Newspaper Page Text
ATLANTA, GA., TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 101
2 CENTS r M,™
Tho photo
shows
Miss Roberta
Willard
MILLEDGEVILLE, AUG. 17.—LEO M. FRANK,
CONVICTED AS THE SLAYER OF MARY PHA
GAN, WAS TAKEN BY A MOB FROM THE STATE
PRISON FARM HERE BETWEEN 10 AND 11
O’CLOCK MONDAY NIGHT AND RUSHED AWAY
IN AN AUTOMOBILE, AFTER THE MOB LEADER
HAD ANNOUNCED TO CAPTURED PRISON OF
FICIALS THAT FRANK WOULD BE TAKEN TO
MARIETTA AND HANGED OVER THE GRAVE
OF THE LITTLE GIRL FOR WHOSE DEATH HE
WAS SERVING A LIFE TERM IN PRISON.
THE MOB WORKED QUICKLY AND QUIET
LY, AND BY A SURPRISE ATTACK SUCCEEDED
IN CAPTURING WARDEN SMITH, SUPERIN
TENDENT BURKE AND THE THREE PRISON
GUARDS THEN ON DUTY.
MOB REACHES FARM AT 10:30 O'CLOCK.
The. mob of between 50 and 75 men quietly approached the
prison farm in their automobiles, eight or ten in number, about
10:30 o’clock, and had within a few minutes secured Frank and
were speeding away with him in the general direction of Eaton-
ton.
Warden Smith, asleep at his home, was awakened by the
crowd, and when he came to the door in answer to the mob lead
ers’ insistent demands he was seized and handcuffed. With the
warden in their custody and his keys in their possession, the lead
ers then proceeded to the home of Superintendent Burke. Within
a few minutes the prison superintendent, too, was a prisoner in
the hands of the mob.
Little attention was given by the mob to the excitement
caused at the home of the prison officials. Forced by the mob,
Warden Smith and Superintendent Burke led the way to the
prison office, where the three guards on duty were overpowered.
With the office of the prison in their possession, and the offi
cials and guards securely bound, the mob ended their attack when
they took Frank from his bed in a room adjoining the "rison
office and bound him with ropes and handcuffs.
They accomplished their purpose so quickly that the other
prisoners in the cellhouses were not awakened, and neither were
the day guards, sleeping near the office. The leaders gave a few
words of instruction, and the members worked methodically, indi
cating that complete instruction had been given at a previous
time.
No time was lost after Frank had been secured. He was al
most thrown into one of the waiting automobiles. Because all
wires entering Milledgeville had been cut by the mob as one of
their precautions, it was impossible early in the morning to com
municate with those at the prison.
DECLARED FRANK WOULD BE TAKEN TO MARIETTA
One of the mob leaders announced to the two or three prison
guards and officials that Frank would be taken to Marietta and
hanged over the grave of Mary Phagan. With a few words of
warning, the unknown leader gave the word, and the mob sped
away.
One of the last acts of the mob was to remove the handcuffs
from the wrists of Warden Smith, but Superintendent Burke was
left securely bound.
The three members of the State Prison Commission on a visit
to the farm were sleeping at the home of Superintendent Burke.
They were not awakened.
Though the mob had obtained complete control of the prison
and had held all officials they could find in custody, none of those
in charge of the institution obtained the slightest hint of the lo
cality or localities from which the members of the mob came.
Even before the speeding automobiles were out of sight, offi
cials of the prison began an unsuccessful attempt to communicate
with the authorities of Baldwin and the adjoining counties. Mes
sengers had to be sent into Milledgeville, where finally the offi
cials found that one wire remained uncut, and that led to Augusta.
Over this the fight news of the raid upon the prison became known.
In making preparations for their attack, the mob had cut all
telephone wires from the prison farm to Milledgeville, and all tel
ephone and telegraph wires leading from Milledgeville save the
one long-distance wire that was overlooked. The mob had depart
ed from the prison farm more than an hour before the news of their
attack was received in Milledgeville, and communication was es
tablished with difficulty in some instances, with officials of the ad
joining counties.
MRS. FRANK PROSTRATED.
