Atlanta Georgian. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, June 03, 1913, Image 2

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2 THE ATLANTA GEORG 1 \N AND NEWS. takt Ctdv A bo ] the tho> ES FiGHT ON PAYING ICiES HELD BY PUNIER Continued From Page 1. her of his immediate family—his wife or daughter—or his firm. The total am on lit "was divided about equally between them. Some two or three months ago, it has been reported to the life insurance companies concerned, Painter began taking chloral, per haps for nervousness. It is charged that shortly before his death, he became a very heavy user of the drug. When his body was recovered from the St. Johns River, and the suspicion that all was not right became fixed in the minds of the insurance companies, it was determined to set on foot a rigid probe of his death, and its cause, also all the circumstances bearing upon it. Paid No Haed to Reaouera. Although Painter was an expert by.immer, when he fell from the ferry boat, he Is said to have sunk like a log. A rope was thrown to him, but he paid no attention to it. He had been coughing violently JuK before he fell Into the water, and It was to relieve this cough that he is supposed to have taken chloral. Ap parently, so those on the boat say, the man was dead before he struck the water. It is theorized that his system had been overwhelmed with chloral, and that his death was directly due to that drug, rather than to drowning. These Initial circumstances were suspicious enough in the eyes of the insurance companies, and they pro ceeded to a calm and deliberate in vestigation, before authorizing the payment of the policies. Their decision to have the dead man’s vital organs analyzed for the purpose of determining just how much chlornl there likely was in his system at the time of his death was in line with the advice of their medi cal and legal advisers. Now that the dead man’s organs seem to have dsi- appeared, however, it appears more than ever to the companies that there was something queer about Painter’s end. insurance Inspectors Active. The medical report is not expected here for another two days and the Coroner nor others interested will any further action until it is re- ‘d. certified copy of this report will laced in a safety deposit box at Barnett National Bank, so that ? who have valid reasons to ex amine it may do so when proper au thority is secured from the Coroner. No sooner had the sudden and mysterious death of Painter become lymwn than inspectors and special agents of insurance companies carrying policies on his life began to arrive in Jacksonville. There were a dozen or more here and they made in dividual and collective investigations. But they, like the Coroner, are await ing the Baltimore report before tak ing any action to contest or pay the policies. The general Impression in insur ance circles is that the Mutual Life will make the first move, Painter hav ing secured $502,000 insurance 1n that company. Those with smaller poli cies will look to the Mutual to deter mine their course of action. Indications are, however, that the insurance companies will contest un der the first-year suicide clause in corporated in most policies. If this is done it promises to be the biggest piece of Insurance litigation ever fought out in the South and one of the biggest in the whole country. Dead Man Was 52 Years of Age. Painter was 52 years and ft months of age when he died. He was a na tive of New York State, but had been in business in Jacksonville about fif teen years. As editor of a farm jour nal he became interested in the ferti lizer business and established the E. INSURANCE POLICIES TOTAL $1,134,000 Of Painter’s total insurance, *1,- 134.000 of it was distributed as follows: LIFE POLICIES. Mutual Life $ 502,000 Equitable 190,000 Penn Mutual .100,000 New York Life 100,000 Fidelity Mutual 70,000 Union Central 50,000 Prudential ... 12,000 Fraternal and miscellane ous 50J)00 Total life $1,074,000 ACCIDENT POLICIES. Travelers $ 20,000 Employers’ Liability . 15,000 U. S. Fidelity and Guar anty - 10,000 Preferred Accident 5.000 Illinois Commercial Men's Association 5,000 Travelers’ Protective As sociation # 5,000 Total accident $ 60,000 Total insurance $1,134,000 The Georgian-American Pony Contest VOTE COUPON Hearst's Sunday America!) and Atlanta Georgian PONT CONTEST VOTE COUPON. TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 1S13 5 VOTES NOT GOOD AFTER JUNE 18, 1913. Vote for Address CARRIERS’ AND AGENTS' BALLOT. Hearst’sSunday American and Atlanta Georgian Pony Contest Vote Coupon, Tuesday, June 3, 1913. 