Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

2 THE ATLANTA (J EOUHTAX AND NEWS, WEDNESDAY. APRIL :u>, 11)13. * MARY PHAGAN AND HER AUNT IN VARIOUS POSES * WATCHMAN NEWT LEE ON STAND TELLS HIS OWN STORY OF THE PHAGAN MYSTERY Continued From Page One. wail'll Mr. <1 tntt? A. When they turned him oil. Q. Did you know why Gantt was dischargedV A. No. sir Q. How long have* you worked in tin- pencil factory? A. Three pay days. id. How often do they pay you? A. Kvery Saturday. Q. Have you told everything that was said by you and Mr. Frank be fore he left the factory? A Yea, sir; only I offered him some bananas and he wouldn’t take them. • Saw Frank Leave Also. Q.—How long did it take Mr. Gantt to find his shoes. A. Very little time. He found his shoes and went out of the building after he had talked over the telephone. Q.-—Do you know' whether Mr. Frank left the building during that time? A. He wont outside. I don't know whether he came back in or not. Q.—Did you see Mr. Frank walk away? A Yes Q Where did he go? A.—He went up Forsyth Street toward Alabama. Q How long have you worked for Mr. Frank? A. Just throe paydays. (4.—How long have you known him? A - Just since 1 have been there. Q When did you see that all of the window's of the plan were down? A When I made the rounds Just be fore making my 7 o’clock punch. Gas Light Changed. Q. What did you do then? A. 1 went into the basement a few min utes after 7 o'clock. Q. What is on the top floor? A. A whole world of machinery. Q. Where were Gantt’s shoes? A. In thn shipping department, near the front. Q. How do you get to the base ment? A Through a scuttle hole. Q. What part of the basement did you go to? A. To a light near the ladder only a few' feet from the lad der. Q. Did you light the gas in the basement? A N*o, sir; it was lighted, but it wasn’t like I left it that morn ing. It was turned down like a light- Q. Whi Q. Wi u Wi iturday night did e call? A. 1 don’t : time. A. Frank. only call? A. Yes, N Frank Telephoned Him. Q. What did you do when the phone ring? A. I took down the receiver and said, ‘Hello!’ He said, ‘Hello,’ and said it was Mr. Frank. I said, ’Is this you. Mr. Frank?’ Then he said, 'How is everything. Newt?’ I ♦old him everything was all right and he hung up. Q. Had Frank ever called you be fore over the phone? A. No, sir. he never had. Q. Did he say where he was? A. No. sir. Q. Did you punch your clock every balf-hour Saturday night? A. Yes. sir; every half-hour from 6 o’clock until 1 found the body. Q. What did Mr. Frank say to you Sunday morning? A. He said the clock had been punched all right. Q. Did he say the clock had been punched regularly? A. Ye?, sir. Q. You say you pushed the clock every half-hour? Did you go to the toilet that night" A. Yes. sir. Q. Where did you go? A Up- stairs. Q. in you go to the 10:.ct again? A. Almost .1 o'clock. I wait ed because I wanted to go into th.e basement on my rounds, so I waited and went into th» toilet in the base- I inent. Q. How did you get down into the I basement? A. 1 went down the lad der and went back to the toilet. I set the ladder on the floor against I he side of the toilet. I came out of the toilet and stepped up a few feet. I don’t know Just how far. 1 looked 1 to see if the back door was all right, land to see if there was any flr> fn the basement. Then I saw' the body. At this Juncture Lee’s testimony began to differ materially with that of the officer®, who said that the body was lying face downward. Thought It Was Trick. I.ee continues: "I thought 1t was something some devilish boys had put there to scare me. 1 went over and saw’ it was a body and I g.it scared. Then I called the police. 1 tried to get Mr. Frank." Q.’ Whom did you call flrst ? A. 1 The poflee. Q. What did you say? A. I wai ; scared and f don’t know what 1 said. 1 I tried to tell them that 1 had found I a dead body. Q. How did you know the number of the police station” A. Mr. Frapk | gave it to me and* told me to call 1t if anything ever happened around the j plant. Q. How was the girl lying when you found her? A. On her back. (Officers had testified that they found her on her face.) Q.