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TTTF ATLANTA CFOnOTAN AND NEWS.
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Copyright, 1JM3, Intern»Ui>ujU N«wa Servi «
Declares She Shot Husband Be
cause She Thought That He
Was Reaching for Gun,
Continued from Page 1.
kill Judge Godbee and his wife: tha> !
she would have to have been a fool j
or a crazy woman to have done such I
a thing.
He said thal the defendant had no I
intention of killing either Judge God-
bee or his wife when she went to the
postoffice that morning; that Judge*
Godbee called her a vile name there
and had sent her word beforehand
that he would kill her unless she left
Mlllen.
The attorney said that Judge God-
bee was anxious to alienate hie chil
dren from their mother, but they
*tuck loyally to her. The defendant
was warned by her daughter “to
watch out for papa as he may kill
you," and that was the reason why
she was always prepared to protect
herself. On the morning of the shoot
ing, Judge Godbee, addicted to the
use of morphine, had a desperate
look, Dixon said, and made a motion
with his hand as if to draw a pistol
after he had insulted the slayer. The
shooting of Mrs. Florence Godbee
was purely accidental, contended
IMxon, and anyone in the vicinity was
Just as likely to have been shot at
that time as the bride.
In conclusion, Dixon said that he
confidently expected a verdict of not
guilty.
There will be six speeches during
the day. and the defense, by not put
ting up any* witnesses, will have the
concluding argument Judge Saffold
will make the concluding argument
for the defense.
Two spectacular features marked
the hearing Thursday. One was the
impassioned statement of Mrs. God
bee In her own defense and the other
the testimony brought forward by the
State.
Mrs. Godbee. her voice trembling
with emotion, told the jurors that she
had slain Judge Godbee In the Millen
postoffice solely In self-defense, and
that she had feared he was about to
carry out his threats to shoot her.
She said that she did not Are until he
stepped toward her, reaching toward
his hip pocket and calling her on ob
scene name.
Woman Tell* of Alleged Plot.
Strongly discrediting this statement
of the accused woman was the testi
mony of Mrs. Arthur Spader, a tele
phone operator, who swore to having
overhead Mrs. Godbee confess to the
hiring of a thug to assassinate Judge
Godbee and his wife three months be
fore she did the killing herself.
Mrs. Godbee took the stand again
to deny the sensational story of the
telephone operator. She said that
Mrs. Spader's testimony evidently was
inspired by a spirit of revenge. The
defendant declared that Mrs. Spader
had been one of her roomers, and
that because of unsavory stories cir
culating In regard to her she had been
compelled to evict her from the
house This angered Mrs. Spader, she
said, and probably w as the animus for
her Incriminating tale related to the
jury.
Thp story of Mrs. Spader came near
the close of the nttrht session. Judge
Hammond deciding on holding court
late In order to get the trial through
by FYlday night. The witness was
nervous and trembling when she took
the stand. She had been asked only
a lew questions before she was weep
ing unrestrainedly. When It came to
the cross-examination, the attorneys
for the defense found It a difficult
iask to get a word from her between
her hysterical sobs. Rhe collapsed
entirely as she was led from the wit
ness fctanri and out of the courtroom
Says Thug Was Hired.
She managed to say during the time
she was on the stand that she had
boarded at the Godbee home for some
time and that she was the chief oper
ator at the Mlllen telephone exchange.
She testified that Mrs. Godbee. goad
ed into a desperation by the taunts of
her former husband, had confided in
her that she had hired a negro thug
to kill both him and his new wife.
"She told me that she had endured
his persecutions to the point of mad
ness," said the witness, "and that she
was desperate. I did not give much
thought to the story at the time, as 1
did not think it peculiar that she
should talk in this wild way under the
circumstances ”
Mrs. Godbee was on the witness
stand two hours. Her statement was
earnestly delivered and created an
impression on the crowds attending
the trial. Many of the marital diffi
culties of Mrs. Godbee and her former
husband were well known here, but
she pitilessly bared the intimate de
tails of her life, telling of her unhap
piness as her trump card in her battle
for freedom.
Mr?. Godbee told the jury that aft
er her marriage to Judge Godbee in
1887 she has known but few days ot
happiness. She charged that her for
mer husband had robbed her and her
brothers and sisters of their father'd
•Lite; had killed her younger broth-
Jake Perkins and escaped without
punishment; had choked and slapped
her. and struck her with his fist, and
f ^oo'p HouseV
I BILL J
■Hi
IS DELAYED IT
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letters from the postoffice at Perkins,
Gn , where he was postmaster for a
time, and finally, she said, he brought
to Atlanta and Installed her in a
house that had once been an Immoral
resort. I^ater, she claims, he circu
lated reports that she was an Immoral
woman and keeper of a resort.
Tells of Marriage.
“When my father died In 1886,”
Mrs Godbee said, "he left as execu
tors of his state my uncle and cousin.