5 UnTrc. not good after v JUNE 18. 1913. Vote for Address SCHOOL BOYS’ AND GIRLS O. Painter Fertilizer Company, be coming its president. This company' is capitalized at about $300,000, though its actual value is said to be about $100,000. With Painter’s stork in the com pany, his handsome Riverside Drive home and other interests, his estate is valued at about $150,000 and his in come at $25,000 a year. In striking contrast to this income is the fact that the combined annual premiums on the insurance he carried at the time of death amount to about $60,000. The first year’s premiums on the million dollars new insurance were paid almost altogether in notes not yet matured and in stock In his fer tilizer company. The policies were made payable to his wife, daughter, estate and the fertilizer company. Much of the stock has been resold by the insurance agents and the notes discounted by Jacksonville hanks, practically every financial Institution here holding some of the paper. The effect of his death in business circles can therefore be readily seen. Real Conditions Kept Secret. The Jacksonville papers have given but scant publicity to the case, for fear of creating a panic and injuring business conditions. Painter was considered a perfect or nearly perfect physical specimen. He was a pillar In the mast fashionable Baptist Church, u, leader in the Y. M. C. A., and active in Board of Trade circles. He was considered a most ex emplary citizen and was looked upoi# with the utmost confidence in busi ness circles. When Painter met his death he was aboard a ferryboat crossing the river to his fertilizer plant. He stepped to the edge of the boat and went over In midstream. A lifeline was thrown to him, but he apparently made no effort to grasp it. sinking, with the rope grazing his arms. The first theory was accident. Suicide suspicions were aroused when the insurance nu*n became active. 1913; payable to Okie Painter, daugh ter. Premiums paid on this policy with stock in the E. O. Painter Fer tilizer Company. $75,000. Mutual Life; date, Aprfi 23. 1913; payable to Okie Painter, daugh ter. Premium on thit policy paid with stock in the E. O. Painter Fer tilizer Company. $50,000, Mutual Life; date. April 25, 1913; payable to Martha S Painter, wife. Premium on this policy paid with stock in the E. O. Painter Fer tilizer Company. $126,000. Mutual Life; date. May 2, 1913; payable to Martha S. Painter, wife, and Okie Painter, daughter. Premium on this policy paid with stock in the E. O. Painter Fertilizer Company. $50,000, Equitabln; date, April 23. 1912; payable to the E. O. Painter i Fertilizer Company. Second premium on this policy was due April 23, 1913. and was on the 31 days’ grace period, which had only two days more to run on the day of Mr. Painter’s death. Another $50,000. $50,000. Equitable; date, April 23, 1913; payable to Martha S. Painter, wife, and Okie Painter. daughter, each, $1,250 per year for twenty years. Premium on this policy was paid with stock In the K. O. Painter Fertilizer Company. $10,000, Equitable; date, April 23, 1913; payable to Martha S. Painter, wife, and Okie Painter, daughter. Pre mium on this policy paid with stock In the E. O. Painter Fertilizer Com pany. $50,000, Equitable; date, April 7, 1913; payable to executors, adminis trators or assigns. Premium on this policy was paid with stock in the E. O. Painter Fertilizer Company. $15,000, Equitable; date. April 7, 1913; payable to executors, adminis trators or assigns. Premium on this policy was paid with stocks in the E. O. Painter Fertilizer Company. $15,000, Equitabdle; date, April 7, 1913; payable to executors, adminis trators nr assigns. Premium on this policy was paid with stock in the E. O. Painter Fertilizer Company. $50,000. Fraternal organizations and in small policies generally distributed. Accident Insurance. $5,000, Travelers; date, June 2, 1905; payable to Martha S. Painter, wife. This policy has fully accumulated, bringing it up to $7,500, the doubling clause rendering the maximum bene fits thereunder of $15,000. $15,000, Travelers; date, April 28, 1913; payable to Martha S. Painter, wife. Note for premium was given broker. Note due June 15, 1913. The doubling clause renders the maximum benefits under this policy $30,000. $10,000, U. S. Fidelity and Guar antee Company; date, April 21, 1913; Premiutfi not paid to company. Pre sume that insured gave the broker a note. The doubling clause on this policy places the maximum benefits thereunder at $20,000. $5,000, Preferred Accident; date, October 26. 