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TTTE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS, TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 1010.
f TRAGIC FACE OF STRANGLED MARY PHAGAN-NEW PICTURE STUDIES
A photographic study of the victim in the strangling mystery
showing the sad expression in her eyes.
CHARGE IS BASESI OF LIES,
John Milton Gantt, the accusation
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-
,^an mr 'er 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
the use of ihe 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.
TS. F. Holloway, timekeeper for the
National Pencil Company, told a
Georgian reporter that he had it from
Gantt’s own lips that he had be;n
out with the Phagan girl.
He never even walked home wi*n
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
Linden Street, the night that the
murder was committed, going there
directly from a cool room.
A woman 'describing herself as
1 Gantt's half-sister, is said by the po
lice to have told two plain clothes
men that Gantt was not there whin
they went to look for him Sunday
night; that he had not been there
for some time and was on his way
to California.
Reverse Statements.
“r 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 follows;
"I do not deny going to the pencil
factory Saturday afternoon. My pu~-
pose in going there was to get a pair
of shoes F had left there when I 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 jny
helf-sister, Mrs. F. C. Terrell, 284
Ea^t Linden Street, where I havn
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 she let me In about 11
o’clock and I went directly to bed. I
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 young woman with whom 1
have been going. She is Miss Annie
Chambers, of 18 Warren Place. I
went there about 8 o’clock Sunday
evening.
“Her brother Philt- 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 h,er Monday and my trip there
was simply to till 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 oW. From the time I knew he.'
then as little more than a toddling
child until I went to work in the
pencil factory last June I never saw
her.
”1 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 I 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 reiatlve 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 picture of the Phagan girl in a studious pose. The child was strikingly pretty
and the pictures here shown are from photographs prized by grief-stricken riatives in Marietta.
Mary Phagan and her young aunt, Mattie Phagan, who was one of the girl s best frient
and 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;
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 pn 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-
sentative Samuel R. McClesky, of
Cobb County, and his own family is
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 said: “Hello, Mary,”
and that she replied, ‘ Hello, Edgar.”
“That’s the man,” declared Sentell
when he was brought face to face
with Mullinax.
“That’s the man, I’m quite surf',”
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
wan the problem that confronted the
police when they started their work
to-day.
SLAYER’S HAND PRINT
LEFT ON ARM OF GIRL
10 CLEAR GANTl AS SUSPECT
If you_have anything to sell adver-
nda
tise in The Sunday American. Lar
gest circulation of any Sunday news
paper in the South.
Hope for apprehension of the slayer of Mary Phagan has
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 fingei j are just below the shoulder, staining
purple the lavender of the child’s dress anti 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, hut 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 suspects will he 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 the
ease, are known to affect largely this mode of detection, on the
theory that every man has his distinctive finger prints, and that
the impressions of the fingers of no two individuals are identical.
The evidence borne in finger prints is regarded as conclusive
in 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 of Mary Phagan’s body, in the effort to deter
mine the nature of the injuries inflicted bv 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. Terrell, 284 East Linden Ave
nue, told a Georgian reporter to-day
that his wife had declared to him
that she did not tell the truth 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 pretty Mary Phagan,
was on Saturday night.
When seen soon after the discovery
of the deed, Mrs. Terrell stated that
Gantt, who is her half brother, had
left her home •where he had been
for the past seven years, three week*
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 later, 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 seen
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-
d 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
Guntt.”
“But did not you 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, “hut my wife
did not tell me anything aDout 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 and she told them a story to
keep them from coming again. She
admitted to me that she 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 nad been back here
four or five days. He started to
California, to Los 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 him in; I 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.
“Hes Just as cool as a cucumr
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.”
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 plane
corroborated to-day the story told by
J. M. Gantt about leaving a pair of
shoes in the saloon from Saunday
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 who was
with him."
Chicago Theater Will
Hold ‘Remnant’ Sales
Cuts to 50 Cents $2.50 Seats Unsold
Hour Before the Performance
Begins.
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 man. 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 Phagau, the
little girl who was 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
morgu,. 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, ho said, but he would 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.
CHICAGO, April 29.—A “remnant’*
sale of tickets is announced by a
leading downtown theater. Hereaf
ter all seats unsold at 1:30 o’clock
on matinee days and 7:30 o’clock, at
night will b© sold at 50 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 w'lll 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 makeun
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 Moroscb to-day was
killed with an axe. More than a
score of persons witnessed the kill
ing. Pasquale Forte,' the girl’s broth
er, is being sought as the slayer.
CORMG! BASS’ MAY SALE
See Big Bargain Ad in Wednesday Georgian