— How did you happen to see her? A.—1 saw her when I walked out to look for a fire. Didn't See Whole Body. Q. Did you walk beyond that par tition in the basement? A.—No, sir I just saw parts of her. 1 saw* her legs. Q. Did you put your hands on her? A.—No. sir. Q What kind of an examination of the body did you make? A None; 1 Just looked and saw’ that it was a dead body. Q.— Was her head toward you? A.— No. sir. 1 couldn't see her head until 1 had walked around. Q. Did you see any bruises on her? \ No. sir, I just blood and lots of dirt. Q How did you find her” A On the flat of her back. Waited for the Police. y How was the head? A. On one Q. You didn’t touch her or make any examination? A. No. sir; 1 didn’t touch her. Q. After you called the police, did you go down into the basement be fore they came? A. No. sir. y How did you come to turn her over? A I didn'. turn her over. y. How did vou know she was dead? A. I knew she was dead because she was there. There ain’t no white wom an going to be there if she ain’t dead. She was all dirt and bloody. 1 knew she was dead, boss. Q. Was Mr. Frank at the plant Sunday morning when the police took you back there? A. No. sir Didn’t Come in at Once. Q Did he come after you got there? A Y« \ sir. they sent an automobile Q. Was lie excited when he came ■5 ? A. He didn't come in right away. Q. Who have keys to the plant? A. Me and Mr. Frank and Mr. Darley. 1 don’t know who else. Q Did you ever let anyone in aft r 6 o’clock? A. No, sir Q. Did you lock the door at 0 o’clock? A. Yes. sir y. When do the fireman and the elevator man leave? A. I don’t know. They’re all gone when I get there. y. Who stays In the plant from half past 5 to 6 o’clock when you’re not there? A. Mr. Frank and the book keeper. and sometimes the lady who stays In the office. No One There After 6 o’Clock. y. Was anyone working there after 6 o’clock Saturday night? A. Not that 1 know of. There were no lights and all the windows were like I left them. Q. Did you see blood in the ma chinery room on Saturday night? A. No, sir; I had to go through the room where they say the lady was killed, but 1 never saw no blood. Q. Where are the dressing rooms? A. Why, there’s dressing rooms all over the building, boss. y. Did Mr. Frank say the < lock was punched all right? A. Yes, sir; on Sunday morning he said 1 had never lost a punch. * y. When did you first tell any one that Frank sent you away from the factory Saturday afternoon? A. 1 don't know when 1 told it. boss. Went to Basement Every Hour, y. Did Mr. Frank ever tell you that thej clock was not punched regularly la *t Saturday night? A. Yes. sir; lie told me on Monday morning that the clock was not punched right. y. How often did you go to the basement Saturday night'.’ A. Every hour, but only a few feet from the ladder Q. Could anyone have used the ele vator and you not know It? A. No, sir. Q. How was the body lying when you went back with the officers? A. Like I found it. y. On its face or on its back? A. The same way, boss. y. When did you turn out the gas? A. I didn’t turn it out. y. Was It burning when the officers came? A. Yes. sir. y. What kind of a lantern did you have? A Just an ordinary lantern, boss-. Q. Was the lantern dirty? A. Yes*, sir. Knew It Was White Girl. y. Could you tell by the light of the lantern whether the woman was white or black? A. Yes. sir; I could tell by the skin and by the hair. y. Was the head the only skin of the girl you saw? You didn't see her legs or her body? A. No, sir. Q. Do you know any of the opera tives? A. No, sir; they’re always gone when I get there. • Q. What is the back door for—the one in the basement? A. 1 don't know. y. Did you ever see it open? A. Yes. sir; last Friday morning. Had No Back Door Key. Q. Did you have a key to the back door? A. No, sir: the fireman had one. Q Was the fireman supposed to be there at nfght? A. No; he leaves when I get there. Q. What’s his name? A. Knox, y. is he a negro? A. Yes. Lee was excused end J. M. Gantt, who was* in the factory