Newspaper Page Text
Atlanta Sri • ttk cKln So uinaT
VOL. XXVII. NO. 34
200 ARE HOMELESS
. ANO 5 DEAO AFTER
FLDOO IN VIRGINIA
Hospital and Homes of Town
Nearby Filled With
Disaster Survivors
t
1 ABINGDON, Va., Dec. 25.—Five
persons were known to be dead apd
two hundred estimated homeless as
i Christmas day dawned upon the
workers scouring the Holston’ river
valley below Parmatown, Va., for
other victims of the flood which
swept over the town last night.
The hospital and private homes of
| Saltville, Va., near the scene of the
disaster, w’ere said to be filled with
men, women and children who sur
vived the jcy waters into which they
were thrown when a muck dam
\ across the north fork of the river
is reported to have collapsed without
warning at 10 o’clock last night, and
b loosed a veritable wall of water upon
7 the town.
The valley and town today were
reported virtually ruined. For miles
| below the town articles of furniture
< and small outbuildings had been de
posited by the waters along the
banks of the river, while dozens of
houses were reported to have been
swept from their foundations and
carried along by the swirling waters.
Hundreds of people in Parmar
» town were in the midst of pre-
Christmas celebrations when, with
out warning, the muck dam of the
Mathieson Alkali works, a quarter
of a mile above the town, is said to
have given way under pressure of the
water and sent it down into the val
ley to trap the joymakers in their
homes.
Hedged in by the hills, the waters
poured in upon the celebrators and
S the men, women and children retn
ing to await the coming oi Santa
to" the little town along Uie river
banks. Houses were sweptjWong by
the waters, the icy chill of"tne river
awakening sleeping children and
hurling them from their beds.
Those caught by the swiftly-mov
ing current had no warning unti
their homes were lifted, or the win
dows crashed before the sudden ava
. lanche of water, and the sur ?' ivo '®
stumbled from the houses into the
cold river to make their way to the
banks in the best manner possible
Hundreds of those trapped b>
the waters escaped from their homes
and made their wpy to the bank",
where they later were picked up W
rescuers or were able to make then
way to other nearby towns lor aid.
The addition of the water from
the broken dam to that of the al-
L ready swollen river caused the north
• fork of the stream to rise rapidly,
endangering scores of other homes
.further down the Stream. In many
places be+ow Parmartown the rivei
early today was reported still to be
out of its banks.
Telephone operators at Abingdon
and other places in this section were
| kept busy notifying persons in the
r danger zone and scores of people
left their homes to avoid Ihe Hood.
News of the flood spread quickly
to other towns and dozens of rescue
parties hurried to the scene, spend
ing the night in searching along the
river banks, for other survivors or
the bodies of other flood victims.
Five bodies were reported to have
been found and carried to undertak
ing establishments for identification,
lieports reaching Abingdon early to
» day were that one of the victims was |
' a Colonel Scott, a brother of ,1. I).
Scott, of Saltville. Other victims hau
not been identified early today.
Rescue parties divided their at
tention during the night between
searching for -dead and caring for
the injured, rushing survivors to
nearby towns after administering
first aid.
The valley itself today was re
ported virtually to have been swept
1 dean by the flood of the night. The
homes of approximately 2(H) people
; who lived in Parmartown were said
, either to have been made inhabi
table by the waters, or swept from
their foundations into 'he stream
and carried d'own the river.
No exact estimate of either loss
of life, injuries to persons or damage
to property' could ''■> obtaim 1 early
today but it was expected the morn
ing would see all injured cared for
' and estimates made.
‘ Virtually all residents of the town 1
were said to have been employes of I
the alkali works and officials of the
company spent the night in aiding in
the direction of rescue work and as
sisting in preparing an estimate of
the damages.
\ The muck dam was t’ vn ro-s
) the north fork of the river 'alt a
i mile below the main dam of the
alkali works’ plant and a quarter of
a mile above the stricken town. With ;
its collapse it loosed an immense
amount of water accumulated from
\ the recent heavy rains in the moim
\ tains above th e town. The cause of l
the break had not been determined
early today.
Slay er of Farmer
In Swainsboro Row ,
Claims Self-Defense
. SWAINSBORO, Ga., Dec. 21.—J. |
| W. Sparks, slayer ofSt. .1. I’eeples,
both well known at this place, sur
rendered to local authorities shortly
after th., killing fn a restaurant here
last night.
Beyond a statement that he killed
Peeples -i self defense. Sparks has
made no detailed explanation of the .
slaying. Both men were sober at the
time of the trouble, the sheriff’s of
fice announces, in a denial of a report !
that the killing grew out of a drunk
L en argument.
Peeples and Sparks had been very
I close friends for several months. For ’
I the past few weeks, some difference;
’ arose between them which culmi
nated in yesterday’sMragedy.
