Newspaper Page Text
the weather
p,. Fair tonight and Sun-
,rmer tonight. Temperatures:
i ' JO degrees; 10 a. m.. 34 de
-8 ees 12 noon. 39 degrees: 2 p. m.. 40
degrees
”voL. XL NO. 126.
SEEK VEILED
WOMAN IN
POISON
PROBE
I
Autopsy Made to Clear Death
of John Perkins, the Man
of Mystery.
former wife of dead
MAN CITED TO INQUEST
She Says He Came to Atlanta
to Kidnap Son Awarded to
Her by Court.
■ d by a relative’s suspicion of
f. U.\. an inquest over the body of
j.,.:n Perkins, who died suddenly
i istini- night at 23 Washington
~ ~e>. was begun this afternoon at 2:30
and an autopsy was performed
mine whether death was caused
bv pOiSOI).
vr - Gussie Wingard, former wife of
p.rXh.-. who had identified him Thurs
, < , >rning, was subpenaed to the in
< to tell what she knew of Perkins
his fate, and it was evident that a
_ investigation was to be made.
,i ,l Alexander, of Hillsboro, Ga., a
■ ahir-in-law of the dead man, ar
v< r in Atlanta today, and it was his
s;ispi'i‘>n and activity that led to the
indues’. He told his suspicions to Cor
ore Donehoo and Judge Pendleton of
he superior court consented to the
h" <ing of the inquest. It took place
undertaking establishment of
Harry G. Poole in East Hunter street,
r« the body had lain since Wednes
i nigh;, and evidence was expected
to >e brought out concerning a heavi
ly veiled woman who figures mysteri
ously in the case.
Story Told of
Mysterious Woman.
The stomach will be turned over to
ik state chemist for analysis. The
embalming fluid used to preserve the
body will not interfere with the exam
nation, according to Mr. Poole, as a
formaldehyde fluid was used, and this
hr s no effect upon traces of arsenic or
other poisons left in the stomach.
ircumstances surrounding the life
• death of John Perkins; his being
>' heed by the present Mrs. Wingard;
kidnaping of their eldest son and
her recent declarations that he came to
Dlanta to kidnap the younger boy;
visits to him by the latter, and a re
(-•rted attempt by Mrs. Wingard to
•wain Perkins' personal effects after
his death led to her being summoned
'•> the inquest today.
Miss Martha C. Yeagin, who iias the
•carding house where Perkins died,
•-tated today that a mysteriously veiled
"•••nan appeared just after the old man
•id expired, and that she was about
I •><• size and appearance of Mrs. Wln
gaii. The latter denied that she had
—en to the boarding house.
Miss Yeargin told the story today' of
• old man’s death and the visit of the
mysteriously veiled woman. Standing at
me foot of the stairs, at the spot
"here Perkins died, she recounted
• i t thing she could remember.
All Ate Same Things
Fw Supper, She Says.
Hi ate supper downstairs with us
t night." she said. "It couldn’t have
n anything there that made him
■' ■. for we all ate the same things
Uiout any sickness. It was about 3
"lock that night—Christmas—that we
icird him walking upstairs making a
noise.
'The old man is sick,' said my sis-
Then we heard him come down
ktairs, fast. 1 ran out in the hall. He
• sitting on the bottom step, here,
-nt by the street door.
Get a doctor, quick,' lie said. ‘lf
• 1 don't, I’ll be dead.'
1 ran to the engine house and a flre
m ' time back with me. The old man
•sktii him to a doctor and the flre-
1 iclephoned. Before a doctor or an
"b'llam <• could come, the old mao
dead right there on that step.
Sees Veiled Woman
Seize Dead Man's Coat.
'There was a lot of excitement then,
‘ourse. My sister and I were alono
tb< house when Mr. Perkins got
II k, but by this time there was quite a
’■le crowd of men and folks. The am
ilance came up and brought a doctor.
fills was when I noticed the veiled
mm. She came in with the crowd,
" I I thought perhaps -she was the wife
one of the men. She bent dyer and
:/ "d the dead man’s coat, and I asked
to slop. She disappeared after-
• rd. Yeg l r know Mrs. Wingard by
■Shi' used to live right back of
”'i No: I couldn't say whether
oman wa.- Mrs. Wingard o' not.
•s about ija same -iz* . and site
IVO b"«m. Th.- ball a-n’t
Continued on Page Two.
The Atlanta Georgian
38 DYNAMITE!
DEFENDANTS
GUILTY; 2
GO FREE
Herman G. Seiffert. of Milwau
kee. and Daniel Buckley, of
Davenport, la.. Acquitted.