Saturday aft ernoon to get a pair of shoes he had left there, was called to be questioned by Coroner Donehoo and others. Went Down Scuttle Hole On Ladder to Reach Body Previous to Watchman Newt Lee’s testimony, three police officers, who were called to the pencil factory when Mary Phagan’s body was found, testi fied. Their testimony, with the ex ception of such parts as were unfit to print, follows: W. T. Anderson, police call officer on duty Sunday morning, was first witness. "We went over in an automobile to the pencil factory and the negro took us into the cellar where the body was found." he said. Anderson told of the location of the scuttle hole, from which a lad der led to the. basement, and of the location of the body. "At the foot of the ladder I did not find anything.” he went on. "On the left of the basement is a partition part of the way. forming a room. The body was at the lower end of the partition, a few inches from the partition and about six feet from the outside wall of the building. Her head was toward the from of the building. She was l> ing on her face. The cel lar was very dark. "I did not see the body until 1 reached It. There is a toilet 011 the opposite side of the basement, on the right side next to the boiler. There was rubbish, shavings and the like. 1 did not see any white trash lying about. "Sergeant L>obba picked up one of the notes while I was there. Think 1 could identify them." ^ On being shown several papers An derson selected one of the papers as one of the notes found. It was the note written on yellow paper. “We also found a tablet and a pen cil. There were four or five of us there, and 1 do not know who found it. "Right in front of the body on the right side, 1 found her left shoe and hat. She was dressed in a dark col ored dress. She had no shoe on her left foot. Her clothes were up to her knees. "Her lefi leg just below the knee the stocking was torn and her leg skinned. There was blood on her head, while her eyes were bloodshot. A piece of wrapping cord* and her underskirt band were tied around her neck. There was a cut on the back side of her head by the left temple. Her mouth and eyes were filled with dirt and sawdust. She was covered with so much dirt that I could not tell whether she was white or black, and had to pull down one of her stockings to toll whether she was white. Her legs below knees were also covered with dirt and sawdust. Staple Pulled From Door. "There was a staple pulled out of the lock at the back door. It is a side door. It has a bar with a hasp. There was a lock In the staple, but the door was closed. Sergeant Dobbs ... "There was blood on Her head, stomach and legs. 1 had a flashlight with me. Tiie watchman had tn Continued on Page 4, Column 1. LEE'S STORY OF SHIRT Negro Woman Says Man Accused of Phagan Crime Was Not Home Saturday Night. If Newt Lee, the watchman, went home on Saturday night and discard ed a bloody, stained shirt. Lorena Townes, the negro woman with whom he boarded, knows it. Lorena says Lee was not home on Saturday night. Detectives found the blood-stained shirt in an old barrel in Lee’s room, and around this point has b^en built the theory that after committing the crime the man went homo, changed his shirt, returned to the factory and then telephoned the police. Support ing this belief are the alleged omis sions in Lee’s time clock checks dur ing the night. Lee lived in a utile back room at 40 Henry Street; Lorena Townes sleeps in the front room opening on the porch. There is no hallway. There is a side door to Lee's room, but it is always locked from the inside, ac cording to Corinne Holsey, who lives in the other half of the house. Lee Had No TT«y. The door to Lee’s room opens into his chicken yard, the gate of which is always locked at night and the key kept in the house. Lee does not carry a gate key. His only access at night to his own room Is through the room of the woman who says she is his house keeper. She says she thinks she would have heard Lee if he had gone through her room Saturday night. Corine Holsey, in an adjoinihg