Atlanta Georgian and news. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1912, March 27, 1907, Image 1

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The Weather •tltnU »n(l Vicinity: p,ilr tonight nnd Tburn- =Atlanta Georgian (and news) Spot Cotton! "! Liverpool, steady: 5.98d. Atliiutn. qmet: lfrfec. New York, eitilct; 10.96e. N. Ori'iiN, quiet; 10 u-ife. Savannah, dull; 10*4o. VOL. Y. NO. 228. ATLANTA, GA., WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27,1907. In Atlanta: TWO CENTS, on Train*: FIVE CENT* TWO KILLED IN EXPLOSION Car Loaded With Dynamite Caps Causes Destruction of Southern Depot. TWO NEGROES KILLED OUTRIGHT; OTHERS MAY DIE OF WOUNDS Explosion Wrecks Yards and Smashes Windows Blocks Away—Several Injured. With a deafening detonation that echoed through out the center of the city and shook buildings to their foundations, 40 eases of dynamite caps exploded in a box car standing on a side track at the Southern freight depot on Peters street shortly after 8 o’clock Wednesday morning, and as a result four are dead and three injured. Part of the freight depot was blown in, and sever al box cars reduced to kindling wood, where any part of them could be found. The dead: Ed White, colored laborer, of East Point. Will Jenkins, colored laborer, McDonough, Ga. The injured: Walter S. Pullen, white clerk, 47 Walker street; head cut. Will Smith, colored laborer. Pink Moore, colored laborer. Alf Smith, colored laborer, heat cut. Eugene Wilson, colored laborer, blown across freight depot under pile of freight; head cut. The negroes, Pink Moore and Will Smith, were re ported dead from their injuries, but it was learned later that they were still alive. There is little hope for either. Heavy Damage Caused. Besides dealing out death and maiming others, the explosion wrought havoc to the extent of several thousand dollars. Part of the wall of the freight flopot was.blown in and a portion of the roof sent skyward. The car containing the deadly explosive was blown to atoms, while three other cars near it were wrecked, All over the railroad yards in the vicinity of the disaster, were scattered pieces of wreckage and the contents of some of the cars. Inside the freight house there was the greatest confusion. Clerks were stunned and some knocked clown. Desks were thrown about and the contents scattered, while glass not only in the building, but in the stores along Peters street, was shattered. Store fronts along the Peters street viaduct were blown in and even a broom was blown out of the hands of Sam Gross as he was sweeping out his store. Were Terribly Mutilated. THAW FACES LI Men Named by Fitz gerald Come to Court. SLAYER’S FAMILY ARE ALL PRESENT Evelyn and Her Mother-in- Law Are Prepared to Testify. The photograph show, the terrific force of the explo.ion of dynamite cap, in the Southern railway freight'yarcU Wednesday morning, cara and a large part of the freight ahed wore torn into kindling wood. Two negro laborer! were killed. FINLEY ASKS HARMONY TO SAVE RAILROADS Says Freight Rates in U. S. Are lowest in World. FEARS ATTITUDE OF MANY STATES Transportation Problem, He Says, Is One of the Very Greatest. Those who met deatli were terribly mutilated. Will Jenkins was blown across several box cars high in the air and across ten railroad tracks. His leg was found later at the works of the Atlanta Trunk factory. A telegraph pole on a platform, one hundred feet from the ear, and protected by another box car, was broken off close to the platform as if it had been n pipe stem. What caused the explosion may never be konwn. In the ear besides the caps was some machinery and next to the fatal ear was a ear of hardware. The negro laborers, under charge of Mr. Pullen, had just opened the door of the car nnd he was mak ing preparations to cheek out the contents. Then came a blinding flash and a deafening roar. Debris flew into the air and pieces of roof, contents of cara and even human flesh shot upward. Mr. Pullen was standing in a big archway of the depot directly in front of-the car that cx- ploded. That he escaped being blown to atoms is considered al most miraculous. For a minute or two he was blinded and dazed. SOME STRANGE FREAKS. Strange freaks were played by . the deadly explosive. The car tmmedl- a, e!y In front of the fatal car was hardly Injured, while the car opposite on the next track was blown to pieces. Even the next car to this was broken u h- A car in the rear of the one blown up was also wrecked. t'lothes on some of the dead negroes were blown off or reduced to rib bons. Even shoes were snatched from the feet by the powerful explosive, ttn, negro talking to a white man, was blown clear across the building and hardly scratched. Another negro, Alf Smith, was blown oyer box ears In the air across ‘he tracks and got un and walked away. The only Injury he received was a cut on the head. , . What caused the explosion may never be known. It Is said by those M 'ho were present and escaped that Will Jenkins was trying to open the