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MOTHER AND DAUGHTER DEAD IN FIRE
&
Coroner’s Jury Orders Strangely Missing Son Held
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AMERICAN
The Atlanta Georgian
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VOL. XI. NO. 254.
ATLANTA, <iA„ THURSDAY, MAY 29, 1913.
Copyright, 1906. O PlTXfTC f AT NO
By The Georgian Co. - GJ1.JN 1 O
MORE
EXTRA
Police Secure Admission From
Negro Sweeper During Exam
ination for Phagan Clews.
James Conley, negro sweeper, in an
affidavit made Wednesday, said that
he was lying when he said he went
to the National Pencil Factory on
Friday. Ho said that he made the,
statement that it was Friday when
Frank (as ho says) told him to write
the death notes, because he was
afraid he would be accused of the
murder of Mary Phagan if he told
l the tru'h.
He said he felt that if he said he
»was there Saturday the police would
connect him with the murder. Con
ley said he got up between 9 and 9:30
o’clock Saturday morning, he knew
the time because he looked at the
clock on the Atlanta University from
his front door. He returned indoors
and had breakfast.
He got three silver dollars from
his wife to exchange for paper money
so that she would not lose it. He
continued:
"I told mv wife I was going to
Peters Street. I went toPeters Street
and stopped at a beer saloon at
Peters and Haynes Streets*. I bought
two beers in there, drank one mysflf
and gave another to a man named
Bob. I stayed in the barroom three
cr four minutes and then walked
back to the pool table and shot dice
with four men. One of them was
named Joe Bobs and one Bob Wil
liams. I won 90 cents.
Drank Some Whisky.
“I don’t know' how long we had
been shooting, but I think it was
about fifteen minutes. ( left there
then and went to Erler saloon on
Peters Street. I bought a glas? of
beer there. I walked back to the rear
of the place, rolled a cigarette, came
back and bought a half pint of
whisky. I drank part of the whisky.
I started from there to the Capital
City Laundry to see my mother.
“I met Mr. Frank at the corner of
Forsyth and Nelson Streets. He
stopped me and asked me where I
was going. I told him I was going
to the Capital City Laundry to see
my mother. He said, 'Wait 'til I
come back.’
hi "He said he was going to see Mr.
Montague. He was* gone about 20
minutes. He came back and told me
to come to the factory, that he want
ed to see me. I w'ent w-ith him, walk
ing behind him. He stopped at the
Curtis drug store at Mitchell and
Forsyth and got a drink. I waited
for him outside. Frank had a bundle
in his hand.
"After we got to the factory he put
the bundle in the trash barrel right
near the steps. He put a box there
for me to sit on and other boxes back
further in the factory. He told me
to sit there until he whistled. He told
me not to let Darley see me.
Tells of Seeing Darley.
“Along came a woman down stair?,
Miss Mattie, 1 think her name was.
She had on a dark suit and a rain
coat. She carried a parasol. (This
was Miss Mattie Smith). Then Dar
ley came down stairs. He wore a
grey suit and had no hat. He stopped
Mis® Mattie at the front door. She
was wiping her eyes like she was
crying. I heard him say, 'Don’t
worry, I will see that you get that
next week.’
“She went out and he went bacK
up the steps. In a few minutes he
came back down and left. Then came
Holloway down stairs about five min
utes after Darley left. Holloway
stood on the sidewalk five or six
minutes and then came back.
tJ Then a negro drove up to the fac
tory in a wagon. He went upstairs.
He had some bills in hi? hand. Hollo-
’Vajr came back with the negro, who
was pegleg. The negro drove away
and Holloway went back upstairs.
Continued on Page 2, Column 1.
M LOMKW
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GEN. YOUNG REELECTED
VETERANS’ COMMANDER
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Try Macon Man for
Shooting Neighbor
MACON, GA., May 28—Mallary
Bedtngrfleld, a prominent Macon busi
ness man, Is on trial In Superior Court
to-day, charged with assault with In
tent to murder, because of the shoot-
ing last November of his next-door
neighbor, Fred Guttenberger, an or
chestra leader, whom he mistook foi
a burglar,
Mr. and Mrs. Guttenberger wert
the principal witnesses for the State.
