Newspaper Page Text
®be Mattia SM-WeeM® Sottvnal
VOL. XXVI. NO. 124
WON WETTES
AND CIGARS UPHELD
BY SUPREME COURT
Dealers Lose Fight Against |
10 Per Cent Levy
in Georgia
The ten per cent tax on cigars and
cigarettes passed by the last session
of the Georgia general assembly was
held to be constitutional in every re
spect in an opinion handed down
late Wednesday afternoon by the
Georgia supreme court, written by
Justice Beck and concurred in by
the other members of the tribunal. ■
In commenting on the decision, I
[governor Walker said, in part;
"I am taking this occasion to noti
fy every dealer within the borders of
;he state that this law will be rigid
y enforced. In the name of the gal
ant veterans of the sixties I extehd
hanks to Revenue Commissioner
Vandiver, Pension Commissioner Mc-
Iregor, Representative Milner and
’resident Carswell for their untiring
fforts in enacting and perfecting
his legislation. In like measure I
low call on Confederate veterans
everywhere to show their apprecla
ion by demanding that the law be
qually and uniformly enforced. It
s a tax on a harmful luxury. Those
rho pay do not complain.
Favorable to Dealer
•'The law is most favorable to
ealer nnd manufacturer. It re
leves the dealer of an occupation
ax of SIOO. It helps the jobber and
manufacturer by removing a tax
prohibitory on all small dealers.
“The decision of the court means
hat a quarter of a million dollars in
ash is available at once for provid
mg new and better buildings and
qupment fr he tubercular hospital
t Alto, and that a substantial sum
rill be added to the pensions already
aid veterans. For their sakes I
romise that every power of the
overnment will be exercised in the
nforcement of the law.”
The decision held that the tax does
lot violate the constitution of Geor
;ia by containing or referring to
nore than one subject matter, that
t does not violate the clause of the
leorgia constitution relating t > the
miformity of taxation, and that it
s not obnoxious to the interstate
ommerce clause of the federal con
titution.
“It is not unreasonable or confis
atory nor does it violate the due
process clause in the state and fed
ral constitutions,” stated the deci
ion, upholding the action of Judge
leorge L. Bell, of the Fulton supe
ior court, in refusing to grant an
to stay collection of the
ax after it had been attacked by
. group of Atlanta dealers. More
tian fifty dealers had become parties
o the litigation before the case was
rgued.
Big Revenue Anticipated
It was estimated at the time of
he passage of the measure that it
zould bring in from $2,500,000 to
3,900,000 in additional revenue for
he state. Os this amount, the state
anatorium for tubercular patients
t Alto was to receive $250,000 per
ear for two years for building a
tew plant and the remainder was to
:o to Confederate pensioners, of
'oth the old and new classes.
The case was known as that of E.
L Lloyd et al. vs. Tax Collector W.
I. Richardson, of Fulton county, and
. M. Vandiver, head of the state de
artment of revenue. After the case
ad been decided in superior court
nd the appeal taken to the supreme
ourt, the trial judge ordered that
he protesting dealers should use
tamps on cigars and cigarettes sold,
ut gave them permission to give
ond to the state revenue depart
ment instead of paying cash for the
tamps. These bonds amount to
many thousands of dollars, it is said.
Concerning the allegation by oppo
ents of the tax that it contained
more than one subject matter, the
upreme court held that the “sub
set matter” was the “levying of a
ax,” and that appropriations of the
of the tax, as stipulated in
bill, was an object germane to
u' subject and therefore not uncon
tltutional. This point had been at
icked by opponents of the measure.
"It may be true.” stated the deci
lon, “that the legislature generally
asses acts for levying taxes with
ut including in the same bill pro
islon for their appropriation, but
ixation and appropriation are so
losely related, so intimately asso
rted, in our minds, that where the
bject of taxation is indicated by
aming tho subject or object to
rhich the fund which it is proposed
o raise by the levying of such tax
i allocated, no surprise can be cre
ted. but the natural order of things
eerns to have been followed.”
Purely Local Tax
The court held that the main pur
ose of the tax was not the appre
ciation of funds, the contentions of
pposing counsel to the contrary,
toing further, relating to the uni
ormity of taxation, the decision
teld the constitutional provision re
erring to ad valorem taxation has
othing to do with an excise or busi
ess tax and that the uniformity of
he law has been met in every par
icular by the tobacco tax.
Concerning the allegation that the
(revisions of the federal constitu
ion relating to interstate commerce
tad been violated by the tobacco
ax, the decision held that the tax
vas not imposed until after the
hipnment of goods to the retail deal
r had been made and the transac
lon ended, and goods rea#y for sale
o the customers. By that time, the
ecision held, the goods had lost
heir character as articles of inter
tate commerce and had become
übjects of local taxation.
The decision further held that the
ontention that the tax act is “tin
easonable and confiscatory and de
prives petitioners of property with
•ut due process of law” was “clear
y without merit.”
