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TTTE ATLANTA GEORGIAN ANT) NEWS.
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CHAPTER 5 IN PHAGAN CASE
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Geologist Has Just Completed
Survey—Declares Vast Latent
Wealth Is There.
The Negro Conley’s Confession That
He Was Frank’s Accomplice and
Events Leading Up to Trial.
Warren F
the United :
returned to
Hal
State
district engin
i Geological Survey,
ta Friday from th«
riortria Everglades, where, in com
pany with E. T. F’erklns. M. O. Leigh
ton and I sham Randolph, he made u
survey to determine the feasibility of
draining the great swamps.
Mr. Hall is pleased with the result
of the investigation and declares U
will be possible to reclaim most of
the water-covered area.
"There are." said Mr. Hall, “hun
dred* of square miles in the Ever
glades where no white man h»s ever
set foot. I predict that just as soon
as enough money can he appropriated
and Judiciously used this now useless
territory can be turned into the most
fertile farm land.
Canal To Be Built.
“The first great task to be under
taken will be the construction of h
canal which will connect Miami and
Fort Meyers, thus uniting the east
and west coasts of Florida This
canal will he made navigable for the
largest ships and will reduce the
distance between these two points
365 miles
“Florida some time ago made an
appropriation for drainage work. Sev
eral million dollars were spent. The
work was done without due consid
eration. The men engaged Jumped at
conclusions, and as a consequence
the work done la lost time and money
uselessly spent, for the water does not
run the light way.
“An appropriation of $40,000 haa
been made recently for Investigation
alone to determine exactly what can
be done. Our report has gone In and
appropriated
CHAPTER VI.
“He H^o Frank) told me that he
had picked up a girl back there and
I had let her fall, and that her head
()f had hit against something—he didn’t
know what it was—and for me io
move her, and I hoilcred and told him
the girl was dead!"
With this startling accusation Jim
f’onley introduced his third confes
sion. Under the rack of a merciless
third degree, continued through the
long afternoon of May 29, he weak- ;
ened or became desperate toward the I
last and came out with his remark- J
able affidavit, which laid the retpon- |
sibllity for the killing of Mary Pha-
gan directly upon the shoulders of the
young factory superintendent.
Either it was ail true or all false. (
If it were true, the negro simply had
wilted under the ceaseless fire of the |
detectives’ questions and had decided
to own up to his share in the crime
and to seek to protect Frank no long- !
er. If It were falae, Conley, driven
to bay, had, as a forlorn hope of (
saving his otarn neck, concocted the
marvelous tale to thrust the suapl- ,
cion of guilt upon the innocent Frank j
Defense Attacks Confession.
The latter Is the theory' of Frank’s
lawyers, and they will advance it and
bring evidence to support It and arg’Je
In Its favor with all the ability at j
their command when the trial, set
for next Monday, is* under way.
“Why, when the negro admittedly
has told a long series of falsehoods
and has perjured himself repeatedly
since his arrest should this last weird
tale of his be taken as the gospel ;
truth?’’ is the question they ask. and
apparently with some degree of rea
the
will be
at
$6,000,000
once.
Beauties of Okechobee.
‘‘One place where the drainage
work previously done proved a suc
cess—Zona, Fla., about eight miles
(West of Fort Lauderdale -a real es
tate company purchased 10,000 acres
of land for $i an acre. This com
pany is selling this land at $60
acre
strange spell of his acting had
passed away aroused the suspicion
that tlv-re was i possibility of this
third affidavit, too, being a perjury
and this wonderful acting being a
product of the black man’s vivid
imagination, spurred on by the shad
ow of the gallows across his path.
Since this dramatic event at the
factory, the negro has not changed
his story in any essential point, the
den * tiv»w say. It is possible that the
authorities are so sure of the truth of
his tale that they are making no se
rious efforts to gain further admis
sions from him. They deny that this
is a fact. They declare that when
with the negro they have worked on
the theory that he may be the actual
criminal, and many times have put
him through the third degree In an
effort to get another confession out of
him.