In a statement to f>' sheriff. I
Sparks declared Peeples had knocked
him down three times and that he
could not get away from his assail
ant. The fight occurred in a case.
„ Peeples was well known in this
» section, living on his farm five miles
from here .Sparks moved to Swains-1
boro about a y ear ago. his family be
ing well known in Washington
county. He lives about four miles I
out where he specializes in training
bin! dogs.
The dead man leaves a widow and I
two children. The funeral will take I
place tomorrow.
A he ring for ■. ks is s h-dule-f '
A for Saturday. j
Published Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
TOLD IN BRIEF
WORLD NEWS
LOUISVILLE.—C. T. Collings. 76.
chairman of board of directors of
Standard Oil company of Kentucky,
dies.
BELGRADE. —The occupation of
Tirana, Albania, by Ahmed Zoga’s
; troops is officially confirmed by dis-
I patches.
STAMFORD, Tex.—Two children
are burned to death when fire de
stroyed the Stamford Inn and five
residences.
NEW YORK.—Rafael Sabatini is
awarded a SIO,OOO prize for his novel
“Scaramouche,” on which a motion
picture, credited with being the best
of the year, was based.
PARIS. —Cologne area is not to
be evacuated January 10 because,
according to French government,
Germany has not fulfilled conditions
set forth by Versailles treaty.
WASHlNGTON^—President Cool
idge’s Christmas was marked with
simplicity, with attendance at
church and a long afternoon walk
constituting the day’s program.
NEW YORK.—Prince Sergio Rom
anovsky, cousin ’of the late Czar
Nicholas of Russia, criticizes Duke
Cyril for his pretentions to the Rus
sian throne as being without founda
tion.
SANTA ROSA, Cal. —Luther Bur- I
bank, plant wizard, announces he ■
has perfected a new variety of sweet I
corn which he believes will prove
more productive and sweeter than
any yet produced.
CHRIST 1 ANA. —Name Christiana,
borne by the Norwegian capital for
300 years, will be replaced January
1 by Oslo, the ancient title when'’
the city was founded 900 years ago.
MOSCOW. —Gregory Zinicff, chair
man of executive'committee of Third
Internationale, admits communists
have gone too far in their prop
aganda against existing religious
rituals and their efforts to establish
atheism.
COLUMBUSML—WiIIiam McClel
lan Ritter, founder of the W. M. Rit
ter lAirnber company, turns over
company stock valued at between
two and three million dollars under
trust agreement to 124 persons,
most of them employes,
wicomcis
FOR STATE NORWAY
EQUIPMENT IS LET
Contracts for furnishing the state
highway department with more than
$200,000 w'brth of machinery and
equipment for 1925 were let at a
meeting of the highway commission
held at the East Point offices of the
department Tuesday, according to an
announcement made by Chairman
John N. Holder.
The awards announced were as
follows:
Contract for furnishing twenty
Holt five-ton tractors, let to Yancey
Brothers, on a bid of $63,680.40.
Contract for thirty-one Holt two
ton tractors, let to Yancey Brothers,
bn a bid of $54,219.
Contract for sixteen Best five-ton
tractors, let to W. A. Neal & Son,
on a bid of $55,480.
Contract for one Monarch five
ton tractor, let to Ed Alexander.
| on a bid of $3,650.
Contract for twelve Fordson tvyo
ton tractors, let to local dealers at
$14,920.
Contract for six Cletrac two-ton
tractors, let to G. B. Phillips, on a
bid of $9,080.28.
Other purchases by the depart
ment were 50 one-ton Chevrolet
trucks at $26,300; two one-ton In
diana trucks at $2,996.50; two one
ton White trucks at $1,225.20, and
one International one-ton truck at
$1,301.75.
The graders purchased were two
Acme 7-foot three-inch graders at
$768.28; two Acme eight-foot graders
at $96-1.32; one heavy Acme eight
foot graders at $964.32; one heavy
Acme eight-foot grader at $626.77;
eight Winners. seven-foot, three
inches, at $2,680; ten Royal eight
foot graders at $5,030. and 37 mght
foot Russell graders at $19,906.
One hundred Adams three-blade
; drags were bought for $3,770 and 56
Russell three-blade drags at $2,002.
Real Reindeer Draw
Sleigh of Santa Claus
In Nome, Alaska
NOME. Alaska, Dee. 25.—Santa
| Claus was given a warm reception
; in this usually frigid town Wednes-
I day when he appeared on the main
I thoroughfare in a sleigh loaded with
Christmas presents, drawn by real
reindeer. The presents were dis
tributed to whites and Eskimos alike.
While the United States and
Canada shivered from sub-zero
weather, fur overcoats and heavy
clothing was discarded here Wed
■ nesday when the mercury registered
I 40 degrees above zero.
