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THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. MONDAY, APRIL 28. IDlft
Chief and Sleuths Trace
Steps in Slaying of Girl
\\
Coroner’s Jury Inspects Remains
and Scene of Tragedy, Then
Waits Until Wednesday.
Lying on a slab in the chapel of
the Bloomfield undertaking establish
ment, with the white throat bearing
the red marks of the rope that stran
gled her, the body of Mary Phagan
Iras viewed by thousands this morn
ing.
No such gathering of the morbidly
curious has ever before been seen in
Atlanta. More people were attracted
than by any crime in the history of
the city. The crowds came in droves,
and a steady procession passed before
the slab on which lay the little body.
Old men and young men, women with
babies in their arms and women who
tottered with age, little friends of the
dead child and little children who had
to be raised In the arms of their
mothers before they could see the
white face of their dead playmate—
Crowded into the little chapel.
Crowd Before Daybreak
Long before daylight the crowd be
gan to form in front of the undertak
ing establishment. By 6 o’clock sev
eral hundred had come, and were
awaiting with tense eagerness for the
opening of the doors. Factory giris
and laboring men, passing on their
way to work, were caught by the lure
of the tragedy and crowded into the
line. A number of fashionably
dressed women alighted from their
automobile-s, and with veils drawn
over their faces pressed against the
plate glass windows of the chapel.
By 8 o’clock there w'ere more than
I, 000 persons gathered around the
morgue. The jam at the doorway
was so great that extra policemen
were called. When the doors were
opened the crowd was permitted to
pass in one by one and view the form.
An old man, who had known the
Phagan family for years and had
rocked the dead child on his knees,
was the first to view the remains.
For more than three minutes he stood
with bared head beside the body.
It is estimated that 10,000 people
have viewed the body of the child
since it was found in the basement
of the building on Forsyth Street. All
day yesterday thousands of people
crowded into the little chapel, and P.
J. Bloomfield declared that no less
than 4,000 persons entered his place
during the day.
This morning the crowd was even
greater, and since 6 o’clock it is esti
mated that between 6,000 and 7,000
have passed in silent review before
tlie dead child.
Inquest Is Begun.
At 10 o’clock, when Coroner Don-
ehoo began the inquest, the chapel
was cleared of the spectators and
the body of the child removed to a
private room. The men impaneled to
inquire into the death of th e child
were:
Homer C. Ashford, foreman; John
Miller, J. C. Hood, C. Y..Sheets, Glenn
Dewberry and Clarence Langford.
No witnesses were examined this
morning by the Coroner’s jury. The
six men viewed the remains and were
shown by physicians the manner in
which the child met her death, after
which they visited the plant of the
National Pencil Company, where the
murder occurred. There they made
a thorough examination of the base
ment where the child’s body was
found, inspected the tip plant on the
second floor, where the bloody strands
of hair were found, and followed the
trail of blood through the building
to the scene of the crime.
At noon Coroner Donehoo dismissed
the jury until Wednesday morning at
0 o’clock, when the examination of
witnesses will take place. The Coro
ner refused to give out a list of the
persons he had summoned before the
jury.
NEW JUDGESHIP ALLOWED
IN SOUTHERN CIRCUIT
WASHINGTON. April 28.—The bill
granting an additional judge for the
Fourth circuit passed the Senate to
day. The circuit comprises the States
of West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia,
North and South Carolina.
An amendment was added abolish
ing the circuit judgeship held by-
Judge R. W. Archbold, removed from
the Commerce Court by impeachment.
In the room where Mary Phagan
was attacked and paid out her young
life to the brutality of her assailant,
| across the floor where her limp form
was* dragged, down the stairs and
down through the square trap-door
into the dirty basement where her
body was found, Chief of Police Beav
ers and two detectives trailed, step by
step, every move of the girl's murder
er to-day.
Determined that not a clew should
be overlooked in the efforts to fix
guilt upon the man or men that took
the young girl’s life, the Chief and his
aides began at the very spot in the
tip plant in the rear of the second
floor where the bloodstains and *he
strands of matted hair indicated that
the girl had put up such a deperate
fight for her life and honor.
Curious Crowd About Factory.
Meanwhile the surging crowd of
curiosity seekers on the outside of
the building would not be restrained,
and that with the excitement of the
employees made it necessary to close
down the factory for the day.
Excited men in the throng, morbid
ly curious or filled with wrath at the
inhuman deed, forced their way into
the building and refused to turn back.
A detective had an encounter wfith
one insistent man who would not
leave the building.
Inside the building the nervous ten
sion of the employees was apparent !n
every department. With the ghost of
the terrible crime stalking about, they
could not work. After several hours
of Ineffectual work, the foremen saw
that the girls and other employees
were so wrought up over the tragedy
that it was useless to keep them in
the building longer. They were toM
to go.
Chief Beavers and the detectives,
confident that they had established
beyond doubt that the crime was
committed inside, the building by
some one who had access, jntinued
their painstaking and minute inspec
tion.