Many inconsistencies have been
found in Conley’s story. Many ap
parent deviations from truth have
been pointed out A number of state
ments conflicting with the testimony
of other witnesses were m;ide. But it
remained for William H. Mincey,
school teacher and insurance agent, to
give the negro the lie direct and to
charge him with the crime.
Mincey Affidavit a Bomb.
Next to the story of Jim Conley
himself, the affidavit of Mincey, ac
cusing the negro of the boast of
killing a girl, was the most sensa
tional of the entire I’hagan mystery.
In the point of direct accusation, it
even surpassed the tale of Conley.
Events of importance have oc
curred in the case through June and
July up to the present, but the state
ment of Mincey overshadowed them
all.
Minola MrKnight, negro cook, grill
others entered the building, the tale
of Mincey took on new importance.
He was taken to the office of Attor
ney Rosser and there his statement
was transcribed.
Story Causes Turmoil.
The publication of his accusations
created great excitement in detec
tive circles. Harry' Scott. Pinkerton
detective, rushed to the police station,
where he made the declaration tha*
Mincey never told them a story* of
that sort when he came there to iden
tify Conley. He added that Mince*
had appeared far from confident t h a;
day that Conley was the man he had
talked to Saturday afternoon, April
26.
Chief Lanford scouted the sforv and
said he believed it to be a baseless
fabrication. He hardly thought the
defense would call Mincey to the wit
ness stand when the trial actually be
gan. Solicitor Dorsey set out at on e
to make an investigation of the story.
He looked up Mlncey's history in
every place he had lived in Georgia.
He also was the recipient of rnanv
letters concerning the insurant
agent-teacher. At the end of a week
he announced that he believed ie
would be able to discredit the affi
davit.
Subsequent developments are re
cent history. June 3ft. the date orig
inally set for the 4 dal, approached,
there were vvell-authenticated rumors
that a postponement would be granr-
ed. Judge L. S. Roan, who will pre
side at the trial, was present at a
son.
I ed in what Mrs. Frank, wife of the
accused factory superintendent, was
True or false, the negro’s story was | pleased to fnrm “the detectives’ tor-
wonderfully impressive to the thou- tore chamber,” signed her name to
sands who read his damning unctisn- i an affidavit which told of incrim-
tions against the factory superintend-{inatlng incidents at the home of
nt next day. If the affidavit were a ; Frank the night of the murder and
fabrication of the negro’s guilty mind, j the next morning. Within a few
It was most cleverly and shrewdly hours after she had been liberated
conceived. There was Just enough ! from the police station she denied to
detail to his narration of how he had
assisted Frank to dispose of the body
to give the statement the color of nat
uralness and verity, and not such m
overabundance as to lead to the sus
picion that the Incidents were being
manufactured in the brain of the
narrator.
Negro Sticks to Story.
If Conley's story of the alleged part
he had in the killing of the little fac
tory girl was dramatic, his re-en-
an netment next day in the old factory
building of - very detail of his as-
The Everglades are about 20 fe#*f founding st >rv was infinitely more so.
above sea level and the water can be W hile a group of police officials, de-
made to run easily into the ocesn. I te( qj Vf .o i factory attaches and nows-
Our scheme is to \
system in the wet »
erfuct a drainage
eason and an ir
rigating system n the d»y months.
The soil Is rich and black and the cli
mate is ideal. No malaria is found in
the center of the Everglades at Lake
Okechobee- a beautiful lake about JO
miles square—a little inland sea, one
might term it There is not a minute
in the day that huge black bass do
not jump in the water. There are
hundreds of them, and as you travel
in a boat a continual splashing is
heard.
Killed Some Alligators.
“There are very few mosquitoes.
Bo fur this slimmer the temperature
In the Everglades has been cool. I
think 92 degrees is the wannest day
we had.
