Atlanta Georgian. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, May 31, 1913, Image 3

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THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS 3 S SEISED F II HNS S Suspicion Points to Former Employes and Woods Near the Scene Are , Scoured—Violence Feared if Sus pected Couple Are Captured. In an effort to locate Walter Wilkes and Ernest Maynard, the negro and the halfbreed sought as suspects in the murder of Mrs. Sarah C. Stevens and her daughter, Nellie Stevens, and the burn ing of their lonely country home, Sheriff J. A. McCurdy, of DeKalb County, and Detective Rosser on Saturday are scouring the coun try near the Stevens farm. Mounted on horseback and equipped to stay in the woods for several days, the officers purpose to question every person within a radius of five miles, in order to gather all available information regarding the crime, and to obtain, if possible, information that will lead to the capture of Wilkes and Maynard. The officers plan also to make! another and more thorough search of the Stevens home for possivle clews, and probably will ,have the well dragged. No Clews in the Well. The latter, however, has about been abandoned as a possible hiding 1 place of clews. A newspaper man went down into the well at the end of the rope during one of the investigations and found nothing in a fifteen-minute search. Sheriff McCurdy announced this morning that he has entirely elimi nated Wade Stevens, son of the mur dered woman, and that all his efforts will be directed toward the capture of Wilkes and Maynard. Both young ^tevens and his chum, “Red” Mer chant. were taken to Decatur by the Sheriff late Friday afternoon, and re leased. It is not thought that the negro and the halfbreed are in Atlanta. De tectives* have searched every negro hiding place in the city and have found no trace of them. It has been learned, through the statements of 1 Wade Stevens and several of the ne gro's friends, that Wilkes was .n town last Tuesday, the day of the murder, but no trace can be found of him since that time. Boy's Story is Proven. A five-hour investigation of the scene of the crime and the surround ing country Friday afternoon de veloped the fact that Wade Stevens was* telling the truth when he said he left his home about 8 o’clock Tues day morning, that the man whom I.. G. Self saw loitering about the Ste vens home late Tuesday afternoon was not Wade, and that the negro and the half-breed who are now under sus picion. Walter Wilkes and Earnest Maynard, have been suspected of be ing connected with several petty crimes in the neighborhood, and are ' considered two of the most treacher ous negroes in that section of the 'country. Wade’s story of leaving home Tues day morning was corroborated by J. L. Cowan, who lives a mile beyond the Stevens home, and who is one of the most prosperous farmers of the section. Mr. Cowan stated positively that on last Tuesday morning about 10 o’clock he met young Wade Stev ens in the road about a mile and a half from the Stevens home. The boy, Mr. Cowan said, was walking slowly. They exchanged greetings, Mr. Cowan said, but had no conver sation. It is not thought that any valu able information will be developed from L. G. Self’s story of seeing a man loitering about the Stevens’ home Tuesday afternoon. Mr. Self, who is the neighbor to whom Nellie Stevens took her brother’s clothing, said he passed the Stevens home about 6 o’clock Tuesday afternoon, and saw a man walk from the front of the house to the rear and disap pear behind the building. Did Not Identify Man. The little girl, Nellie Stevens, was at the other side of the house feed ing the ducks. It was first reported that Mr. Self had identified the man he saw as Wade Stevens. He said Friday afternoon that he saw’ only the man’s back and could not identify him. He Maid he could not tell how he was dressed, how large a man he was, or whether he w T as a white man or a negro. Thomas H. Morgan, a milk wagon driver employed by C. A. Nelms, the first man to drive into the Stevens yard after the fire Raid he passed the Stevens home about fifteen mlnuten after Mr. Self, and that he saw no one, neither the man nor the girl, in the yard. A light in one of the front windows was the only evidence of life. No one could be located during the investigation Friday who had seen any strange negroes or white men in the neighborhood of the Stevens home, either during the day or on the night of the murder. It was learned that the two negroes who were seen driving a wagon loaded with oats from the general direction of the Stevens home were in the em ploy of J. L. Cowan, and were hauling the oats to market. Negroes Called Worthless. Evidence that the negroes Wilkes and Maynard were shiftless, treach erous negroes who would stop at nothing to gain their ends continues to pile up, and the neighbors and C.»9'* W " t |o»s Susav®C * f cotSc Sunday \tne rican French Playwright Still Is Pondering Reporters’ Queries Special Cable to The Atlanta Georgian. PARIS, May 81.