Nearly an inch of rain, which fell
; Wednesday, melted the small amount
lof snow on the ground. A tempera-
I ture of 21 degrees above zero, re-
I corded a week ago, stands as the
; coldest day of the winter. A local
hospital was without patients today
for the first time in many months.
I ; '
The Weather I
Forecast for Saturday:
Virginia: Fair with rising tern
I pcra ture.
j Georgia. North and South Caro-
I iina: Fair with slowly rising tern-
I perature: moderate to fresh north ,
. and northeast winds.
Florida: Probably fair with little |
chance m tire. Moderate
north and northwest winds.
Extreme northwest Florida and
I Alabama: Fair, rising temperature.
Mississippi; Generally, fair: rising
I temperature in north: moderate
. noitheast shitting to . outheast winds.
Tennessee and Kentucky: Fair
. and warmer.
j Louisiana: Generally fair, rising
I temperature.
Arkansas and Oklahoma: Fair,
rising temperature.
East Texas: Partly cloudy, rising
temperature.
West T- xas; Fair, warmer m cast
j portion.
HIGHT IND WOMAN
SHOW NO EMOTION
IT GOILTY VERDICT
Two Jurymen Voted Death
for Minister—Compromise
on Mrs. Sweetin’s Penalty
MOUNT VERNON, 111., Dec. 24. [
The jury trying Lawrence M. Hight I
and Mrs. Elsie Sweetin for the
poison murder of her husband, Wil
ford Sweetin, early today returntu I
a verdict of “guilty.” Hight was |
given life imprisonment, while Mrs j
Sweetin was given thirty-five years
in the penitentiary.
After deliberating all night the I
jury reported at 8:30 o’clock this |
morning that it had reached an
agreement. Reports said the jury
had been in disagreement over the
degre of guilt.
The jury had deliberated about
; eleven hours, retiring at 10 o'clock
I last night. It considered case
I almost continuously during the night I
and this morning, except for a short
time for breakfast. The jurors stated
after the verdict that the jury had
been unanimous for finding both de
, fendants guilty from the first bal
lot, but that there had been wide dif
ference as to the punishment to ne
inflicted on Mrs. Sweetin. The de
cision as to her, the jurors said, rep
resented a compromise.
Only two of the jurors had favored
infliction of the death penalty on
Hight. None voted for the hanging
of Mrs. Sweetin.
The two defendants received the
verdict with no outward display of
emotion.
Attorneys gave notice they would
I ask for a new trial.
Defendants' Comment
i "1 still think 1 have been misun- I
: derstood,’’ said Mrs. Sweetin calmly,
after the verdict had been returned.
“1. was led into a trap. That is why
I am able to receive the verdict as 1
I do. I am innocent.”
“I am not guilty .but I ain't mad I
at nobody,” said Hight. “If I have I
to go to the penitentiary, 1 have to j
go, that’s all. I am not guilty. 1
wasn't afraid of death, the penitenti
ary or anything else.”
Judge J. G. Kern gave the defense
attorneys until December 2.' to file j
motions for a new trial, and said he :
would hear arguments on the mo- ■
tions on January 3.
"Well, they didn’t hang him,” was ;
all the comment Attorney Layman, |
for Hight, would make on the ver- I
diet.
Prosecutor’s Statement
Prosecutor Frank Thompson said: |
“The contention of the prosecution j
has been from the first flat there;
was equal guilt in this case, and i
our last words to the jury were that j
the woman was a guilty as the man. !
Unless the parole board usurps the ,
functions of the court, the sentences
given the two are the same, as 35 |
years is equivalent to life for per
sons of this age. s
“There is always a disposition to
deal more leniently with a woman
than a man in a criminal case, but
we felt that if there was ever a case
in which there was equal guilt, this
was it. and we fought for equal pun
ishment. I never question the jury
in its decision in a criminal case in
which 1 have appeared. It is the
function of the attorney to present
the ease and the function of the jury
to decide. We must accept that de I
cision.’’
State's Attorney Joe Frank Allen,
in discussing the verdict, called atten
tion to the fact that there had not
been a hanging in Jefferson county
in more than isxty years, the last
one having been prior ot the civil
war.
No comment would be made by of
ficers as to what action might be
taken in the other case in which
Hight and Mrs. Sweetin were joint
ly indicted for the murder of his
wife, Anna Hight, whoes death from
poison occurred two months after
that of Wilford Sweetin. This case
is now on the calendar and might be
tried by the state ,if it were decided I
a further effort should be made to •
send Hight to the gallows.
While the jurors deliberated, >
outside in the courthouse square the
I'ghts on four gayly decorated Christ
mas trees gleamed and grew dim.
The jury received the case after ;
seven hours of argument, in the >
course of which the state asked for
the death penalty for both.
In delivering his charge to the;
twelve men. nine of whom are farm
ers, Judge J. C Kern instructed in
six possible verdicts. He informed
the jurors they could find one de
fendant guilty and the- other not
guilty or find both guilty.
