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\ / • f t \ TJUcJ A'lLAJN'J A (iHAJnU J AJN A.\L> MKWS, POLICIES HELD BY PAINTER Continued From P»9» 1- ber of his immediate family—his wife or daughter—or his firm. The total amount 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 Heed to Rescuers. Although Painter was an expert iwimmer, 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 Jm*t before he fell into the water, and It was to relieve this cough that he in 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 chloral 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 stem 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 take any further action until it Is re ceived. A certified copy of this report will be placed In a'safety deposit box at the Barnett National Bank, so that those 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 known than Inspectors and special agents of the 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 impres.^on in Insur ance circles is that the Mutual Life will make the firm move. Painter hav ing secured $502,000 insurance in 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 6 months of age when he died. He was a na tive of New York State, but had been In business in Jacksonville about fif- tven 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 $ Equitable Penn Mutual New York Life Fidelity Mutual Union Central Prudential Fraternal and miscellane ous 502,000 190,000 100,000 100.000 70.000 50,000 12,000 50,000 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-Araerican Pony Contest VOTE COUPON Hearst s Sunday American and Ailanta Georgian PONY CONIESI VOTE COUPON, TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 1913 5 VOTES NOT GOOD AFTER JUNE 18, 1913. Vote for Address CARRIERS’ AND AGENTS’ BALLOT. Hearst’s Sunday American and Atlanta Georgian Pony Contest Vote Coupon, Tuesday, June 3, 1913. 5 %/fWK*"C N0T good after JUNE 18, 1913. Vote for Address . SCHOOL BOYS’ AND GIRLS’ BALLOT. TECH’S GROWTH (MAZES OLD D R. HERBERT 8. 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. O. Painter Fertilizer Company, be coming its» president. This company is capitalized at about $800,000, though its actual value la said to be about $100,000. With Painter’s stock 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 j 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 he 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 speclm/fn. He was a pillar in the most fashionable Baptist Church, a leader In the Y. M. C. A., and active in Board of Trade circles. He was considered a meyt ex emplary citizen and was look err upoi* with the utmost confidence in busi ness circles. Winn Painter met his death # he was aboard a ferryboat crossing the river to his fertilizer plant. He stepped 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 men 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, April 23. 1913; payable to Okie Painter, daugh ter. Premium on thli policy paid with stock In the E. O. Painter Fer tilizer Company. $50,000, Mutual Life; date. April 2.7, 1913; payable to Martha S. Painter, wife. Premium on this policy itaid with stock In the E. O. Painter Fer tilizer Company. $126,000 Mutual Life; date, May 2, 1913; payable to Martha 1*4 Painter, wife, and Okie Painter, daughter. Premium on this policy paid with stock In the E. O. Painter Fertilizer .Company. $50,000, Equitable; date, April 23, 1912; payable to the E. O. Painter Fertilizer Company. Second premium on this policy wav due April 23, 1913, and was on the 31 days’ grace period, which had only two days more to run op 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 E. O. Painter Fertilizer Company. $10,000, Equitable: date, April 28. 1913; payable to Martha S. Painter, wife, and Okie Painter, daughter. Pre mium on tills policy paid with stock in the E. O. Painter Fertilizer Com pany. i $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 thin policy was paid with stocks in the E. I (*. Painter Fertilizer Company. $15,000, Equitabdle; date, April 7, J 191"; payable to executors, adminis trators or assigns. Premium on this policy was paid with stock in the E. O. Painter Fertilizer Company. $50,000, Fraternal organizations and j in small policies generally distributed. Accident Insurance. $5,000, Travelers; date, June 2, 1905; payable to Martha S. Painter, wife. Thi policy has fujly 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 f«*r premium was given broker. Note due June 15, 1913. The doubling clause renders the maximum benefits under this policy $30,000. $10,000, IJ. S. Fidelity and Guar antee Company; date, April 21, 1913; payable to Okie Painter, daughter. Premium 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 rigynt 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 Taken Out Recently At a meettng of insurance men in Jacksonville to consider the policies held by Painter in the sum of $1,178,- 000, the following sc hedule of risks •was submitted, showing that nearly all the policies were taken out within the past five months: $50,000. Union Central; ordinary lif?, dated April 5. 