Mr. Bedingfield told the jury that he
fired toward the ground and one of
the bullets deflected, striking Mr. Gut
tenberger
Georgia Millionaire
Weds Sister-in-Law
NEW YORK, May 28.—Thomas Mc
Millan, Savannah millionaire, member
of the firm of McMillan Brothers,
manufacturers of copper turpentine
stills, was married to-day to Miss Ma
mie Bliss, of Savannah, sister of his
first wife and for the last seven years,
sine# her sister’s death, in charge of
the McMillan household
The bride wa? visiting her sister,
Mrs. Edmund Uslna, in this city, w'hen
Mr. McMillan met her here. The wed
ding came as a surprise.
Gen. Lomax, Dixie
War Veteran. Dead
WASHINGTON, May 28. -General
Lindsay LunflSTord Lomax, Confed
erate officer In the war between the
States, died at Providence Hospital
to-day. He was 78 years old. Fu
neral services will be held to-mohrow
at his old home In Warrenton, Va.
General Lomax was taken to the
hosp'tal about two weeks ago with a
fractured hip, the result of a fall
while visiting his daughter in War
renton
Wilson Would End
Party Conventions
WASHINGTON, May 28.—The ab
olition of political conventions for
nominating purposes and the elimi
nation of the electoral college were
advocated by President Wilson to-day
in a talk with Representative Britten,
of Illinois.
The President told the Congressman
that he long has favored the shorten
ing of the ballot and he believes the
abolition of the electoral college would
accomplish this purpose.
Athletic Preacher
Saves Child’s Life
TAMPA, FLA., May 31.—The Rev.
J. E. Skinner, athletic paator of the
Palm Avenue Baptist Church, saved
the life of 9-year-old Alberta Robin
son at a church picnic at Sulphur
Springs, when the child, with 30 or
40 others, was In bathing. She slip
ped from the shallow part of the pool
into water more than tw r enty feet
deep and had gone dowm twice when
Rev. Mr. Skinner reached her. She
was resuscitated.
Bride Given $2 in 2.
Months Asks Divorce
Asserting that since she was mar
ried two months ago her husband, L.
P. Ellison, had contributed only $2
to her support, Mrs. Flora Ellison has
filed suit for divorce and alimony.
She obtained a r.e exeat bond of
$200, requiring Ellison to remain in
the State until the hearing, set for
June 7. She alleged that he had
threatened to leave the State if she
sued.
A wonderful magazine given
FREE with every copy of the
next Sunday American.
Alabama Monument Dedicated
At Confederate
Reunion.
CHATTANOOGA, TENN„ May 28.
General Bennett Young was re-elected
commanler-in-chief of the United
Confederate Veterans here late this
afternoon.
The only aspirant to the office held
by General Young was General K. M.
VanZant, of San Antonio, Texas, who
had a fairly formidable following.
General Irvine Walker, chairman of
the committee appointed at the Ma
con reunion to co-operate with a
committee of the Grand Army of the
Republic in regard to a joint peace
jubilee of the two organizations, sub
mitted a report recommending that at
leapt 10,000 Confederate veterans at
tend.
The dedicatory exercises of the
Alabama and Florida monuments this
morning drew thousands of veterans
and the attendance at the morning
session was unusually light.
Action by the veterans on a resolu
tion asking the Federal Government
to purchase Johnson’s Island in Lake
Erie, near Sandusky. Ohio, will be
taken Thursday morning, according
to a committee report submitted to
day. Thousands of Confederate vet
erans who died in Northern prison?
are buried there and a monument has
been erected to them on the island by
the women of the South, at a cost of
$30,000. It is stated that tne island
will b^.obliterated as a historic point
unlesp immediate action is taken to
preserve it.
Major W. P. Gorman, a Birming
ham veteran, who fpll yesterday and
sustained a fractured skull, lies at the
point of death at a local hospital to
day.
Jack London’s new story,
‘' The Scarlet Plague, ’ ’ begins in
the American Monthly Magazine
given free with every copy of
next Sunday’s American.
Miss Ruth Johnson, of Cleveland, Tenn.. maid of honor for
Tennessee Division. Sons of Confederate Veterans, and below,
Miss Katherine Todhunter, of Lexington, Mo., maid of honor
for Missouri Division, United Confederate Veterans.