Shortly after the departure of the mob Mrs. Frank, who has
remained at the prison since the throat of her husband was slashed
last month, wa3 told of the dangerous plight of her husband. Be
fore the prison official had completed his first sentence, Mrs. Frank
swooned, and went into convulsions. She had with considerable
difficulty been revived. Physicians at the prison were -called to her
aid, and it was learned that her condition was extremely critical.
All effort to revive her failed for an hour, and a hurry call was
sent to Athens for trained nurses to come with all possible haste.
At about 4 o’clock it was stated that Mm. Frank was on the verge
of death, and that slight hope for her recovery was entertained.
Sheriff Terry, of Baldwin County, was communicated with by
a courier, this being necessary because the telephone line to his
home had been cut by the mob, as was that to the home of Repre
sentative Ennis, captain of the Baldwin Blues, the local militia
These officials immediately began making all possible
Suffering from ptomaine poison,
which they believe to have been caus
ed by drinking milk purchased at
the Forres* Park Dairy, No. 819 1-2
Peachtree, 16 victims are in seri
ous condition. 14 of- whom are at
Grady Hospital, and Dr. Claude
Smith, city bacteriologist, has been
requested by Dr. VY. B. Summerall,
superintendent of Grady Hospital, to
make a thorough investigation of the
dairy plant, and if found unsanitary,
to condemn it and see that it is closed.
Those at Grady Hospital are N. A.
Hunt, aged 14, No. 220 Kirkwood
avenue; J. R. Sullivan, 180 West Col
lege street, Decatur; R. D. Millsaps,
Lakewood Heights; W. R. Caruth-
ers, 310 Ormond street, Finley Bart
lett, aged 14. Seaboard shops; K. L.
Chambers, 123 Powell street; W. T.
Kawkins. Decatur; E. E. Woodward,
83 Berean avenue; G. W. McAllister,
305 West Fifth street; Dewey Phi
lipp, No. 20 Lucy street, and an un
known man at 1054 Marietta street,
and three negroes, June Bailey and
John Perry, of 107 Eliza street, and
Ray Freeman. Freeman is in a
critical condition. Ralph Scroggins
was sent to his home in a cab, and
an unknown man was taken to his
home at 234 Oak street.
Young Finley Bartlett and N. A.
Hunt, 14 years old each, are in a very
serious condition. Bartlett works at
the dairy, where the milk was pur
chased by the other victims, most of
whom are employed in the neighbor
hood, and purchased milk for their
noon meal at the dairy.
Bartlett said he drank a glass of
sweet milk early in the morning and
somehow it made him feel peculiar,
but he never thought his feelings
were due to bad milk, and at noon
he drank a glass of buttermilk. At
2 o'clock, he said, he felt so sick he
knew something was wrong with him.
He was sent to the hospital, and
from that time to 6 o'clock Grady am
bulances were rushing the poisoned
workmen to the hospital, where four
teen doctors and the hospital nurses
were exerting every effort to save
their lives.
It is not at all unlikely that some
of the patients? may succumb to the
poison, the negro Freeman and the
two white boys, Hunt and aBrtlett,
being in a precarious condition.
(By International News Service.)
LONDON, Aug. 16.—Lines are
forming for one of the greatest
internal conflicts England has
ever witnessed—a conflict to de
termine whether Great Britain
will depend upon a volunteer
army to defend herself or will
resort to conscription. Lord
Northcliffe's papers are leading
the campaign for conscription.
The Star opposes, saying the
campaign is “another Northcliffe
stunt against Kitchener.” The
trades union federation has de
clared itself bitterly opposed to
conscription, but if its leaders
fight the plan they probably will
find an opponent in David Lloyd-
George, who is reported to have
been won over to the theory that
conscription is necessary.
Mrs. Oelrich’s
garden fete
to aid the
Belgian
orphans.
H6w the
little cages
are carried
is shown in
the lower
picture.
LONDON, Aug. 16.—The Brit
ish Admiralty announced to-night
that a German submarine fired
feveral shells at the towns of
Whitehaven, Parlon and Har
rington this morning, without do
ing any material damage. All
th»-ee towns are in Cumberland,
on the Irish Sea.