1905. The doubling clause on this policy renders the maximum benefits thereunder $10,000. or more. $15,000, Employees’ Liability; date, April 23, 1913; payable to Martha S. Painter, wife. The doubling clause on this policy raises the maximum ben efits to $30,000. The insured applied for $30,000. doubling to $60,000. The company declined half of the amount applied for. The premium has not been paid, the broker requesting credit until early in June. (General agent granted). Broker stating that the insured asked him for credit until then. $5,000, Illinois Commercial Men’s Association. $5,000, Travelers’ Protective Asso ciation. Painter Policies All No Analysis Made Yet, as Vital Organs Are Missing BALTIMORE. MD„ June 3.—A heart, a stomach and two kidneys, once the vital organs of E. O. Painter, the fertilizer man of Jacksonville} Fla., are missing somewhere between Jacksonville and* Baltimore. They were supposed to have ar rived at the Johns Hopkins Hospital Saturday for the purpose of analysis. That day the physicians of tin? hos pital received word that they had ar rived in the city, but when they were not delivered at the hospital som~ hours later a search for them was in stituted which, to date, has proved vain Arrangements for ^the analyzing of the organs* were made at the Hopkins early last week by a Redmond c. Stewart, who wild, according to the hospital authorities, that he repre sented the Prudential Life Insurance Company. Stewart said at the hospital that Painter had died suddenly and under rather unusual conditions and held the theory that he might have com mitted suicide. The insurance com pany had demanded an analysis of the organs, he said, before entering negotiations* for the payment of the policy which the deceased held in that company. 4 Johns Hopkins authorities agreed to make the analysis, and Saturday being the date set for examination, everything was placed in readiness for the analysis. They are still wait ing. At the offices of the Prudential company In this city absolute igno rance of the shipment to this city of the organs is professed. They say. however, that the arrangements for the analyst# might have been made by a representative from the homo office of the company at Newark, N. J. TECH’S GMTH AMAZES OLD Alumni, Arriving for Commence ment, Startled by Progress Made in 25 Years. Alumni of Tech are drifting Into town for the great commencement and quarter-centennial celebration to be held June 6 to June 11. Some of them recall that 25 years ago was nothing more than a log cabin with a modest workshop and are amazed at the magnificent and imposing col lege confronting them to-day, cover ing 25 acres, with sixteen buildings, valued at approximately $800,000. The commencement exercises will open with a society debate by the Henry W. Grady Literary Society, June 6 at 8 15 o’clock, in the Tech Y. M. C. A. Auditorium. On June 7 the Freshmen oratorical contest is scheduled to occur in the same build ing. Sunday, June 8, at 11 o’clock, in St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Dr. Thomas E. Green, of Chicago, will deliver the baccalaureate sermon, “A Veiled Vision.” Claxton to Give Address. At 10 o’clock Monday, June 9, there will be a meeting of the school trus tees. At 3 p. m., ip the Tech Y. M. C. A., Dr P. P. Claxtoiv. United States Commissioner of Education, will de liver a literary address. From 5 p. m. to 7 p. m. President K. G. Mathe- son will hold a reception. At 8 p. m. one of the features of the commence ment. the .Junior prom, will be held on the campus. Tuesday, June 10, Day.” At 9 a. m. is "Founders’ there will be payable to Okie Painter, daughter, .meeting of the alumni in the Tech Taken Out Recently it a meeting of Insurance men in ksonville to consider the policies d by Painter in the sum of $1,178,- , the following schedule of risks s submitted, showins that nearly the policies were taken out within past five months: 50.000, Union Central; ordinary , dated April 5, 1013, payable to es- f Policy delivered May 14, 1913. nc delay in issue. Mr. Painter ap- ;d for $92,000, which is the com- ly's limit at his ajte, 53. Only $50,- was issued. He save a note due rii. 1014, in payment of the pre- um. 3,000 Penn Mutual; ordinary life, d November 17, 1911: payable to ■tim S. Painter, wife. •50.000, Penn Mutual; tifteen-year m. issued February 24, 1913. pay- e to Martha S. Painter wife. A . was siven for part of premium, i an amount supposedly equal to • ajrefe eommisskm in stoek of the O. Painter Fertilizer Company for - httlanee. t47.