Atlanta Georgian. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, April 28, 1913, Image 5

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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.