In the case of guilt, he instructed
the jury that it could impose penal
ties of death, life imprisonment or ,
sentence of not less than fourteen
years.
“If you find the defendant Hight
insane at the time the alleged crime ;
was committed, then he must be ac
quitted,” Judge Kern said.
While Prosecuting Attorney Frank
G. Thompson lashed the defendants
in his closing arguments. Hight and
Mrs. Sweetin retained their coin
' posure. remaining calm when the
jury left the courtroom.
“They stand there two murderers
equally guilty under, the law,’’
Thompson declared. “Under your
oaths anti before your God. do your
duty.”
Death Penalty Urged
“Hight said that - they wanted
mercy, not justice.” sai<\ Thompson,
“but in Illinois we still have the !
■ old Mosaic law of ’Sn eye for an '
I eye. A life has been taken in Jef
ferson county and death should or
iqiltosed.”
Thompson characterized Huh,'-
insanity plea as an “artful dodge.”'
•’Nothing ever was heard
man being insane until after h<
was arrested and charged with this
crime,” he said. “This insanity dodge
is a man of straw. The fact that a
man is sub-normal does not exeust
the commission of a crime."
Thompson declared that after his
arrest Hight said. “Elsie Sweetin is
in this with me." and that 1. • canic
hanging on her skirts.
“Now he seeks to abuse the m.m
oi.\ of his dea l father by spying he
wag abused as a boy. Maybe 1
I
Falling Chimney
Kills Infant Boy
At Christmas Party
SHREVEPORT, La., Dec. 25.
; Death struck in the midst of a merry |
I Christmas party here Wednesday I
| when a chimney collapsed at the i
home of M. T. Horton, and, breaking |
through a kitchen wall, crushed out I
the life of ?Torman Horton, his one- ;
year-old son.
Mrs. Horton, struck by the falling ;
bricks, is in a hospital with a broken j
leg, a crushed hip and internal in- j
juries. Physicians believe she will [
recover. i
The father of the child, an oil I
worker at Norphlet, Ark., was noti- |
fied. j
PHESIDENT SENDS ’
CHRISTMASCHEER
TO DISABLED VETS
WASHINGTON, Dec. 24.—Among :
the first Christmas greetings to go '
out from official Washington to- |
day were those sent by President ■
Coolidge “to the men whose dis- '
abilities tell most eloquently of their ;
service and sacrifices in the armed
forces of the nation.”
The president sent his message
through the Disabled American Vet
erans, and it amplified greetings
broadcast to the army and navy by
Secretaries Weeks and Wilbur.
“Their valor, which aroused the
world’s admiration during hostili
ties,” President Coolidge said of
the disabled veterans, “has since en
gaged our continuing respect, be
cause of their courageous fight to
heal the wounds of war. I know
that their splendid efforts in this di
rection will receive encouragement
from their fellow citizens, who are I
determined that every assistance will j
be forthcoming to overcome their ,
honorable handicaps.”
With all government activities !
ceasing at noon Wednesday for the i
Christmas holiday, Christmas merry- i
making in the capital started earlier |
than usual. High officials and of- !
ficers of the war and navy depart- I
ments were guests of the telephone ;
i operators of the two big depart- i
ments. A Christmas tree was in- I
stalled in the central telephone ex- .
change, through which the thou- i
sands of phones in the two depart- 1
j ments and also those of the shipping
; board and the emergency fleet cor- I
i poration are routed.
T’he celebration was an all -day as- ;
: fair and Secretary Wilbur, Admiral !
I Eberle, chief of naval operations; I
Rear Admiral Jones, president of
the navy general board; Admiral Pal- j
mer, president of the emergency :
fleet corporation, were all early visi- ;
I tors to wish the girls from the tele- j
j rhone boards Merry Christmas. 1
’ Sprigs of mistletoe, suspended on
■ long red ribbons, swung from the
j ceiling in several places, but the [
j officials seemed a little shy of them,
; and carefully avoided standing tin
j deineath.
$ 100,000,000 Suit
Involving Lord Curzon !
Is Partially Settled
I CHICAGO, Dec. 25.—Approximate- i
ly three-fourths of the matters at.
issug i n the litigation over the SIOO.- I
000,000 estate of the late Levi Z.
Leiter, pioneer merchant, involving :
Lord Curzon, former foreign secre
tary of Great /Britain, whose first ;
wife was '• Leiter, t daughter of
the financier, was settled by agree- .
merit t .erday. Joseph Leiter, a ;
son, and one of the trustees of the
estate, turned over $4,PQ0,000 in se
curities for complete control of the
i Zeigler Coal company. The contro- ;
| versy over ownership and control of
the coal company was the principal I
matter at issue.