“We traveled many of the rivers.
And. I tell you. I saw many strange
And weird sights. We traveled In a
combination sail nnd power yacht,
in the evening, when the moon shone
bright, we sat in our boat and
fished. I caught many bass as large
as seven pounds and shot a number
of alligator®—one over twelve feet in
length escaped. His jaws were large
enough to take h calf in his mouth
“1 enjoyed the trip every minute
and can positively say that golden
opportunity and fabulous wealth
await investment in the Evergladv.»s
of Florida.’’
House Seems Sure
To Pass Drugs Bill
The Shuptrine drug bill has been
made special order in the House for
Tuesday. Indications are it will l.e
passed. The bill provides for rigid
enforcement of the law a against the
eale of narcotics. It allows a limited
supply of opium and cocaine to he
kept in stores. Inspectors are pro
vided for. A special tax of $10 on
druggists will maintain the system.
Representative Shuptrine. who is
head of a large drug firm in Savan
nah and who has been president of
the Georgia Pharmaceutical Associa
tion. has worked hard for the passage
of the bill. He has the personal in
dorsement of more than half the
druggists in Georgia.
C>o your eyes ache or blur when
reading? Accurately fitted glasses will
correct your troubles
j paper men followed him closely about
i the second floor, down the elevator,
Into the basement and back again,
listening, spellbound, to his every
word, the negro reproduced, move-
1 ment by movement, every detail of
!?he grewsome work in which he said
‘ he had had only a part.
Unhesitatingly—a 1 most unconcern
edly—he started from the point where
he said he came irn>n the body, in
the rear of the second floor near the
metal department. Except for an oc
casional question from Chief Beavers
Fhief Lanford or Harry Scott, he told
his story without prompting.
Re-enacts Ghastly March.
“There’s where she laid,” he said,
pointing to a narrow passageway, and
I he dropped down on the floor to show
exactly the position of Mary Pha-
| gan’s body as he had said he found
! her. He lay partly on his fare, with
his right leg slightly drawn up.
“Why, this girl’s stone dead!” he
declared he yelled to Frank in the
first fright of his discovery. “Mr.
Frank was standing in the doorway
right there. He told me to get a
sack and put her body in that."
Then the negro showed where he
found the crocus bagging in wfrlch his
affidavit said he carried the body, lie
made as though he were carrying a
heavy weight on his shoulders, and
l>ointed out where the burden of the
dead girl’s body became too heavy for
him. He said he called on Frank to
help him. The superintendent, he said,
came, cursing him for his clumsiness.
But Frank was nervous. Conley as
serted, and himself dropped the feet
of the little girl when they had pro
ceeded but a few steps farther. The
negro proceeded to the elevator, where
he said he waited for Frank to get
the key. described the trip to the
basement and his carrying of the body
to the trash heap at the rear while
Frank, he said, watched at the little
trapdoor to see that no one inter
rupted them.
Tellg of Writing Notes.
Conley said that he ran the eleva
tor returning, and that Frank go on at
the first floor.
“Gee, that was a tiresome Job,”
Frank said, according to the negro.
“Then Mr. Frank hops off the ele
vator before it gets to the second
floor.” he continued, “and he makes
a stumble and he hits the floor and
latches with both hands, and he went
,, - . ... i around to the sink to wash his hands,
OeulUt i«rvtre hi opticians prices and , want Hnd th . m „ (or ; „,d
M> L w N i4t?“h r n 7A\vhi,'’h.n V ° S,0r r 1 a "‘' waited for Mr Frank to
52 W Mitchell, 7ft Whitehall a<i\ Pome f r ,m around there washing his
■ — ■ ~~ -==-=• ----- j bands, and then we wa nt into his of-
c« T1 A OTTAnn
OJtiAbxiUKili i lv keep still.”
Conley then described the writing
of the notes, which he had maintained
| from the time of his first affidavit
. .. had been dictated to him by Frank.
