9:15 o’clock
Friday night, and passed out again
at 9:30 with part of official Atlanta
with him on the back platform of
the Royal Palm.
The kidnaping of Mayor Key, Mrs.
Key, Chief Beavers, et al., came as
the climax of a tumultuous welcome
given Senator Harding at the Ter
minal station by a crowd of 150 peo
ple of all ages, sizes and colors, in
cluding city officials, Elks, Repub
licans local officeseekers and plain,
everyday citizens and citizenesses.
The mayor and his party, after en
joying the honor of traveling half
a mile with the next president of
the United States, enjoyed the ex
perience of hoofing it back the same
distance through the blackness and
cinders of the railroad yards.
The rest of Atlanta was left roar
ing "Harding! Harding!” in the pitchy
gloom of the Terminal as the Royal
Palm snored southward right in the
middle of the senator’s speech.
The brief stopover of Senator Hard
ing in Atlanta en route for vacation
and rest in Florida remains a mem
ory of the crowd seething back and
forth in the darkness as the train
pulled in; of John McClelland fight
ing his way to the-back platform
with a big basket of roses in his
arms; shouts, shoves. Chief Poole and
Chief Beavers elbowing a couple of
men off the back steps; a big form
and a genial face looming into the
light out of the doorway; more shouts
and shoves; a speech handicapped bv
the toots of a switch engine on the
next track; a. warning whistle; ex
plosions of photographers’ flash
lights; more shouts and shoves; the
grinding of wheels; and a pinfire of
light as the train disappeared through
the mist far down the track.
Gets Warm Welcome
Senator Harding got a warm wel
come from the moment his tra.in
reached Georgia soil. In Rome a
big delegation was at the station,
in Dalton a delegati was at the sta
tion. and both of them cheered their
heads off quite as though Georgia
had never been in the Democratic
column for the past fifty years.
To them and to Atlanta’ newspa
per men who boarded the special at
Rome, Senator Harding expressed his
sincere friendship for the south and
his intention to prove that friend
ship when he enters the White House
in March. Jt was evident that he
was strongly impressed by the whole
souled reception he was getting all
along the way.
Plans for the reception in Atlanta
were cannily laid. Walker Lee. sec
retary to the mayor, in order to
forestall the possibility of the pres
ident-elect being in pajamas and bed
when the Royal Palm reached Atlan
ta, went to Rome with D. K. Rob
erts, secretary of the Georgia yard
ing club. There they got on the
S a, . n e’oS n K r^-S a fS< l
Atlanta on the special car with, as
“Duke” Roberts expressed it, “the
senator’s arm around Walker Lee’s
shoulders all the way.”
Marked Decrease Shown
In Liquor Consumption
From 1917 to 1920
WASHINGTON, Jan. 24. —Whisky
consumption in the United States
decreased from 89,641.985 gallons in
1917 to 5,581,553 gallons in 1920,
the first year of prohibition under
the constitutional amendment, ac
cording to figures announced yes
terday by the Anti-Saloon league of
America. Consumption of alcohol in
the same years decreased from 71-
081,121 gallons to 22,639,355 gallons,
the figures showed, while beer con
sumption dropped from 60817379
barrels to 9,231,280 barrels.
“Granting that many million gal
lons of alcohol and whisky with
drawn for non-beverage use have
been diverted to beverage use,” said
an accompanying statement by the
league, “and granting that many mil
lion gallons of beer have been made
and consumed illegally, a conserva
tive estimate shows that the peo
ple of the United States have saved
over one billion dollars previously
spent for beverage intoxicants.”
DISARMAMENT
FOR GERMANY IS
BEFORE COUNCIL
PARIS, Jan. 24.—The allied su
preme council began its meeting
here today with a discussion of Ger
man disarmament. Military experts
presented reports on conditions now
obtaining in Germany and along the
Rhine. ' Allied leaders comprising the
council were to consider the matter
further this afternoon. <
The council meeting began with
little display. British, French, Ital
ian and other representatives drove
to the quai d’orsay, Premier Lloyd
George alone having a body guard.