The litigation over the stamp tax
ias handicapped the state revenue
iepartment in the enforcement of
he law, it was said, and the deci
lon of the supreme court has been
waited with great interest in state
tapltol circles.
The cigar and cigarette tax was
mposed by a bill of which Repre
sentative Herman Milner. of Dodge
jounty. was rhe author. The meas
ure was bitterly fought in both
Houses of the legislature, and the
rharge was made on the floor that
1 gigantic lobby was being main
tained by the tobacco interests to
lefeat the bill.
Published Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
MRS. NORA LAWRENCE
| SMITH, prominent in the de
velopment of progressive agri
cultural ideas in south Georgia,
who was awarded the Sutlive
trophy at the editors’ conven
tion in Waycross. Her paper,
the Wiregrass Farmer, is given
I credit for developing the “Tur
' ner County Plan.”
5 j
Ashburn Folk Honor
Mrs. Nora L. Smith,
Sutlive Cup Winner
ASHBURN, Ga., July 24.—Mrs.
Nora Lawrence Smith, managing
editor of the' Wire Grass Farmer,
Who received the Sutlive loving cup
at the closing session of the Georgia
Press association in Waj'cross, ar
rive dhome Thursday. A large dele
gation from the Ashburn Woman’s
club, of which she is an active mem
ber, and the Ashburn board of trade
and other friends met her at the
train and showered her with con
gratulations and presented her a
huge bouquet.
The loving cup was offered last
editor of the Savannah Press, when
retiring from presidency of the Press
association, to the weekly paper in
Georgia doing the most constructive
work for their respective commu
nity. The Wiregrass Farmer has
been one of the potent factors in
formulating and putting across the
Turner county plan which has
brought not only state-wide but na
tional recognization to Turner coun
ty and Georgia. Mrs. Smith has
been always in the front in this
work. She represented Turner
county and the Third district at the
recent Democratic convention in
New York. Turner county is deeply
appreciative of this lates honor to
her local paper. _
Disappointed in Love,
Sparrow Makes Noose
And Attempts Suicide
DALTON, Ga., July 24.—Suffering
from mental derangemint or else
crushed under the weight of a great
sorrow', a cock sparrow that had a
nest in a broken electric light globe
at the Presbyterian manse on Thorn
ton avenue, wrapped a string several
times around his neck and jumped
from the nest. When rescued by Dr.
F. K. Sims, pastor of the First Pres
byterian church, the bird was about
gone, but it w'as finally revived.
The globe over the porch light had
been broken and made an ideal place
for a nest, and the sparrow and his
good wife took advantage of it. When
the nest was about completed, the
near tragedy occurred. The ques
tion is what did he find on his return
to his nest? The supposition is that
some dashing young villian had en
tered and coaxed his wife to leave,
and, broken by his disappointment,
the sparrow attempted suicide.
The string had been picked up
along with other selected items to
make the nest, and one end was firm
ly fastened when the other end was
around the bird’s neck.
Another theory has been advanced.
It is that the sparrow on returning
home and finding the villiain, over
powered him and then hanged him, it
being the intruder and not the owner
of the nest that was hanged.
Traditional Dog Days
To Start on July 29 as
Sirius Rises With Sun
WASHINGTON. July 24.—Astron
omers at the U. S. naval observatory
here announced today that “dog
days,” traditional time of rabid ca
nines and poisoned ponds, will be
gin July 29.
On that date Sirius, the dog star,
rises with the sun for the first time
during the year. It will continue to
rise at dawn until September 1. The
star will be visible in the early morn
ing hours.
Grady Reynolds Named
U. S. District Attorney
WASHINGTON. July 28.—Grady
Reynolds, of Clinton, Ala., was ap
pointed by President Coolidge today
as United States attorney for the
middle district of Alabama.
The Weather
FORECAST FOR SATURDAY
Virginia: Fair and cooler.
North Carolina: Fair and cooler in
central and west portions.
South Carolina: Probably fair;
I cooler in northwest portion.
Georgia: Probably fair; cooler in
north portion.
Florida and Extreme Northwest
Florida: Probably local thunder
' storms.
Alabama and Mississippi: Fair ex
cept showers along the coast.
Tennessee: Fair and cooler.
Kentucky: Fair and cooler.
• Louisiana: Generally fair except
scattered thundershowers in south
east portion.
Arkansas: Partly cloudy.
Oklahoma: Generally fair.
East Texas: Generally fair.
" est Texas: Partly cloudy, prob
ably showers in north and west per
. tions.
POLITICAL PARTIES
TO LOOSE MILLIONS
IN ISM CAMPAIGN
Radio Speeches at $lO a
Minute to Be Big Item
for Candidates
BY ROBERT T. SMALL
(Special Leased Wire to The Journal.) j
(Copyright, 1924.)
WASHINGTON, July 24.—Plans
being made for the presidential
campaign this year contemplate
probably the. largest expenditure of
money in the history of politics.