By FREDERICK WERNER.
(Staff Correspondent of the Interna
tional News Service.)
BERLIN (by wireless), Aug. 16.—
German troops have broken through
the Russian lines from the Narew to
the Bug Rivers, it was officially an
nounced to-day <n a report from the
general staff. The advance of the
Teutonic troops is now expected to
move much more rapidly.
In their continued progress south of
the Narew River, the Germans have
captured the towns of Losiee and
Miedzyrzec, while Field Marshal von
Maekensen’s army has occupied Ciale
Slawatysze, east of Wlodaw’a.
Von Mackensen is striving to get
east of Brest-Litovsk and cut off the
Russian retreat in that region.
The left wing of the army of Prince
Leopold of Bavaria, the general staff
also reports, has crossed the Bug Riv
er east of Drogiezyn. From this point
the Bavarians can strike at Brest-Li-
tovsk from the north.
Hard fighting continues at Kovno.
The Russian garrison is being worn
dow r n, as the Germans claim the cap
ture of 1,730 more prisoners there.
Fierce fightifcg is apparently in
progress at Novo Georgievsk, which
has been completely surrounded, the
official report stating that the Russian
defenders have been driven farther
back from their tonifications.
company
efforts to spread the news of the read upon the prison. They j
frankly stated, however, that they had little hope of officials being j
able to prevent the execution of Frank by his outlaw captors.
The only telephone on the road between Milledgeville and Ea-
tonton is at Jones’ store, and this was unavailable during the
night, forestalling all effort to learn whether the mob passed there.
While the mob sped away in the direction of Eatonton, it wae
believed here that their selected route would lead them around all
towns of any size between Milledgeville and Marietta, where the
mob leader said Frank would be executed. County officials and-
others held the opinion that the mob would follow a route about
as follows: From Milledgeville toward Eatonton for a few miles,
then westward to the corner of Baldwin County, on through the
upper part of Jones County and into Jasper County toward the
village of Hillsboro.
It was expected that the mob would turn after passing Hills
boro toward Juliette, where they could cross the Ocmulgee River
by a toll bridge, and then northward into Butts County toward
Indian Springs. They would detour Jackson and again enter the
main highway to Atlanta somewhere in the vicinity of Locust
Grove. TfTcaPt'Cfs of Frank were expected to proceed as rapidly
as possible toward Marietta.
ALL SHERIFFS NOTIFIED ALONG EXPECTED ROUTE. j
With this route in mind as the one the mob most likely would
follow, officials here began sending warnings broadcast through
out this section. All Sheriffs over a radius of 50 miles were urged
to take action to oppose the progress of the mob should the route
be learned.
The Georgian's representative rushed to the prison farm soon
after news of the attack became known here, and the official*
there talked freely of the mob’s activities.
Newport society has added another
fad to its rapidly growing list of
things unusual, and the appearance
of the members of the younger set
carrying small wicker bird cages is
getting to be a daily occurrence.
The desire to do something •'dif
ferent" has perhaps as much as any
thing else to do with the promotion
of the latest fad, bbt whatever the
basis may be, the public appearance
of Miss Society and her favorite
song-bird is getting to be almost a
part of the daily routine.
So, .f you happen to be at Newport
and see a tastefully gowned young
woman strolling along with a bird
cage dangling from the fingers-* of her
right hand—which Is the proper way
to carry the cage—don’t go away with
the idea that the family is moving
and they won't trust the songster
to the man on the van. or that she
contemplates a long journey and has
no one at home to feed the pet.
No, it's only Newport’s latest fad.
Novo Georgievsk, Big
Fortress, Surrounded
By FRANCIS LAVELLE MURRAY.
(Staff Correspondent of I nternational
News Service.)
PETROGRAD, Aug. 16.—Novo Geor
gievsk, Russia's great fortress at the
junction of the Vistula and
Married 50 Years,
Sued for Divorce
At a meeting of Council Monday
afternoon Councilman C. D. Knight
offered a resolution heartily indorsing
the action of Acting Mayor I. N.