There remain to be heard the
charges of Lady Marguerit Hide,
duchess of Norfolk, and Berks. Eng
land, that her brother, Joseph, has
i isi aged the e.tate.
Lord Curzon joined Ladv Hide ,in
the litigation because of the inter
ests of his daughters in the mother s
share of her father’s estate.
father did whip him too hard. He'
was a boy then and had not ye;
stalled to give people poison.
He also fell out of a tree when
; a boy. If every man who fell out
of ’a tree when he was a boy is I
crazy, then the world is full of
I lunatics."
Reviews Evidence of Crime
; The prosecutor reviewed in detail ;
the evidence of the crime, telling
I how Mrs. Sweetin had admitted giv-
> ing poison to her husband.
! “Hight confessed this crime to his
i fellow ministers—confessed not once,
but several times, and of his guilt
there can be no doubt." Thompson
Attorney Nelson Layman, defense
counsel for Hight, in his argument,
described his client as a "poor little
country preacher, who always has
had the worst of life and has not
had a square deal in this case." ~
“Now they are trying to push
this jvhole thing onto him,” the
lawyer added.
“Wouldn't it be a terrible thing
to send tin insane man to the gal
lows?" Attorney Layman asked.
“How would you feel if you had a
brother on trial, and he was of
j weak mind, and the jury said. ’Oh.
it doesn't make any difference. We'll
hang him anyway.' ”
“Think of a big powerful father
; knocking down a fonrteen-\ear-old
boy with a big neck xoke. Don't you
■ think that would have some effect
' on his brain?"
Says Hight Had Visions
"What caused Hight to ifavo \ls
l ions? You never have had such . is
ions. For twenty odd years this nan
has been hav-ag visions and wh n
: he got into a protracted meeting he
[ was like a raving maniac."
"As he grows older, although we
hate to think of it. bis mind will l>e-
I’onte worse. He will become more
demented until finally he will die an
' insane man."
. Previously, testimony had been
presented by the state to show that
Hight hae. given Mrs. Sweetin poison
under cover of passing her gifts ot
apples and in an alleged confession
to her father-in-law. Columbus
Sweetin. Mrs. Sweetin was said to
have admi’ted administering it to her
husband in ton ato soup, catmeal and
in candy.
Later in the trial Mrs. Sweetin de-
I nied that the confession was true,
saving Hight had intimidated tier
with a ~s; ry of a mob forming to ■
i lynch them unless she confessed. i
I I
! HOP-OFF FOR PARIS
FDR CHRISTMAS IS
ENDED BY TRAGEDY
Machine Hardly Above
Ground When Gust of Wind
Causes Nose Dive
--
CROYDON, England, Dec. 24.
(By the Associated Press.) —A Christ
; mas-tide tragedy occurred this morn
ing at the airdrome here when the
seven passengers and the pilot of
the big Imperial Aiiwvays air ex
press, DII-34. were killed when the
airplane banked and crashed soon
after it had taken off.
j The passengers, who were on their
I way to Paris for Christmas, were
[ hardly aware they were w’ell in the
! air when the machine suddenly
(banked over Purlev Down, in a gust
' of wind, went into a nose dive and
i burst into flames through the ex-
I plosion of the gasoline tank. All
eight in the machine were burned to
death and the machine was de
stroyed.
There were two women among the
passengers, five men passengers, in
cluding Dr. Borbosa Lima, a Bra
zilian, and Cedric Turdgett, repre
sentative of the Chilean Review, and
the pilot.
An eyewitness said the plane, fly
ing low,, suddenly banked, cleared a
nearby house, and then staggered in
the air. Almost immediately a gust
I of wind caught the machine, its tail
i shot up, it went into a nose dive.
I and fell like a stone. Immediately
the machine touclied the ground, it
! burst into flames.
i “I ran to the spot,” said the wit
; ness, “but by the time I got there
( the whole machine had burned
i away. The only things I could see
I unconsumed were the two wheels of
i the undercarriage. In the wreckage
: I could see tiie charred remains of
j bodies.
j “All the passengers must have
I died instantaneously. Their clothes
I were gone, and their bodies were
black.”
Fire brigades from Purify and
I Croydon hurried to the spot, but
I were unable to arrive in time to be
of any assistance. The charred bod
ies were removed to the police mor
; tuary.
On May 14, 1923, a passenger air
plane in the Paris-London route I
crashed near the village of Monsuers, '
France. Six persons, including two i
i Americans, were killed. it was
supposed that the machine caught
lire while traveling.
A crash on the Manchester-London
air mad route September 11, 1923, j
cost the live s o f fi ve persons. This
was the first fatal accident to a
British ’plane in commercial service
since September. 1920, when sou
persons were killed in a crash at ;
Golders’ Green, a suburb of London. I
In August of last year, a French
passenger airplane crashed near j
Maidstone, England, and one pas- ;
scr.ger was killed. Three Americans
were injured.