The use of money in pre-election
fights no longer carries with it the
taint of corruption. Legitimate ex
penses have grown greater and
greater as the years have gone by
and the high cost of living has hit
the hustings as well as the home.
Senator Borah, of Idaho, chair
man of the senate committee which
is to report campaign expenditures,
expects to have a busy time of it
between now and early November,
for all the committees have decided
to emulate the example of Chairman
Butler, of the Republicans, and give
Mr. Borah detailed reports from
time to time as the campaign pro
gresses.
Announcement that the inde
pendent Progressives, headed by j
Senator La Follette and Senator
Wheeler, are going to attempt to
raise a campaign fund of at least
$3,000,000, gives some inkling of
what the aggregate expenditures of
the campaign may be. This is far
more than the Democrats were able
to obtain in 1920. The Democrats
practically starved to _death that
year while the Republicans reveled
in plenty.
$15,000,000 Expense Bill
This year the Democrats are hope
ful that things will be different.
They may easily raise a campaign
fund of $5,000,000. The Republicans
may raise even more, so there is
reason to believe that in the na
tional political strongboxes there
will be gathered approximately $15,-
000,000 for electioneering purposes.
Radio, an entirely new expense in
national campaigns, will get the
lion’s share of the expenditure, ac
cording to present plans. The
broadcasting companies are going to
reap a real harvest and get back
some of the sum they have spent
in developing this art of communica
tion. Thus far there has been no
attempt to standardize the political
charges for broadcasting, other than
a preliminary statement by the
American Telephone and Telegraph
company that it expected to get $lO
a minute and to limit speeches to
ten minutes duration.
This time limit is proposed not
alone for the benefit of the listeners
in, but for the politicians as well.
The broadcasting agencies know their
invisible audiences. They know they
will not listen patiently to any per
son for much more than ten minutes.
In all political audiences there is
large percentage of persons who
walk out on the candidate soon after
he begins to talk. How much easier
it will be for the radio listeners to
turn the knob and cut short the best
;of the orators. The radio people be
; lieve they can give the politicians the
i best value by limiting them sharply
I in the amount of time they can con
sume on the air.
Overdose Feared
j Furthermore, it is feared that too
' much politics would drive the listen-
I ers from the head phones and the
loud speakers. Radio audiences
crave variety and will seek for it all
around the dial. A too liberal mix
ture of political addresses i/i the pro
gram would defeat the purpose of
the political chief and make their ex
penditures useless.
Word has reached Democratic
headquarters here that Mr. John W.
Davis, the presidential candidate, is
leaning more and more toward a
radio campaign than to take the two
big swings around the circle which
were suggested to him. Mr. Davis
| feels Fie can reach more people by
I radio than he can by train. llis
managers, however, are desiyious
that he should meet the people face
to-face so far as possible. They are
anxious to “sell” his personality, and
while a certain amount of personality
will express itself through the micro
phone, it is not to be compared with
personal contact.
Already it has been ararnged that
President Coolidge shall do most of
his political campaigning over the
radio. The presidential broadcasting
however, is not likely to cost the Re
publican national committee very
heavily, for Mr. Coolidge will speak
most of the time in connection with
some public event which would war
rant the broadcasting stations in
carrying the speech regardless of the
campaign. Such an incident is that
of Friday night, when Mr. Coolidge
will speak by radio to a company of
Boy Scouts gathered at dinner in
New York prior to sailing for Europe
on Saturday. It is peculiarly fitting
that Mr. Coolidge should speak to
the boys of America at this time
when his heart is so full of the sor
row attending the loss of his own
younger son. hen the president
announced he would speak to the
boys there was a catch in his voice
which told more, far more, than the
black silken band on his left arm.
Both of the older parties are going
to try to make their campaign funds
as popular possible, but neither
side will limit the amount that ar.
individual may give. Will Hays at-
I tempted to do that in 1920 and piled
i up a deficit of something like $2,000,-
I 000 before the ballots were cast. In
wiping out this deficit the Republic
ans cast the Hays rule SI,OOO onlv
to the winds.
“Wall street” may contribute
heavily to both Democratic and Re
publicans chests, but Mr. La Follette
I and his followers will have to go
elsewhere. Someone suggested that
' when Mr, Davis was nominated “big
| business” was so well satisfied with
I the two leading candidates for the
I presidency that it woCld fail to con
; tribute funds. T-he Democrats count
; a moral victory in itself, for
they said they had never gotten any
big business money anyway and if
they could keep it away from the Re
publicans a long stride forward had
been made.
Pershing Sails for Home
CHERBOURG, July 24.—General
John J. Pershing sailed for New
York today aboard the George Wash-
I ing’en.
IV or Id News
Told in
Brief
NEW YORK. Operators of the
Ward line file suit against the Atlan
tic Gulf and West Indies Steamship
lines seeking restoration of about
$20,000,000.
CINCINNATI. Ten picnickers
are reported killed in collision be
tween truck and New York Central
train at Oak Harbor, Ohio.