JACK LONDON'S
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Oil Flows to Black
smith Forge; Town
In Ruins; 3 Dead
TULSA. OKLA.. May 28.—Four
hundred gallons of gasoline from an
overturned tank trickled down the
main street of Kiefer late yesterday.
Forty feet away a tiny stream ran
into the village blacksmith shop and
the gasoline touched the red hot coals
of the smith's forge.
There was a series of low rumb
ling explosions, a blinding flash of
flame and on the ground lay eight
persons, badly burned.
An hour later the building and
yards of a lumber company and six
homes were in ruins
Three of the injured men died in
Tulsa last night.
Kidnaps Sixth Child;
Has ‘Parental Mania’
NEW YORK. May 28.—The entire
police force of Greater New York is
searching to-day for Anna Boyarsky,
aged 18, who is suffering from “par
ental mania,’’ ~{Thd who Is at large
somewhere with a kidnaped child in
her possession—the sixth she ha®
stolen in two years.
The victim is Frieda Lieberwlta.
aged 4. whose parent® live next door
to Anna’s mother in Brooklyn.
Clyde Ship Calls
Help by Wireless
CHARLESTON, S. C., May 28—The
Clyde line freight steamer. Katahdin,
is lying disabled off the North Caro
lina coast, according to an Interrupt
ed wireless message received here.
An electrical storm put the wire
less station out of commission as the
message was being received, and the
nature and extent of the Katahdin’s
injuries could not be ascertained.
To Legalize Hotel
Register Marriages
TALLAHASSEE, FLA., May 28 —
Senator Himes' common marriage
bill, providing that any man and
woman who register at a hotel as
man and wife gre duly married,
passed the Senate by an overwhelm
ing majority.
The measure Is expected to pass
the House without opposition.
Two Georgians Get
Army Commissions
WEST POINT, N. Y.. May 28 —
Ninety-two new officers will be ad
ded to Uncle Sam’s army on June
12 by the graduation of the first
class of the corps of cadets at the
United States Military Academy.
Two Georgians are in the class:
David 3. Falk and Allan G. Thur
man.
‘Grape Juice’ Habit
Spreads to Thieves
COLUMBUS. GA., May 28.—Fol
lowing the example set by Secretary
of Stale William J. Bryan, burglars
who entered Armour & Company’s
place, in this city, only drank grape
juice while lunching on bolog
na sausage and other edibles they
found in the place.
Only one case of the grape juice was
molested.
Suffrage Bill Near
Passage in Illinois
SPRINGFIELD. ILL., May 28.—The
bill giving women in Illinois the ballot
to-day needed only thirteen votes in
the House in order to paa®.
Suffrage advocates are busy trying
to line un this number of votes
Coroner’s Jury Decides Pair Were
Murdered, and Recommended That
Missing Son Be Apprehended and
Held for Investigation; Jewels Gone
T. H. P. Fincher, a Justice of the
peace in DeKalb County, held an in
quest over the charred bodies of Mr».
S. C. Stevens and her adopted daugh
ter, Nellie Stevens, Wednesday after
noon. The jury decided the two wo
men had been murdered and recom
mended that Wade Stevens, son of
Mr. and Mr?. S. C. Stevens, who is
missing, be apprehended and held for
investigation.
The inquest was held at the ruins
of the Stevens home.
The jury made a search of the
ruins and found that a $400 diamond
ring worn by Mrs. Stevens, the two
gold watches worn by Mrs. Stevens
and the girl, and two revolvers were
missing.
Mis? Josephine McCauley, of 791
Glenwood Avenue said Mrs. Stevens
told her, a short while ago. that she
had had a half-breed Indian working
around the house, but had discharged
him because he made Insulting re
marks to Miss Nellie Stevens. He had
returned two nights later and prowled
about the house, when Mrs Stevens
?hot at him.
Two Found in Burned Home.
That the mother and girl whose
charred remains were found in the
ruins of their home seven miles
southeast of Atlanta early Wednesday
morning were murdered and the house
set afire by the murderer in an effort
to obliterate all evidence of the deed
was the astounding declaration made
by Sheriff J. A. McCurdy after an in
vestigation of the tragedy.
Positive identifications of the two
women as Mrs. S, C. Stevens, 40
years old, wife of William Stevens.
