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THE ATLANTA ©EORTTTAN AND NEWS
STORY OF PHAGAN CASE BY CHAPTERS
Slaying of Factory Girl, South’s Most
Baffling Crime Mystery, Re
viewed in Detail.
CHAPTER I.
Will the veil of mystery be lifted
when the curtain ris*es next Monday
on another .scene in Atlanta’s darkest
tragedy?
A vast audience, shocked by the
fttfrror of Mary Phagan’s fate on a
Saturday of last April and held
through the succeeding weeks In the
thrall of the baffling crime drama,
in keen suspense awaits this ques
tion’s answer.
Will Fulton County’s Solicitor Gen
eral be able to point his* Anger at Leo
M. Frank and exclaim. “That is the
man who strangled Mary Phagan!”
. backing his damning accusation with
such an abundance of evidence that
there can remain no shadow of doubt?
Or will Luther Rosser, certain to be
a towering and masterful factor in
the titanic struggle that is to be
staged, unmask his strength, bring to
bear the secret evidence that has been
in his possession for weeks, beat down
every bulwark of suspicion that the
State has erected about its prisoner
and. as a dramatic finale, assail the
negro, Jim Conley, cowering in the
■witness stand, with a ‘raking volley
of questions that will leave the negro
man shaken and terrified, a confes
sion of the crime upon his lipe?
Whole State Stirred.
All of Atlanta—most of the State—
is hanging with the most intense in
terest on the outcome.
No other crime ever stirred Geor
gia to its depths as has the slaying
of the little factory girl.
No murder ever has so gripped the
hearts and aroused the sympathies 1 of
the people throughout the Stat*>.
Georgia’s criminal history reveals
no other case in which the public’s
interest has remained at fever heat
through three months filled with
other exciting events. From the time
the extras first flamed the details of
the brutal killing in the National Pen
cil Factory until the present there
has appeared to be no diminution in
the desire to learn each day’s de
velopments.
There was in the early days of the
tragedy a cry for summary vengeance
upon the murderer, but time has tem
pered this into a universal demand
for justice, which is none the less de
termined in that it is not so demon
strative as the first hot wave of in
dignation.
The Phagan case has remained in
the public mind partly, of course, be
cause it has remained as baflling a
mystery as the local detectives ever
have encountered. With the mystery
solved its appealing interest gradual
ly would have died out, but a review
of the tragic features of the drama
so far as it has progressed and a
consideration of those who have parts
in it supplies an explanation of why
the fate of Mary Phagan is still up
permost in the people’s hearts.
The revolting circumstances of the
crime—the attack, the pitiful % gle
of the helpless child in the hanfrA of
her assailant, the blow and, finally,
the garrote—all refuse to be erased
from the memory.
Two Principal Figures.
But standing out in stronger prom
inence than the remembrance of these
abhorrent details are two of the
principal figures in the tragedy.
They are Mary Phagan. victim, and
Leo M. Frank, charged by the Sta*e
with her death. These two have made
the appeal to the public imagination.
The contrast in their positions in life
Intensified it.
Mary Phagan was only a little fac
tory girl whose happy and innocent
laughter was stilled by one of the
blackest crimes in Quanta’s history.
Leo Frank, a brilliant young man of
position and family, was accused of
this deed of a beast in human guise.
Mary Phagan was not rich. She
was giad to get the $3 or $4 a week
that her work at the pencil factory
"/on for her.
' .eo Frank's family had wealth. An
was a reputed millionaire.
- Phagan had hardly the edu-
whlch her years entitled
h» lines were not always easy m
Ler iv-nily and she was driven to neg-
PRESERVE
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With
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Assisted when necessary by
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" Cuticura Soap and Ointment Bold throughout the
world Sample of earh mailed free, with 32-p book.
Address post-card “Cuticura.” Dept. 14<;, Boston.
fiHT'Men who shave and shampoo with Cuticura
Soap will And It beat for skin and scalp.