Premier Aristide Briand, of
France, welcomed the delegates in a
brief speech and without further for
mality the council got down to work.
Military and naval experts were
called in to make brief reports, oc
cupying about two hours. At the
end of that time the following com
munique was issued:
“After a welcoming speech by Pre
mier Briand, of France, the first
question on the program of the con
ference, disarmament, was discussed
by experts comprising: France, Mar
shal Foch, Generals Weygand, Nol
let and Barthou; England, Generals
Wilson and Binham; Belgium, Gen
eral Maglinse; Italy, General Marl
ette.
“Marshal Foch presented a resume
of the statements and a report of the
Versailles commission on disarma
ment, and described the present sit
uation in Germany in regards to
troops and armament. General Bing
ham, General Nollett and General
Mariette furnished details.
“The discussion of ‘ disarmament
will be continued this afternoon.
After reports of allied experts have
been presented, government heads
will deliberate over the questions.”
ELEVEN BRITISH
’PLANES CRUSH
AFRICAN REBEL
WASHINGTON, Jan. 24.—Com
plete destruction of the power of
“Mad Mullah,” native ruler of Soma
liland, Africa, and for thirty-four
years a problem to British authori
ties, was accomplished within three
weeks’ time by less than 200 airmen
and eleven fighting planes, according
to official, report orf"the operation,
just received here. Bombed out of
their strongholds, the natives were
pursued and all the leaders except
MvHah TSrptured urddlred, the report
stated.
The air expedition was sent out
in 1919, but deails were kept secret.
It was the last of many punitive
forces sent to Somaliland, where
continual uprisings have involved the
British in military operations at fre
quent intervals since 1885.
The situation was so-serious in
1919, the report stated, that some
military action was necessary, but
the government hesitated because of
the cost, estimated at $25,000,000. of
dispatching 5,000 troops to re-estab
lish order. In the emergency, the
air force was called upon and 32 offi
cers and 164 men in addition to the
medical detachment set out.
An advance party, masquerading
as engineers in search of oil wells,
landed and set up a base. Then the
machines appeared and for a week
Mad Mullah’s stronghold in the in
terior was bombed and shot up
while the native camel corps co
operated. holding a line about the
scene. The Mullah finally broke
through this line, heading south, and
the planes pursued for two weeks
more, bombing and shooting up the
fleeing natives, scattering their stock
and utterly destroying the power of
the rebel leader. Thus the empire
for the first time In thirty-four years
was left in peaceful possession of
the country. Two casualties in the
camel corps were the only British
losses.
OOGS IN GEORGIA
MORE RUBLE
THANJIS MINES
Former Tax Valuation Is
$230,641, While Latter Is
s69,s7l—Other Figures
Given by Department
That dogs in Georgia were return
ed for taxation at a value more than
three times greater than capital in
vested in mining property of all
kinds, is one of the interesting facts
disclosed by a recapitulation of 1920
tax returns made by W. B. Harri
son, chief clerk in the tax depart
ment of the comptroller general’s
office.
While the capital invested in min
ing operations was returned in 1920
at a valuation of only $69,571, the
dogs of Georgia were returned for
taxation at a valuation of $230,641.
Os course the returns of capital in
vested in mining operations were by
no means commensurate with the
actual capital so invested. It is es
timated by the tax authorities of
the state house that the above fig
ure, of $69,571, represents not more
than 10 per cent of actual capital
invested in mining. Neither does
the value of dogs returned for tax
ation represent the actual value of
worth-while dogs placed upon them
by their owners, but it at least in
dicates a greater willingness on the
part of dog owners to pay taxes on
their dogs than on the part of mine
owners to pay taxes on their mines.
The aggregate value of property
of all kinds returned for taxation
in Georgia in 1920 was $1,181,473,-
058, which was a substantial in
crease over the agregate returns in
1919 of $982,800,863.
A classification of the returns of
1920, made according to the specifi
cations laid down by the tax digest,
shows the following sub-agregates
composing the general aggregate:
Acres of land, cultivated and un
cultivated, 35.442,560, returned at an
aggregate value of $369,888,859.
City and town real estate, $344,-
262,523.