room, separated by only a thin partition, thinks sht would have heard any un usual noises. Barrell Contains Rags. In Lee's room is an old barrel filled with rags and cast-off clothing. The Torous woman says she has never examined the contents of the barrel and supposed that Lee’s wife left it there. Lee’s wife ran away from him a few months ago and has not been heard from lately. Corine Holsey declared to-day she >ay Lee at about midday Saturday, in his back yard cutting wood and 1 hat he wore a brown flannel shirt. When Lee was arrested he wore a heavy shirt answering that descrip tion. HAYWOOD ON TRIAL AS INCITER OF STRIKE RIOTS PATERSON, N. J.. April 30.— Scores of deputy sheriffs and police men guarded the court of special sessions to-day for the arraignment of William D. Haywood. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Carlo Treska. Patrick Quinlan and Adolph Lessig, Industrial Workers of the World leaders, in dicted for inciting the Paterson silk mill strikers to riot. CROSLAND BANK SHORTAGE SAID TO TOTAL $10,000.00 MOULTRIE, GA.. April 30.—An au dit of the books of the Bank of Crop land. just completed by a State bank examiner sent to Crosland following the alleged confession of an official that he had embezzled several thou sand dollars of the bank’s funds, it is said reveals a shortage of $10,000. EDMONDSON RE-ELECTED AS MAYOR OF LAGRANGE I.ARRANGE. GA.. April 30.—J. D. Edmondson defeated P. H. Hutchin son for Mayor of LaGrange in the • ity primary yesterday by a vote of 385 to 140. Edmondson is the incumbent. The Oouncilmen were re-elected without opposition. Girl Parts Battling Newsies; Both Hurt Saves Lads, Armed With Club and Stone, From Serious Injury In Street Fight. Only the interference of a young woman who had the courage to take a hand in the melee saved Arthur Wilson and Johnnie VonLiebman, 13- year-old newsboys, from seriously in juring each other in Peachtree Street. Young VonLiebman attacked the Wilson lad with a heavy club, and the latter retaliated by banging a stone on VonLiebman’s head. Both were injured enough to cause their removal to the Grady Hospital for patching before being turned over to the probation officers. Mrs. Dodd's Funeral Set for To-morrow Well-Known Atlanta Woman Died Last Night at Aragon Hotel From Apoplexy. L The funeral of Mrs. Barbara C. Dodd, prominent. Atlanta woman, who died at her apartments in the Aragon Hotel last night as a result of a stroke of apoplexy Monday, will be held from Patterson’s Chapel to-morrow morn ing at 10:30 o’clock. The burial will be in Oakland Cemetery. Mrs. Dodd was reputed to have in herited an estate worth half a million at the death of her husband, Philip Dodd. The deceased is survived by on? sister. Mrs. Fannie Ackerman, of New York, and one brother. O. C. Dibble of Atlanta. N. C. ROADS ASK AID OF COMMERCE COMMISSION RALEIGH, N. C„ April 30.—Rail- road officials this afternoon finally declined to accept the Slate’s propo sition for a settlement of the North Carolina freight rate controversy, and urged that the whole matter be referred to the Interstate Commerce Commission. The conference now in progress here will be fruitless. The State claims rates from Vir ginia cities are inequitable. There was talk to-day of Governor Craig calling a special session of the Legis lature to consider this matter. NOTED BIBLE STUDENT TO SPEAK AT GRAND SUNDAY George B. Raymond, of Brooklyn, Bible student of note and eloquent speaker, will lecture af the Grand Sunday in the second of a series of weekly religious meetings. The flrst lecture was delivered by J. F. Ruth erford last Sunday. Considerable interest in the lectures Is being manifested. MANY ENTRIES RECEIVED FOR AUTO HILL CLIMB Arrangements are being made to day for the annual hill climb of the Atlanta Automobile and Accessory Association on Stewart Avenue May 17. L. S. Crane, chairman of the com mittee. to-day said entries this year would be larger than last. Many entries have been received. Brother Says Rich Italian’s Daughter Was Kidnaped by Their Father’s Secretary. PHILADELPHIA, April 30.