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■ TT1E ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS TUESDAY, APRIL 20. 1010. TRAGIC FACE OF STRANGLED MARY PHAGAN-NEW PICTURE STUDIES John Milton Gantt, the accusation, o'clock and I went directly to bed. I Street, the night that the j child until I went to work in the of a terrible crime hanging over him, from his cell at police headquarters, has made to-day a complete denial of any connection with the Mary Pha- gan murder in the first formal state ment to the public since his arrest in Marietta yesterday afternoon. The statement, which was given to a Georgian reporter, was said by Chief Beavers to be substantially the same as that taken by the police de partment stenographer last night for th$ use of the city detectives. This remarkable denial, if it is to be given credence, sweeps away a whole train of circumstantial evi dence that appeared most strongly to connect him with the brutal trag edy. He Is Contradicted. E. F. Holloway, timekeeper for tne National Pencil Company, told a Georgian reporter that he had it from Gantt’s own lips that he had bem out with the Phagan girl. He never even walked home with the girl, he insists. Mary Pirk, one of the girls em ployed with Mary Phagan, told the authorities that she had heard the girls at the factory say that Gantt was in love with Mary and waited to walk home with her frequently. Gantt declares in his statement that he was at the home of his half- sister, Mrs. F. C. Terrell, 284 East Binden murder was committed, going there directly from a dooI room. A woman describing herself as Gantt’s half-sister, is said by the po lice to have told two plain clothes men that Gantt was not .there wh n they went to look for him Sunday night; that he had not been there for some time and was f>n his way to California. Reverse Statements. To-day Mrs. Terrell reversed the statement that is said to have been made to the plain clothes men and declared that Gantt not, only was there, but slept with her son, Will. Gantt’s statement in full follow's: “I do not deny going to the pencil factory Saturday afternoon. My pu - pose in going there was target a pair of shoes I had left there when'T quit work there about three weeks ago. “After getting my shoes from the factory, I -walked around town for a time and a* about 7:30 in the even ing met Arthur White, who works for the pencil company. With him I went to the Globe Pool Rooms >n Broad Street, near Marietta. “I didn’t play, but sat down and watched them for several hours, leaving there probably at 10:30 o’clock. I went to the home of my helf-sister. Mrs. F. C. Terrell, 284 JSajit Linden Street, where I have been staying- and she let me In the house. Mrs. Terrell’s husband is su perintendent of the Forsyth Build ing. Slept All Night. “i suppose ant let di about 11 slept all night until Sunday morn ing. “I didn’t hear of the murder un‘.il Sunday night when I went to call on a ycjng woman with whom I have been eoing. She is Miss Annie Chambers, of 18 Warren Place. 1 went there about 8 o’clock Sunday evening. “Her brother Phili- who works at the National Pencil Company’s plant, rushed into the room and said that a girl had been murdered in the base ment of the factory. He did not know who it was. That was the very first I heard of the crime. “I did not learn the horrible de tails of the murder until I read them in the papers Monday morning. “I was not trying to escape when I went to Marietta Monday morn ing. I had bought a crop near Ma rietta and was going up there to farm. I had made arrangements some time ago with my mother to see her Monday and my trip there was simply to fill that engagement. Basest Sort of a Lie. “I would not harm any girl, least of all the daughter of Mrs. Coleman. Ten years ago I knew Mrs. Coleman when she was Mrs. Phagan and lived near Marietta in Cobb County. Mary was just a little girl then about four years old. From the time I knew he.* then as little more than a toddling pencil factory last June 1 never Saw her. “I never went out with* Mary after I started work in the factory. I nev er walked, home with her. I never was any more to her than I was to the 175 other girls at the factory. I spoke to her as I might to any of the others, but that was all. “The charge that 1 had any part in her destruction is the basest sort of a lie and an injustice.” Talk of Habeas Corpus. The determined fight instituted to gain the immediate freedom of Gantt was another of the new features of the most sensational tragedy Atlanta has had in years. Backed by relatives of influence and a family of good repute. Gantt-was* no more in his cell at police headquarters than an effort to obtain his liberty was started. ' Either give him an immediate pre liminary hearing or I will institute habeas corpus proceedings.” was the ultimatum delivered to Chief of De tectives Lanford by Judge George F. Gober, member of the law firm of Gober & Jackson, and a relative of the accused man. “He Is an innocent man. He is as guiltless as the babe in arms. He is entitled to an immediate hearing on this terrible accusation that has been made against him. Either this must be granted or I will take a Course to obtain his liberty.” As Chief of Detectives Lanford re fused the immediate hearing, the au thorities awaited in expectancy to ob serve the success Judge Gober would Another pieture of the Phagan girl in a studious pose. The child was strikingly