Jacksonville, Brunswick, ,, >i w,!1 through th. grim dra-
i - ...«.v. a realism that was convlnc-
EXCURSION
AUGUST 7.
St. Simon, Cumberland, At
lantic Beach, $6.00 Limit
ed 6 days. Tampa, Fla., $8
—Limited 8 days.
TWO SPECIAL TRAIY3.
10 p. m. solid Pullman train.
10:15 p. m. Coach train.
Make Reservations Now.
SOUTHERN RAILWAY.
ma with
ing. His readiness, his unfaltering
course from the second floor to the
basement and back again, his prompt
explanation of every puzzling point
that arose, his quotations of alleged
conversations that occurred between
Frank and himself all quite erased
from the memory the confessed fact
that he had just been guilty In his
two previous affidavits of the grosest
falsehood. For the moment everyone
was willing to believe the negro im
plicitly.
Suspicion Again Aroused.
But a sober second thought after
INCINNAT:
TWO FAST TRAINS
Lv.7:124M-i5:10PJ.
a Georgian reporter that she ever
had made the statements accredited
to her in the so-called affidavit.
Foil Plan to Move Conley.
An effort was made to get Conley
away from the detectives by having
him removed to the Tower. This at
tempt was frustrated in a proceed
ing characterized by Attorney Ros
ser as farcical in the extreme Frank's
counsel (barged that the detectives
were afraid to let Conley talk.
Strength was added to the defense
in June by the addition of Reuben
Arnold, one of the city’s noted crim
inal lawyers, to Frank’s counsel. Ar
nold said in making the announce
ment that he was to aid in the de-
iense declared that he had reviewed
the evidence carefully and had be
come convinced that Frank could not
be guilty of the crime.
Habeas corpus proceedings to ob
tain the freedom of Newt Lee, held
in the Tower since his commitment
soon after the murder, were brought
by the attorneys for the negro, but
failed, except in changing Lee’s status
and procuring for him more priv
ileges.
Charges Death Boast.
On July 10 The Georgian published
the startling charges of Mincey which
were contained in an affidavit in pos
session of the defense. Four days
later The Georgian got from Mincey,
who was teaching school at Hiring
Faun, Ala., his own story of
his conversation with Conley in
which he declared the negro on the
afternoon that Mary I’hagan was
slain had bragged of killing a girl.
Mincey for a short time was an
agent for the American Insurance
Company, of No. 115 1-2 North Pryor
street. He was assigned a district
west of the Terminal StHtion. He
declared in his affidavit that he work
ed in the office until noon on April
26, and in the afternoon w*ent on
Peachtree street and saw the pa
rade Later he said he w’ent over be
yond Davis street on “back calls” and
to make an effort to close some pros
pects.
Mincey saw* Cdnley, he asserted,
sitting by the house situated on the
bluff at the junction of Electric ave
nue and Carter street. According to
Mincey, the negro appeared to be
asleep, but 9M (hi agent p«MWd by
Conley raised his head and shouted:
"Who is that?”
‘‘It s a ‘policy man,’ ” said a negro
woman who was going by at the
time.
Says Conley Was Excited.
“I stopped and got into a conver
sation with the negro about Insur
ance.” said Mincey in his formal
statement to The Georgian.
“He told me his name was Jim
Conley. He told me that he lived at
No. 172 Rhodes street. I saw there
was something wrong with him. He
was nervous and excited and tried to
put me off by telling me to come to
No. 172 Rhodes street next week and
he would take insurance.
"lie told me he was in trouble,
asked him if they had had him in
the jail or stockade. He said no, but
that he was expecting to be in Jail
and that right away. 1 asked him
what for.
"lie said: ‘Murder; I killed a girl
to-day! ’
"I started down toward him.
“He said: ‘I tell you not to com
down here.'
“When he saw that I was coming
anyway, he jumped up, and as lie
went around the corner of the house
he said: ‘I have killed one to-day
and I don’t want to kill another.’”
