Omaha daily bee., 1906-06-29
JAMES DICGS TURNED LOOSE
Colored Man Cannot Be Connected with
Murder Of Frank E. Wheeler
YELLOW JOURNALISM GETS ITS REWARD
sIabsuGh Passes Sentence on weight
of JunIOF YeIIow's Veraoity
when He Dismisses
the Case.

The court officers Of Douglas county
passed sentence on yellow journalism
Thursday morning when James Diggs, the
colored man charged with the murder, Feb
ruary o. of Frank e. Wheeler was dis
missed for lack of evidence against him.
Soon after the arrest Of Digs the junior
yellow, in a characteristic fake interview,
quoted Mrs. Wheeler held with Digs, as
confessing Diggs committed the deed. The
woman soon proved to the satisfaction of
the authorities that the interview was the
purest tissue Of falsehoods and the matter
was then and there dismissed as too trivial
70 bother with in the real investigation OF.
the case.
County Attorney slabaugh dismissed the
information against Diggs, Failure to con-
meet Diggs with the crime leaves the state
up In the air for a theory, except for one
clue which is now being investigated.
County Attorney slabaugh said he had
| received a tip through colored man that
the person who killed Wheeler was one OF
the men who shot Banker Frank T, Clarke
while trying to hold him up on Chicago
street about two weeks after the Wheeler
murder. Judge slabaugh said he was in
vestigating the story Of the colored man.
but he did not know whether there was
anything to it or not He would not dis
cuss the details Of the story nor indicate
who, II any ,one, was under suspicion.
1t was reported that Harrison Clark, who
Is under sentence of death for the murder
Of Street Car Conductor FURY had told
persons in the county Jail that Clarence
Gathright, who is serving a tventy-year
sentence for the FURY murder, was guilty
OF the Wheeler murder. County Attorney
slabaugh, however, denied that Clark was
his Informant. Clark also denied to q re-
porter that he had any information about
the Diggs case, except that Digs, who
was Clark's cellmate at the. jail, had de-
MED his guilt to Clark. s..
Details of wheeler Case. .-.
Wheeler was found dead on the night OF
February~8 on the street near Fourteenth
and Pacific streets. Suspicion was directed
against Digs because It was found he had
been intimate with Mrs, Wheeler, a white
woman, and that she had furnished him
money. At the time of his arrest 1t was
learned he was about TO go to South Da-
kota TO engage in business on money furA
,ntshed him BY Mrs Wheeler Wheeler car
rled considerable life insurance and this
act furnished further grounds for sus-
picion Mrs. Wheeler was held at the city
Jail for several days. but was finally dis
charged. no evidence having been found to
| .mplicate her.
The Clarke shooting took place a day or
30 before the FURY murder and one theory
held by the police was that the two jobs
we're done by the same persons.
Shortly after the arrest OF Diggs and Mrs.
Wheeler the Junior yellow published one of
It's fake interviews with Mrs. Wheeler in
which II was claimed she confessed the
guilt Of Diggs. The story was denied by
Mrs. Wheeler and was discredted by all
the officials who had anything to do with
the case. From the time OF their arrest
both Mrs. Wheeler. and Digs have stood
pat" and refused to admit they knew any
thing about the crime.