—In an article print ed in to-day’s issue of L’lllustration, Pierre Loti, the famous French play wright and author, says that the fol lowing are some of the question ask ed him by reporters upon his recent visit to New York: Are you an anarchist? Are you an idiot? Are you in favor of polygamy? . What are your views on rhinoceros hunting? Are you feeble-minded? • What is your income? Were you ever in jail or an insane asylum? Do you believe in the sterilization of criminals? What do you think of American girls? (Loti had only been in Amer ica an hour.) Can you cook? Would you marry a suffragette? Isn’t America a great country? 200-MILE INTERCOASTAL CANAL IN TEXAS OPENED GALVESTON, TEXAS, May 31.— The last cut in dredging the Inter- coastal Canal, which permitted the waters of the Brazos and San Ber nard Rivers to mingle and opened to Texas a new 200-mile inland water way for navigation from Galveston to Corpus Christi, w’as completed to day. P ROMINENT figures at the unveiling of the Maine monument Friday and the celebration attending the event. In the group are Mrs. William Randolph Hearst and her three sons—to the right, George Hearst, who performed the actual unveiling; William Randolph Hearst, Jr., to the left, and John Randolph Hearst, in the center. At the top, to the left, is Miss Marion Gay- nor, who laid on the monument the wreath contributed by the city; below, to the left, Admiral Sigsbee, commander of the ill-fated Maine; the battleship South Carolina, and, below, the Rev. Father Chidwick, chaplain of the Maine. friends of the Stevens family firmly believe that when the police appre hend them they will have caught the murderers of the woman and her daughter. Even members of their own race declared Friday that Wilkes and May nard were bad men, and would not hesitate to kill to obtain money. One of the negro farmers of the vicinity, Eulice Hambrick, living about three miles from the scene of the crime, declared that he would not trust Wilkes and Maynard as far as he could see them. He said they threat ened to kill him once because he tried to collect some money they owed him. Wilkes and Maynard boarded with Hambrick last January and Febru ary, shortly after Wilkes returned from a two-year trip to the North, Hambrick said, and both owe him money that he had loaned them to purchase shoes. Wilkes owes him $7 and Maynard $4. He said he asked them for the money at one time, and the negroes threatened to kill him. Tells of Half Threat. “We’re going to get some money from Mrs. Stevens some of these days,’’ Maynard and Wilkes are said to have told Hambrick. Maynard was working for Mrs. Stevens at the time, and Wilkes was working for Samuel Farris. Hambrick said he has not seen either Wilkes or Maynard since Wilkes was discharged from Mrs. Stevens’ employ, but has heard of them being in Atlanta. He said both the negroes had often talked of the large amount of money Mrs. Stevens had, and they also had remarked that she probably kept a lot of money about the house. To a number of farmers in the neighbors, for whom they have work ed, Wilkes and Maynard have de clared that the Stevens family had lots of money, and they also had ex pressed their opinion that they kept a large sum about the house. Wilkes told Mr. Cowan at one time that “Mrs. Stevens is mighty good pay; she’s got all kinds of money,” and he said he would like to have some of it. To a number of farmers. Wilkes Is also said to have declared that “Nellie Stevens is a mighty pretty girl.” Came Three Years Ago. The negro Wilkes first appeared in the territory near the murder a little more than three years ago. He told the farmers he came from LaGrange, but more recently had been living in Atlanta, working on the streets. He worked for a number of farmers in the neighborhood during the next year, among them Samuel Farris, J. L. Cowan and a man named Bacon near Henrico, and C. A. Nelms. About two years ago. while Wilkes was working for Mr. Nelms and was alone on the place, the Nelms home was robbed and several hundred pennies, stolen. The next day Wilkes was seen with a quantity of pennies, and suspicion was directed to him. He left the country at once. He returned to Atlanta last Decem ber, and, after working in town for a month, went into the country and obtained employment with Samuel Farris, a farmer living within a mile of the Stevens place. At that time. Maynard was working for Mrs. Ste vens. and the two hegroes became partners. Wilkes lived in a cabin on the