The Atlanta Journal from Atlanta, Georgia • 1

VOL. XXXI; XO. (J4. J. M.

GANTT IS ARRESTED GIRL.WHO WAS FOUND MURDERED a ..1 A K'jf -t v1' 1 nuul. r- iv ON HIS ARRIVAL MARIETTA; HE VISITED FACTORY MURDER MYSTERY: FOUR ARE i t-v if. Developments Case Have Come Thick-arid Fast Monday, Vbut No Evidence Has Yet Been? Developed AVhich' Fixes Gantt Protests His Innocence, Declaring He? Knows Nothing? of the Crime Says He Went to. Factory Saturday to Get; Pair of Shoes Left There-His Statement Is Confirmed by Superintendent Frank the Atrocious Crime Mullinax Seems' to Have Proved SUPERINTENDENT FRANK AIDS POLICE V. IN TRYING TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY? DECLARES HE KNEW MARY PHAGAN HAD NOT HARMED HER He Was Closely Questioned for Several Hours Monday but Left, Headquarters, in.

Company With His Attorneys and Friends--CrimeWas Committed in Metal Room 'on Second It Is Not Known What Was Purpose of His Visit to Ma-': rietta Monday His Whereabouts Sunday Not' Yet Ex-' plained -Story of His Arrest anxl He Says Floor-Sleeping Compartment J. M. Gantt, who was (Uncharged three weeks ago from the position of bookkeeper at the National Pencil company, was arrested shortly before noon Monday at Marietta in connection with the murder 'of' Mary Phagsn. He is the man for whom the police were searching during Monday forning. but whose name they refused to He was arrested by Bailiff Hicks, or Marietta.

juBt as he stepped from a street car in which he had come from Atlanta. i Found in Factory weeks ago by the company; Arthur Gordon Bailey, a negro elevator boy. Detectives expect to wring the secret of Mary Phagaus murder from-Newt Lee. negro night watchman at tho National Pencil factory, 37-39 South Forsyth street, 1 VTheir theory is 'that he Is Innocent of the crime Itself, but that he knows the murderer of the fourteen-year-old girl, and Is shielding the man who strangled Mary Phagan with a piece of hempen cord on Satur-' day and dragged her body into the pitch black cellar of the The negro will tell nothing, but from him and Gantt, the discharged bookkeeper, detectives expect to draw the story of how Mary Phagan was beaten -into unconsciousness, assaulted, and strangled to death. FOUR ARE' UNDER ARREST.

Four men are. under' arrest: Lee, the negro night i ih Gantt protests his innocence, and says that he knows nothing whatever of i he murder of -Mary Phagan. He admits having gone to the JC Rational Pencil company on Saturday afternoon for shoes that he had left there, but denies that he returned to the factory or was with Mary Phagan at any time during the day. In a brief statement which he made at Marietta he said that 'he knew the murdered girl, but that they were not lnimate friends. He explained that afto- getting the pair of shoes from the he went kaMA a 4 waim ale iV.

a v' homo and remained there ,.1 who wap discharged three "-tfufifhax, of Poplar street, and at the pencil during the nJeht, and that hwhad no knowl-edge of the murder until Sun day lfl not known what he did on Sunday, and his visit 'xM arietta is unexplained. He took the' street' car from Atlanta 'and was arrested pb he arrived at Marietta by Balllft Hicks, who had been notified that Gantt was wanted. by the Atlanta police. Superintendent Frank, of the National Pencil factory, corroborates Gantt's story about the visit Saturday afternoon to the factory. He says Jhat about 6 in the evening came to the factory and salted permission to get an old pair of shoea that he had left there before his discharge.

L. M. Frank, superlntenlwt of the pencil was questioned by the police, and spent the part of Monday morning at police station. But he waa not placed under arrest, nd at noon returned home. An alibi has practically been established or Mullinax by Jim Rutherford, with whom, he boarded, and the peU'A 1 ve no direct evidence against Gordon hoy.

They are depending upon Newt Lee, the watchman, axPP11 Gantt, the. bookkeeper, for a solution of. the mystery 'whipS (brands the murder of the fourteen-year-old girl. SLEEPING COMPARTMENT, that he was an acquaintance of Mary Fhagan'a they mediately aet out to find him. PERMISSION GRANTED.

The negro night watchman. Newt Lee, Mulled the superintendent whether Gantt should he pcrmilierl to get the shoes, and the ypn granted. But when the superintendent had reached home about 7:30 o'clock, he grew uneasy. lie- telephoned -1- the office- to knew wh Gantt left. Newt Lee, 'the watchman, that, thp took' ills departure immediately ftT getting the 'i Tills' fa 'all that officials or employees "il the factory know of Gantt'a and the police have lit lie further information.

