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MOTHER AND DAUGHTER DEAD IN FIRE & Coroner’s Jury Orders Strangely Missing Son Held ALWAYS FIRST The SUNDAY AMERICAN The Atlanta Georgian Read for Profit—GEORGIAN WANT ADS—Use for Results Order It NOW Both Phones Main 8000 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 ''Lais/anJ Gr&fcrf Sj&y/Nvt?/ TAe SVARIIT PLAGUE Dedins at ERIE MAGAZINE GEN. YOUNG REELECTED VETERANS’ COMMANDER GIVEN WITH NEXT SMH 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 stjJ (jjioi&r/ Sjiar/Mve/ Ik JCARlfT PLAfflU Dc-din? rsi FREE MAGAZINE GIVEN WITH NEXT nnn 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 *