Bank stock and real estate owned
by banks, $44,955,248.
Capital invested in building and
loan associations, $282,539.
Stocks and bonds held by individ
uals, firms and corporations, and re
turned for taxation. $4,807,964.
Cash in hand, cash on deposit,
money, notes, accounts, etc., $Bl,-
802.89.2.
Merchandise. $77,515,231.
Automobiles, $33,356,497.
Manufacturing plants, $67,843,862.
Capital invested in iron works and
machine shops, $2,790,667.
Capital invested in mining opera
tions, $69,571.
Household and kitchen furniture,
$41,435,377.
-
Cattle. $16,2’43,531.
Sheep and goats, $243,971.
Hogs, $5,161,439.
Plantation and mechanical tools,
$15,480,349.
Cotton and other crons on hand,
$3,505,879.
Mineral and timber leases, $2,284.-
224
Property of tax defaulters, put on
the books by assessors, $2,417,720.
All other property, not classified
above, $17,172,983.
General aggregate, $1,181,473,058’.
Mob in Carolina
Storms County Jail
For Two Prisoners
NORLINA, N. C., Jan. 24.—Alfred
Williams and Plummer Bullock, two
negroes, were taken from the War
ren county jail at Warrenton by a
masked mob early this morning and
shot to death. No effort was made
to molest the other eleven negroes
who were confined in the jail fol
lowing a race riot at the railway
station. Bullock was said to have
been the instigator and Williams one
of the leaders of the clash. About
150 men were in the mob that enter
ed the jail The two negroes were
taken into the woods about a mile
outside of town and their bodies rid
dled with bullets.
MISUSE OF MAILS
CHARGED TO FORMER
OFFICERUFGOROOIY
Gist E. Ogg Brought Here for
Trial This Week for Annoy
ing Prominent Carolina
Woman With Letters
A federal warrant for Gist E. Ogg,
former lieutenant at Camp Gordon,
charging use of the United States
mails for the transmission of ob
jectionable and annoying letters was
issued Friday along with statements
from postoffice inspectors which
bared details of a weird case in which
the army officer is said to have writ
ten scores of letters to a young wom
an he had frequently seen but never
met —the daughter of a wealthy bank
er of Columbia, S. C., and the wife of
a prominent Columbia lawyer.
The first communication was said
to have been mailed from Camp Gor
don early in 1918. The young woman
then was Miss Evelyn Robertson, the
daughter of E. W. Robertson, presi
dent of the National Loan and Ex
change bank, of Columbia, and said
to be the largest owner of realty in
that city. She subsequently became
the wist of J. M. Lyle, a wealthy and
distinguished attorney, of Wales-Gar
den, Columbia.
Objectionable letters—many ot
them couched in Improper language—
then followed at the rate of two or
three a week for more than two
years the inspectors say. Tart com
munications also were sent at regu
lar intervals to A. E. Gonzales, edi
tor and publisher of the Columbia
State, and to the husband and father
of the young woman, it is stated.
Ogg was not known personally to
any of the addresses, but appeared
to labor under the delusion, it is
said, that the girl loved him and
that the men were persecuting him.
Althougn his military record was
good, Ogg’s aged father, who lives
in Columbia, declares his son often
becomes mentally unbalanced. The
investigating officers are inclined to
accept this explanation as the prin
cipal reason for the defendant’s al
leged erratic actions.
Gave Better to Father
Deputy United States Marshal J.
H. Jones reached Atlanta with Ogg
late Saturday. He will be tried Wed
nesday or Thursday before Judge W.
I. Grubb and a jury. His removal
to this federal district for trial was
due to the fact that the alleged im
proper letters were mailed from At
lanta or Camp Gordon.
Ogg’s first letter to Mrs. Lyle,
written several months before her
marriage, was flooded with ardent
expressions of devotion and assur
ances of his intention to marry her
Immediately following his separation
frmn g the. military service, the of-
Mrs. Lyle was quite positive she
had never met a “Mr. Gist E. OSS' 1 ’
arid passed the letter on to her fath
er, who filed it in his desk with the
statement that "we will wait and
see if he writes again; maybe there
is some mistake,” inspectors say.