When they earned on Monday morning that Gantt the- pencil fai-imy on the day of the murder and Two detectives, accompanied by an employee of the factory who knew Gantt, went to the Terminal atatlon searching for. him, and the hunt for the bookkeeper was carried on In other parts of-the -But until he was arrested at 'Marietta. by -Bailiff Hicks, nothing had been seen of the bookkeeper who the police believe can throw light on the of the c-mJd a drU Detective Ilaxelltt has gone to to bring Gantt to Atlanta. Following closely upon he" arrest of (Continued on Page Three, CoL 3.) i POLICE HAVE LITTLE EVIDENCE TO CONNECT HIM WITH THE CRIME SOLELY ON" UNWRITTEN LA SAYING HE SHOT BECAUSE HOME WAS RUINED nor the murderer as the deed body of Mary Phagan was plaved in the i elevator, lowered to the cellar, and drag- ged across the wet damp floor- to the corner where it was The police place no belief in his pro '( fessed Ignorance. think that he- must knoW 'WhoWjurderod tUa.

glri; and Wh Above, tlie body lo cellar. -They are also entertaining tho tlieorj that the murderer must have had aa-sistance lu lowering the body to basement, and that perhaps the negro watchman lent hia aid. NEGRO KEEPS HIS Tiie negro's silence has been proof against all questions, but the police are confident thaJt he; has the whole story at -his tongues end and that, he eventually clear the mystery The third degree for the watchman 1 and an examination' of Gantt, lha discharged bookkeeper, are 1 the means -through which the police mean to dls- cover the murderer of. Mary lhagan. Tlielr efforts Monday morning bore fruit chleffly In the arrest of Gantt and the discovery or facie.

which seem to tassure the negro's knowledge of the murder. They first discovered that the girl had J. -been murdered upon the second floor- and her body lowered to the basements they next found that Gantt had visited the factory on Saturday afternoon, and they finally effected his arrest at Mari- i etta. i SUPERINTENDENT IS Other developments of. the day were' chiefly random Investigations.

L. M': Frank, superintendent of the pencil fac-tory. was questioned at police station during part of th morning and a stenographic record was kept of hia answers. -So rigid was this exam-Ination that Mr. Frank employed.

Lu-ther Rosser and Herbert Haas to repre-'. sent him In his appearance before the-; But.no charges were against him, and at the conclusion -his examination lie returned home. 1 The coroner's Jury met and made a personal Investigation of the metal room where Mary Phagan was murdered and the cellar where her body was found." But the. examination of wit- nesses deferred until Wedensdsy.i-' FRANK LEAVES STATION. 1 12:15 o'clock Leo M.

Frank superintendent-of the National Pencil companys plant in which Mary Phagan was murdered some time Sunday morningt left police headquar- terr. In the company of hia lawyers and a number of friends. Before leaving, he had confronted Arthur Mullinax, ths street car conductor, whom the policy were holding and had declared-that he never saw Mullinax before that moment. Also, he had helped the police to clarify the recollec- An Improvised xot, fashioned from wooden boxes pushed close together and covered with crocus bags, -wag a. separate compartment In -the basement at the rear end near where the dead of the girl was found.

The Compartment which Is about eight- ten feet. wide runs Jislf the length ef-th -buiwtnjra pd tbggronnVt-lrkoggy with -j v-- i Just Inside; and the- left of the door at the back' end. Is the cot. In the ground near it were discovered two small that are believed to be those of a The belief la now that the girl was lured here, assaulted and then murdered and her body dragged to -the apot outside where It was found lying face' downward jn a pool 'of blood. Through the discovery of this cot the police are led "to -believe that it has been used as a place of watchman discovered the place Sunday and pointed It out to men who discovered the tell-tale footprints through ths aid of lanterns In the 1U smelling, damp and dismal place.

It la the theory of police that the negro, -Newt Lee, knew of the place. The negro fireman. William Nolle, who has been In the employ of the company for two months, denied most emphatically any knowledge of the existence of fhe rendesvous. Investigations Monday morning proved that Mary Phagan was mhrdered in the metal on the second floor of the factory, and. that her body was lowered In the elevator to the basement, and wan dragged across the oosy, slimy floor of the cellar to the corner where it.

was found lying face upward between 3 and 4 oclock Sunday morning. -They rare not sure of the time at which the child waa murdered; but they believe that she met her death at midnight Instead of Saturday afternoon or Saturday evening. WATCHMAN The negro night watchman waa on duty during the later afternoon and throughout the night, and they are convinced- that he must know huw the orime As soon aa he can be made to tell his story," detectives believe that they will have the-Tull account ef how the girl was murdered. ABloqd 1 upon 1 the floor In the metal rouirU' and strands of hair found In the machinery of a lathe, establish the fact that Mary Phagan met her death there instead of In the cellar. inhuman she was attacked, beaten into unconsciousness and her murder completed by the hempen rope twisted about her throat.