h' J ur of the car which Jammed. Flay Cooner, a negro laborer, was stand- ** near watching the proceedings and said Jenkins gave the door several h i'k» to get it open# Then came the explosion. Flay Cooper was uninjured. Will Jenkins "as shot high Into the air and came down a corpse. Hats In largo numbers were scattered all about near the scene of 'he explosion. They had been In a box somewhere In a car. Other am- s of freight were treated In the same manner. NEAR OPEN COFFIN. Besides working havoc In a freakish wav the explosion presented sev- °ral grcwMome scenes. . _ . ramo from Near the fatal car somewhere, no one knows Just where It came from. "*« a pine box containing a black cloth coffin. After the ^ and blown to a point next to the car which contained the deadly dynamite ,' The lid was blown off, as if the unseen hand ‘hat caused the disaster had Fanned It beforehand. On the side of the white pin* b , h i.fhJilt End a b! <i—| t wa , , hc b |»o(I of one of the victims. -Near this ghastly nnd a Continued on Page Scv*n. Washington, March 27.—-President \V. W. Finley, of the Southern rail way, made a plea today for harmony between the railroads and the people. In an Interview he said: "Not only do I believe that It Is to the Interest of the railways and the people that a spirit of harmony and co-operation and of fair nnd Just dealing should be fostered, but I be lieve that In the present state of affairs it Is the patriotic duty of every man to contribute his utmost toward bringing about these better relations. The future prosperity of the country depends In a large measure upon the correct solu tion of the transportation problems. “The railways should treat every purchaser of transportation with Jus tice and fairness and the people should be equally Just and fair to the roads. When differences arise they should be discussed freely and frankly, and every endeavor should be made to settle them In accordance with fair business prin ciples. Under such conditions there would be little need of statute laws for tlfe regulation of the purchase and sale of transportation and few occasions would arise for appeals to state and Federal commissions. Present Day Tendency. There Is a present day tendency,” he continued, "to subject railways lo government control^ to a degree that everybody would condemn as being un fair and unjust If applied to any other kind of buslnses, and to Impose re straint upon them that would certainly make Impossible the improvement of their facilities and that might make Impossible even the maintenance of those they now have. At such a time the people of the South should see to It that there Is developed an economic statesmanship high and broad enough to provide protection for railroad prop erty and to encourage the development of railroad systems of that section to the highest possible state of efficiency. It Is difficult for railroads to secure money on conditions equally as favor* ably as others. Responsibility for the conditions rests largely with those who regard railroads os the proper prey to be de spoiled with Impunity. A business man can not be too careful to look at every proposition for legislation affecting transportation from all sides nnd t» make sure the proposals purporting to be for Ills benefit will not In practice work to his Injury. 8outh is Progressing. • The development of the Industries and commerce of the South Is pro gressing at a rate never before equaled and is making constantly Increasing de- R OOSE VEL7 MA\ ASK ROADS 70 MEE 7 COMMISSION , Washington, March 27.—President Roosevelt Is seriously considering the suggestion made by Jacob H. Schlff to Invite the railroad Interests of the country to send representatives to Washington for a conference with the Interstate commerce commission on the railroad situation. Word comes from London that J: P. Morgan has cabled the president, urging that he approve the plan. The president has been conversing on the subject with various members of his cabinet und of the interstate commerce commission, and It is predicted that a public statement with reference to the suggestion will be Issued shortly from the white hous^. CA RNE G1E SA YS R OOSE VEL 7 IS REAL CONSER VA 71VE Washington, March 27.—Andrew Carnegie, with a message of cheer to President Roosevelt, went to the white house this morning, having been Invited to lunch with the president and Vice President Fairbanks ut 1 o'clock. The Ironmaster and friend of the president gave out a most emphatic statement of his belief that the president Is the real conservative In the present condition of the country’s finances and of government relations to the railroads, and he uttered a solemn warning not onjy that the presi dent Is asking only what Is right of great corporations, but that If the managers of railroads do not accept his easy and reasonable conditions they may expect that more radical men will arise to apply more rigorous measures, with the possibility of real disaster. I CAROLINA Business Section Was Swept