Farris place and Maynard lived in the cabin on the Stevens farm. The time of the negroes-was about equally divided between the two farms. Their conversation with farm ers and negroes duripg this period usually began and ended with guesses as to the amount of money Mrs. Ste vens had. After Maynard was discharged from the Farris place he endeavored to get a job with Mr. Cowan, and borrowed $8 as advance wages. Wilkes stood good for the money, which Mr. Cowan declares has never been paid. Mr. Cowan says Wilkes told him, after Maynard refused to pay, that he w’ould pay as soon as he could get some money from Mrs. Stevens, which he declared would be soon. Got Work With Farris. This money was borrowed from Mr. Cowan on March 28. and a few days later Wilkes was discharged from Mr. Farris’ place and secured Maynard’s job with Mrs. Stevens. Mr. Farris said he discharged Wilkes because the negro was treacherous and dan gerous, despite his protestations of religion and statements that he was a preacher. Maynard then obtained employment with Mr. Farris, and his Intimacy w ith Wilkes continued. Maynard was finally discharged by Mr. Farris, and even though he had no job he remained in the counttV, spending most of his time with Wilkes at the Stevens farm. About a month c,r three weeks ago Mrs. Stevens dis charged Wilkes for the sam§ reason she had previously discharged May nard—he insulted Nellie Stevens, and was several times seen ledTlng in their windows while they were dressing. Wilkes and Mavnard left the Ste vens’ home together, and have not been seen since, save by Mrs. Ste- \ ens. Wade Stevens’ story that Wilkes and Maynard have been seen prowling around his home tince their discharge was corroborated Friday by members of the Cowan family. Last Saturday afternoon while visiting at the Cowan home Mrs. Stevens said she feared the two negroes, and declared that they had several times come there and asked for money. DeKalb Fighting For Farm School Representative Smith to Make Plea at Meeting in Decatur—Candler Will Speak. R. F. Smith, Representative-elect from DeKalb County, will discuss the pro posed authorization by the legislature of an agricultural school for the Fifth Congressional District at a meeting Monday in the court house at Decatur. Mr. Smith will also do all in his power to have this school located in DeKalb County. The agricultural school for the Fifth Congressional District is located in Wal ton County, but by the recent re-dis tricting of the State, Walton County was taken out of the Fifth Congressional District, so this district has no agri cultural school at all. To remedy this condition, both mem bers of the Legislature from DeKalb County, Mr. Smith and Alonzo M. Field, will endeavor to have a new school au thorized for the Fifth District, and the people of DeKalb County will endeavor to have the school located in DeKalb County. At the same time Dr. A. M Soule, of the State University, will address the farmers of DeKalb County on the agri cultural possibilities of the county. As June 3 is the birthday anniversary of Jefferson Davis, a patriotic address will be made by C. M. Candler, chairman of the State Railroad Commission, on the life and work of Jefferson Davis. The Agnes Lee chapter of the Daugh ters of the Confederacy, the Clement A. Evans Camp of the Confederate Vet erans. the Farmers’ Union of DeKalb County, and the Decatur Board of Trade will all unite to make this occa sion a success. W. J. Dabney, presi dent of the Decatur Board of Trade, will preside. Jack London’s new story, “The Scarlet Plague,’’ begins in the American Monthly Magazine given free with every copy of the Sunday American. Photo b'* e«mf»ee.u- <?;todio Young Aviator Falls To Death at Chicago CHICAGO, May 31.—James Calo- van, an aviator, waR killed when his Curtiss biplane fell at Cicero Field to-day. Calovan was 22 years old. He had been flying for a year and a half and was regarded ns a careful avia tor. Calovan ascended early and had been in the air about half an hour. He was outside the flying grounds and was returning to descend within the inclosure. The wings of his ma chine became entangled In the branches of a tree. Before he could regain control, the machine plunged earthw’ard and Calovan was crushed beneath it. Japanese Prepare New Alien Protest Special Cable to The Atlanta Georgian. TOKIO, May 31.—That the Japa nese Foreign Office Is formulating an other note of protest against the Cali fornia anti-alien land law, which will be forwarded to Secretary of State Bryan, became known to-day. The Idea that the United States Government has issued Its final word on the involved issues is prevalent here. THETIGHTSKIRT Say It Is Hygienic, Non-Germ Carrying and Corrects Bad Walking. CHICAGO. May 31.