Newspapers / Polk County News and … / Aug. 20, 1915, edition 1 / Page 2
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! THE POLK COUNTY NEWS, TEYON, N. 0. GERMANS Rl G A AN DL7 K0 V N 0 1 HntAI CNtU DT GULF COAST CITIES DESPERATE CONDITION INDICAT ED BY REPORTS FROM GXC ' VESTON, TEXAS, V Prisoner Is Taken From State ; Farm and Lynched Short Way From Phagan Home ; LEO M. FRANK SOME OTHER TOWNS SUFFER No Reports of Loss of Life, But Cities Are. Flooded , and Buildings on Waterfront Ruined. m NO SHOTS WERE FIRED HURRICANE SWEEPS -av, W- .7. ...... ... .-." I 1 i io in mini g ..,xgggBiiiiwj r in f g ' nffV i" im iii 1 n i ft b - :' JM('m''Tg Jfc ? ! h?fvll rMSL- IP y I If? rr.r. JFoiy&r: to - JSPZ- , -- XM .?4 V I- , 1 M - ' is 1 CI r -J) f 1 I 'it 5 At Early Morning Hour Small Armed Posse Enters Prison and Secure Body. Drive' One Hundred Miles Before Lynching Their Victims Crowds Gather Around Body. Marietta, Ga. A small but well organized mob took Leo M. Frank from the state prison farm at Mil ledgeville, brought him 100 miles to most within sight of the former home of Mary Phagan, the girl he was charged with killing, and hanged him to a tree. No shots were fired. The tbody, bare-footed and cloth ed only in prison trousers and shirt, was found two miles from Marietta at 8:30 tnls morning. It was believed the lynching occur- l ed at about daylight. While officers were searching i the country about Milledgeville, local officials viewed as signifi cant the fact that - several auto mobiles well loaved, had left this town In the direction of Milledge ville the evening Defore. After the return of some t these machines, officers started out on the road which they believed the automo biles had traveled. They had gone only two miles when they saw the body of Frank not more than 150 yards from the roadside. Crowds Throng the Scene Marietta, Ga. News that the body had been found spread rapidly in the town and the surrounding country. Within a short time hundreds of per sons crowded the Roswell road on the trip to lew the body. Sheriff Hicks Is not in town and the coroner took no immediate action. It is believed that the stop at the bridge near Eatonton when the mob mem bers talked loudly and fired many shots was a ruse to delay any who might bef pursuing the automobiles bearing the mob and Frank. If such was the Intention, it was successful, as ground in the vicinity of the bridge was throughly searched. At the time the search was being made, It is probable Frank already had met death. All Wires Cut The mob arrived in the vicinity of the prison farm practically unnoticed and proceeded methodically to its business; First all wire3 except one telephone line from Milledgeville al so were severed. Five men then vent to the house on the prison grcands occupied by Warden J. T. Smith, awakened him and made him, their prisoner. At the same time a small squad of men went to the home of J. M. Burke, superin tendent of the farm. Took the Warden Burke was forced to go to the gate nearest the , dormitory, where it was believed Frank was kept and the only two guards on duty were order ed, while-guns were leveled on them, to open the gates. The mob rushed in, quickly got Frank and hurried him out to one of the automobiles. He was forced down into the car while a. member of the mob is said to have flourished a rope in front of him and then place it in the automobile with Mm. Without delay those who had been guarding Warden Smith left him and Joined the balance of the mob. The automobiles were started at once in a northerly direction. Only , a Few Guards With only a. limited number of guards at the prison and wire com munications with Miledgeville inter rupted, immediate pursuit was impos sible. Some time elapsed before word could be brought here and officers etarted in the direction taken by the mob. NOne of these officers reported for several hours after they left. The first report of the route taken came from the newspaper men who left Macon at about the same time offi cers got started from Milledgeville. In the absence of definite news that Frank had been lynched, many were inclined to believe that possibly it was his friends and not his foes that took him away and that the display Outrage Says Slaton. San Francisco Former Governor John M. Slaton, of Georgia, who com muted the sentence of Leo M. Frank, and who-is here visiting the exposi tion, was informed this morning that Frank ' had been lynched. 