Russian Soviet Church
Loses Court Fight to
Control Orthodox Body
NEW YORK,. Dec. 24.—The at- j
tempt of the soviet church of Rus
sia to take over control of the Rus
sian orthodox chu,rch and its prop
erties here failed today when state
Supreme Court Justice Ford upheld
the claim of the Metropolitan Pla
ton Rojte.svensky to the leadership
<» the Russian Greek Catholic church
in North America and the Aleutian !
islands.
flight, it was stated, there was no
danger, but realizing fully the dan
gers that confronted them in land
ing a radiqji message was sent by
the crew asking that launches be i
made ready to render immediate a» '
sistance. This was done, but before I
the boats could reach the plane it !
began to sink. Keyser. Manwaring '
and Gavin, it was stated, were kill- i
ed by being struck by the machine's '
propellor while the.v were trying to
get Williams out of the cockpit,
('•win. Uriah R. Williams, father of
the patient and a former naval man, I
and two other naval men were pick- ■
ed up by launches.
Gavin's skull waa. fractured by I
the propeller; Manwaring was bad- '
ly ( tit by the whirring blades, and '
in Keyser's chest was found a large
splinter.
Two Kentucky Girls,
Blind From Birth,
See This Christmas
LOUISVILLE, Ky.. Dec. 25.—Two
Kentucky girls, both blind from j
birth, have received their sight as |
a Christmas gift as a result of sue- '
cessful operations, it is announced
by officials of the Kentucky School!
for the Blind. Lillie Bryant, thir- ;
teen, of Decker. Butler county, and
Elsie Day. fourteen. of Cranks. |
Harlan county, for the first time I
will be able to participate fully in
the Yuletide celebrations.
When the girls enrolled in the
school last fall they were given the:
customary examination to determine '
the nature and cause of their blind
ness. Lillie was a victim of tra-j
choma. An operation was perform
ed at the government trachoma hos
pital in Pikeville by Dr. W. L. Davis,
on October 21. She returned to the
school December 21, but remained
only one night, going to hei' home <
where she will enter public school.
■ Elsie's trouble was found to be
a double cataract. Her father was I
j persuaded to consent, and Dr. Claude i
■ Wolf operated. She will he fitted
; with glasses within a few weeks. •
Atlanta, Ga., Saturday, December 27, 1924
“KING OF RUM RUNNERS” WEDS
PRETTY GIRL DETECTIVE WHO
WAS HIRED TO RUN HIM DOWN
«••••., ■gl j
’■■■■ ■■ ’ . •?. ■
.... ' i ; -6'W' g
My
"AUNT VIVIEN” BROADCASTING
B'CLINTO FRIEND
WILL INSIST UPON
CM JURY QUIZ
CHICAGO, Dec. 25.—(8y the Asso
ciated Press.) —Four pathologists,
who examined the exhumed body of
William Nelson McClintock, the
i ‘/milionaire orphan,” prepared opin
ions Thursday as to whether typhoid
; fever caused the death three weeks
I ago of the heir to the ill-fated Me
i Clintock fortune.
Their findings will be reported Fri
day to Coroner Oscar Wolff prelimi
nary to a complete analysis before a
coroner's jury on January 20.
Regardless of the result of the post
mortem examination, a grand jury
I investigation will be demanded by
i Harry Olson, chief justice of the
j municipal court, a friend of the Me
i Clintock family, who instigated the
] inquiry.
' According to the death certificate,
j McClintock died of hemorrhagic ty
i phoid at the home of Mr. and Mrs.
William D. Shepherd, fiis foster par
ents since he was four years old. His
will, signed at the time he became of
age last April, left his entire -estate
to Mr. Shepherd, husband of his co
guardian with A. F. Deichmann, an
attorney, and provided for an SB,OOO
annuity for Miss Isabelle Pope, who;
futilely waited at his deathbed with
la marriage license to wed him when
Ihe recovered consciousness.
The pathologists, who began their
examination within an hour after
the body was exhumed Wednesday
will make analyses to seek possible
poison traces, by order of Coroner
Wolff. The experts represent re
spectively the coroner, state's attor
ney and the Shepherds, with a dep
uty coroner in charge.
Shepherds Face Grilling
Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd, who have
been visiting in Albuquerque, N. M.,
since the death of McClintock, will be
questioned on their return here,
state's attc rneys said. Through
• their attorney, Robert H. Stoll,
j Shepherd s law partner, they told
: prosecutors not only they, but any
; witness under their control would be
i submitted to examination at the
state's attorney's request.
The story of the romance that be
gan in school days and ended at Mc-
Clintock's deathbed was told to
prosecutors by Miss Pope.