(K"j. Penn Mutual: ordinary life, lied April 19. 1913; payable to e‘S- WTiita City Park Now Open |LOW ROUND TRIP | RATE TO BALTI j MORE VIA SEA- | BOARD. j $20.85 from Atlanta, correspond- < ingly low rates from other points, l on sale June 5, 6, 7. Through ^trains. electric-lighted steel sleep- Wk ,r * and dining cars, observation ^Hrars. Otty Ticket Office, 88 Peach- Wt tate. Note due August 23, 1913, given for the premium. $12,000, Prudential; continuous in stallment, date May 3, 1910; payable to Okie Painter, daughter, 550 per month. The third premium was due on this policy May 3. 1913. Premium was not paid and was on grace period at the time of insured's death, May 22. 1913. $50,000, No\v York Life; issued March, 1912, payable to Martha S. Painter, wife, and Okie Painter, daughter. $40,000. New York Life; March. 1913. payable to Martha S. Painter, wife, and Okie Painter, daughter. $10,000. New York Life: an old pol icy, in force for some years. Not© for Premium. $70,000, Fidelity Mutual: ordlnarv life, issued April 21, 1912; payable to Martha s. Painter, wife, nad Okl< Painter, daughter. Note given broker in payment of the premium. Note due June 15, 1913. $2,000. Mutual Life; date. January 25, 1891; payable to Martha S. Painter, wife. Policy bears a loan of $933. $12,op0, Mutual Life; date, February 3, 1913; payable to Martha R. Painter, wif»’. A note due In twelve months fron\ date given in payment of this premium $12,000. Mutual lJfe; date. February | 3. 1912: payable to Okie Painter, j daughter. A note due in one year from j Gate given in payment of this pre mium. $50,000, Mutual Life: date. March ! 15, 1913; payable to E. O. Painter Fer- | rilizer Company. Note due one year 1 from date given in payment of this premium. j! $100,000. Mutual Life; date. March J i 27. 1913; payable to Martha S. Painter. . Wife, and Okie Painter, daughter. A j I note due January 1. 1914. given in pay- ) j ment of the premium on this policy. Stock for Premium. $50,000, Mutual Life; date, April 4. 1913; payable to Martha S. Painter, wife. Premium on this policy paid with stock in the E. O. Painter Fer tilizer Company. $25,000. Mutual Life; date, April 4, JEFFERSON D1S Judge Newman, of Atlanta, Makes Address at Celebration at Knoxville. Laughs Himself Sick At Vaudeville Joke MILWAUKEE, WIS., June 3.—A I veteran vaudeville joke Heard for the | first time by Julius Jeswein, aged 34. j made him to laugh so loud and so long that the show was interrupted I until he was helped out to the side- w alk. He continued laughing until at the end of sixteen hours he became so weak he lost consciousness. Physic cians to-day fear the violent laughter will cause his death. Y. M. C. A. Auditorium. At 10:30 Founders’ Day exercises are sched uled in the Auditorium; at 3:30 Class Day exercises and pageant on the campus: at 8:15 C. AlphonZo Smith, Ph. D., L.L. D., will deliver the Founders’ Day oration in the Grand Opera House; at 9:30 p. m. there will be a reception by Governor and Mrs. Joseph M. Brown at the mansion. Shop Exhibit June 11. Wednesday, June 11, the boys will be given a chance to show’ what they have accomplished. From 8:30 to 10 a. m. a shop exhibit will be held. At 10:30 graduating exercises will be held in the Grand Opera House. Dr. Herbert S. Bigelow, of Cincinnati, as commencement orator, will deliver an address on “Old Institutions and New Ideas.” At 1:30 delegates, trustees, faculty, alumni and graduation class will attend the Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Since 1906, when Dr. Matheson as sumed the presidency, approximately thirteen acres of land have been added to the campus; the income of the school has been nearly doubled; the Carnegie Library