In three days the next letter ar
rived: this one according to the in
spectors, containing no objectionable
phraseology, but conveyed the in
formation to Mrs. Lyle “that her let
ters were all that kept Lieutenant
Ogg alive.” .
This letter, officers say, moved Mr.
Robertson to write Ogg and request
that he refrain from writing to his
daughter.
But still they came, at least twice
weekly, officers say, declaring that the
fact that his letters were not an
swered did not stop Ogg, as he con
tinued to write Mrs. Lyle that ‘ our
marriage will take place very soon.
Shortly after Mrs. Lyle’s marriage,
Ogg, it is said, addressed a letter to
her husband, denouncing him in
strong terms and adding a postscript
which read thus: “Your wife loves
me and not you; I am very sorry
for you; you are wrong in the head,
or you would never have married
her.” „
Bitter letters to Editor Gonzales
and Mr. Robertson followed, along
with additional communications to
Mrs. Lyle, the inspectors declare.
The postal department then took the
case in charge.
Ogg was interviewed, and on his
definite promise that he would ad
dress no more annoying letters to
Mr. Robertson, Mr. Gonzales, or Mr.
and Mrs. Lyle, he was allowed to
remain on duty with the Seventh en
gineers at Camp Gordon.
After a lull of several weeks, Ogg
opened up anew, say the inspectors,
and wrote several letters to Mrs.
which contained objectionable
passages. His arrested followed, and
he was placed under bond, which was
posted by his father. Two weeks ago
an- Indictment in the case was return
ed by the federal grand jury.
Postofflce inspectors believe Ogg is
mentally irresponsible. They sup
ported this’ opinion with several doz
en of Ogg’s letters, all of which were
written in a bold, neat hand.
Reference to the dates on the en
velopes showed that Ogg once ad
dressed two letters to Mrs. Lyle on
the same date. In one of the letters
he declared he had never seen her,
and in the other he told her how he
enjoyed the dinner party they bad
together when he was last in Co
lumbia on a week-end pass.
The last of the letters written by
Ogg to members'”of the Robertson-
Lvle family was an application for a
position in the bank of which Mi.
Robertson is president. It said:
“I can do any kind of clerical work
better than any man you have in
your employ; indeed. I can do it bet
ter than you can. For references. I
offer the Standard Oil company, of
Honolulu, and the China-Eastern
railroad, of Pekin. Answer quick if
you want a good man.”
Another letter typical of those
written by Ogg was the one sent in
March, 1920, to Attorney Lyle, which
re "I can’t be bothered with you, for
you are crazy.”
Relatives of Ogg have indicated
that he will waive trial and enter a
plea of guilty. Mr. and Mrs. Lyle.
Mr. Robertson and Editor Gonzales
will come t Aottaltoan 7890$
will come to Atlanta to press the
case. __________
Aviator Is Burned to
Death as ’Plane Falls
ELKTON, Md„ Jan. 22. —An avia
tor, believed to be Lieutenant Harry
J. Spaulding, of Bowling Field,
Washington, while trying to land in
a heavy fog two miles north of Elk
ton, fell and was burned to a crisp (
late today. 1
The machine struck a small tree, ;
turned over and the engine exploded. >
Cuff buttons and a belt bore initials j
“H. J. S.” __ 1
5 CENTS A COPY.
$1.50 A YEAB.
25 ARE KILLED AND
MANY ARE INJURED
IN MEMPHIS BLAST
Block of Frame Dwellings
Levelled —Property Dam
age Probably $150)000
Boy Blown Through Air
MEMPHIS, Tenn., Jan. 24.—With
estimates of the police and rescuers
ranging from six to fifteen dead,
about forty injured and others unac
counted for, a complete check of the
occupants of a block of wrecked
frame dwellings was awaited this
afternoon to definitely determine the
toll taken by an explosion early to
day of a tank car of gasoline at the
filling station of the Colyar-Reese
company, in the north end of Mem
phis, which splintered and set afire
twenty small tenement houses, bury
ing the occupants in the ruins, and
rocked buildings within a radius of
several blocks.