LITTLE MARY PHAGAN AND HER CHUM
Honk-Honk Drowns
Kansas Church Bells
lect her schoolbooks and work in the
factory.
Frank was a Cornell graduate. He
had a high technical education. He
had been sent abroad to select the
machinery for the Atlanta plant. His
business associates placed every con
fidence in him. His friends knew him
for an upright and moral young man.
with a most promising career ahead
of him.
That he would descend to'the level
of a criminal of the worst type was
inconceivable to them. The possibili
ty furnished to thousands of others
a subject for daily conjecture.
Life of Slain Girl.
Mary Phagan’s life began 14 years
ago in Marietta. She was the petted
“baby” of the family. She had three
older brothers and a sister, now 18.
Even in the early years of childhood
she is remembered as having the pret
ty features and attractive ways that
made her greatly liked by her girl
friends later when she came to work
in Atlanta.
For a playmate in the days at Ma
rietta she had one who was to play a
brief but sensational part in April’s
tragedy. It was J. M. Gantt. Within
a few hours after her cold body was
found in the gloomy basement of the
National Pencil Factory her child
hood playmate was arrested as he left
a car In Marietta, to which place
there seemed at the time every indi
cation that he was fleeing.
Her childish prattle had changed to
the happy conversation of young girl
hood when the family moved to East
Point. There bereavement visited the
family in the death of Mary’s father.
Hardship followed sorrow' and it be
came necessary for little Mary to
follow the example of her brothers
and sisters and assist in providing a
livelihood for the family. She could
not do much, but she did her mite
willingly and cheerfully.
A year ago Mrs. Phagan married
W. J. Coleman and the family moved
to No. 146 Lindsay street, Atlanta.
Mary obtained work in the National
Pencil Factory and soon made friends
with all the children about her home
and with the girls she met at the
factory. Although she never had
many of the luxuries of life, Mary
was reared carefully by her mother
and enloyed the wise counsel that is
sometimes denied the children of
families in more pretentious circum
stances.
All Loved Little Mary.
To the loving and painstaking
home training, the attractive half-
shy little maiden brought a natural
ly sw’eet disposition. In the few' lei
sure hours she had she often played
about her home with the children of
the neighbors. The little people of
Bellwood, on the outskirts of Atlanta,
all grew' to love the sweet-tempered,
pretty little girl. When they return
ed to their homes after a frolic their
conversation was of what Mary had
said and what Mary had done.
The fathers and mothers began to
take notice of her as she laughed and
chattered among the other children.
They came to w'atch for the time
each morning when she boarded a
car to go to work at the pencil fac
tory- They took a sort of parental
interest in the bright-eyed, light
hearted little girl.
The small community is a bit of a
city in itself. Everyone know’s every
one else and the neighborly spirit is
exemplified in the manner in which
the residents, most of them working
people, struggle for each other and
sympathize in each other’s afflictions.
They joined in their near-worship of
the little factory girl. She embodied
in their minds pure and attractive
young girlhood. They guarded her
reputation almost as jealously as did
her own mother. If anything should
happen to her it would be a shock to
every family in the little community.
On a Thursday, the last In April,
Mary was playing with two of her
dearest girl chums. Vera Epps and
Lillian Waignel. The back yards of
the Phagan and Epps homes adjoined.
The Waignel girl lived just across the
street from Vera Epps at No. 249 Fox
street. An expected shipment of met
al at the pencil factory had not ar
rived and a section of the plant was
shut down • temporarily, throwing
Mary out of work until the metal
should arrive.
A Strange Foreboding.
The three little girls ran and played
about the whole afternoon, laughing
and talking in their childish happi
ness. Tow'ard evening, tired from the
frolic, they rested on the embank
ment near their homes. In .the hard
red clay thev dug out their initials
as they rested.
“M. P.” were the letters scratched
out of the dirt by Mary.
“Let’s keep them here always,”
cried Vera, clapping her hands.
“But if one of us should die?” sug
gested Mary.