1913, payable to es tate. Policy delivered May 14, 1913. £ome delay in issue. Mr. Painter ap plied for $92,000, which is the com pany's limit at his age. 53. Only $50,- 000 was issued. He gave a note due April, 1914, in payment of the pre mium $3,000. Penn Mutual; ordinary life, issued November 17, 1911; payable to Martha S. Painter, wife. $50,000, Penn Mutual; fifteen-year term, issued February 24, 1913, pay able to Martha S. Painter wife. A note was given for part of premium, and an amount supposedly equal to the agent’s commission in stock of the E O. Painter Fertilizer Company for the balance. $47,000, Penn Mutual; ordinary life, issued April 18, 1913; payable to es- White City Park Now Open LOW ROUND TRIP ‘RATE TO BALTI MORE VIA SEA BOARD. $20.8? from Atlanta, correspond- j ingly low rates from other point*, c on sale June 5, 6, 7. Through j trains electric-lighted steel sleep- < log and dining cars, observation j cars City Ticket Office, 88 Peach- < tree 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, $50 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. New 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. Note for Premium. $70,000, Fidelity Mutual: ordinarv life, issued April 21, 1912; payable to Martha S. Painter, wife, and Okie 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, wif. P«»l!c> hears a loan of $933. $12,000, Mutual Life; date, February 3, 1913; payable to Martha S. Painter, wife. A note due in twelve months from date given in payment of this premium. $12,000, Mutual Ufe; date, February 3. 1912; payable to Okie Painter, daughter. A note due In one year from date given in payment of this pre mium $50,000, Mutual Life; date, March 15. 1913; payable to E. O. Painter Fer- j tillzer Company. Note due one year ; from date given in payment of this premium. $100,000, Mutual Life; date. March 27. 1913; payable to Martha S. Painter, wife, and Okie Painter, daughter. A note due January 1. 1914. given in pay 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, 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 the 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 paid, 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, be said, before entering negotiations* for the payment of the policy which the deceased held in that company. 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 analysis might have been made by a representative from the, home office of the company at Newark, N. J. Rival of Weston on Long Race With Him NEW YORK, Juno 3.—Cheered by \ big crowd, John Ennis, aged 71, of Stamford, Conn., set out at noon to day to walk the 1,446 miles to Min neapolis. Ennis made the start one day lat«r than did Edward Pay son Weston, Ills ancient pedestrian enema. He hopes, giving Weston a 24-hour handicap, to beat him into Minneapolis, which i» also Weston's goal. Baby's Body Found; Police Investigate Wrapped in an old skirt, the body of a six or seven months old baby was discovered in a gully at the Williams street rook quarry, near Third Street, by R. B. Wood, a driver for the city, Tuesday morning. It is believed to have been an in fanticide. Detectives are investi gating. Florida Assembly Ignores Constitution TALLAHASSEE. FLA.. June 8 Both houses of the Florida Legislature have adopted a resolution to adjourn the ses slon sine die Friday noon, one day earlier than the constitution allows. The resolution which abolishes the as sembly for State commission rule did not reach a vote to-day. Hellflre Only Myth, Say Bible Students HOT SPR1NG8. ARK., June 3.— Hell and hellflre are myths, in the opinion of members of the Interna tional Bible Students Association who are holding a convention here. They ask ministers to discard the “offending words.’’ Laughs Himself Sick At Vaudeville Joke MILWAUKEE, WIS., June 3.—A veteran vaudeville joke heard for the first time by Julius Jeswein, aged 34. made him to laugn so loud and so long that the show was interrupted until he was helped out to the side walk. He continued laughing until at the end of sixteen hours he became so weak he lost consciousness. Physi cians to-day fear the violent laughter will cause his death. Broyles Finds W 7 ay To Forestall Mavor Blind tiger operators in future will get a twenty-nine-day sentence instead of thirty days. Recorder Broyles has found a way to circumvent Mayor Wood ward. who. the Recorder alleges, has interfered with eases in the Recorder's jurisdiction. The Major can pardon prisoners sen tenced on a blind tiger charge to thirty days or mo~. b*vt in oases where the sentence is less he can not interfere. Recorder Broyles Monday afternoon sentenced T R Preston to twenty-nine days in the stockade on a charge of sell ing liquor. Memphis Grand Jury Probes Martin Case MEMPHIS, TENN., June 3.—Attorney : General Estes to-day admitted that the Grand Jury was examining witnesses with a view 10 finding an indictment against Joseph W. Martin, former pres- 1 ident of the Martin-Phillips Cotton i Company, of Memphis, which went into 'he hands of a receiver after Martin's disappearance in London. Estes would not say for whai of fense the indictments might be found The home of T. H. Knox. 23 Kuhns Street, was robbed late Monday night. I The thief got a gold watch. Clifford Howell, a negro, is held. 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 I them recall that 25 years ago was nothing more than a log cabin with j a mildest 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 Frerfhmen 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 he a meeting of the school trus tees. At 3 p. m.. in the Tech Y. M. C. A.. Dr. 1’. P. Claxton. 