Bloodstains on Floor.
They demonstrated that the stairs
on the fioor were not of red paint, but
were of blood. Had the stains been
paint, they would have been soluble in
alcohol. But when the alcohol was
applied the tell-tale splotches oni
grew the brighter.
Added to this convincing evidence. ,
the Chief had the testimony of em- ,
ployees in the building that thes- 1 j
stains were not there Saturday when ;
the building was cleaned up for the
week. ’They must have come some
time between Saturday and the time
that they were discovered this morn-
ing. For the purpose of conclusive
analysis, the Chief had pieces of the
floor chiseled up and taken to head
quarters.
The detectives believe they have
solved the manner in which the as
sailant made his * escape from the
building. A staple in the rear door of
the basement was found drawn en
tirely from the wood. The door is a
sliding affair and the way in which
the staple was pulled out leads to th •
belief that it was accomplished from
the inside.
The theory is still held that ; he
murderer gained entrance through a
regular doorway and that the night-
watchman, Newt Lee, could tell some
thing of the circumstances if he
wished.
Story of the Killing as
Meager Facts Reveal It
NV» i l.pe, tlit* negro night watchman.
The negro .«ah1 he almost stumbled
against the body before he saw It. In
the dim, dickering h»ht of tlie watch
man’s lantern the tragedy was re
vealed In all Itp ghastliness.
The girlish foi n lay amid the trash
and sweepings of the basement with
bruised and bloody face upturned, in a
l>ool of blood, and with the freshly
laundered dress of but u few hours
before dyed crimson.
All about was the evidence of a
terrific struggle. The dilapidated con
dition of the dead girl’s clothing and
the signs of confusion on the dirty
basement floor told the tragic story of
the girl’s battle for life.
Fought Till She Swooned.
She had fought her brutal murderer
until the last—until her strength had
given out and she had swooned into
death.
The body lay at a point about 75
feet from an elevator shaft. Midway
between the body and the shaft, on n
pile of trash, was found one of the
girl’s shoes—the one from her left foot
—and her hat The slayer had torn
the shoe and hat from the little form
as the girl struggled vainly to save
herself from his blows.
About the girl's neck was tightly
drawn a strong piece of twine. A
strip of cloth, torn from her under
clothing. was also fastened about her
neck. Not satisfied with the blows he
had dealt on the head—one blow on
the back of the head being so terrific
as to discolor one of the girl’s eyes—
the slayer had resorted to strangula
tion to be sure that the last spark of
life had been extinguished. A big
twine had been drawn so tightly that
it was imbedded in the tender flesh,
leaving the throat and neck discol
ored and lacerated.
City Chemist Tests
Stains For Blood
Pieces of wood, the stains on which
are believed to be those of the blood
of murdered Mary Phagan, are under
going a chemical examination th*q
afternoon by the city chemist.
The discovery of white powder on
the factory floor strengthened the be
lief that a frantic effort had been
mad* 1 to erase the evidences of the
crime. The powder resembled very
much cleaning preparations that are
used.
MEN WELCOME
MOTHER’S FRIEND
A Duty That Every Man Owes
to Those Who Perpetuate
the Race,
SENATE FAVORS DR. NEILL.
WASHINGTON, April 28.—The
Senate Committee on Education and
Labor to-day agreed to report favor
ably^ the nomination of Dr. Charles
P. Neill to be Commissioner of Labor
Statistics. *
If you have anything to sell adver
tise in The Sunday American. Lar
gest circulation of any Sunday news
paper in the South.
it is just as important that men shou»u
know of progressive methods in advance
of motherhood. The suffering, pain and
distress incident to child-bearing can be
easily avoided by having at hand a bot
tle of Mother’s Friend. t
This is a wonderful penetrating, exter
nal application that relieves all tension
upon the muscles and enables them to
expand without the painful strain upon
the ligaments. Thus there is avoided
all those nervous spells; the tendency to
nausea or morning sickness is counter
acted, and a bright, sunny, happy dis
position is preserved that reflects won
derfully upon the character and temper
ament of the little one soon to open its
eyes In bewilderment at the joy of his
arrival. You can obtain a bottle of
“Mother’s Friend" at any drug store at
$1.00. and it will be the best dollar’s
worth you ever obtained. It preserves
the mother's health, enables her to make
a quick and complete recovery, and thus
renewed sirength she will eagerly devote
herself to the care and attention which
mean so much to the welfare of the
child. Write to the Bradfield Regula
tor Co., 129 Lamar Bldg., Atlanta, Ga.,
for their valuable and instructive book
of guidance for expectant mothers. Get
a bottle of Mother’s Friend to-day.
A new turn was given the mystery
to-day when strands of blood-matted
hair ^ ere found in a lathing machine
on the second floor of the factory.
The discovery made it certain that
the crime was committed in the fac
tory’ by some one w r ho had acces* to
the building, a theory which had been
without conclusive support previously.