Newt Lee, the watchman, remained In the building throughout the night, but he says that he heard no screams, that he knew; nothing of. the murder in Ihi metal room; and that neither saw 1 standing that he and Darden had clinched, when he (Hardy) rushed in the room, after hearing the shots. -SHOT THIS "Here 1'am Hardy, the officer said Darden shouted, take this gun, I have shot this v-v Godard. was still holding Daiv den. told, the offleer-to-take the-mam, and the same tline remarked that he-was according, to Later Officer Hardy that Darden said that Godard's wounds would RELATIONS WITH Darden then -'told me.

that Guddard had 'been inilmate With Darden fop three year, and was the of her last Af physieian from the Grady hospital, Dr.G- Sell man, testified Goddard was shot three times, once in the, face; 6rtce'iri the' left hand and that' athlrd bullet lodged in -abdomen. bullet i in Abe face-. or abdomen would have caused he said, v- i-1 Interesting -among the was' R. -Harwell, matron, at. the station for tlie Travelers'- Aid JShe saw, Darden.

enter, the she says, and 'heard two of the' The next '-she; remembers she testifleiLwas climbing into the door iyi 'H of, a-Pullman, car, was standing on one af the. tracks under the shed. -MOTHER OF SLAIN MAN THERE. A- pathetic, feature of the trial waa the presence of the aged mother of the deceased; and three of the children of the Robert Goddard, a widow, 1 whose only support i taken from her by-Darden's shots was seated at the table, with- hec personal counsel, Paul and Solicitor. General Rugh who conducted the Prosecution.

1 At 'the. tablq-with. the allege were-Mrs. -nineteen-year-old1 Darden: Fred -Darden, seventeen years and Naoml Darden, the. -latter' a little school glrL CHILDREN 1 DEFEND FATHER.

TThe three Oldesr ewidferf' have sided With their father lit attack on characler of their, mother; who did not appear in' the "court room; The Dardens have all of. whom are he-, three In court iSTATE, RESTS The' state' rested its egse shortly, before 1 oclock, having consumed only an hour in the actual hearing of teatlmony, and Judge -L( jS. 'Roan. who was presiding, ordered va yecess until 3 o'clock. 1 Darden Is being by.

Attorney (Contlnnsd On Fags Two, CoL (Contlnnsd on Fags Three, CoL 1.) Depending on the unwritten law alone to save hie life, Elmer' T. Darden went on trial In criminal division of the. superior court 1 Monday morning' for the murder of Goddard, of Stone on March 13. Darden has admitted wifes alleged paramour to kill him, and asks a -Jury to justify the homicide solely and simply- because he says the dead man wrecked Ms home and happiness' This is the. first time in a number of years that a defendant, has plea'ded the unwritten law aa a -sole defense for a' homicide.

In this although the supreme, court' records are replete-with "unwritten law cases' from other, counties In Georgia. SNAG 'IN' GETTING JURY. Darden went on trial at 3:20 o'clock, but it vas nearly noon before a -jury had been selected. Of" the forty-eight jurors who had been summoned to the court, eighteen men declared that were conscientiously opposed to capital punishment-and Were excused for cause All but seven of the remaining talesmen were stricken, "and court bailiffs spent' 'the remainder of the -morning In securing two new panels from which the necessary. five.

jurors were vs ARE THE The twelve men who will decide Darden's fate are Baldwin, S. S. Seeley yS. H. Sadler; C.1 B.

Logan, O. Skinner, George F. Baskin. F. R.

H. Ewing. W. W. Smith.

L. B. Story and T. L. Clements.

MAID DESCRIBES KILLING' Addle Mays, a negro maid at the Union where the' targedy; occurred, was the state's first 'witness, and she graphically described the killing. It was about 11:20 o'clock at night, she said, when Mr. Goddard, with both hands raised above his head, came runh- lng Into the' ladies' parlor, and shouted. Save me! Cave me!" "I had already heard two, shots and Mr. Darden came In riht- behind, Mr.

Goddard. Mr. Darden a. smoking pistol In his 'Please to meet you, Mr Goddard," he said, I have been searching for you for all the THIRD SHOT FIRED. Then he shot again, and I saw the blood spurt from Mr.

Goddard's face. John Beasley, a negro swore he heard Darden say. after tho shooting. that Goddard had wrecked hts home. Fire negro was all I hadto give him," the swore that Darden wid.

Und tried to give him all of It I at the BASEMENT r-; Jg The above, shows the lathe, where jStMfr Tbuto by wise. XPhUHiZ. -I, we ms te heve established an alibi through' statements of Monde that honss on night of the mnrdtr. I waa looking at you when you registered this morning at. the Empire.

hotel with my wite. tho- negro said the slajrr V. 5. policeman j. ilardy declared on the 1 shafts stairway, etc.

Diagram of basement where the body was. found) shows ladder to trap door and the door' where a staple had been pulled, witness stand that Goddard waa. aUU The big cross Indicates the spot-where the body-was found. -v. -T" 1 Ws -iv v'y fcV.