“Then the other two of us would
come back here and dig the initials
out again w'hen it rained,” Vera re
plied, but a shadow had fallen over
the gayety of the little group.
Two days later several of the house
wives of Bellwood. looking from their
windows, saw Mary Phagan get
aboard a car for Atlanta, and they
never saw her return. Vera Epps
waved her a good-bye as Mary hur
ried down the street without a
thought that it was a last farewell.
When Vera looked upon her play
mate the next time, there was no
answering smile. The pink cheeks
that flushed with happiness and
health w f ere ghastly white except
where they were begrimed and piti
fully bruised and swollen. The beau
tiful young body', once full of life, was
cold and inanimate and mutilated.
Goes to the Factory.
The Confederate veterans were pre
paring to honor their dead when Mary
came into town that day. It was a
holiday and she had planned to go to
the pencil factory to get the $1,20 due
her for the s'hort time she had worked
that w r eek and then to witness the
parade of the boys in gray.
She got a word of greeting from
Conductor W. T. Hollis w’hen she
boarded the car on its run into town.
Motorman W. M. Matthew's, who
many times before had brought the
little girl from her home In Redwood
to work in Atlanta, also noticed her
as he slowed down to take her at
the crossing.
Conductor Hollis savg that the car
arrived at Broad and Marietta streets
at 12:07 o’clock. He wrap relieved
there by another conductor and
knows only that Mary stayed on the
car. Motorman Matthews says that
she left at Broad and Hunter and
fHY
dpii
Iral
MANHATTAN. KANS., July 22.—
Pastors and teachers at the State
conference here declare that automo
biles are responsible for the lack of
Interest in church work.
One thousand churches have been
abandoned in Kansas.
SEABOARD NAMES
LOW BALTIMORE
RATE.
; $20.85 round trip, on sale Au-
< gust 1-2-3. Through electric light-
> ed steel trains, excellent Dining
s Car service. Ticket Office, 88
f Peachtree.
■'****:,
V
’X.
started toward the factory. Some time
between 12:10 and 12:15 Mary Pha
gan entered the doors of the National
Pencil- Factory and w’ent to the office
of Lao TCrank, where she drew her
pay. She never was seen alive after
that moment except by the brute that
attacked her, beat her cruelly and
completed his demoniac crime by’
looping a cord about the tender flesh
of her neck and strangling her tc
death.
No One Saw Her Alive Again.
From the moment that the little
factory girl entered th« office of
Frank the mystery dated.
Whether she never left the presence
of the young superintendent alive, the
public does* not know.
Whether she started down the
stairs and there was attacked by a
negro fiend lurking in the darkness,
later paying out the toll of her young
life to the fury of his bestiality, also
is shrouded in a mystery as yet un
dispelled by the searching investiga
tion of three months.
Many pieces of evidence point to
the latter surmise, but no one, so far
as is known, is able to say wifh cer
tainty that this is so, save possibly
Jim Conley himself.
Conley and Frank, by their own ad
missions. w'ere in the factory when
Mary' Phagan entered. Frank told
freely of his presence there. Conley's
confession was wrung from him after
three weeks in a cell at the police sta
tion.
Upstairs on the fourth floor were
Harry' Denham and Arthur White.
Mrs. White visited the factory to see
her husband. She left shortly' before
1 o’clock, when Frank came to the
fourth floor to tell the men that if
they w’ished to remain they would
have to stay’ until about 3 o’clock, as
he was going home for lunch and
would lock them in.
Frank Alone in Factory.
They stayed in the factory and
Frank departed within a few minutes.
Shortly before 3 o’clock he returned
and the men came downstairs and
left, after White had gone into
Frank’s office to borrow $2.
Frank was alone in the factory from
this time until 4 o’clock. No one has
any information as to when Conley'
left or how he left, except by his own
statements. He says that he left
shortly after 1 o’clock by the front
door. If Frank’s story of the time be
quit the building is true, it is fairer
to presume that the negro left some
time after 1 o’clock and through th«*
basement’s rear door, which he forced
open by pulling the staple.