Believed It Idle Brag.
Mincey went on to relate that he
had not attached much importance to
the incident at the time, thinking that
the negro was boasting of some negro
scrap* in which be had bean Involved
When ,he read the papers the nex
Monday, however, he was struck with
the conviction that Conley was the
man who committed the murder.
lie said that he went to the factory
the next day, but that everything was
so confused and ’haotic that no cm*
would listen to his story, and he was
almost chased out of the building
along with a score of others who wer?
offering the detectives and factory of
ficials suggestions and clews.
Before lie left he gained the ear of
E. F Holloway, day watclunay, but
Holloway told him that there were (.a
negroes about the building before 4
| o'clock, *'* far as he knew, and Min
cey departed.
When Conley came out with his
| Emission that he not only was in the
; ’actory the day of the crime, hut that
he w. - skulking in the shadows of the
* first floor when Mari Phagan and
(onference of the atto-neys June 24.
and by agreement between counsel set
the date for next Monday, July 28.
Conley Indictment Urged.
With the publication of the sensa
tional charges of Mincey came a de
mand for an investigation of Conley's
part in the crime by the Grand Jury.
The demand was made on the ground
that, if the negro were guilty, lie
should not go into the trial with the
credibility of a free man, when It
would he a natural supposition that
the most natural thing for him to do
would be to testify agahist Frank in
order to shift the blame from his oah
shoulders, where it belonged. It was
argued that Conley should have ex
actly the same status as P"rank.
Solicitor Dorsey bitterly opposed a
movement of this sort. He said that
he would fight it to the last. He de
clared he had sufficient evidence to
convict jho factory superintendent
and that'he was confident of his guilt.
Over the Solicitor’s head, Foreman
W. I>. Beatie called a meeting of
the Grand Jury, on the request* of
many of its members. The Solicitor
was asked to be present when the
jurors met July 21. No other wit
nesses wore called. The Solicitor for
an hour and a half detailed his rea
sons for not desiring the indictment
of Conley. At the conclusion of the
session it was announced that no ac
tion would be taken on the negro's
case at that time.
Dorsey Balks Postponement.
The next skirmish came on the pro
posal again to postpone the trial The
Solicitor again set himself In opposi
tion to this plan, declaring that the
State had been prepared to go ahead*
since June 30 and that there was no
valid reason apparent why it could
not go on when called July 28.
Frank will go on trial for his life
next Monday if no motion for a con
tinuance is successful. The present
indications are that no effort will be
made for a postponement. Witnesses
are being summoned by both sides;
the Judge has expressed his opinion
that the trial will proceed, and the
venire has been drawn.
The young factory superintendent
will go befose the tribunal expressing
confidence In his acquittal. Through
the three months that he has been
imprisoned in a cell at the Tower his
optimism never has left him for a
moment. He Is one of the most re
markable prisoners ever in the county
jail. He has been assured and confi
dent. He has talked little of the crime,
even among his friends. He has read
the papers and magazines closely.
When he has been visited by his wife
and other relatives, the conversation
invariably has been on cheerful sub
jects. He has refused to be drawn
Into a discussion of the mystery w'ith
the reporters.
"The guilty man should hang,” the
remark he made when told of Con
ley’s third confession, is practically
his sole comment on Atlanta’s great
est murder mystery.
HEARST’S
Dally
GEORGIAN
Sunday
AMERICAN
Now Leads Them All
Statement Filed by Atlanta Georgian
the Postoffice Department
With
STATEMENT OF THE OWNERSHIP, MAN
AGEMENT. CIRCULATION. ETC., of THE AT
LANTA GEORGIAN, published daily at Atlanta, Geor
gia, required by the Act of August 24, 1912. Editor,
Keats Speed, Atlanta, Ga. Managing Editor, H. M.
Schraudenbach, Atlanta, Ga. Business Manager, H. E.