1 "The act was a consumate outrage," said Mr. Slaton, "and every man en gaged in tte lynching should be hang ed for he is an assassin. Such an act r is contrary to .th civilization of Georgia and one which every" good citizen will condemn. Icould use no language too condemnatory. of the rope and the shooting were parts of a plan to cover the real in tentions of the mob. Prison Superintendent Talks. Milledgeville, Ga. "I was. called to the door jujst as I was preparing to retire," said Captain J. M. Burke, su perintendent of the state prison farm. "When I passed the threshold two strong men grabbed me and in an in stant snapped handcuffs on my wrists. Four others stood guard over me, two with shotguns and two with heavy pis tols. I remonstrated and they declar ed it was no use for me to squirm as they had come for Leo M. Frank and were going to get him. I told them that Frank was not at my house and they said they knew that, but they were going to take me where they knew Frank was quartered. I was marched up to the penitentiary build ing by a guard which was redoubled as we proceeded. When we reached the building a demand was made for the gate to be opened and when the trusty prisoner awaited official orders one of the men began cutting the wires and informed the prisoner he would be killed as soon as an entrance was effected. The gate was then un locked and S. Hester, a night guard, came forward, but he was immediate ly covered and ordered to throw up his hands. Half way up the steps I was halted while half a dozen men rushed by me and made a dash lor Frank's room. One of the prisoners who witnessed this scene declared that . four men seiz Frank by his arms and legs, while a fifth grabbed him by the hair and ne was dragged out and bumped down the stone steps. With me looking on, Frank never ut tered a word, but apparently he was suffering intensely and groaned from pain inflicted in handling him in his wounded condition. The affair was completed within five iainutes it seemed to me. "During the entire performance I was s handcuffed and under guard. When the crowd brought Frank down and started off, I asked the fellow who had snapped the handcuffs to un lock them; but he laughed sardonical ly and said if I would accompany them he would take off the irons. "The whole procedure was timed as a well-ordered and methodical proposi tion and only a few words were spok en. That evidently was agreed upon. A leader did all the talking. Only two of the men were masked, but I did not recognize any of them. Just as they started off the leader said, 'Now, boys, for the 'swamp.' Then in less time than it takes to tell it, they were off and I could see the lights flashing as they went over the hill towards Meriwjether." Governor Is Grieved. Atlanta. Ga. Gov. Harris was notl tied of Leo M. Frank's removal early in the morning. "I am shocked, and grieved," said the governor, "and I feel that a great wrong has been done and that the people of our state will not look with approval . upon it." Tracing Automobiles. A. C. Phillips, sheriff of Putman county, stated over the telephone from Eatonton at 8:30 o'clock this morning that a search for Frank's body near the bridge over Little River had so far proved fruitless. Many emDtv shotguns and rifle shells were found near where Jackson said he had heard the shots. . "I believe the governor of Georgia will use all the power of the state to punish the "malefactors who disgraced the civilization of Georgia. "I am shocked and horrified beyond expression. Any man whd approves of this action of this mob murderers is not worthy to be a Georgian. Any man or newspapers which condones this offense ought to be driven out of the state. But the conduct of thij miserable mob of assassins Is the con duct of the same sort of neoDle who shoot' people from behind a fence or murder woman from cowardlv heart. Dallas, Tex. Wireless messages from Galveston gave the only direct news from that storm-stricken city. No reports of loss of life came tnrough,' but the desperate situation there was indicated vaguely by a radiogram -saying boats were taking people from bui dings on the main streets to the Unitea mates transport Buford, . The tropical hurricane' which swept down upon the island city extended its devastation inland and wire com munication was impossible beyond Waco, Beaumont, Houston, Taylor. Temple and other cities of South east Texas were thought to have been hard hit, last reports from those places telling of unroofed buildings, uproot ed trees and other damage. Because of the lack of wires, railroad traffic was at a standstill to the storm-swept district. Although latest reports Indicated that the storm was subsiding in Gal veston, and that the wat-r had start ed to drain slowly from the streets, there was no prospect that wire com munication might be restored for sev eral days. The wireless equipment on the Buford was the sole means of com munication between Galvaston and the outside world. The McClellan, companion ship to the Buford, was re ported high and dry, half a mile in land. The greatest damage! n Galveston is believed to have occurred in districts fronting the sea.. All buildings on the water front were ruined and vessels caught in the harbor suffered heavily. ARRAIGN ROCK ISLAND OFFICIALS Railroad Men Are Charged With Mis representation by Commission. Washington The Interstate Com merce Commission's report on its in vestigation of Rock Island Railroad financial affairs, shows millions of dol lars in losses in stock transactions. charges the railroad officials with misrepresentations