Newt Lee. the negro night watch
man. came to the factory at 4 o’clock.
He unlocked the outside door and the
door leading up to the second floor.
“All right, Mr. Frank,” he shout
ed as he approached the superintend
ent’s office.
Sent Negro Lee Away.
Frank appeared rubbing his hands
and remarking that it was too bad
Le e had come down at this time as
he might as w’ell have stayed at
home and got more sleep. He told
Lee he might go and return at 6
o’clock, the regular hour for report
ing.
A few’ minutes after Lee came back
to the factory. J. M. Gantt, a dis
charged employee, walked across the
street and said he would like to go
into the factory and get a pair of
shoes he had left there three weeks
before. Frank gave him permission,
but seemed a little doubtful of
Gantt’s real purpose. After the fac
tory superintendent had gone to his
home, he (‘ailed Lee up on the. tele
phone and asked if Gantt were gone
and everything was all right at the
factory. Lee replied that Gantt had
left as soon as he had obtained the
.shoes and called up a girl friend
from the office.
Lee made his regular rounds for
several hours that night, shutting
dow'n all the window's and making
his trip over the different floors, as
was his custom.
He climbed down the ladder into
the basement to see if everything was
all right down there. He went no
farther, however, than the flickering
gas light at the bottom pf the lad
der. Peering through the darkness,
he saw' nothing out of the way.
Second Trip to Basement,
That night was no different than
any' other night up until shortly be
fore 3 o’clock in the morning, if the
negro’s story' is to be credited. At
this time he made another trip into
the basement.
Did he hear some sound that led
him to go down the ladder and ven
ture beyond the dim circle of light*
from the gas jet?
Was some other living being in
the cellar when he clambered down
the ladder?
He says not. With his dirty, smoky
lanterr. he descended through the
scuttle hole. This time he did not
stop at the little area of light made
by the gas jet. Swinging his lan
tern slowly back and forth in front of
him, he made his way toward the rear
of the basement. Near the boiler he
stopped. After a few moments he
looked about him.
What was that ly'ing over there to
his left on a pile of sawdust and oth
er trash and dirt? Could It be that
some of the rascally fellows in the
plant were playing this ghoulish joke
on him?
Tremblingly he held the lantern in
front of him. The black man’s eyes
dilated with horror. There could be
no mistake about it. Hit Impulse was
to flee, but he pulled himwelf together.
He started toward the dark, inert
object lying there on the trash heap
(To Be Continued To-morrow.)
Motorcyclist Hurt
In Auto Collision
Dave Rudisall, of College Park. Is
in Grady Hospital with a broken leg
as a result of a collision between his
motorcycle and an automobile near
Fort McPherson Monday afternoon.
The automobile was driven by
Harry Manning, of East Point. His
machine was uninjured and he car
ried Rudisall to the hospital.
6,500-Pound Cheese
Made in New York
UTICA. N. Y., July 22.—The finish
ing touches pn a cheese weighing 6.500
pounds, the largest cheese ever made
In New York State, if not in the
w'orld. were put on to-day' at the
Gowdy factory in Martinsburg.
Two days’ milk from two factories
was required. The cheese will be
exhibited at the State fair in Syra
cuse.
CfiST fie HOUSE
Recess Taken Out of Respect to
Speaker Burwell, Whose Sis
ter Died Suddenly.
A shadow was thrown over the
House Tuesday morning by the death
of Speaker W. H. Harwell's sister.
Misy Ruth Burw'ell. Out of respect
to the Speaker the House recessed for
tw'o hours after adopting resolutions
expressing sympathy for the bereaved
member.
Miss Burwell died Monday' after
noon at 5 o’clock at the residence of
Mrs. Brooks, in Griffin, where she was
visiting. While .“he had not been w’ell
for some time, her death was unex
pected. Mr. Burwell spent Sunday
with her and she appeared to be much
improved.