Ragsdale in promoting the movement
for a greater and more united city,
the same passing unanimously, but
not unoil Councilman Orville H. Hall
and Alderman Albert Thomson reg
istered a mild objection.
Councilman Hali seemed somewhat
suspicious of the resolution, but when
he was told by Alderman Jim Mad
dox, who was presiding, that he was
“befuddled,” a hearty laugh followed,
and Councilman Hall’s objections
ended. Alderman Albert Thomson
stated that he was willing to join in
a harmony movement, and that he fa
vored a get-together proposition, but
he w’anted to have something to say
about it when it happened, as to what
they would get togethr on.
Mayor Ragsdale at this point stated
that the procedure was very embar
rassing to him and that he w'ouid
ask that the resolution be withdrawn.
This was greeted with a volley of
noes, and the resolution was adopted
unanimously.
(By International News Service.)
CHICAGO, Aug. 16.—Sydenham
Percy Buchanan, great-grandnephew
of James Buchanan, fifteenth Presi
dent of the United States, celebrated
his silver wedding Saturday, and was
to-day to be sued for divorce by Mrs.
Helena A. Buchanan. The suit fol
lows one filed against Buchanan by
Miss Billie Hall, a manicurist, for
breach of promise.
Mrs. Buchanan alleges her spouse
has been too friendly with numerous
women and mentions many dates and
places, the last being at Saugatuck,
Mich., in July.
Narew
Rivers and one of the strongest pure
ly military works in the field, has been
invested by German troops, the War
Office announced to-day. A thrilling
struggle is expected during^the oper
ations about the stronghold.
The Russian troops left in Novo
Georgievsk number, according to ui-
official reports, between 40.000 and
80,000 men. It is predicted by Pertj-
grad military experts that with an
adequate supply of munitions the
Russians will be able to hold the fort
ress *for many months.
Novo Georgievsk was designed by
nature as a fortress, and the natural
barriers were increased and strength
ened by man. It was the genius Na
poleon. more than 100 years ago, that
first detected the advantages of the
place, and the first defenses were
erected there by his military engi-
»eers in 1807.
There is no city at Novo Geor
gievsk. It is essentially an armed
stronghold dominating the Vistula,
the Narew, the nearby railways and
several strategical highways.
The site of the fortress is about 350
feet above the sea level, and about
100 feet above the level of the Vistula.
It lies upon a plateau whiefc slopes
precipitately to the banks a* the two
rivers.
Minister, Held for
Girl’s Death, Suicide
(By I nternational News Service.)
SOUTH BEND. IND.. Aug. 16.—
Silas N. Eversole. a Dunkard minis
ter, w ho was arrested last week
charged with the murder of Hazel
Macklin, committed suicide in jail
here this morning.
Hazel Macklins body was found in
a vault at a park on the outskirts of
South eBnd. but no trace was ever
found of her murderer until Eversole
was taken into custody and charged
with the crime. He has repeatedly
denied the charge.
Eversole had torn a piece of lead
pipe from the floor of the jail, and,
fastening it to hLs neck, attached the
other end to a hanging apparatus in
the cell, from which he hung until life
was extinct.
Amateur Yegg Gets
$100 Paint Money
Detectives Gillespie and Sturdivant
Monday investigated a safe-cracking
at the Parian Paint Company’s of
fice at No. 117 Central avenue, in
which an amateur yeggman got away
with $100. The handle of the safe
was knocked off and the combination
punched in.
Iron bars guarding the eplace in the
rear had been pried apart sufficiently
tm admit a thin, tall man’s body.
Husband in Suit
Calls Wife Cruel
GOVERNOR HARRIS SHOCKED AND GRIEVED.
Governor Harris, on hearing the news that Frank had been
taken from the prison farm by an armed mob, said he was both
shocked and grieved. “I feel a great wrong has been done,,” said
the Governor, ‘ ‘ and I do not think the people of Georgia who stand
for law and order will approve of the act, . „„
A. G. Baker Monday flied suit in the
Superior Court of Fblion County for to
tal divorce from Evelyn Baker.
Baker declares that his wife has been
cruel.