——
SENTENCES OF 39 YEARS
POSSIBLE: 2 YEARS LIKELY
I
Sobs of Wives of Convicted
Men Fill Court at Verdict.
Appeal To Be Taken.
INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 28.—Thirty
eight of the 40 union labor officials ac
cused of conspiracy in the transporta
tion of dynamite were found guilty by j
the verdict of the jury returned before i
Judge Anderson in the Federal court
here shortly before 10 o’clock today. ;
Two of the accused men were acquitted.
They were Herman G. Seiffert, of Mil-;
waukee, and Daniel Buckley, of Daven
port, lowa.
The sound of a pindrop could have I
been heard when Judge Anderson asked
the jury:
"Gentlemen, have you reached aver- i
diet?"
The answer came.
‘‘We have.’’
The report of the jury as read in I
the court room follows:
‘‘We hereby find the defendants (then |
followed 38 names. Frank Ryan lead
ing, Hockin and C aney following) j
guilty as charged in the indictment.
“And the defendants Buckley and
Seiffert not guilty.”
Seiffert and Buckley were discharged
at once, and the rest told to keep their
seats and were taken in charge by
I United States deputy marshals and
I plain clothes men.
Women Sob As
Verdict Is Read.
Judge Anderson announced court ad
journed until 9:30 Monday morning,
when he will take up the matter of sen
tences.
A few of the defendants paled no
ticeably. but most of them sat un
moved.
The sobs of the women in the court
room, In addition to the screaming of
the child in the outer lobby, heightened
the awfulness of the scene.
Marshal Schmidt ordered all the cor
ridors cleared on the second floor pre
paratory to taking the prisoners away.
Court adjourned at 10 a. m.
The defendants were singled out one
by one, and they were put in the charge
of detectives.
Butler, Ray and Smith sat chatting
and laughing as the other defendants
left.
Procession Block Long
Goes Back to Jail.
Forming a procession one city block
in length, headed by United States
Marshal Schmidt and Superintendent
of Police Hyland, the 38 prisoners were
marched through crowded streets and
landed safely at the Marion county jail
at 10:50 o’clock. There was no demon
stration. despite the fact that the en
tire distance of five blocks was lined
with crowds. Each defendant was
handcuffed to the guard walking at his
side. As the procession left the court
building, the agony of the wives and
children of the prisoners was heart
rending. Tears came to the eyes of
many women and men. out of sympa
thy for them.
No break was made, and the prison
ers laughed and made remarks to their
friends as they walked along to jail. I
Deputy United States marshals were
scattered through the crowds that
formed along the line of march
Woman Faints as
Husband Is Called.
The wives of nearly a score of the
defendants were in court when tile ver
dict was brought in. As United States
Marshal Edward Schmidt called upon
the prisoners by nainf to take their
places there were pathetic scenes.
Mrs. Frank J. Higgins, of Boston,
' who had been weeping hysterically,
collapsed as her husband was ar
raigned. She was eared for by court
attendants.
Mrs. John H. Barry, of St. Louis, wife
of another of the prisoners, patted her
husband on the back and urged him to
be brave.
“You can not expect severe punish
ment. so cheer up," she exclaimed with
a smile as her husband was called io
the bar.
Th. coolest man hi the room was
James Cooney, of Chicago. Cooney had
been reading a newspaper and not pay
ing t ’• S'iglitest attention to .n'r'ai s "
the .'ourt room when ills mum ■••• a:-
Continued on Page Two.
Read For Profit--GEORGIAN WANT ADS--Use For Results
ATLANTA. GA.. SATURDAY. DECEMBER 28. 1912.
LAST HANGING OF
, WOMAN WAS IN 74
The last woman hanged in Geor
gia was Mrs. Mary Eberhart, white,
j convicted of murder in 1874. The
I price the then governor, James M.
Smith, paid for her execution was re
election. He refused to heed the
I chorus of protests against the hang
ing of a woman, and the execution
of Mrs. Eberhart was made an issue
in his race for re-election. He was
defeated, overwhelmingly.
Mystery Photograph of an Atlanta Home Window Shade
WHO ARE THESE OSCULATORS?
—/)
//
T -t;. ■ - •■'■
\\J|| IRf w /
t ( \ A.V-A. j
1
PERFECT SUNDRY
ONMTOOILL|
It Will Be a Balmy Day—a Day
for Outdoors. Forecaster
Promises.
i
That Christmas finery, those jabots
and folderols and silk things that San
ta Claus brought, will come in handy
tomorrow; Sunday will be a day for
promenade, and Peachtree and White
hall. it is safe to say, will be thronged
with Atlanta on dress parade. Christ
mas neckties, brilliant and wonderful,
will be excusable tomorrow, for the
reason that they will be in tune with
the day.