Mr. Godbee came to look over my fa
ther's mercantile business and bought
It. He met me and called on me con
stantly. In July of 1887 we were
married.
“A few months later he began try
ing to get hold of my father’s estate,
and succeeded In gaining control r.f
the plantations My younger brother,
Jake, had trouble with Judge Godbee
over the property, and there was con
stant friction between the two.
'My mother died in 1889 Follow
ing her death our married life grew
more unhappy. He Insisted upon be
ing made the administrator of my
mother’s property, and finally gained
control of It. My brother Jake was
ordered not to put his foot on th^
place. Judge God bee’s treatment be
came almost unbearable.* He threat
ened the life of Jake. One day Jake,
who was coming to the postoffice, was
shot and killed by Judge Godbee. In
telling of the killing. Judge Godbee
said he had done it for my sake. Ho
would not let me go to the funeral or
see the body. I managed to obtain
SI,500 and gave It to him for his de
fense in his trial for Jake’s murder "
Mrs. Godbee told the jury that
shortly after the killing of her young
er brother Judge Godbee took $2,000
of her money and bought a hotel In
Mlllen. where they lived a year. Sh*
said they separated during that time
because Judge Godbee started a scan
dal to obtain possession of the hotel
property. It was settled by Mrs. God
bee signing a deed of the property
turning It over to her husband.
Worked as Housekeeper.
She told of their reconciliation a
few months later, at the request of
her husband's relatives, and declared
that she was forced to work in the
hotel at housekeeper’s wages of $10 a
month.
One morning. Mrs. Godbee said, sh »
awoke to find her husband bending
over her with a revolver in his hand.
Shortly after this they separated and
d for three years. Be-
•nclled, she said he
to Atlanta and estao-
% r m a house at No. 398 Pled-
euue, which sb said had ..
►utativ.n. She charged that
Atlanta he failed to property
for liar. farcing her to run
the household on less than $4.50 a
week.
Some time later they returned to
Millen. where, she says. Judge God
bee became addicted to morphine. She
then divorced him and asserted that
he continued to annoy her and circu
late reports about her character. After
Judge Godbee and his bride came uj
Millen Mrs. Godbee said she got nitio
anonymous letters threatening her
life unless she left the town.
Mrs. Godbee told the jury that even
after Judge Godbee camo to Millen
with his new wife he annoyed her and
persecuted he" She said she shot he:
former husband because he called her
a vile name as she came out of th<8
postoffice only a day after he had told
his daughter. Sarah Godbee, that her
mother w as onlv a common w-oman of
the streets.
The trial of Mrs, Godbee aroused
the public to a higher pitch of ex
citement than any other case in
years. The courtroom was crowded
to its capacity as she was making
her impressive statement, and when
court reconvened in the evening the
scene was duplicated.
A pathetic figure at the trial was
that of the slain girl's mother, Mrs.
M. B. Boyer, of Williamsport, Pa. She
burst Into tears during one part of
Mrs. Godbee’s recital, and could not
be comforted. Many women were in
the courtroom throughout the day. In
fact, they exceeded the men in num*
ber.
A dramatic story of the shooting
was told by Miss Maude Barnwell,
the young assistant at the postoffice,
who whs present and a witness of th«
tragedy. She testified that Mrs. God
bee fired the last shot into the body
of Judge Godbee’s bride.
An effort was made to shake her
testimony to bear out the statement
of the defendant that the killing ot
the young woman was accidental and
occurred merely because she got In
the range of the bullets that were In
tended for her former husband.
Miss Barnwell insisted, however,
that the infuriated woman not only
fired the first shot into the body of
the young Mrs. Godbee, but that,
after both her victims had fallen to
the floor, she had reached over the
body of Judge Godbee and sent an
other bullet into the body of her
younger rival.
Continued from Page 1,
liberty was based on the fact that he
Is charged with being a fugitive from
Justice, whereas it is not clear in the
minds of the legal authorities wheth
er Thaw is guilty of committing a
crime.
Shortly after rising this morning
and before going to the barber shop
to be shaved Thaw issued a formal
statement summing up his case and
lamenting the fact that New York
State was spending so much money
on him.
The statement follows:
Thaw's Statoment in Full.
I think the people of my own
State would like to know by w’hat
warrant of law or common sense
the money of the people of the
State of New York is being
squandered like water by many
more thousands of dollars than
are available to me in these per
sistent and unscrupulous efforts
to return me to Matteawan.
If I am sane, then certainly I
don’t belong to Matteawan: If I
were insane, then the laws of
New’ York State itself make it
compuusory that I be deported
from New* York State to my home
State, Pennsylvania.
The statutes of New York re
quire that insane persons from
another State who are sent to
Matteawan or to any other New
York public asylum, not charged
with crime, and I, as an acquitted
mand, stand exactly in this class,
shall be reported to the State
Board of Deportation and
promptly sent out of the State
back to the State of their resi
dence.