8 70-year-old Confederate veteran
now in Chattanooga at the reunion,
and their adopted daughter, Nellie
Stevens. 13 years old, were made by
neighbors
Conditions leading up to the theory
that the deaths were the result of
murder are these:
The charred bodies of the wom
en wore found lying in the oenter
of a bod room in the rear of the
cottage. Near at hand were the
remaine of a shotgun.
Mrs. Stevens’ skull had been
crushed in. A hoe found in what
had been the hallway leading
from the room is believed to have
been the instrument used to strike
the woman as she arose from her
bed, with the shotgun, to meet
the intruder.
That the door of the room was
open at the time of the en:ounter
is believed to add another link to
prove the affair a murder.
The method in which the daughter
met her death could not be ascer
tained, owing to the charred condition
of her body.
Son Quarreled With Mother.
Inquiry among the neighbors de
veloped the fact that Wade Steven?,
the 16-year-old son, who disappeared
from his home Tuesday afternoon,
had quarreled with his mother and
sister.
Mrs. L. G. Self, who lives a short
distance from the Stevens home, told
Sheriff McCurdy that the boy had a
tilt with his parent because she would
not permit him to come to Atlanta
during the absence of his father.
Mr®. Self stated that Nellis Stevens
had appeared at her home with a
package of Wade's clothing, which
she asked Mr®. Self to keep that nigh*
to prevent the boy from disobeying
his mother anu leaving the house.
This statement, counled with osiers.
to the effect that Wade Stevens had
on numerous occasions acted in an
infractious manner—at one time
snatching $65 from his mother’? hand
and running away—have led Sheriff
McCurdy to start a hunt for him in
order that he may be questioned in
connection with the murder.
The house was burned during the
night. Its ruins were first discovered
at 8 o’clock Wednesday morning by
J. A. Nelms, who was passing the
scene in a milk wagon. Nelms, after
viewing the smoking embers of the
building, summoned J. L. Cowan, a
neighbor, and notified the county po
lice.
When Sheriff McCurdy arrived on
the scene the remains of the tw'o
women already had been found by
Nelms and Cowan. Mrs. Stevens w'aa
identified by her false teeth.
When the bodies had been taken
out of the ruins they were exam
ined. Mrs. Stevens’ skull was seen to
have been crushed in.
It was this fact that first led the
authorities to suspect foul play. Care
ful examination of the surrounding
embers in the place where the bodies
were found brough to light a shotgun
barrel, the stock and woodwork of
which had been burned off.
The w'eapon was seen to have been
close to tho positions where the bodies
were discovered.
Slain as They Left Beds.
That the women had left their beds
before they met their deaths was an
other conclusion drawn by Sheriff
McCurdy. The bodies lay in the cen
ter of the floor while the iron frames
of the beds were over in a corner
the room.
The door to the room was open.
Its half demolished frame still stands
In the ruinj. Just outside the door
the hoe was found.
Sheriff McCurdy's theory is th.it
the murderer fled through the door,
casting the hoe with which he had
slain the women in the hall. That
the plan to set fire to the house and
burn the bodie® to hide the crime
came as a second thought.
The house was about 50 yards from
the road in a clump of trees. It is
In a lonely spot and the nearest
neighbor is beyond earshot. That
the screams of the women would not
have been heard Is safe to conclude.
Girl’s Skull Crushed.
Another development that fends to
show murder, came with the discov
ery that the skull of Nellie Stevens
had been fractured, also. A sharp
crack across the top of the head
showed possibility that a knifelike
weapon had been Used, striking with
such force as to cleave the bone.
The positions of the bodies in the
ruins tend to bear this theory out
—that the murderer had struck the
girl with his hoe after crushing Mrs.
Stevens’ skull.
Mrs. Stevens' skull, it was shown,
was crushed in by a blow directed at
her from in front. Her body was
found just three feet from the door
way. Directly behind this lay the
body of Nellie Stevens.
It is thought that Mrs. Stevens,
when she took up the shotgun and
started toward the door at the
sound of the intruder, was followed
by her daughter. When the older
woman opened the door. Nellie was
directly behind her. The murderer,
then, if he stood just without the
doorway, with hoe In hand, struck
Mrs. Stevens first. With a second
blow he felled the girl behind her.
Open Knife Under Girl’s Body.
The gun barrel was found close to
the bodies of the women and the
hoe was found out in the hallway.
Continued on Paae 2. Column *