She said her fiance had told her
■ he had drawn up a will making pro
! vision for her in case anything hap
pened to him but that it would be
' void after their intended marriage_
i and he wotild draw up a new instru
j ment and possibly create a trust fund
i for the Shepherds.
I She said h"r visits to McClintock
<luring his illness were discouraged:
by the Shepherds because they were I
! “disrupting” the order of the house-1
| hoUJ - that she later learned Mr. Shep i
i herd ‘‘had told physicians attending]
- Billy to instruct me and my parents
not to visit him so often on the
i ground that it might interfere with I
! Billy's recovery.”
Shepherds Discouraged Union
Although they had planned to be
j married sometime next year when
the sick youth insisted on an imine
diate ceremony she consented, she
: said. Shepherd, she told prosecutors. '
: told her she could not obtain a li
cense unless both contracting par
tie-- m de the application in person. I
“I also noticed that after I had;
I gone to the marriage license bureau
iltd got a license in spite of what
Mr. Shepherd told me. Airs. Shepherd
i seemed io have turned rather cold'
toward me,” Miss Pope said. “By
that I mean she did not seem as
■orthal and friendly as before. Later
I heard that she had expressed her
displeaure over my action.”
She said she entertained no sus
picions.
Judge Ol on said the exhumation
was "merely a formality to make
more solid certain evidence” which '
1 he said he hud d-veioped in his inves
tigations before the matter was I
I I".odght to the state's attorney's at-'
i tention.
“Why, I Can't Testify
Against Him; I'm His
| Wife,” She Calmly Tells
Agents Who Call for Report
SEATTLE, Dec. 26.—Federal pro
; hibition agents, after repeated iin
] successful attempts to nab Roy Ohn
; sted, known hereabouts as the
| "king” of rum runners of the west
coast, finally decided to employ a
girl detective to “shadow” him.
So they hired Elsie Caroline Par
she, an English girl, who had come
down from Montreal and opened a
beauty parlor under the name of
Vivien Potter, to do their “under
( cover” work.
Elsie applied for a position as Olm
sted's bookkeeper—and landed it.
And after a time the agents came to
her ty obtain the information she
had gathered on the job.
But Elsie had none to impart.
“Why, I cannot testify against
him,” she calmly announced. “I am
I his wife.”
And that is why “Aunt .Vivien's”
I Peter Rabbit, Bre'r Fox and wicked
■ Mr. Wolf stories from radio station
: KFQX were briefer than usual one
' night.
' For “Aunt Vivien.” teller of bed
i time stories, was Elsie Parshc, the
girl detective who married Roy Olm
sted. “king” of rum' runners.
The federal men broke into the
home of Olmsted, former police lieu
tenant, while "Aunt Vivien” was in
the midst of her nightly broadcast
ing. And the thrilling adventures
of Peter Rabbit were “continued un
til tomorrow” while “Aunt Vivien”
Olmsted and sixteen others were at
tempting to arrange bail.
But the children in Seattle and
' for miles around never knew. “Aunt
Vivien” was back on the job next
night.
And she continues to broadcast on
schedule.
But the grand jury is listening in
now, too, only to a different kind of
a’ story.
President and Wife
Join Christmas Eve
Carols at Capital
WASHINGTON, Dec. 25.—The
angelus sung at Bethlehem was
i carolled last night from the White
I House to a nation at peace with
: the world and with good will to
i ward all men.
The chief executive of the nation
■ and the first lady of the land joined
with a white vested choir, and with
thousands who thronged the White
House grounds in observance of the
recurrence of another Christmas
eve.
Previously the President Mrs.
Coolidge, following another custom
they inaugurated at their,first
Christmas in the White Hodse a
- year ago, had visited one of the
public parks near the executive man
sion, anj with another large group
witnessed the lighting of a ria
j tional community Christmas tree,
i Mr. Coolidge, himself, pressed the
I button that flooded the tree, a 40-
I foot spruce transplanted from the
; Adirondack mountains of New York,
lighted with hundreds of varicolored
globes-.
Having thus taken the lead in the I
! two ceremonies that marked the
1 public celebration of Christmas eve
in Washington, the president and
his wife returned to their own fire
side to spend Christmas day with
the simplicity that has always at
tended observance of the holiday by
those living in the rural regions of
Vermont.
Senator Underwood
Is 111 With Grippe
WASHINGTON, Dec. 24. —Senator
Oscar W. Underwood, of Alabama,
is ill at his home here suffering
from an attack of grippe. His con
I dition is said not to be serious.
Senator Underwood was taken ill
several days ago and unable to take
par tin the debate on his bill for dis- |
position of Muscle Shoals. It was ;
said at his home, however, that there ,
was no reason to believe that the
senator would not be out in a very
• short time and take up his duties
wh«m the senate recons nes after th*'
, holiday.
i CEN i s A COPX,
SI A YEAR.