HAVANA, Cuba. Typhoid fever
outbreak causes concern in Havana
with 367 cases officially reported.
WASHINGTON. —President Cool
idge gets report from political lead
ers in Kansas, Ohio, lowa, West Vir
ginia and Vermont.
DARK HARBOR. Me. John W.
Davis shows improvement in his golf
game on his Maine trip; he seriously
avows that he is a real Jeffersonian
Democrat.
DETROIT. Smokestack plunges
eleven stories into the street from
the Charlevoix building and kills
four persons.
SAN FRANCISCO.—A total of
I, forest fires, burning over 237,-
000 acres and causing $1,750,000
damage to timber and crops, occur
red in California between January 1
and July 20, 1924, a report says.
CRAIG, Col. —The Discovery well
of the Ohio Oil company in the
Moffet field, northwestern Colorado,
had poured 4,560 barrels of crude
oil at the end of its first 24 hours’
test, it is announced.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. Patriotic
organizations participate at the fu
neral of Miss Letitia Christian Ty
ler, born in the White House, April
3, 1842, granddaughter of John Ty
ler, tenth president.
OELS, Germany. The former
crown prince of Germany is fined
20 gold marks for failure to answer
a summons of a millers’ guild to
join it.
NEWPORT, Vt.—The Newport jail
is filled to overflowing with aliens
arrested by immigration inspectors
in attempts to slip across the bor
der.
LONDON.—Charles E. Hughes,
American secretary of state, and
Mrs. Hughes, take luncheon with
King George and Queen Mary at
Buckingham palace.
NEW YORK. —The estate of the
late W. Bourke Cockran, former
United States senator, is valued at
$555,647 in an appraisal filed.
BAYREUTH, Bavaria. —Siegfreid
Wagner, son of the composer, as
serts the nationalistic demonstration
attending the opening of the Wag
nerian festival was purely spon
taneous.
CHlCAGO.—Chicago, Gary, lad.,
and nearby cities will become the
center of the steel industry, as a
result of the federal trade commis
sion’s ruling against the Pittsburg
plus method of price fixing, steel
men say.
DES MOlNES.—Senator Brook
hart, of lowa, announces he will not
support either Coolidge or La Fol
lette, but will discuss the issues in
the campaign.
NEW YORK. Gene Tunney
scores technical knockout over
Georges CarpentieY, who protests
that he was fouled.
V ASHINGTON.—Use of telephone
pictures of President Coolidge is
suggested as a supplement to the
broadcasting of his speeches by ra
dio.
DARK HARBOR? Me.—John W.
Davis takes a jovial fling at Presi
dent Coolidge in describing Andrew
J. Peters, who was mayor of Boston
during the police strike.
CHARLOTTE, N. C. —Bishop Leo
Haid, dean of Roman Catholic hier
archy in the United States, is dead
here.
LONDON. —Deadlock is unbroken
I over the means to safeguard pro
; posed loan to Germany.
LONDON.—American lawyers take
tea with King George, Queen Mary
and the Prince of Wales. The prince
makes a hit with the young women
guests.
WASHINGTON. —Bernard A. Eck
hart, of Chicago, is appointed as
sistant treasurer of the Republican
national committee.
MORE
ATHENS.—The Near East relief
protests the action of Greece in in
cluding several thousand Armenian
orphans under its care in orders
for the removal of fifty thousand
Armenians from Greece.
LONDON. —The German railways
organization committee completes
a draft law for converting the sys
tem of federal railway of Germany
into a corporation, as provided for
in the Dawes report.
WASHINGTON. The treasury
has approximately $200,000,000 in
railroad securities on its hands
which must je held until maturity
unless the carriers which made the
notes retire them earlier.
W \SHINGTON.—John Coolidge,
father of the president, leaves the
White House after a two weeks’ visit
the longest time he has ever been
away from his Plymouth, Vt., farm.
PHI LADE LPHI A—Brigadier Gen
eral Smedley Butler, in a talk to
police inspectors and officers, says
he has been appointed director of
public safety for four years and
will not quit unless “kicked out.”
WASHlNGTON.—Organization of
the new division of identification
of the department of justice, author
ized by congress, is completed and
W. L. McKean, of the bureau of in
vestigation, is named chief.
Locked Sheriff-Mate
In Own Jail Often,
Wife Says, m Suit
NEW YORK, July 23.—T0 save
her husband from disgrace she lock
ed him up frequently in his own
jail, Mrs. Irene Kelly, who is suing
her husband, former Sheriff John F.
Kelly, of Suffolk county, for sepa
ration, declared in an affidavit filed
in supreme court in Brooklyn.
Mrs. Kelly’s affidavit stated that
she imprisoned her husband in her
official capacity as jail matron when
he would i'eturn home after having
been drinking heavily. Kelly denied
that he had ever been a heavy drink
; er. Justice Benedict reserved deci
| s on.