Virtually all of those killed and in
jured were negroes. • .
While the police reported only six
bodies, all negroes, actually recover
ed. directors of several squads of
! rescuers exploring the wrecked
buildings, estimated the number of
dead at fifteen.
The resultant fire which, for a
time, threatened to spread to a gas
plant and several nearby manufac
turing concerns, was checked before
’ it gained headway.
Police and fire department of
ficials attributed the blast to a
chance sp<ark from the chisel of
a workman who was calking the
the cap from the top of the tank,
’line when another workman removed
' the cap from thetop of the tank.
' Two of the workers were torn to
i bits, while the third escaped prac
tically unscathed.
! A row of tenement houses, a block
i in length, all of frame construc
: tion, were levelled by the force o'
1 the explosion, killing and maiming
’ their occupants.
Six bodies, torn almost beyond
recognition, were removed within a
. few minutes, and every ambulance
> in the city was summoned to remove
the injured to hospitals. In all
I fifty persons were given treatment.
’ Many of these were seriously hurt.
’ Others bruised and cut by glass, were
given treatment by physicians a l
; the scene.
Confusion Hinders Bescuers
• The detoniition of the explosion
' was heard throughout the city and
1 the thousands who flocked to the
scene added to the confusion and
' made difficult the work of the po
lice and volunteer rescue parties.
> The filling station where the ex
i plosion occurred was not badly dam
! aged. On one side of the station
was a huge brick and concrete pump-
• ing station which absorbed the force
! of the blast. Windows in it were
' torn out, but otherwise the building
was not damaged. The block di
rectly south of the where the
havoc was wrought is unoccupied.
That an even greater, death toll
was not taken was attributed to the
fact that many of the occupants of
the ill-fated dwellings had left for
their work.
The first bodies found were of
four negro women and a baby. Their
bodies were found a short distance
from their home, while scattered
over a radius of a block or more
were other bodies.
Virtually no trace of the tank car
was left.
While the fire was brought under
control shortly after the explosion,
the work of the rescuers was made
hazardous by the fact that other
gasoline filled cars were in the im
mediate vicinity, in the path of fly
in gembers and isolated by the torn
tracks. Police lines were establish
ed two blocks from the scene of the
devastation.
Early estimates of the property
damage indicated that it would not
exceed $150,000.
One of the injured brought to the
general hospital was an unidentified
negro boy who, after being hurled
into the air fell into a nearby bayou
with both legs broken.
An hour after the first explosion
a second tank car blew off its top
and sent the crowds scurrying to
shelter. Beyond wrecking the car,
thjs blast caused only small dam
age.
Houseboat Voyage Is
Halted While Harding
Plays Golf Foursome
ROCKLEDGE, Fla., Jan. 24.—The
voyage of the houseboat Victoria,
was halted here today while Presi
dent-elect Harding joined in a golf
foursome on the Rockledge links.
The president-elect’s face was taking
on tan today under the warm south
ern sun. He appeared much re
freshed already by his vacation and
wa, more genial than he has been
for weeks.
His time on the houseboat is spent
reading, swapping stories or luxuri
ating in the sun. The fast sched
ule of the Victoria will be slowed
down to give Harding a chance to
fish along the way. He may spend
the night here and proceed leisure!'
tomorrow. He is now nearly ha!
way to Miami, the most souther
point he expects to reach.
The presence in the party of Her
ry P. Fletcher, former ambassad"
to Mexico, led to the impression b
some quarters that he might be un
der consideration for secretary <>
state to serve as a compromise be
tween Hughes, who is said to' be ob
jectionable to some Influential sen
ators, and Elihu Root, who is bein'
urged on Harding. There is littb
likelihood, however, that Fletche
will be seriously considered. Hj
entered the diplomatic service unde
Roosevelt and is related by marriag
to Henry P. Davison of J. P. Mor
gan and company.
Markets Are Looted
In Indian Districts
LONDON, Jan. 22.—A serious out
break, involving the looting of coun
try markets, has occurred In the
Muzufferpur district, British India,
it was officially announced today.
Sympathizers with the non-co-opera
tion movement are believed to have
been the principals or instigators.