Miss Burwell was well known
throughout the State, being a woman
of unusual brilliance. Her home was
in Albany, where she was dearly be
loved. She was 35 y’ears of age.
Second Among Members’ Family.
Her death is the ►'econd to occur
among the families of House members
during this session. Chairman L. R.
Akin, of the Ways and Means Com
mittee. suffered the loss of a daugh
ter tw’o weeks ago.
Adjournment for the entire day
would have been taken Tuesday hut
for the fact that a joint meeting of
the Senate and House had been ar
ranged for the canvassing of the vote
for United States Senator July 15, in
which Senator Bacon was the only
candidate.
In future the House will get down
to work early, adopting a resolution
Tuesday morning petting the hour of
convening at 9 o’clock for the remain
ing 23 days of the session. The regu
lar hour of adjournment, 1 o'clock,
Will continue.
House Faces Three Busy Weeks.
With virtually every committee
meeting daily, the members of the
Houmg are facing three strenuous
weeks. The local bills have been dis
posed of in wholesale quantities knd
but a small number remain before the
House. The calendar is rapidly get
ting down to a general bill basis and
scant attention will be paid to local
ones in the future.
The recess prevented the taking up
of the general appropriations bill
which Chairman Wheatley, of the Ap
propriations Committee, had an
nounced he would call for to-day', and
it probably will be taken up Wed
nesday. The appropriation bill takes
precedent over all other bills*.
PICTURES THEY FELL IN LOVE
WITH.—The surprising romances
I that followed three paintings, for
which Cupid mixed the colors, will
be revealed in next Sunday's Ameri
can.
EJOLTED
El
GIVEN TRIPLE PENALTY.
COLUMBUS.—Moss Gose, a negro,
who tried to enter the home of W. A
McCrany r , a w’hite man, and when
prevented by McCrany’s wife, cursed
in her presence, was fined $25, sen
tenced to 30 days on the rock pile and
placed under bond to appear in the
City Court.
Boarder Adores Landlady, but
She Has Him Bound Over as
a Firebug.
Confessions of love requited were
made and repudiated in Judge
Broyles’ court Tuesday w'hen the trial
of G. A. Vaughn on the charge of
arson made by Mrs. A. C. Klapper
following the burning of her home at
No. 256 East Hunter street last Fri
day was heard.
Vaughn was bound over to a high
er court under bond of $3,000, but not
before he had emptied his heart of
all its feeling for his accuser and de
clared that his love had not been
spurned by her.
“Why she placed her arms about
me and kissed me tenderly the morn
ing of the fire,’’ Vaughn, who was a
boarder at Mrs. Klapper’ home, de
clared. “And now she charges me
with arson. It can not be true."
By this statement, Mrs. Klapper.
w'ho is past middle age, was consid
erably ruffled.
“I never did kiss him," she exclaim
ed. “On e time he gave me $30 when
I w’as sick to pay doctors’ bills, and
when I bought a coat with the money
he got mad and said he would burn
it up. And he did, and my house, i
too.”
The fir* was discovered in a closet
in Vaughn's room on the top floor
shortly after he had departed for
downtown. Miss Bonnie Burns, an
other boarder, testified at the trial
that Vaughn, in leaving the house
had looked up at the roof. Miss
Burns' testimony proved the strong
est against Vaughn.
SNAKE BITE FATAL.
BAXLEY.—Will Morris, 15 y’ears
old, living near the Altamaha River.
Appling County, who was bitten by a
rattlesnake, died after twelve hours of
agony.
There is a piece of
Real Estate adver
tised in the “Want
Ad” columns of
The Georgian to
day which will
make the buyer
rich.
WILL IT
BE YOU?
%
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Wilton Jellico
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WHY CRIME DOES NOT PAY.—
Sophie Lyons, most famous criminal
of modern times, tells of thrilling
events which crowded one short
week of her life, in next Sunday’s
American.
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