—Lena Bussemy, the 16-vear-old daughter of Boston’s wealthiest Italian importer, who has been famous in art circles a.« a model, and who disappeared from her home a week ago, has been traced to this city by her brother and de tectives, who say she is held by black- hand abductors. The girl’s father, who is known as Mayor of Boston’s Italian quarter, re ceived many threatening letters which set forth that his daughter would be kidnaped. ft Frank Bussemy. who i« directing the search for his sister, say the kidnaping was carefully planned un der the leadership of his father’s for mer private secretary, for whom tiie police are searching. The detectives say that this man, Luigi Olivier, dis appeared at the same time the girl was lost sight of It was also discovered that $974. a personal fund which he had charge of. was also gone from his desk at the Bussemy place of business. It is .‘•’aid that two men compelled the girl to accompany them from the city by the use of drugs, which they forced her to take and which kept her in a semi-comatose condition. St. Louis Dedicates Jefferson Memorial Governor Edward F. Dunne, of Illi nois, Makes Address—Peace Envoys Attend. ST. LOUIS, April 30.—St. Louis is in gala spirit for the dedication cere monies which formally gave the Jef ferson memorial building in Forest Park into possession of the city. Thousands of visitors from Illinois, Missouri, the Southwest and the na tion in general, attended the cere monies—the largest crowd ever as sembled on a similar occasion in ihe city’s history. Governor Edward F. Dunne, of Il linois, and members of his offiei il staff arraived from Springfield. The Governor will deliver an address. Envoys to the fourth American Peace < ongresy which opens Thurs day, were guests. DR, B0WDOIN NEW HEAD OF ROYAL ARCH MASONS MACON, GA., April 30.—Dr. Joe P. Bovvdoin, of Adairsville, was this aft ernoon elected grand high priest of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Ma sons of Georgia. Judge H. W. Hill, of Atlanta, was elected grand sire, which means that in 1915 he will be chosen grand high priest. REPUBLICAN WOULD REPEAL FREE CANAL TOLL MEASURE VASHINtJTON. April 30.—Represen tative Britten, of Illinois, introduced a bill in the House to-day to repeal the free tolls section of the Panama Canal act. Britten declares free tolls is a thlnlj veiled ship subsidy for American ships. Drive away that tired feeling or it may drive you down hill so fast your health will be shattered. Put on the brakes. Hood’s Sarsaparilla stops the decline, purifies the blood, creates appe* tite and lifts one back to the crest of the hill —the summit of perfect health. Get it today. WOMEN STRIKE RIOTERS HURL STONES; ARRESTED AUBURN. N. Y.. April 30.—Six strikers, three women and three men, were arrested tr-day in riots near the International Harvester Company twine mill when employees who aban doned the strike and returned to work were met by 150 strike pickets. Stones | vi ere thrown, mostly by women. SEWELL’S SPECIALS FOR THURSDAY and FRIDAY We retail at wholesale prices. * Solid carload Fancy Lemons. .. 16c per doz. Solid carload Pine apples 9c each Solid carload New Irish Potatoes, per peck 3Ty 2 c 15c can Condensed Milk 8 l-3c 16c can Corn 7y 2 c 15c can Hominy .... 7y 2 c 15c can Salmon 5c 15c can String Beans 5c 1,000 pounds Fresh Country Butter, per pound 22V 2 c SEWELL COMMISSION CO. WHOLESALE AND RETAIL 11-13-15 Whitehall St. Branch Store, 164 Decatur St. ? FLOWERS and FLORAL DESIGN! ATLANTA FLORAL CO Both Phones Number 4. 41 Peachtrei rrfnTi mi’ri'? 1 if'if ATLANTA THEATER Matinees Wed. and Sat. Hlglita 15c to 60c ALL THIS WEEK Except Wed. A Thuri, Klghia Miss BILLY LONG And Company In A Butterfly on the Wheel First Time In Atlanta This Week Mats. Tues., Thurs., Sat. BILLY THE KID A DRAMA OF THE WEST. With the Young American Star, BERKELY HASWELL. Home Again With Vaudeville ETffcOCVTLS Met. To-day 2:30 runs! m To-night at 8:30 Sophye Barnard--Lou Angler & Co.—Chris NEXT VEEI Richards — Gaby — Heim Children—Barr 6ua Edwardi <£. Hope—Muriel & Kid Kabaret Francis and Others....