In their reports to stockholders, discloses great profits to promoters of the Rock Island hold ing companies, and arraigns the syndi cate operations which began in the early nineties. The department of justice has been waiting to go over the report. The interstate commerce commission broadly suggests action by the legal brance of the government. The ag gregate losses to the Rock Island in the Alton, Frisco and other deals are summarized by the commission as follows: "Frisco deal, approximately $6,500,- 000; Alton deal, more than $4,500,000; Consolidated Indiana & Deering Coal Cos., at least $1,300,000 and 2,500, 000 additional if advances made to the coal companies cannot be collected; contributions or gratuities to officers and ;directofs, about $1,000,000, ex penses of maintaining and hoursing holding companies, more than $290,- 000! transaction of C. H. venner. a stockholder, $217,000; miscellaneous and unexplained expenditures $72,523. These items show an aggregate loss to the railway company of more than 20,000,000." Falling Rock Kills Four. Charleston, W. Va. Four persons were killed and seven injured when a heaw rock, loosened by rains, fell through the top of the smoker of a Chesapeake & Ohio train as it passed through Pinacle Tunnel near Mc Corkle, W. Va. Another Georgia Lynching. Bainbridge, Ga. John Riggans, a negro, was lynched by a posse of farmers here. He was accused of as saulting the wife of a tobacco planter. Carranza Objects to Proposals. Washington. Carranza within a few days will reply to the Pan-American peace appeal itwas learned here He will reject the peace conference proposal and it is reported, will sug gest that the conferees use their in fluence to obtain recognition for his government from the respective re publics. According to his friends here, Carranza appreciated the friend ly tone of the Pan-American appeal. He has consulted his civil and military csociates regarding it. Frye Note May Have Effect. Washington. On its face dealing with' a single case, the importance of whicix could be measured in a com paratively small number of dollors, the American note to the German Foreign Office in regard to the de struction of the sailing ship William P. Frye by the Prinz Eitel Friedich may have results most important in their bearing on the whole question of the treatment of neutral commerce by the European belligerents. The Unit ed States acquiesces in the German proposal that a board fix the value. x WS0TtVmi ill j" - f f- 'I 1 - - : , ry: Below is a street scene in Kovno, i-etrograa, wnicn aiso is m aanger 01 capture Dy tne leuiomc armies auu a German fleet. The chapel in front of the station was erected in memory 1 ... . . and his family from death at Barki. ERIE, 1 ., 1 hi 1 1 1 11 1 4111L1111111 11 1 1 "J ! iiuiiii .u.iiii . -1 -1 1 11 j ii 1 1 mn mi M. kinx' U-. ihiiujidiii'i linn n i i ". " 1 "' riYi-rtrtrin 'frmwi.,,1 -i i mn . nmnmi u rTiimm rrrm-ir mnrrm, 'r-X",fmw?.'. Scene in French street, In Erie, Pa., just after the cloudburst and flood a score of persons and the destruction of a vast amount of property in that many of the victims were caught and drowned by the rapidly rising waters. FIRST AERO SQUADRON OF THE The first photograph of the First Aero squadron, U. S. A. It is the first organized corps in the United States for service In the field. The squadron consists of 15 junior military aviators, 90 mechanicians and eight 100-horse-power military aeroplanes or speed scouts, capable of flying 83 miles an hour with pilot and observers and six hour fuel supply. PRISONERS FROM RIVAL ARMIES Above are seen Russian prisoners taken in Poland rear-guard actions and being marched back! to German concentration camps. Below is a scene during an inspection of German prisoners in a French camp in Alsace Gen- fllUme WaS therfi i,nd a? iheyi:Passed him the Germans, by. command of their officers, respectfully ualuted him by "eyes left." - tne nortnern extremity 01 tne new 1. 1 1 .I m i i 1 u ,1 PA., DEVASTATED BY CLOUDBURST line ui xvussian aetense which the r Port after wmcu waa axLacKeu a tew davs of the escape of Emperor Alexa vv. x n a. 1 -1 that caused the death of more to city. It was along this street U. S. ARMY INDIAN BOY NAMED FOR U Roosevelt' During Col. sit to the S Theodore visit to the San Diego exposit . . j an was much impresses mer 1 . hp boy, born two hours D?icn' ed president arrived at i und3, Desert" on the exr-o-iuon i was christened Theodore . The colonel took part m the 1 elr. and seemed to enjoy it jVVith his customary f-:i:phasl,ian boy clared "This is the finest pj I ever looked at." f l! ? .le an shows the mother. Hana ir JfaDt in Acoma Indian, holding the j(jent vi ix un hp former admires it Matting. Rub every two or three montj & salt water, lukewarm, and arj .with a clean cloth. X;::' .v.Avwjiiffi.v' -
Polk County News and The Tryon Bee (Tryon, N.C.)
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Aug. 20, 1915, edition 1
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