by Blaze on Wednesday. KNOCKED OUT 0! taxed to their utmost capacity by the traffic they are now called upon to car- It Is to the Interest of every man doing business In the South nnd of every resident of that section that rail way facilities be extended as rapidly as possible. But there can not be a rapid extension In the face of the threat of adverse legislation, for such a threat discourages Investment and Impedes constructive progress. There Is danger that legislation In tended to regulate railways may prove to be an obstacle to their extension and development and tend to exaggerate instead of diminish the conditions soffght to be remedied. A railway Is a merchant with transportation for sale and, even mor.e, it Is the partner of .nance are supposed to have been aimed every farmer, every miner, every man- ut this, and It Is now illegal. It Is said, business man Does the new pure milk ordinance prevent the sale of pasteurized or ster ilized milk In Atlanta? This Is the contention of some dairy men. Certain provisions In the ordl ufacturer and of ever; along Its line. Theref unfavorably agulnst the railroads Is to strike at every possible interest. Greatest of Problems. . “The transportation problem,” con cluded Mr. Finley, "can not bo solved In prejudice or passion or In any mis understanding of the conditions envel oping It. Its Just solution calls for moderation and Justice on the part of the people and a full understanding and co-operation between our state and national governments und the railroads. In such an effort to successfully work out the problem, which Is the greatest business and governmental problem of the times nnd which can only be solved on principles of construction and not destruction, and In full recognition of the high and Just purposes of business sides, I think the railroads should have the good will of the entire count***. "During the agitation which preceded the enactment of the Hepburn railroad rate law then* was a great deal said about freight rates, hut In the debates in congress and In the long hearings before the senate and house commit tees only a few specific rates were al leged to be unreasonably high. As a matter of fact, freight rates In the United Ktates are the lowest In the world. They have been said to be ‘at once the w'onder and the despair cf ornnd upon transportation lines already European railway managera’ * to sell sterilized milk. The following is the section which Is supposed to eliminate this trade: "Section 23. AH milk must be offered for sale as milked from the cow, and shall not be passed through cream sep arators or other apparatus other than strainers for the purpose of removing manure, dirt or other substance.” The Pure Food and Milk Company, which made a specialty of selling ster ilized milk, contends that this makes it Impossible to continue the trade. Hotel Men Meet. Unless the Atlanta dairymen can comply with the ordinance as adopted by the city council. It Is quite likely that the hotel men of the city will Join a movement to secure a milk depot and laboratory which will Insure a supply of milk up to the standard and at the same time officially Indorse the supply of those dealers who will agree to the requirements. The matter was taken up Tuesday afternoon at a called meeting of the hotel men of Atlanta. J. B. Newman, president of the Pure Milk und Foad Company; Dr. S. A. Vlsanska and In- pector Kennedy were present und con ferred with the hotel proprietors. President Newman remarked that If a man stood In with the Inspector he could <lo as he pleased. He was Inter rupted by Dr. Kennedy, who explained a certain case to the satisfaction of the dairyman. President Newman claimed that the new ordinance could not be compiled with and that It would result in the prtc* of milk going up. Spccinl to The Georgian. Elizabeth City, N. C., March 27.—A disastrous fire swept the business portion of the city to day, causing a loss of .$400,000. The firemen have gained con trol over the flames, though tht- fire is still burning. The fire broke out early today and owing to the dry conditions of the buildings spread very rapidly. Elizabeth City is located in the northeastern portion of the Rtntc, on the const nnd is reached by a branch road from Norfolk. New York, March 27.