has been built and its support provided for. A night school has been established, which gives industrial education to a large number of Atlanta artisans and em ployees generally. A large and flour ishing Summer School has been es tablished. The Joseph Brown Memo rial Hospital has been built. The beautiful Rockefeller Y. M. (A A. building has been erected. Three of the five units of the handsome fire proof mechanical engineering build ings have been erected. The finest athletic field in the South has been secured, providing two complete gridirons and baseball fields, tennis courts, a quarter-mile track and other athletic equipment. A re inforced concrete stadium will be built .his summer. Enrollment Is Doubled. A number <>f scholarships paying from $150 to $200 per year to needy young student have been secured. The enrollment of the school has been practically doubled, and large addi tions 1 ave been made to the faculty and all courses have been raised in standard of efficiency. Decided im provements have been made on the eamptis so that it is" rapidly becom ing an attractive park. Through the will of Julius L. Brown, two-thirds of his estate was left to the school. Tentative dona tions in equipment for a new heating, power and lighting station amount ing to more than $100,000 have been secured. A course in architecture has been added and, generally speaking, large additions of equipment have been made to the various departments of the school. The reputation of the school for work of the highest order has been extended throughout the country. KNOXVILLE. June -Con fed or- ate memorial an I ilcvoratlnn naj ami 'R-p.-.TTlric, PJrirlci 'Wmr the anniversarx of the birth of .1 ' DluVltu _L Hilly VV Cl y ferson Davis were observed hen* this j _-. c ' ^ To Forestall Mayor afternoon. An address was delivered by Judge W. T. Newman, of Atlanta, Ga., a Confederate veteran and a na tive of east Tennessee. Graves at Bethel cemetery, where Confederate dead are interred, were strewn with flowers following the address. A re ception was then tendered the vet erans by local members of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and crosses of honor, were presented a number of the old soldiers. MOBILE, ALA.. June 3.—The birth- day of Jefferson Davis was observed by the Daughters of the Confederacy Find Raphael Semmes Camp, Confed erate Veterans, with appropriate ex ercises here to-day. All banks, public buildings and courts were closed. Two nieces of Jefferson Davis live in Mo bile They are Mrs. Harvey K. Jones. Jr., and Mrs Mary Howell. ALEXANDRIA. VA., June 3.—'"The Stars and Bars” are fluttering from scores of flugataffs in this city to- I q, nv ir , dav. for It is the annlversa m ,.f the MEMPHIS, Th\N„ Juno 3. Attorney birth of Jefferson Davis. President of i Genera! Estes to-day admitted that the Blind tiger operators in future will get a twenty-nine-day sentence instead of thirty days. Recorder Broyles has I found a way to circumvent Mayor Wood ward, who, the Recorder alleges, has j interfered with cases in the Recorder's i jurisdiction. i The Mayor can pardon prisoners sen tenced on a blind tiger charge to thirty days or tno’'®. b*vt in cases where the sentence is less he can not interfere, j Recorder Broyles Monday afternoon i sentenced T K. Preston to twenty-nine days in the stockade on a charge of sell ing liquor. Memphis Grand Jury Probes Martin Case Grand Jury was examining witnesses | with a view to finding an indictment against Joseph W. Martin, former pres- I ident of the Martin-Phillips Cotton is | Company, of Memphis, which went into ■ e hands of a receiver after Martin's ^appearance in London. ... , i ... i Estes would not say for what of Augusta veterans will meet in honor . f enst , the indictments might be found of their former leader to-morrow! — I right at the First Baptist Uhurch. | when Dr. M. Ashby Jones, son of Dr. J J. William Jones the chaplain of the j General It. E. Lee's army, win deliver I an addic**. the Confederacy. Elaborate prepara tions have been made for a general celebration to-night by the various Confederate organizations. AUGUSTA. GA.. June S.