pretty and the pictures here shown are from photographs prized by grief-striekeu rlatives in Marietta. Mary Phagan and her young aunt, Mattie Phagan, who was one of the girl's best friends aud is heart-broken over the tragedy. IS THE GUILTY MAN AMONG THOSE HELD? Is the murderer of Mary Phagan among the four men who are being held at police headquarters, or is he still at large, either among those still unsuspected or among those who have been severely quizzed by the officers? The men still in custody are: 1—Newt Lee, negro night watchman, who is thought to know much more about the crime than he has told, but who has not been regarded as the perpe trator; 7 » 2— Arthur Mullinax, former street car conductor, for whom a strong alibi has been established, and from whom suspicion is shifting; 3— Geron Bailey, negro elevator boy, who has been held as a material wit ness, but against whom no evidence has been obtained; 4— J. M. Gantt, former employee of the National Pencil Company, located at the plant on Saturday, and identified as the “man with a little girl on Saturday night.” In neither Mullinax’s nor Gantt’s case do the police place much depend ence on the so-called identifications. meet in attempting to carry into exe cution his bold defiance of the de tective force. The prominence of young Gantt’s family added interest to his case. He sides having Judge Gober for a rela tive, he is the nephew of ex-Repre- sentativc Samuel R. McClesky, of Cobb County, and his own family i> well known and respected. His moth er is Mrs. Mary Louise Gantt, whose home is near Marietta. His father. J. L. Gantt, died two years ago. Young Gantt is about 23 years old and single. Striking Personality. He has a striking personality. He appears fully four inches above six feet and weights about 185 pounds. The puzzling testimony of E. L Sentell, grocery clerk, and E. S. Skip per. of 224 1-2 Peters Street, is re ceiving the attention of the police to day. Sentell remains as positive as ever that it was Mullinax he saw Saturday night with little Mary Phagan. He declares that he had known Mary practically all her life and could not help but recognize her when he met her a few minutes after midnight with a man companion. He has told the police that he s*ald: “Hello, Mary,” and that she replied, “Hello, Edgar “ c “That’s* the man,” declared Sen ft. when he was brought face to face! with Mullinax. “That's the man. I’m quite sure,” said Skipper, when he saw Gantt. Neither man was absolutely sure, but each was fairly confident that he had picked the right man. Whether to believe one or the other or neither was the problem that confronted the police when they started their work to-day. If you have anything to sell adver tise in The Sunday American. Lar gest circulation of any Sunday news paper in the South. SLAYER’S HAND PRINT LEFT ON ARM OF GIRL Hope for apprehension of tiie slayer of Mary Phagan lias come to the police with the discovery of distinct finger prints, stamped in blood on the sleeve of the dead girl’s jacket. The discovery was made by a Georgian reporter in the course of a minute inspection of the girl’s clothes yesterday evening. The finger prints are on the right arm of the light silk dress. The imprints of two fingers are just below the shoulder, staining purple the lavender of the child’s dress and penetrating to the arm, as if they were established at the pressure of powerful fingers grasping her arm. A third print is that of a thumb, blurred somewhat as with a great pressure, but offering possibilities of analysis. With the discovery of the finger prints, detectives employed in the ease be lieve they hav a tangible clew. The Bertillon system of detection will be brought into play, and susppots will be placed through its unfailing catechism. The search for other finger prints will be made zealously. Detectives of the Pinkerton agency, several of whom are on tin- ease, are known to affect largely this mode of detection, on the theory that every man has his distinctive finger prints, and that he impressions of the fingers of no two individuals are identical. * The evidence borne in finger prints is regarded as conclusive iu modern courts. On this fact the police of Atlanta to-day are hoping more firmly than ever that they will be successful in their trail of the man who killed little Mary Phagan. Dr. J. W. Hurt, County Physician, conducted last night a close examination ef Mary Phagan’s body, in the effort to deter mine the nature of the injuries inflicted by her brutal slayer. He entered alone the chamber in which the dead girl lay, and at the conclusion of his inspection refused to make a report of what he had found out. ___ ___ _____ F. C. Terrelf, 284 East Linden Ave nue, toll a Georgian reporter .to-day that his wife had declared to him that she did not tell the trtith to the detectives and Georgian reporters to whom she had said that she did not know where J. M. Gantt, accused of the murder of p*etty Mary Phagan, was on Saturday night. When seen soon after the discovery* of the deed, Mrs. Terrell stated that Gantt, wno is her half brother, had left her home where he had been for the past seven years, three weeks ago. presumably to go to California and that she had not seen him since. “Most certainly he was in his room here Saturday night,” declared Mrs. Terrell to a Georgian reporter to day. "He came in at 11 o’clock.” “Slept With Me.” “I ate breakfast with Mr. Gantt Sunday