GEORGIANS QUIZZED
mwsiffl
LT CHATTANOOGA
Skeleton of Woman, Missing
Nine Years, Found
in Basement
CHATTANOOGA. Tenn., July 24.
(By the Associated Press.) —W. H.
Bennett, district freight agent of
the Southern railway at Rome, Ga.,
and his wife, are detained at police
headquarters here today for investi
gation in connection with the finding
here about a week ago of a woman’s
skeleton in a shallow grave under a
house, it was stated by the chief of
police.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennett came here
early today voluntarily from Rome,
Ga., and are detained in the office
of the chief of detectives, police
headquarters stated.
“We will do anything we can to
help unravel it,” they were quoted as
saying after denying any knowledge
of the affair.
They returned to Chattanooga in
company with two local officers who
went to the Georgia city early to
day, following investigation by au
thorities of reports that Miss Au
gusta Hoffman, an aged aunt of
Bennett had occupied the house in
1915 and about that time had mys
teriously disar-->ared.
Tells of Woman
“The last time I saw Augusta she
was standing o nthe back porch and
I left for work about 10:30 o’clock
in the morning,” said Mr. Bennett.
“She later telephoned my wife that
she was going to Knoxville with a
friend to get work. She was out of
work and couldn’t get anything to
do in Chattanooga at the time.”
“Mother heard from her often.
First, as I recall, a postal card
from New York; then again from
Washington; later a letter stating
she had married and was extremely
happy, and later a postal card from
the man whom she was supposed to
have married. Thata was the last
we ever heard fro mher.”
Questioned concerning a bank ac
count which Miss Hoffman was
supposed to have had in Knoxville,
Mr. and Mrs. Bennett declared they
did not know much about it. Mr.
Bennett said he remembered ques
tioning her at one time upon see
ing a notice in the paper that this
bank had failed, and at that time
she said she had $2,000 in the bank
there.
The finding of a pair of gold
rimmed spectates in the grave, bear
ing the trade-mark of an optician at
Knoxville, led the officers to Knox
ville where they obtained a letter
written by Mrs. Claude Parker, of
State College, Pa., a sister of Miss
Hoffman.
This letter stated that it was fear
ed by relatives that the sister had
been foully dealt with.
According to detectives, the letter
also stated that Miss Hoffman left
Chattanooga intending to go to
Knoxville, but that she later met and
married a man named Brown and
went to California.
Another sister of the aged aunt of
Bennett, mentioned in a letter as
“Nan,” was said to have died at
the Bennett home during their res
idence in the house where the skele
ton was unearthed.
The Bennetts are said to have
lived at the house from 1913 to 1915,
and the writer of the Knoxville let
ter had been dead several years.
Upon returning from Knoxville
Wednesday night, detectives imme
diately swore out warrants against
the Bennetts, and detained the cou
ple at Rome at an early hour this
morning, bringing them back to
Chattanooga.
During her residence at the Ben
nett home, police say, Miss Hoff
man was engaged in a modiste shop
and, apparently, was in good cir
cumstances.
She left the store one afternoon, it
is alleged, with the intention of go
ing to Knoxville on «a visit after
having drawn a large sum of money
from a bank.
Police declare evidence shows the
woman never reached Knoxville.
They denied any knowledge of the
crime.
“My gracious,” said Mr. and Mrs.
Bennett almost simultaneously, “we
will do everything we can to help
unravel it.
The officers arrived here shortly
before 8 o’clock with W. H. Ben
nett and wife, from Rome, Georgia,
and took them at once to the police
station where they are being ques
tioned.
BENNETT FORMER EMPLOYE
OF SOUTHERN IN KNOXVILLE
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., July 24.
W. H. Bennett and wife, who have
been detained in connection with the
finding of a skeleton, believed to be
that of Miss Augusta Hoffman, for
merly lived in Knoxville, and Miss
Hoffman, who was a modiste with
a local department store, resided
with them. The family removed
from Knoxville to Chattanooga. Miss
Hoffman is said to have been the
aunt of Bennett.
Bennett was commercial agent for
the Southern railway here for sev
eral years, leaving about 1911 to go
to Chattanooga where he assumed
the duties as district freight agent.
He remained in Chattanooga several
years. Miss Hoffman is supposed to
have accompanied the Bennetts to
' Chattanooga.
Bobbed Hair Doomed,
Lip Stick Essential,
Say Beauty Doctors
CHICAGO. July 23.—Lip stick is
I essential but the “bob" is doomed, ac
: cording to opinions expressed at the
| seventh annual convention of beauty
I shop owners meeting here.
One stroke of a lip stick of the
i proper tint may forestall the spots
[ that sometimes terminate in the di
' vorce courts. Mrs. R. J. Maurer, a
I delegate, says. “It’s easy enough tc
; win husband, but it takes a good lip
I st'.ck to hold him.” she asserts.