— r being observed as a holiday here in honor of the birth of Jefferson Davis. Atlanta Rail Mail Division Advanced The Atlanta and Montgomery di vision of the Railway Mail Depart ment, one of the most important be tween New York and San- Francisco, was placed in Class “C” following a long conference with Postmaster Gen eral Burleson in which John Hogan, national auditor of the Railway Mail Association; Senator Hoke Smith, Representative Schley* Howard, P. J. Schardt and H. G. Swanson partici pated. The commltte was in session nearly a week. Eleven Congressmen and four Senators supported the conten tion that the line should be classed as a "C” division. Woman Sees Her 2 Grandsons Drown ORLANDO, FLA., June 3.—Frank Pounds, Jr., and Fred Wilmott. Jr.. 5 and 6 y’ears of age, were drowned in Lake Lucerne here yesterday while the grandmother of the Wilmott child looked on in horror. The boys were playing in a boat which floated out into the lake where the water is ten feet deep. Thinking it shallow, both jumped out of the boat. The bodies were soon recov ered, but efforts to resuscitate them | were unavailing. The home **f T. H. Knox, 23 Kuhns Street, w as robbed' late Monday night. The thief got a gold watch. Clifford Howell, a negro, is held. SETS ALTITUDE RECORD. VERSAILLES, FRAN* new altitude record for an aeroplane carrying two persons was made here to day by Aviator Perri. who ascended 16.832 feet in a monoplane with a woman passenger. IS GALLED AN ACCIDENT Clews, First Taken as Slaying Evi dence, Believed to Strengthen New Theory-Negroes Have Alibi. With an alibi practically proved by Walter Wilkes and Ernest Maynard, negroes held on suspicion in the Stevens ease, detectives who are investigating the mystery are inclining to an accident theory to account for the burning of the Stevens home and the death of Mrs. Sarah C. Stevens and her daughter, Nellie. Detective Rosser, Sheriff McCurdy and Deputy Sheriff Livsey, of DcKalb County, working on the case, have finally learned the truth of the finding of the. ax, hoe, revolver cartridge, the dis charged shotgun shell and other evidence, which it is claimed sus tains the theory of accidental death more than it does the theory of murder. The investigations of the of- D R. HERBERT S. BIGE LOW, of Cincinnati (at top), Dr. Thomas E. Green, Chicago, and Dr. P. P. Clax- ton, U. S Commissioner of Ed ucation, who will speak dur ing Tech’s commencement celebration. fleers, according to one of them, has developed the following facts: The ax was found 60 feet from where the bodies lay, and the blade was imbedded in the ground. It was later carried into the ruins where the bodies lay. The door—there was but one— leading from the hallway into Mrs. Stevens’ room was locked. The hoe was found in the hall way, nearer Mr. Stevens’ room than the room where the bodies were found. The exploded shotgun cartridge was found more than a hundred yards from the house,' at a spot where it is said Mrs. Stevens had been shooting at birds. The exploded revolver cartridge was found a hundred yards from the house, at the edge of the road. It had not been in the fire at all. There was no troth in the re port that an exploded shell was found In the shotgun discovered in the bedroom. There was a shell in the gun, but the brass had melted and run into the barrel. It was Impossible to tell whether It had been fired or discharged by the heat. Thinks Fire Cracked Skulls. F. W. Patterson, of the firm of H. M. Patterson & Son, the undertak ers who prepared the bodies for bur ial, told a Georgian reporter Tuesday morning that he does not think the skulls ware crushed. He said It was impossible, owing to the condition of the bodies, to tell how Mrs. Stevens and her daughter were killed. He de clared that the skulls of the women drawn revolver, backed up by Sheriff McCurdy. According to a statement maxle on Tuesday by one of the members of the “mob,” the lynching bee was framed by Chief Lanford, with the knowledge and consent of Sheriff McCurdy and a number of fanners. Ruse to Get Confession Denied. "The* plan,” declared the "mob” member, "was this: Sheriff McCurdy and Detective Rosser brought the ne groes out to the Stevens farm, and after tying them V> a tree, stepped behind the barn. Then the farmers who were in on the deal began threat ening the negroes, and the original plan was to get a rope and advance upon them, yelling that we were going to lynch them. Then Chief Lanford was # to rush up and rescue the ne groes. It was hoped to get a confes sion out of them while they were frightened. "But