morning,” said a young wom an, an inmate of the Terrell home. “Yes,” said little Willie Terrell, “Mr. Gantt slept with me Saturday night. And I had to wake up at 4 o’clock to get my little brother up to carry my papers and Mr. Gantt was still in bed.” “No. I had not seen Gantt for three weeks,” declared F. C. Terrell, broth er-in-law of the accused. A mo ment lat^r, Mr. Terrell said that Gantt had been back in town for four or five days and that he was certainly in his house Saturday night. “I heard my wife get up and let him in at 11 o’clock,’’ declared Ter rell. A Georgian reporter called at the Terrell residence to find that Mrs. Terrell was in a state approaching a nervous collapse and much excited in her manner. She was vehement in her declaration that Gantt was in bed at 11 o’clock Saturday night. In a few moments her husband, who is engineer at the Forsyth Build ing came in, and before seeing his wife was interviewed by a reporter. Strange Contradictions. “Yes,” said he. “Gantt had been gone three weeks and I hadn’t seon anything of him. He was a quiet fellow in his habits, always came home early at nights and we were surprised to hear that he is suspect ed of this crime. “The first I heard of it was Mon day morning when my brother-in- law*, J. N. Gantt at Marietta called me up and told me they had arrested Gantt.” “But did not y^ou Just say that the detectives were here at your house Sunday afternoon and had questioned your wife as to Gantt's whereabouts,” asked the reporter. “Yes.” was the reply, “but my wife did not tell me anything about the detectives being out here. “You see my wife has not been well for a long time and she was very nervous and scared and she did not want the detectives fooling around here anil she told them a story to keep them from coming again. She admitted to me that ^he had falsified to them. “I heard my wife get up at 11 o’clock and let some one in, and she told me it was Gantt.” I thought you said that Gantt had left here three weeks ago and that you did not know anything about him,” volunteered the reporter. Sure He Came in. “Oh, no! He had been back here four or five days. He started to California, to Ix>s Angeles, to take a position, but didn’t get any further than Memphis. He ran into the floods out there, got tied up and de cided to come back. “Yes. I am sure my wife got up and let hint in; 1 was awake at the time. And I saw him Sunday morn ing too.” Mr. Terrell declared that he had just left the police station where he had seen and talked with Gantt. “He’s just as cool as a cucum ber,” said Mr. Terrell, "and he laughs at the Idea of his being accused of the murder. He is just as confident of being cleared as if it was already decided.” Keeper of Rooming House Enters Case J. W. Phillips Thinks Couple Who Asked for Room May Have Been Gantt and Girl. Was the young woman who, in company with a young mfcn, applied to John W. Phillips, keeper of a room ing house at Forsyth and Hunter Streets at about 11 o’clock Saturday night for a room, Mary Phagan, the little girl who w*as found murdered the following morning? And was Gantt the man with her? Phillips was not positive to-day. He saw the young woman in the morgue at Bloomfield’s undertaking establishment, and it is understood he positively identified her to city detectives and the County Solicitor. She looked very much like the young woman, he said, but he w*ould not make the positive statement to a re porter to-day. He went to police station this morn ing to see Gantt and declared the prisoner looked much like the man who applied to him for a room. Bartender Confirms Gantt’s Statement Says Phagan Suspect Left Pair of Shoes in His. Place Saturday Evening. Charles W. McGee, of Colonial Hills, a bartender in the saloon of J. P. Hunter at 38 South Forsyth Street, almost directly across from the National Pencil Company plant, corroborated to-day the story told by J. M. Gantt about leaving a pair of shoes in the saloon from Saurday night until Monday morning. “The man I judge to be Gantt from the description came into the saloon, but stayed only a short time,” said McGee. “I noticed nothing suspicious about Gantt or the man w*ho was with him.” Chicago Theater Will Hold ‘Remnant’ Sales Cuts to 50 Cents $2.50 Seats Unsold Hour Before the Performance Begins. CHICAGO, April 29.—A "remnant” sale of tickets is announced by a leading downtown theateT. Hereaf ter all seats unsold at 1:30 o’clock on matinee days and 7:30 o’clock at night will be sold at DO cents. The first of the sales will be to-morrow night. Regular prices range from $2.50 to 75 cents. ' * Managers of other- theaters said the plan would bring about a small advance sale and a jam at the box office an hour before the curtain rose. ATLANTA HOTEL CLERKS AFTER 1914 CONVENTION Members of the Southeastern Greet ers’ Association will gather in Atlanta from four States May 4 to go in a special train to Chattanooga for their annual convention. The association is composed of assistant hotel managers and clerks. The Atlanta delegation will make an effort to get the 1914 convention for this city. SLAIN AS HE FORCES ATTENTIONS ON GIRL CHICAGO, April 29.—While at- tempting to force his attentions on a girl, Antonio Morosco to-day w*as killed with an axe. More than a score of persons witnessed the bill ing. Pasquale Forte, the girl’s broth er, is being sought as the slayer. CORING! BASS’ MAY SALE See Big Bargain Ad in Wednesday Georgian