—At a meeting of a branch of the local Medical So ciety 25 doctors went on record as favoring tight skirts for women as hygienic, artistic and comfortable. Of this mind were Drs. Maurice B. Wolff and Norman Curry, who spoke on the subject.. “Plaited and wide skirts are the finest little germ carriers that were ever invented,” said Dr. Curry. “When I saw the woman of a few’ years ago switching that wide, germ-laden skirt from a public street car into her home l shuddered.” Dr Arthur R. Reynolds had decid edly definite* views. “As long as the Individual can walk to her own per sonal comfort,” he said, “the narrow skirt is a splendid thing. It is not the germ carrier that the wider skirt Is. Moreover, ir you have ever noticed It often corrects a bad walk. Amer ican women think it Is stylish and pretty to turn their feet out at right angles while walking. This a nar row skirt makes it difficult to do; therefore, it is a good thing. The Indian walked naturally and turned his toes slightly in. The narrow skirt is gradually correcting a manner of walking that was purely breaking down the arch of American women’s feet.” DANIELS TO STOP NAVT RESIGNATION Officers Will Have to Be Physi cally Disabled in Future to Leave Service. WASHINGTON, May 31.—Officers of the navy who have their health will not be allowed to resign here after. The department Is determined to break up the practice of men re ceiving military and nautical train ing, afforded *ree by the Naval Acad emy at Annapolis, and then “jump ing the job” for higher pay at the first attractive opportunity. The department Issued some months ago a pronouncement against the permission to midshipmen and passed cadets to resign from the service without physical deficiency compelling retirement. Secretary Daniels was asked: “At what grade In the service will the line against resignations be drawn hereafter?” “At no point,” was the prompt re sponse. “There can be no excuse ac ceptable to the Navy Department for the resignation of an officer who has his health and the necessary amount of physical vigor. It will not be tol erated. “It is not fair to the Government that a man sliould go for four years to Annapolis and receive compensa tion while he is engaged in his studies be graduated after having been the Government’s charge for that long and then disregard the obligation of service he owes to his Government. This applies to all ranks. There will be few exceptions.” Baltimore Stages Suffrage Pageant BALTIMORE. MD„ May 31.—Bal timore to-day joined the sisterhood of cities which have staged demon strations in advocacy of woman suf frage. The local suffrage organiza tion turned out in force to do honor to the morality play written by Mrs. Christian Hemmick, Washington so ciety leader, and produced at the Lyric Thtater this afternoon for the benefit of the cause. Late to-day Baltimore and Wash ington suffragists will form a pageant which will march through the streets. Heiress Wore Four Pairs of Stockings WHITE PLAINS, May 31.—A jury In the Supreme Court decided that Miss Susan A. Penfleld, a spinster, 61 years old, was competent to look after herself but incompetent to care for her property. Miss Penfleld In herited an estate worth $80,000. It was testified that Miss Penfleld wore four pairs of stockings at one time, that she smoked cigarettes and dfank whisky. WHY YOU SHOULD GET A KODAK Because Kodaking is de cidedly the most popular and universal amusement in the world. Years ago Ko daking was a fad, and the owner of a Kodak was call ed a “ Kodak fiend.” Now adays everybody Kodaks. A Kodak is a positive ne cessity to round out any kind of pleasure. Picnics, outings, vacations, etc., are comparatively dull without a Kodak. Kodak pictures (snap-shots) are a perma nent record of the most en joyable moments in your life—the best possible argu ment in favor of a Kodak. Then, they are easy to operate; a mere child can handle one successfully. The price—well, that should be the least of your trou bles, when you can get a practical little Brownie for $1, $2, $3, $4 and up. Larger Kodaks $5, up to $65. Send for catalog and new finishing price list. A. K. HAWKES CO, KODAK DEPT. 14 WHITEHALL FIELD GLASS ; For your vacation trip, all styles and CORRECT prices, at John L. Moore & Sons, 42 North Broad Street. SOUTH GEORGIA FARMS, Dakota, Turner Co. Terms: 10 per cent cash, balance 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 years, 6 per cent. Il lustrated booklet FREE. Write to-day. Edwin P. Ans- ley, Realty Trust Bldg., At lanta, Ga. A HOUSE PAINT That makes the painter’s work count STERLING PAINT Phnncc- M. Ills IS liP.nuND SO THOROUGHLY AND MIXED ruuut:;>. Atl 329 S(l accurately that it defies burning SUN AND 30AKING RAIN. BEFORE YOU PAINT. LOOK INTO IT. FOR EVERY USE.” ”WE HAVE A PAINT