The weather man promises a day
without a cloud, without wind; a day
that will be never too cold, and for the
most part really balmy; an Indian sum
met- Sunday—and, being Sunday, less
smoke. It will be a day for out-doors,
says Director Von Herrmann.
But as he talked today of a glorious
Sunday, his worried glance wandered
from Atlanta’s position on the weather
map to that of Texas. Little black cir
cles on the gulf coast indicated increas
ed cloudiness. Increasing cloudiness in
Texas portends a storm, and a storm
in Texas usually plays the merry fire
with weather in Atlanta. So, although
the director holds out the promise of
a Sunday that will pull everybody out
doors, he hesitates to talk about what
next week may have in store. The
Texas storm may nol develop; then
. again it may.
Bui what if it does? There yet is
i Sunday to live, and a big part of Sat
i urday which is some day itself. The
J thermometer registered a pretty low
, figure this morning, going to 28 degrees
' in the early part of the day. but rose
i to a satisfactory stage later
ANOTHER OF LOAN
FIRM HELD ON U. S.
CHARGE FINED SSOO
W. N. Smith, the second ol th offi
cers of the Southern Loan and Trust
Company to plead guilty to the charge
of using the mails for the purpose of
operating a lottery proposition, was
fined SSOO, with the alternative penalty
of eight months in jail. Judge W. T.
Newman imposed sentence in the Unit
ed States district court today.
The caee against Smith grew out of
litigation instituted by the district at
torney more than a year ago, which had
its first fruit Friday in the plea of
guilty entered by E. <>. Heim, an offi
cer of the company, against which
complaint was,made.
The term "lottery" is the legal dell-
I nition ascribed by Judge Newman to a
I contingent loan and investment sea-
I ture implieo in <h»- contiucts of the
Southern D 0..,, .. Trust Company.
I Four * wn'it i.tla is of tin fr o, \ ore
1 indicted
CHILDREN SCORN MRS. KING;
REFUSE TO SEE HER AT JAIL
I Guess Identity of Pair That
Posed Unwittingly and Get
a Licking Perhaps.
Puzale. Supply the name- of prin- i
I eipal figures in this photograph.
i Ssh! Not right out loud! Whisper! I
Maybe you’re wrong at that. Pro
files are deceptive.
The girl lives on the north side,
lor at ieast that’s where she posed—
i unknowingly—for tin picture. She may
1 have been a visitor.
Devilish young man who lives out
that way ha.d a new camera. Got it for
Christmas. Came down the street at
night. Saw shadow on the shade.
Stopped. Watched. Took time •ex
posure. Had plenty of time. Must
have been regular Nether.sole kiss, three
to the hour
Anyway, this is what developed when
he put his plate in the bath. He show
ed it at the club next day. declined to
give the number of the house, and of
fered to bet the drinks nobody could
name the osculators—-and prove it.
There were a dozen guesses, but no
proofs.
Maybe you have an idea. Maybe you
know these profiles. The first answer
received will entitle the sender to a
licking from the man named, right or
wrong.
No solutions received over the tele
phone.
ATLANTA DEATH RATE
DROPS 2.45 PER CENT;
WHITE RECORD IS 13.46
Statistics compiled by Lenox Thorn
toti. of the city health department, show
that Atlanta’s death rate has dropped
from, 18.70 per 1,000 persons to 16.25
per 1,000 in 1912. The drop is 2.45 per
1,000.
He figures that tin negroes compose
38 per cent of the population and the
population to be 175.000. There were
1.460 white deaths during the year and
l, negro deaths. This inakt s the
white death rate 13.46 per 1,000 and the
negro death rati 20.82 fit LOOP.
"This is the lowest death at- .’ <\u'a
has had in ten years; in fact, sine- the
town became a city,” said Dr. J. I*.
Kennedy, city health officer, today.
“The rate of 13.46 for white people is
low for any city and most cities have
| higher negro death rates titan Atlanta. ’’
BUILDING PERMITS OF
YEAR $38,000.00 SHORT
OF $10,000,000.00 MARK
Here’s a chance for some good ioyal
Atlantan to make a hit with his fellow
, citizens
Building figures today tota $9,962,000,
short of $10,000,000 by a paltry $38,000.
There are three more working days in
tlie year today. Monday and Tuesday
—and the building permits should go
1 to $10,000,000 if possible
At the rate of advance in tile last few
days they will stop a few dollars short,
however, and this is the opportunity
offered some elite: pi ising Xtlantan—to
. put in application or anplirat ons tight
quick sot enough ’<> on. i!:- ..f|-
' eleney.