Blood stains leading from the lathe
to the door showed the manner in
which the fiend had dragged the body
of his victim and had taken her to
the basement.
Appearances indicated that the
murderer had sought to cover up the
trail of his crime by endeavoring to
efface the bloody stains.
Another name was brought into the
case to-day by the testimony of pen
cil company employees. Detectives
were hurried to the building and an
arrest is expected momentarily. The
new suspect is said to be a former
employee who was seen about the
building Friday and Saturday.
The blood-matted strands of red
dish-brown hair were discovered this
forenoon when L. A. Quinn, foreman
in the tip plant on the second floor,
sent R. P. Barrett, a workman, over
to the lathe.
Barrett gave a cry’ of alarm when
he saw the evidences of the shocking
crime and of the struggle the little
girl apparently had made against the
superior strength of her assailant.
The hair was twisted about the
turn-up screw on the lathe, a crank-
like device which is used to move
the pencils forward and backward on
the machine.
Evidence of Terrible Struggle.
Blood was on the sharp end of the
crank, leading to the belief that it
had been used as a weapon and was
responsible for the gash in the back
of the Phagan girl’s head. The alter
native theory is that she fell back
against it in her struggles.
The mutilated body of Mary Phagan
was found in a dark, dismal corner of
the pencil factory basement shortly
after 3 o’clock yesterday' morning by
MAKES YOUR BACKACHE VANISH,
DRIVES RHEUMATIC PAINS AMAY
Eases Stiff, Sore, Swollen Joints and Muscles Relieving Back
ache and Bladder Disorders After Few Doses Are Taken.
This is what Croxone. the new
scientific discovery, does for suffer
ers of such troubles. It promptly
relieves these diseases because ,t
reaches the cause. It soaks right
into the walls and linings of the
kidneys and cleans out the stopped-
up, inactive organs like water does
a sponge—neutralizes, and dissolves
every particle of uric acid and
makes the kidnevs sift from the
blood all the was«te matter and poi
sons that lodge in the joints and
muscles to scratch and irritate and
cause rheumatism. It soothes and
heals the delicate linings of the
bladder and leaves the kidneys in a
clean, strong, healthy condition, sy
they can filter the blood and keep
you well.
If y r ou suffer with backache—have
pains in the neck or sides—nervous
or dizzy spells—a few doses of
Croxone will relieve the congestion
and you will be surprised how
luickly all kidney, bladder and rheu
matic troubles will disappear.
Croxone is different from all oth
er remedies. It is so prepared that
it is practically impossible to take it
Into the human system without
results. An original package of
Croxone costs but a trifle, and ail
druggists are authorized to return
the purchase price if Croxone
should fail in a single case.
Don’t button your coat!
Put change in your outside
WRIGLEYS
pocket for
Always have change handy for the
handy confection. Every package is a
guardian of your teeth—your breath—
your appetite—your digestion.
Benefit continuously and enjoy this
refreshing pastime as well.
GUARANTEED FRESH COUNTRY
DOZEN
10-lb. Pail
Snowhite
or Flake
4'hite Lard
91 w
XfL
Look for
the spear
Avoid imitations
r 30
86c
CASH GROCERY CO.
118 and 120 WHITEHALL
BUY IT BY THE BOX
It costs less—of any dealer—
and stays fresh until used.
PEACHT
has
in-
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30
3 O’CLOCK P. M.
________________ _ <
Let’s get down to bedrock from the start:
When you buy a piece of residence property,
you always look for something somebody else
wants or is going to want.
The more others want it, the more it is going
to enhance in value; and speed of enhancement
is proportionate to the eagerness of their desire
for it.
Simple reasoning? Yes, just the same old
story of supply and demand.
The SUPPLY of PEACHTREE property
is limited; there is just so much of it; there can
never be any more.
The DEMAND for PEACHTREE
no limit but Atlanta’s growth.
In ten more years Atlanta’s population
creased 75 per cent.
In the same ten years Atlanta home-seekers
bought and built on nearly three more miles of
PEACHTREE.
Some twenty of
built their homes
HEIGHTS.
At the same rate of growth in population
and demand for PEACHTREE homes, do
you realize where the next ten years will take
them?
It will find Atlanta built up in homes more than two
miles beyond Buckhead, with Buckhead taken into the
city limits.
Figure what this means in enhancement. PEACH
TREE residence property which ten years ago sold at $50
per foot brought the other day $200, an increase of 300
per cent.
You can buy PEACHTREE HEIGHTS lots Wed
nesday at AUCTION PRICES.
Look a little into the future and figure, also, what this
means.
You can never again buy them at these prices.
They will not again be offered at Auction.
If you are an opportunity chaser, get on the job.
Call for plats at the office of
E. RIVERS REALTY CO.
these the last two years,
PEACHTREE
in
STEVE R. JOHNSTON
Auctioneer
8 West Alabama St.