: The complicated coiffures in vogue
I years ago will supplant the bobbed
i tresses, the experts believe.
a, Ga., Saturday, July 26,1924
Atlan
DEATH BY HANGING UPHELD
BY SENATE VOTE; HOUSE
WOULD SUBSTITUTE CHAIR
A tew minutes after the state sen
ate Lad defeated a bill providing for
a substitution of the electric chair
for the gallows in Georgia, the
house of representatives agreed to a
favorable i eport by a committee on
a similar bill by a vote of 111 to 31,
and later passed the bitt 115 to 45.
The house -bill was introduced by
Representative Perkins, of Musco
gee county, who had fought for two
years to abolish the noose. His bill
provided for the construction of a
death chamber at the state prison
farm in Milledgeville and for the ex
ecution of all condemned criminals
there.
Representative Ennis of Baldwin
county, led the fight against the bill
on the grounds that it would stamp
Baldwin county as a “death cham
ber” and be repulsive to the hun
dreds of students at the Georgia
State College for Women to have
criminals from all over Georgia
brought to Milledgeville and exe
cuted there.
Mr. Ennis offered *a substitute to
the bill providing for the installa
tion of the electric chairs in the
various counties for the execution
of prisoners locally just ns gallows
are now erected at the various coun
ty jails. This substitute was defeat
ed by a vote of 94 to 42.
Refuse to Reconsider Bill
By a vote of 90 to 88 the house
of representatives Tuesday morning
refused to reconsider its action of
Wednesday in killing the measure
providing for a four-year term for
the governor and other state house
officers. The motion to reconsider
was made by Representative Stone,
of Walker county, and extensive de
bate was precipitated.
The four-year term bill was intro
duced by Representative Langley of
Floyd county, who, after it had been
defeated Wednesday, announced that
efforts to secure reconsideration
would be made later in the session.
A second attempt by Representa
tive Harris, of Jefferson county, to
remove from the table senate bill,
No. 3, which would provide for an
income tax for Georgia, was lost,
67 to 92. The vote Wednesday
showed the name number in opposi
tion of the proposed reconside v. ion.
Representative Harris stated he
(Continued on Page 3, Column 2)
TEN KILLED WHEN
TRAIN HITS LOADED
TRUCK AT CROSSING
OAK HARBOR, Ohio, July 24
Investigation into the cause of the
grade crossing accident here late
yesterday which took a death toll
of ten and injured ten more was un
der way here today. The ten per
sons were killed instantly when a
New York Central passenger train
crashed into an automobile truck
loaded with children returning from
a picnic. The tragedy occurred
shortly before 7 p. m., at the Locust
street crossing, one block from the
New York Central depot, and about
one mile from the business section
of the town.
Four railroad tracks cross the
street at the point. A passenger
train, eastbound from Toledo, was
just pulling out from the station
when William Spangler, forty, driv
er of the truck, halted for the train
to pass. Witnesses say that as the
last cars were crossing the street,
Spangler started the truck in mo
tion, passing behind the eastbound
train to be struck by a fast passen
ger train going west.
The westbound passenger struck
the truck squarely in the center, and
hurled it more than 100 feet. Bodies
were throwm in every direction, some
being ground beneath the wheels
of the flying train. Three were car
ried 300 feet on the engine pilot.
Cries of the injured and dying
mingled with the screeching brakes
as the train ground to a stop. Dozens
hurried to the aid of the injured.
Ambulances and private cars rushed
them to hospitals here and at Port
Clinton. The dead were gathered
together, identified and removed.
Reports as to the injured varied.
Several children, known to have
been on the truck and not immedi
ately located were listed as injured.
Twenty-six persons, according to
best accounts, were on the truck
when the crash came..
The children, in the custody of the
older people, had spent the day on
their annual picnic, and were re
turning to Attica.
Mayor Peter J. Gulau today was
to act to have the railroad company
place safety gates at the crossing.
For many years a watchman was
maintained at the crossing, but he
was relieved last year with the in
stallation of the electric signal sys
tem. The system was working, the
red light moving to and fro, wit
nesses said, when the truck started
to cross.
Burglars Gag Girl
Rob Apartment and
Set Fire to House
SYRACUSE, N. Y., July 24.—Two
burglars early today forced an en
trance to the Lennox apartment
house, on Midland avenue, bound
and gagged Miss Frances Stabb, 34,
and after taking S7O from her room,
set fire to the house.
The lives of Miss Stabb and four
roomers in the house were endan
gered as the flame srapidly swept
through the apartment. Several
firemen were overcome by gas fumes
and narrowly escaped death.
Miss Stabb was removed to a hos
pital suffering seriously from shock.
3 Sisters Drown Trying
Vainly to Save Fourth
NATCHITOCHES, La., July 24.-
Four daughters of J. K. Chestnut,
of Natchitoches, ranging in age from
ten to twenty-four years, were
drowned while bathing in Cain lake,
near here, early last r.ight Three
of the victims lost their lives while
attempting to rescue a younger sis-
Capital punishment was given the
indorsement of the Georgia state
senate Thursday, when that body
overwhelmingly defeated a measure
abolishing the gallows in this state.