Who’ll come to. ' . a n >pc
m. house o> • hot'’!'
ffl DYKE 15 OUT
DF POLICE FIGHT
Decides He's Too Busy To Be
Chairman of That Commit-
tee of Council.
Aiderman Arthui H. Van Dyke said
today that he had practically decided
that he would be unable to accept the
chairmansiiip of the police committee
of council next year, because of the
great amount of time the position would
require.
Under charter amendments, the com
mittee must investigate all hotels and
lodging houses and locker clubs the
first of the year, before granting them
permits to operate. Then in July all
near-beer saloons must be Investigated
and permits issued. -
The alderman’s announcement also
means a change of program of the
Woodward administration in relation to
Police Chief Beavers. It was generally
conceded that the new mayor would
name Aiderman Van Dyke as the police
committeeman, which carries with it
a. place on the police commission. Al
derman Van Dyke declared war on
Chief Beavers several days ago.
Either Alderman John E. McClelland
or Councilman Orville H. Hall is ex
pected to get the place. Neither of
them would assume 1 an antagonistic
attitude to the powers in charge of the
police department at present, even
though they are antagonistic to Mayor,
elect Woodward.
The change Indicates that there will
be no fight in the police commission un
til the Woodward forces make an effort
to depose Chairman Carlos 11 M hoii in
March
WEALTHY FAMILY
GIVES PARTY FOR
NEGRO SERVANTS 1
MACON. GA. Dec. 28. Holiday call-|
era at th< home of Mr and Mrs. Wil- I
liam McEwan Johnston, on Georgia j
avenue, wer< amazed vlhti inforiiH-d at
th? door ’ha - ip- host and host* were
entertaining at a party in honor of
their ten negro servants and fourteen
of th*' latter's friends. Tn? parlor and
reception hall were thrown together and
decorated appropriately to the sea on.
During the evening a musical pro
gram was rendered, and eggnog and
other refreshments were served. The
party was in progress sot several hours,
with Mr. and Mr Johnson actively
acting as host and hostess and h< eking
to make their guests happy and at
horn?.
As th*- Johnstons ar. th? wealthier’
of Mat <m’s social families and occupy
th** most migmflent bom* on Georgia
avenue, their patty I - «•»■< at* d no lit
tle surprise, bin they *xplain that they
merely sought to duplicate th* fo
rte wi*. entertainmentt**r th* -
write, a> given by mm-der Mini misrun
Brother of Woman, Who Confessed
Plotting Husbands Death, Employs
Lawyer to Defend Her—Slain Plant
er’s Brothers Engage Attorneys.
Nick Wilburn Expects to Hang, But Begs That
Woman Be Spared-—lnfatuation For Farm
Hand Breeds Hatred For Rich Husband,
Planned to Spend Insurance on Honeymoon.
MAi ttX. GA.. t)<‘f. 28. Scorned by her six children, the misery
• and loneliness of Mrs. James King is now complete. Alone and un
i comforted, she sal in her little cell in the Jones county jail at Grays
' this morning and wept Her message to her three boys and three girls
•to come to see her was ignored by them. The youngest’boy and girl
■ expressed a desire to ’’see mamma, but the older ones strongly ob
jected.
Sheriff Charles Roberts has given Mrs. King the most comfortable
cell in the jail, and has provided for the cooking of her meals by a
family servant. He lias also stationed three extra guards in the jail,
and will maintain both night and day watches, fearful lest some at
; tempt may be made io remove Mi’s. King. He lias agreed, in response
jlo her pleading, not to put her in the Bibb county jail; however, he
■ does not deem it advisable to keep Wilburn in the Jones county prison,
which is a small and comparatively frail structure Wilburn will stay
in Macon until the day of the trial.
Mrs. King's complete confession lasi night, that she had prompted
Nick Wilburn to kill her husband on December 12. was followed by
the immediate employment of lawyers by her relatives, who only hop<
to save her neck and procure for her a life sentence in the peniten
tiary. The brothers of the man whose death she inspired have also
engaged attorneys and will assist the state in the prosecution.
In her little cell last night Mrs. King broke down and told the
whole story of the crime, taking all the blame on herself and asking
for mercy and sympathy only for her six children, four of whom an
under sixteen years of age. She said that love for Nick Wilburn, a
farm hand, was the motive which caused her to plot the death of her
husband. James King, a wealthy Jones county planter.