—Harry K. Thaw for the first time today saw the members cf the lunacy commission which Is to determine his mental con dition. The members^of the commission were waiting In court when Thaw wo* brought from the Tombs. He had only d moment to look at them when Justice Fitzgerald entered and Invited the com mission Into his chambers for 1 a private conference. Thaw Family Present. AH of the lawyers for the prosecution and the defense and Mrs. Evelyn Nes- bit Thaw, Mrs. William Thaw, counters of Yarmouth, Mrs. George Lauder Car negie nnd others of the Thaw family were In court during the conference. The session began at 11:35 a. m. The members of the lunacy commission took seats Inside the rail and Mrs. William Thaw and Evelyn Thaw occu pied seats back of the prisoner, who was brought Into court at 11:30 a. m. The Justice excused the Jury until next Monday morning. Addressing the Jury, Justice Fitzgtf* aid said: "Gentlemen of the Jury, I am going to discharge you until next Monday morning. Of course you are not to read the papers, nor must you speak of the cose among yourselves, nor must you form any opinion or express one to anyone concerning the case. You will report back here at 10:30 a. m. next Monday.” Evelyn on Verge of Tears. The Jury thereupon filed out of the court room and soon after Thaw was taken away. District Attorney Je rome nnd Mr. Hartridge then conferred with Justice Fitzgerald. The countess of Yarmouth and Mrs. George L. Carnegie, who had gone to the Tombs to see Harry, entered the court room before Justice Fitzgerald began his remarks. The prisoner had been In court for Just four minutes. He nodded cheerfully to his relatives as ho came In, and again as he left the room. The members of the Thaw family who remained after the Jury had retired looked sadder than on any previous occasion. This was especially true of Evelyn Thaw, who appeared to bo on the verge of tears. Prisoner Is Cheerful. Mr. Garvan said the commissioners had previously been aworn In the Jus tice's private room. The three com missioners gazed inquisitively at Thaw while he was occupying his seat at the counsel table. Thaw appeared to bo oblivious of the glances of his inquisi tors. His expression was. If anything, more cheerful than previously. Lawyer Del- inns was not in court. There was a new member In the seats occupied by the Thaw family. The son of Lawyer Henry Clay McPIke sat on the right of Evelyn Nesblt Thaw and talked with her. He is a young man, about 18, and his presence caused considerable com ment until his Identity was learned. Justice Fitzgerald left to the discre tion of the commission the date for their first session. The commission decided to notify Lawyer Hartridge as attorney of record for Thaw of the time for their first sitting. Growth and Progress of the New South The <»eorg|ziri records here each day some economic fact in reference to tho onward march of the S'outb. BY JOSEPH B. LIVELY. The Georgia and Alabama Industrial Index says In Its regular week ly Issue: "The cry In Georgia and Alabama cities and towns for more resi dences increases in volume and Insistence, It Is not an artificial cry for booming purposes, but Is earnest and Is the result largely of the estab lishment of un ever-increasing number of manufactories, and the ac companying commercial expansion. Efforts are being made to meet the demand as rapidly as possible. Never before were so many tracts of land In and adjoining Georgia and Alnbama cities subdivided and sold In lots as Is being done Just now, and the number will Increase because of the demand. Among the notable suburban land deals of the week are the purchase of nearly 600 lots in u Montgomery, Ala., suburb, by a land company at a cost of about $200,000, the purchase of 60.suburban lots at 8elma Ala., and the purchase of a large suburban tract at Mllltcwn, Ga., to be subdivided. Among other land deals of the week that reflect Industrial progress arc the following purchases: 6,000 acres of mineral land near Tuscaloosa, Ala.; 100 acres of timber land near Hatley, Ga.; 1,500 acres of coal Innd near Wilhite, Ala., and 400 acres of timber land In Wilcox county, Ga., for $12,000 cush. A $15,ooo land company has been organized at Birmingham, Ala., and a $10,000 land company at Ashville, Ala. A company which proposes to build a railroad northward from ThomasvlHe, Oa., will apply for charter. . Among other things reported In The Index this week are: Wood working plant, buggy factory, foundry, furniture factory, $50,000 refin ery, overall factory and twenty-five dwellings, Macon, Ga.; power plant on Coosa river, near Wetumpka, Ala.; $280,000 lumber manufacturing company, Thomasvllle, Oa.;. machine shops, Tuscaloosa, Ala.; street rail way franchise granted at Brunswick, Ga.; power plant on Broad river that will develop 10,000 horse power, near Elberton, Ga.; $10,000 foundry and machine shop company, Anniston, Ala.; pipe plant nnd foundry anti four factories ut furniture company’s plant, representing an Investment of $500,000, Atlunta. Ga.; $25,000 trust company, Gadsden, Ala.; yarn mill at Hampton, Ga.; $32,000 lumber company, Nokomis, Ala.: $50,000 rail road bridge over the Altamuha river. In south Georgia; paving plans In Gadsden, Ensley and Decatur, Ala.; $100,000 apartment house and four- story apartment house, August:!, Ga. college buildings Athens, Ala., and Birmingham, AH., and municipal school building. Mobile, Ala.; theater, church, two lighting plants, three warehouses, five or sfx-stoif/ hotel an nex, Montgomery, Alu.; waterworks plants In two cities; sewer plans In two titles: five municipal bond Issues; four banks, residences, business buildings, contracts awarded nnd nineteen corporations with total mini mum capital stock of $776,000.’’