The vote was 31 to 9 against the
measure, the following senators vot
ing- for the bill: Senators Davis,
Garrison, Greene, Hodges, Johnson,
Mason, Phillips, Stovall and Smith
of the Twenty-third.
Senator Stovall, author of the
bill, spoke at length in support of
the proposal, declaring that capital
punishment does not deter criminals,
and that the only deterrent is the
certainty that punishment will fol
low crime. He quoted governors
and prison wardens in support of
his contention that the gallows or
the electric chair accomplishes little
in the way of preventing crime, and
gave statistics showing that 53 per
cent of all capital crimes are com
mitted by persons under thirty years
of age.
Senator King, speaking against
the bill, asserted that there are al
together too few hangings in Geor
gia, and he advocated the death pen
alty as the only means of dealing
justice to murderers.
Subsequent to the defeat of the
capital punishment bill, the senate
voted down a measure by Senator
Phillips substituting the electric
chair for the gallows as a means
of execution in this state. The vote
on the bill was 17 to 18.
Following the passage of a bill
to define industrial insurance, the
senate adjourned until 10 o’clock
Friday morning, having agreed to
make a special orde; for Tuesday of
a bill to change the present method
of oil and gasoline inspection.
By a vote of 26 to 10, the senate
passed a bill increasing the salary
of the judge of the Middle circuit of
the superior court from $3,250 to
$4,000 per year, after there had been
considerable discussion by senators
whose counties would be affected
by the measure.
Before the bill to abolish capital
punishment was called up, the fol
lowing bills were passed in the sen
ate:
By Senator Arnow of the Fourth—
To amend the act relative to cre
ation and organization of the board
of cofnmissioners of roads and reve-
Continued on Page 3, Column 3)
miami. with beach,
TOPS ENTIRE SOUTH
IN JONE BUILDING
MIAMI, Fla., July 24.—Twenty
four municipalities of Florida during
the first six months of this year is
sued building permits amounting to
$35,000,000, a gain of 42 per cent
over the corresponding period last
year, according to a survey com
pleted by Southern Construction
magazine today. During the first
six months of 1923, three municipali
ties authorized $24,873,398 in build
ing.
The twenty-four municipalities are
now within less than $15,000,000 of
their aggregate total for the entire
of 1924, whic hamounted to $49,880,-
304, and they are past their record
for the entire of 1922, during which
they issued $31,392,260 in permits.
The survey also showed that the
combined building permit total of
Miami and Miami Beach for June,
reaching $2,034,605, led all the cities
of the south, with Dallas, Texas, sec
ond with $1,882,666, and Durham, N.
C., third, with $1,463,350.
Miami, with $1,114,055 for June
and $6,949,019 for the first six
months of the year, led the Florida
municipalities, while Jacksonville
took second place with $417,841 for
June and $3,981,351 for the first six
months. Miami Beach came third
with $920,550 in June permits and
$3,880,550 for the first six months.
Six-month totals for other munici
palities follow: St. Petersburg $3,-
765,550; Tampa $3,111,456; Palm
Beach $2,485,445; West Palm Beach,
$2,212,920; Orlando, $1,631,432, and
Sarasota, $936,640.
During the first six months, the
survey showed, Sarasota gained 203
per cent; Miami 146 per cent; West
Palm Beach 120 per cent; Tampa,
51 per cent, and Miami Beach 41
per cent.
4 Die as Smokestack
Crashes Eleven Stories
Upon Auto on Street
DETROIT, Mich., July 24. —Four
persons were killed and one seriously
injured late Wednesday when a
smokestack, said to have been weak
ened by the action of the wind and
weather, fell from the roof of the
Charlevoix building, eleven stories
into an automobile on the street
below.
Winds, Dragons, Chinese
Seized When Police
Raid Mah Jong Party
WASHINGTON, July 24.—Wash
ington's first mah jong raid early
today resulted in the arrest of 15
Chinese and the seizure of various
ivory winds and mythological mon
sters, as well as fifteen modern dol
lars. The Chinese were accused of
gambling.
Crane Alights on Wires,
Darkness Engulfs City
PASSAIC, N. J., July 24.—This
city was plunged into darkness last
night when a migratory crane
alighted on electric feeder wires
which bring 26,000 volts from a Jer
sey City power louse. The bird,
with each foot on a wire, short cir
cuited the system. The bird's body
was taken from the wires by line
men searching for the trouble.
I ' *
a LEM a A COPY,
$1 A YEAR.