The New York law is so anx
ious to get rid of alleged insane
persons from another State that
it provides that doctors and
nurses, if needed, be supplied to
get rid of them.
The United State? courts have
adjudicated me a resident of
Pittsburg and reaffirmed this fact
within three months.
Why does ai.y New York offi-
FORSYTH
WORLD’S GREATEST TURKEY
TROTTERS,
Frank Inez
HALE and PATTERSON
LYDIABARRY stn E comeouIThes
Delmore and Lee; Doris Wilson
and Company, and others.
LYRIC
Mats. Tuesday. Thursday, Saturday
The Season’s Greatest Play
THE CALL OF I HE HEART
A Great Stage Production.
Matinee Prices. 15c, 35c.
Night Prices, 15c, 50c.
NEXT LYRIC MATINEES—TUES.,
WEEK
THURS., SAT.
ARTHUR C. AISTON PRESENTS
ESTHA WILLIAMS
In Owen Devi,’ Startling Play
“A MAN’S GAME”
Duke of Manchester
Is Sued as Bankrupt
Special Cable to Tne Atlanta Georgian.
LONDON, Sept. 12.—The Duke ot
Manchester, husband of Helena Zim
merman, of Cincinnati, is hopelessly
in the toils of the money lenders. A
petition in bankruptcy, filed by one
of them, will be heard In the Bank
ruptcy Court.
The Duke owns 70.000 acres and a
magnificent gallery of old masters,
but these are either entailed or heav
ily mortgaged.
cial squander New' York money
to return me?
Evelyn Ready to
Aid Thaw Get Freedom.
NEW YORK, Sept. 12.—“There are
many ways in which I could help
Harry, just as I have done before.
Some day he will realize that and
come to me asking my help."
The above statement was made to
day by Evelyn Nesbit Thaw’ after she
was asked what she would do if the
attorneys for Harry Thaw should
call her to appear as a witness for
him in his efforts to obtain his free
dom.
“There is nothing in all this world
that I would not do to help Harry
if he would come to me and make
the request,’" continued Mrs. Thaw.
“Harry realizes that I could help him
greatly. But 1 will never give him
assistance until he sends for me as
his wife. There are a hundred ways
in which Harry could communicate
with me. I realize that he can not
come to me. But he doesn’t com
municate w’ith me; he depends upon
his high-priced lawyers. I will not
discuss the way in which I could
help him. He knows.”
Asked whether she would promise
the authorities that she woul«i live
with Thaw’ as his wife if he were
given his liberty, Mrs. Thaw refused
to answer. She also refused to an
swer the question as to whether, in
case Thaw regained his liberty, she
would go with him to Europe.
The ATLANTA
TO WIGHT. SAT. MAT. & NIGHT
The Merry
Countess
Thursday’s Montgomery Ad
vertiser says: “Presented by a
cast of principals who were ca
pable in every respect and
mounted in lavish and gorgeous
manner. ‘The Merry Countess
turned out to be a glittering and
surprising concoction of startling
novelties; whirling. twirling
dances; and refreshing and origi
nal comedy. Every principal was
able and some far above the av
erage ability evinced by leading
characters in road shows.’’
Wednesday’s Macon Telegraph
says: “‘The Merry Countess’ is
a notable offering. It is doubtful
if we will have as pretty music,
nor as well sung, this winter. We
have not had many in the past.”
Other critics say the same; so
you are taking no chances with
this show'.
Night 25c to $1.50; Mat. 25c to $1.
ORCHESTRA OF 15
jC
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her
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Made from the finest materials and
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look for the In-er-se&l Trade Mark.
10c
1
“Correct Dress for Men”
SELECT YOUR
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and be sure it has the “Essig”
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with it all that pertains to Hat
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Soft Hats and Derbies
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Knox Hats - $5.00
Stetsons--All Styles
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Silk and Opera
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The Tale of
A Gold
Plated People
is stranger than that of the fabled
El Dorado. It deals with a wonderful
vanished race whose ruins have been
discovered in South America by Pro
fessor Saville, the distinguished arch
aeologist of Columbia University, and
will be told in
NEXT
SUNDAY’S
AMERICAN
This alluring discussion, combined
with the regular features—sporting,
cable, financial, theatrical, society and
news of the modern world in general—
will go to make up an
EIGHTEEN
CARAT
NEWSPAPER
which can not be duplicated at any
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door in Dixie for five cents. There are
dozens of features in it that are each
worth twice the money. There’s a
striking color page concerning
The Most Forgetful
Beauty in Europe
and a fashion article by Lady Duff
Gordon on
Autumn Oddities
From Paris
Moreover Madame Lina Cavalieri
will answer beauty questions; so what
more could a woman want. The wise
reader orders early from the dealer or
by phoning Main 100.