a number of farmers came out who were not in on the frame-up, and they were in dead earnest. The crowd carried the men to the barn and started to put a rope over a rafter when Lanford appeared. It is very probable that the negroes would have been hanged If he had not shown up.” Chief Lanford declared this morn ing that the lynching was not a frame-up, but declared a moment later that he thought the farmers were only going to frighten the ne groes. Detective Rosser declined to comment on the affair at all. He said he had not seen it and didn’t know anything about it. Sentiment of Finance Committee “Woman With Money Mark for Designing Men,” She Says. “I've Learned a Lesson.” NEWNAN, GA„ June 3.— Though Eugene Grace declined to discuss the divorce suit of his wife, Mrs. Daisy Opie Grace, in Philadelphia, members of his fam ily stated positively Tuesday aft ernoon that the suit will not be contested by Mr. Grace. The statement was made by S. L. Hill, Mr. Grace’s stepfather, who de clared that. “Eugene would be very glad for her to'secure the divorce.” PHILADELPHIA. June 3—The ap pointment of a master to take testi mony in the case of Mrs. Daisy Opie Grace, who, in September of last year, filed suit for divorce from her hus band, Eugene Grace, will be asked for by Mrs. Grace’s counsel some time this week. Grace failed to reply to notice of the action and a verdict for the plain tiff virtually is assured. If Grace fails to appear at the hear ing before a master Mrs. Grace will be called to the stand, her libel in divorce read, and, after she has been sworn, the decree likely will be awarded her by default. Personal service was not obtainable, because the respondent failed to come within the jurisdiction of the county court? here, and, under the law, it was necessary to advertise the suit by legal notices in the newspapers. Take Testimony Next. This advertising was made return able yesterday, <* and the next move will be for the courts to appoint a lawyer to take testimony on the charges of cruel and barbarous treat ment, on which the woman, who fig ured in one of the most sensational trials in recent years, bases her suit. Mrs. Grace said to-day: "I do hope to be free from that man forever. The world has never known what I had to endure from him, and now that t shall have the opportunity to tell what he did to me. I know that opinion will change. It Is true that sentiment was all against me. because of the part that I was assumed to have taken in the shoot ing. Won’t Wed Again, She Says. "I have had enough of men like him. Since my acquittal I have been more careful than ever of my associ ates, and I tell you that the costly lesson I have learned has taught me to beware. “When a woman has a little money, she is a mark for designing men, and the race is predisposed to that sort of thing. “Once I am free again. I tell you it will be a long time before any man can court me." looked more like they had been crack ed open by the heat than crushed. Mr. Patterson said it is not an un usual thing for the bones of human beings to be cracked by the heat when caught in a fire. He said he could find, in a minute examination of the bodies, no traces of foul play. Neither of t;he bodies were examined by a physician. One of the officers declared to-day that the hoe, supposed to be one of the weapons with which the murder—if there were a murder—was committed, was an old implement that had been under the house for several years. Sheriff McCurdy said that the hoe did not look as though it had recently had a handle in it. The band of steel which holds the handle In place was missing when the hoe was found, and has not been located. Theory of the Tragedy. Detectives declare that Mrs. Ste vens’ revolver—the one Wade Stevens took to Chattanooga—was .38 caliber instead of a .32, and that the cartridge found near the road had been fired by Mrs Stevens some time previous to the burning of their home. The accident theory, based on the new developments, is that Mrs. Ste vens and her daughter, being fright ened because they were alone, had locked The door of their room when jthey retired; that about midnight, when they were sound asleep, the house caught fire; that with the door locked they knew nothing of the blaze until it had gained considerable head way; that they arose from their beds, and, half-suffocated