EVIDENCE PILES UP
AGAINST SLAYERS
OF YOUNG FRANKS
Leopold and Loeb Giggle in
Court as Death Drama
Unfolds
i
CHICAGO, July 24.—(8y the Asso
ciated Press.)— Continulning the pil
ing up of evidence designed to send
Nathan Leopold, Jr., and Richard
Loeb to the gallows for kidnaping
and murder of Robert Franks, State’s
Attorney Robert E. Crowe today pro
duced in court for formal identifica
tion the taped cold-chisel used in
beating the boy to death; the charred
remains of the bloodstained automo
bile robe rescued from the ashes of
a bonfire on the lake front; a port
able typewriter similar to that on
which was written the ransom letter
received by Franks’ father’ and pa
per and envelopes identified as of the
same texture as that sold to Leopold
shortly before the disappearance of
their victim.
Introduced also by the state was a
pint bottle identified by a drug clerk
as the one in which he had sold hy
drochloric acid to Leopold on th®
date of the murder.
Throughout the morning session,
in which more than fiftteen witnesses
were called by the state, the two
young college students sat composed
ly behind their attorneys, listening
intently to the testimony gnd occa- .
sionally whispering with their at
torneys.
Blood on Chisel
Bernard Hunt, a neighborhood
night watchman, told of seeing the
chisel tossed from a passing auto
mobile about 1:30 a. m. May 22, a
few hours after the slaying.
“There was fresh blood on the
chisel when I picked it up,” said
Hunt. The article was given to the
court.
The chisel also was inspected by
Albert Hubbinger, hardware store
clerk, who said the state’s exhibit
resembled a chisel he sold to Leopold
and Loeb. Hubbinger also told of
having sold rope to the young men.
The rope, claimed by the state to
have been that with which the
young victim was tied, was intr> <
duced in evidence.
Aaron Adler told of having sold a
pint of “chemically pure” hydro
chloric acid to Nathan Leopold. He
had sold no acid of that strength in
some years, the witness said. It was '
the strongest grade obtainable, he
added. The state offered the bottle
in which the acid was sold.
Open court proceedings were de
layed in starting by a session in.
chambers in which Mr. Crowe gave
Judge John R. Caverly some infor
mation which, in his opening state
ment, he had-indicated was “not fit »
for public knowledge.”
Clarence S. Darrow and Benjamin
Bachrach, defense attorneys, were
the only persons besides the judge
who were given this information.
A maid in the Leopold home and
four of Leopold’s law school class
mates testified that a portable type
writer they had seen him use was
similar to the one grappled from
the bottom of a park lagoon by the
investigators after the confession of
the two youths.
As a part of their plans to cover
their crime, the state pointed out in
its opening statement yesterday,
Loeb had jerked the letters from the
machine with a plier and strewn
them in scattered sections of the
lagoon. The bulk of the machine
and its cover was tossed into anoth
er part of the lagoon.
Details of preparation made by the
two youths were recited by state’s
witnesses this morning.
Early witnesses told of finding the
note the boys left In the rack of
a Pullman car, instructing Jacob
Franks, father of the slain boy,
where to throw SIO,OOO in “ransom”
money; of the contents of letters
received by the youths under the
name of “Morton D. Ballard” at lo
cal hotels: and of a prescription giv
en Leopold for eye-glasses similar
to those found near young Franks I
body.
Fewer Seek Admittance
Rain outdoors and the prospect of
less dramatic developments in the
hearing combined today to dampen
the enthusiasm of “court fans.” Po
lice guards which kept the curious
on the sidewalks, and the knowledge
that only a few could gain admission
to Judge John R. Caverly’s court
contributed to this result.
Only a knot of curious stood about
the building entrance this morning
and they were mostly young men of
the cap-wearing, upturned-coat-coll S-r
type.
Court was called to order at 10:10
A. M. after a brief preliminary con
ference in chambers between coun
sel.
Spectators with passes admitting
i them to the hearing came to court
early, however, picked their seat*
quickly and feasted their early curi
osity in the doing of the newspaper
writers and photographers.
State’s Attorney Crowe, upon his
arrival, regrouped his assistants and
alienists, bringing Dr. William
Krone to the front and facing him
so he could watch every fleeting
expression of the defendants.
The steel cabinet full of exhibits I
was bumped into the room by three |
husky bailiffs.
Nathan Leopold, Sr., accompanied
by the defendant’s elder brother, and (
Jacob Loeb, uncle of Dickie, arrived
a few minutes before court was due
to open. Judge Caverly delayed his
appearance from his chambers and
it was ten minutes, after the sched
uled hour before the clerk’s gavel (
fell.
Finder of Note Called
Andrew Russo, of New York, was
called as the first witnesses, Mr.
Crowe explaining that he wished to
return east.
Russo, an electrician, formerly em
ployed in railroad yards there, told
of finding in a telegraph blank rack
on a Pullman car, last May 31, a
letter addressed to Jacob Franks,
father of the victim of Leopold and
Loeb.
The envelope directed the finder
to “leave this alone, it is very im
portant.”
The letter contained instructions
on how the father was to throw from
a moving train the SIO,OOO ransom
demanded by the kidnapers. “After
the train passes a large red brick
(Continued on Page 3, Columnl)