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. is “Founders’ Day.” At 9 a. *n. there will be a meeting of the alumni in the Tech 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. I)., 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. C. A. buildir % : 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 this summer. Enrollment Is Doubled. A number of scholarships paying from $150 to $200 per year to needy young students have been secured. The enrollment of the school has been practically doubled, and large addi tions 1 ave been made to tfye faculty and all courses have been raised in standard of efficiency. Decided im provements have been made on the campus 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. 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 committe 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., 6 and 6 years 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. bt)th jumped out of the boat. The bodies were soon recov ered, but efforts to resuscitate them were unavailing. SETS ALTITUDE RECORD. VERSAILLES. FRANCE, June 3—A 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 w oman passenger. DIVORCE NEAR “Woman With Money Mark for Designing Men,” She Says. “I’ve Learned a Lesson.” NEWNAN, G A., 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 Ople Grace, who, in September of last year, filed suit for divorce from her hus band, Eugene Grace, will be as«ked 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 bv default. Personal service was not obtainable, because the respondent failed to come within the jurisdiction of the county court? 1 here, arid, under the law, U 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-^ay: "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 I 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 J 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.” I IS CALLED 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 case, 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 Livsev, of DeKalb County, working on the ease, have finally leanted 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 ficers, 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 shotgqn 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 truth 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 were 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 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 the bodies were examined by a physician. One of the officers declared to-day that the hoe, supposed to he 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 iook 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 ha^rnot be^n 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 they 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 flame* 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 wag 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 DeKalb 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 when Chief of Detectives Lan- ford appeared on the acene with drawn revolver, backed up by Sheriff McCurdy. According to a statement made on Tuesday by one of the members of th** "mob.” the lynching bee was framed -by Chief Lanford, with the knowledge and consent of Sheriff McCurdy and a number of farmers. 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 to 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 U. S. Biggest Market Place for Canada WASHINGTON. June 3.—Accord ing to a report made public to-day by the Department of Commerce, the United States ranks second as a cus tomer for Canadian products and first as a supplier of Canadian needs. Canada buys more from the United States than from all other nations combined. We also would take the hulk of the exports except that Cana da has little to sell that is not pro duced also in our own country. The larger takings of Canadian wheat constitute the principal factor that makes England loom larger in the export trade. A WHOLESOME SUMMER DRINK Mtrsfonf'i Acid Phosphate Better ttian lemon* or lime*—healthful and delicious. Refreshea and Invigorates. Ada. Pushes Bet Winner 30 Miles in Barrow SPOKANE, WASH., June 3.—Roy McC&mpbell, of Okanogan, Wash., es corted by a drum .corps, made a thir ty-mile hike from Okanogan -to To- nasket, trundling a gorgeously trim med and canopied wheelbarrow in which sat George Hopkins, the man who won the bet as to the probable date of- entrance into Okanogan of the New Croville-Wenatchce branch of the Great Northern Railway. If the lin/ had reached Okanogan by April 10 Hopkins would have been the motive power, with McCampbell his passenger. • Record Graduation Class at Normal MILLEDGEVILLE, GA., June 3— The Georgia Normal and Industrial College closed here yesterday with the largest graduating class In the history of the institution. The baccalaureate sermon was preached by Bishop Warren Candler to a congregation of 1,500. The board of trustees to-day changed the name of Lamar Hall, which was named in honor of the late Richard N. Lamar, to Terrell Hall in honor of the late Joe Terrell. The name of Science Hall was changed to Parks Hall, in honor of President M. M. Parks, Babes, Buried Alive By Maniac, Still Live ATLANTIC CITY, June 3.—-Two of the three young children of George Walls, proprietor of the Chelsea baths, who were burled alive by a maniac yesterday, were to-day believed to be dying. The lunatic, said to he the wayward son of a prominent Philadelphia fam ily, Is under constant guard in the Jail. POLICEMAN DROPS DEAD. MACON, GA., June 3.—Policeman William Avent Jumped off a street car last night during a downpour and started on a run toward his home a block away. Just as he reached his front gate he fell dead of heart fail ure. We have Beautiful Bedding Plants, 3c each. Atlanta Floral Co., 555 L. Fair Street.