32 PERISH WHEN
CHRISTMAS TREE
SETS SCHOOL AFIRE
Windows, Covered by Heavy
Wire Netting, Cost
Lives of Scores
HOBART, Okla., Dei;. 25.—(8y the
Associated Press.)— Fire, stalking
the tracks of Santa Glaus, turned a
country schoolhouse into an inferno
at Babb's Switch, 7 miles from here,
Wednesday night and snuffed out
the lives of at least 32 persons,
many of them children, .who had
gathered for a Christmas Eve cele
bration.
A tiny candle on a Christmas tree 1
ignited a ball of cotton.
revellers gripped their sacks
candy and stood spell-bound Iwe 1
their elders at first tried to put out
the fire and then, as the flames
licked up the cedar boughs and
spread to the dry wood of the flim
sy structure, broke for the single
exit at the rear, a mad scrambling
mob, fleeing from the leaping terror
at their heels.
Every window in the one-room
building was covered by a heavy
woven wire netting, bolted solidly
to the casement, placed there to
keep out prowlers. Frantically the
trapped men and women beat at
the obstructions. Glass shattered
from each window and the "Wind
whistled in, creating a heavy draft
and fanning the greedy flames.
Many fell in the crush at the
door and were trampled underfoot.
Lying where they fell, unable to
crawl away, their bodies w4re
burned.
None of Bodies Identified
None of 32 bodies that had been
taken from the smoking ruins early
| Thursday had been identified. A
I previous report that several had
I been found to be incorrect. Nonfc
; was recognizable at a cursory in
spection and identification must
await the discovery by relatives of
ineffacable murks.
More than 40 persons were In
jured, some of them seriously. Lo
cal hospitals and residences today
housed 37 and an unknown number
was taken to the homes <*f residents
of the Babb's Switch district.
About 200 persons were packed In
the small school room when the
Christmas tree burst into flames.
Men near the front of the building
tried to .smother the fire and in
their baste knocked the tree over,
aiding the progress of the blaze and
scattering burning branches over
the floor. The dry floor caught like
tinder and it was at once apparent
that, with no means at hand to
fight the fire, the building was
doomed. Snow and ice which coated
the roof and walls did little to check
the flames.
Those who succeeded in getting
out turned rescuers to those who
were injured in the scramble, and
several were used to
bring the first of the injured here.
A telephone yall from a farm house
mobilized in a few minutes a motor
caravan that labored slowly over the
icy roads to the secluded little dis
trict. As the injured were brought
in, women of the city organized a
volunteer nursing staff and first aid
treatment was given each victim.
Doctors of the city swung into ac<
tion and in a brief interval the in
jured were being given medical at
tention.
With the injured removed, the
grim task of recovering the dead
was undertaken by Sheriff T. P,
Shaddock and a force of deputies.
No water was available and it was
impossible to cool the embers and
for some time after the building had
been reduced to ashes, little progress
could be made in taking out the
bodies.
Many Children Perish •
As the embers cooled in the IQ
degree temperature the sheriff’s
force penetrated farther into the
ruins, bringing out body after body,
many of them pitifully small. The
loss of life among the children was
l heavy because they were grouped
l around the Christmas tree in the
: front of the building and were far-
I thest from the door.
i Soon rows of bodies reposed oh
the hard crust of snow that covered
the countryside. A hearse and a
truck arrived from Hobart and, amid
the confusion attending the efforts
of frantic persons to find missing
members of their families, the first
of the bodies were taken to a Hobart
mortuary.
Because of the condition of the.
bodies, it was’decided that a canvass
for missing persons would be needed
to identify them, and in the darkness
of the Christinas Eve a party of men
started a house-to-house check, mak
ing note of the gaps in each family
circle. ,
Early Thursday the undertaking
establishment was thrown open to
the public and scores of persons
I filed past the long rows of still
! figures, looking for some familiar
mark that would identify a missing
loved one.
Mrs. Florence Hill, teacher at ths
school, was among the dead. She
was torn from the arms of her hus
band as he fought to get her to th«
■ doorway after he had forcibly
dragged her from the front of the
room where she was attempting to
aid the escape of her little pupils.
Mr. Hill escaped.
Champagne and Whisky
W orth $500,000 Taken
By Coast Guard Force
NEW YORK, Dec. 25.—While na
urc was failing in to produce
i “white Christmas" for the Atlantic
seaboard in the vicinity of New York,
coast guard forces did their best to
make it a “dry Christmas” by cap
turing five vessels, 25 prisoners and
$500,000 worth of holiday liquor off
. Sandy Hook.
Check up of t’-~ haul at the barge
>ffice today : bowed the Britisn
schooner Patara, four motor boats
and 6.000 cases of champagne and
whisky in the t-Rs. The Patara Is
an old-timer on rum row, credited
•• h be ing landed $5,000,000 worth
’ t II- in its day.
1 z