Adinittiug close friendship with
Wilburn for tiie last nine months,
Mrs. King said that she so domi
nated the young man that she had
no difficulty in persuading him to
take her husband’s life, especially
after she offered to marry him
and lo spend Ihe $2,000 life in
surance. which they expected to
collect, on a honeymoon trip.
The confessions of Mrs. King and
Wilburn corroborate in detail, only the
latter spared the woman as much as
possible. Mrs. King says Wilburn
should have died before confessing.
Wilburn Expects
To Give Up Life.
Wilburn frankly says that he expects
to give his life in return for the one
which he ended in cold blood. In his
cell in the Bibb county jail today, after
reading Mrs. King's confession, he re
marked that, he “guessed" they would
“both hang together.”
“1 hope they will let her go up for
life." he added. He says it was a part
of the plot that King should be killed
with his own gun.
Judge James B. Park, of the Ocmui
gee circuit, will be asked by Solicitor
J. E. Pottle to call a special session of
the Jones county grand jury and to
convene an early term of the superior
court. Under the law, It will be neces
sary for a Jury to consider capital
cases, notwithstanding that pleas of
guilty may be entered, and it will also
be up to the jury to say whether or not
Mrs. King shall hang for plotting her
husband's death.
To Induce the Jury to recommend her
to the mercy of the court, W. S. Sim
mons. of Macon, Mrs. King's brother,
I has already hired lawyers. He is grlef
' stricken and dumfounded at tin- uu
-1 exporter! developments, but Is deler
-1 mined to aid his sister a: far as possi*
i ble.
Mrs. King Asks To Be
Near Her Children.
Mrs. King was In an automobile
bound for Macon late yesterday after
noon win n site bogged She. Iff Roberts
to return with her to the Jones county
jail.
"I want to be near my children," she
sobbed, ami she declared that if taken
back to the Jail of her own county she
would tell the truth about the af'ifr.
The sheriff assented, and Mrs. King
fulfilled her promise, confessing in th?
presence of the sheriff. Detectives
Moore and Kia, of .laeon, who worked
up the ease agalns: her. and several
friends. She said that in October they
put strychnine hi Mr. King's poslon,
hut that .hen he became violently sick
she ga ■ . film an .aaetlc and saved'his
life.
Xi, i. Wilburn declared to me ■<>
HOML
nation
2 CENTS EVERYWHERE
much that he did not have a friend in
, the world that I felt sorry for him and
then I fell in love with him, and then 1
began to hate my husband," was the
woman's statement. She is the mother
of six children. Her older, daughtei
1 married Frank Wilburn, a brother of
Nick Wilburn.
The King plantation, near Round
Oak, is one of the most valuable in the
. county.
Brother of Slain
Man Is Atlantan
i -
i ~
I am not surprised that mj sister
in-law and Wilburn have made com
plete confessions. I suspected both of
them, and I believe she is as guilty as
Wilburn." said William Richard King.
i brother of Jim King, who is a bat-
■ keeper at .1. Cohen’s saloon. 77 Peach
i tree street, to a Georgian r. isarter this
■ morning. *
Richard, or “Dick" King, as he is fa
I mlliarly known, said he had suspected
his sister-in-law and Wilburn of com
plicity in tlie murder from the very
first report of the killing. This morn
ing he said:
"Since both of them have confessed,
I have decided to gu to Grays next
• Tuesday and assist in the prosecution.
’ Both of them should be hanged for the
i crime, and I am going to see that jus
• tice is meted out to them, if It is pos
Bible that my aid can accomplish aux -
I thing.
’ “My dead brother was a good an.
i loving husband,” King said. "and“his
; wife mid no onus. to turn against him
I regret that she must oe prosecuted 01,
account of her children. But the chll
dreii can be eared for by their rela
fixes better than by the kind of mother
they had, and I believe she should bo
given the full punishment merited bx
the crime."
King, salfi ie had been away from
Jones (bounty since Nick Wilburn was a
boy, and does not know much about his
personal habits. 11. said, however, that
he had heard several months ago that
Mrs. Jim King anti Wilburn had be
-1 . oitu intimate
"When I worn to my brother’s fu
. neral Wilburn was not around the
. house, am! certain actions of my sis
ter-in-law, along with certain things
I heard her say. l*d mo to believe that,
botii she. and Wilburn were in soma
way guilty.” said King.
PARCELS POST TO BRING
LOWER EXPRESS RATES
CHATTANOOGA, TENN, Dec. 28. -
It was learned here today tiiat a sweep
ing reduction In ales will be made by
. ib Southern Express Company, effec 1 -
Ive January 1. in order to compete with
t th. patee! post. Tiw general officer
i.f the eoiiitiaii.v In <.• would not discuss
> the matter