Murray, Atlanta, Ga. Publisher, The Georgian Com
pany, Atlanta, Ga. Owner The Georgian Company,
W. R. Hearst, 187 Riverside Drive, New York, N. Y.
Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security
holders, holding one per cent or more of total amount
of bonds, mortgages or other securities: W. R. Hearst,
137 Riverside Drive, New York, N. Y. The Trust Com
pany of Georgia, Atlanta, Ga.. Trustee. Average num
ber of copies of each issue of this publication sold or dis
tributed through the mails or otherwise, to paid sub
scribers during the sjx months preceding April 1, 1913,
43,236; free to advertisers, employees, exchanges, serv
ice, etc., 3,112; total circulation, 46,348. H. E. Murray,
Business Manager. Sworn to and subscribed before me
this 24th day of July, 1913. (Seal) H. C. Crosthwait,
Notary Public. My commission expires March, 1915.
SWORN CIRCULATION STATEMENT
June 1st to June 30th
CITY CIRCULATION
By Carrier . : 19,144
Street Sales and News Stands 7,891
Suburban Agents (20-Mile Zone) ..... 11,007
Total 38,042
COUNTRY CIRCULATION
Country Agents 20,933
Mail 6,859
Total 27,792
DAILY AVERAGE CIRCULATION.... 65,834
SUNDAY CIRCULATION 87,589
The above figures are true and correct to the best of my
information and belief. (Signed) ALBERT ELLIS,
Cireulation Manager.
Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 9th day of July.
1913. H. C. CROSTHWAIT,
N otarv Public, Fulton Countv, Oa. My Commission Expires
1915.
You Can’t Afford to
Miss To-morrow’s Great
I SUNDAY
American
It is supreme in the Southern Newspaper
field and contains more live, up-to-date features
than all the others combined.
HERE ARE SOME OF
THE FEATURES
Great Comic Section
Funny cartoons by world famous artists. Young
and old alike are put in good humor for the entire
day after reading it. •
Society and Society’s Doings
Polly Peachtree’s gossip has all Atlanta talking.
Her entertaining chatter is unsurpassed in lively
interest and is reinforced hy pages of beautiful pic
tures and newsy gossip.
The World ol Sport
The greatest experts in the world write for the
Sunday American and every brand of sport is ex
haustively covered and finely illustrated.
Fiction and Humor
Cosmo Hamilton’s great sex story "Adam’s Clay”
appears in the Sunday American. It is a story of
gripping interest. The City Life Section is chock
full of humor and contains the famous Powers and
Mutt and Jeff cartoons.
Fall in Love With Pictures?
A page feature of famous portraits which brought
about surprising romances. Cupid surely mixed the
colors for these pictures.
Atlanta’s
Poet-Philosopher-Policeman
Did you know that Atlanta has the most extraor
dinary policeman? He writes poetry—has been a
member of the force for twenty-three years and
made only three arrests in two years.
J. Pierpont Morgan’s
Granddaughter
Richest of debutantes, but the least known, the
loneliest and the most unhappy. She is guarded
more jealously than any royal princess.
Why Crime Does Not Pay
Number 17 of a series of Remarkable Revelations,
by Sophie Lyons, Queen of the Burglars.
The Long Arm ot the Czar
The World’s Meanest Husband
The Latest Fashions
Lady Duff Gordon, the famous "Lucile,’
about and illustrates the prevailing modes.
SUNDAY
MERICAN
Main 100
An absorbing story of how a Noble Russian
beauty sought to evade the Imperial Spies and es
cape the "golden cage,” prepared for her by a dis
solute grand duke.
How Duke Ludwig of Bavaria, treated his pretty
chorus girl bride as a horse, a dog and a goat and
stole her pin money.
writes
ALL THESE AND MANY OTHERS WILL
BE FOUND IN TO-MORROW’S GREAT
You can’t afford to miss it, and to make sure
notify' your dealer to-day to save you a copy r , or
call up the office of The Georgian and Sunday
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