with smoke, stag gered to the door, forgetting that it was locked; that they had reached the door and couldn't get it open;- that they then started for the windows and were overcome before they could reach them. Sheriff McCurdy declared to-day that, in the light of recent develop- | ments in the case, the only circum stance that points to murder is the position in which the shotgun was ly ing when found. It was as though It had fallen from Mrs. Stevens’ hand. It has been learned, however, that the gun habitually stood in a corner of the bed room, and the theory is ad vanced that when the flames exploded the shell the recoil threw the gun into the middle of the room. Police to Sift Evidence. Though all indications now point to accidental burning as the solution of the mystery. Sheriff McCurdy and De tective Rosser said to-day they will continue to work on the murder theory until it is exhausted or evidence ob tained to determine whether there was a murder or whether the women were caught in the burning of their home. Detective Rosser practically admit ted on Tuesday that the two negroes held under suspicion, Walter Wilkes and Ernest Maynard, had proven alibis. He is not yet through with his investigation, however, and the negroes will not be released until after their alibi is proven beyond the shadow of a doubt. Both men are now locked up in the DelOilb County jail at Decatur. Because not all of the crowd of farmers who gathered at the scene of the crime Monday afternoon were let in on the secret, a dramatic "third degree” to obtain a confession from Wilkes and Maynard not only failed of its purpose, but almost developed into a real lynching. The lives of the negroes were saved, it is reported, only whefi Chief of Detectives Lan ford appeared on the scene with Favors Half of That Amount for Public Schools. \ At the request of Chairman W. G. Humphrey, the finance committee will recommend to the General Council Thursday a bond issue of approxi mately $1,500,000, possibly $2,000,000, for needed city improvements. Only $500,000 was contemplated for schools, but this estimate may be raised. Chairman Humphrey had in mind schools costing from $40,000 to $60,000 in different parts of Atlanta, but another committeeman advanced the interests of a Girls’ High School. Alderman James E. Warren said a Girls’ High School was absolutely necessary, and that It woul<i cost $200,000 at least. Other Councilmen mentioned needed colored schools. The trend of opinion at the end of the brief discussion favored $1,000,000 for schools. Nurses’ Dormitory Included. The projected nurses’ dormitory at Grady Hospital would be taken care of by the contemplated bond issue. New streets, street improvements, sewers and water mains would call for expenditure of large sums, so that if the ambitious school building proj ects are favored by the whole Finance Committee the recommendation to the General Council will be for $2,- 000.000. The Finance Committee adjourned to meet at 2:30 o’clock Thursday aft ernoon, just 30 minutes before the General Council assembles. In the half-hour before the Council meeting, the Finance Committee will endeavol to decide on the amount of the bond issue. Leaders Favor Bond Issue. Strong members of the General Council have expressed themselves as favorable to a bond issue. Among them is Judge Candler, who said he recognized the difficulties of getting bond issues approved, but still thought the step advisable. During discussion of the crematory proposition Monday afternoon, Coun cilmen and Aldermen made frequent reference to the need of a bond issue. The probable recommendation of the Finance Committee for an issue of $1,500,000 or $2,000,000 will, there fore, be regarded as a crystallization of the sentiment ir. favor of such a step. Hartwell Schools Close. HARTWELL.—After one of the most brilliant and successful terms in the history of the public schools of Hartwell, the term closed with a splendid program. In the grammar oratorical contest the medals were won by Miss Alice Linder and Master Eugene Massey. In the high school they were won by Mr. Dan Magill and Miss Addle Harper. A WHOLESOME SUMMER DRINK Horsford’s Acid Phosphate Better than lemons or limes—healthful awl delicious. Refreahes and Invigorates. Adv. We have Beautiful Bedding Plants 3c each. Atlanta Floral Co., 555 L. Fair Street.