Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-03-13

Here Is the story OF MIS-. simmons,
told in her own words 10 The GeOr-
gian's correspondent who found her
in her rooms in the Carter house,
First avenue and Twenty fourth
street, in Birmingham:
My husband gets pension money
and | had been at the Atlanta Shoe
Company, No. % West Alabama
street, 10 see if his letter had come.
This was the day Mary Phagan was
murdered. The Decoration Day pa
rade had started. The old soldiers
had zone by and the High School boys
were just passing when | left the
store and went to Forsyth street and
then down past the pencil factory.
1T must have been 230 o'clock or
later. Just as ] got to the factory I
heard a scream and then another one.
| stopped and put my hand on the
little railing that runs in front Of the
building and / bent over to listen
Thought Someone Wss BEING Killed.
Il says TO myself Somebody is
sure killing somebody and | stayed
there a minute longer. l heard the
screams three times Every time ii
seemed as though someone was put
ting his hand over the mouth OF tho
person that was screaming so AS TO
muffe the sound ! tried to look in,
= 1
third scream everything was quiet,
and didn't hear anything more.
Il waited around there for a while,
but ! didn't see anything or hear any
thing more suspicious, and | thought
ii was just some man beating his wife
or some negro fight | looked down
the street and there was woman but
that was the only person in particG
lar that ! noticed at the time,
Il went home and told my son-in-
law, Buck Williams, about it. lie
didn't think much OF it at the time
but the next morning he came to me
and said; do you remember what you
were telling me yesterday"
II asked what of it, and he said that
someone had murdered little Mary
Phagan in the pencil factory. lie told
some people about what | had heard,
and pretty soon two detectives came
out 10 my house. Their lanes We're
Webb and Harper. They asked me al
about what had heard and about the
time that | went by the factory and
when they got through they told me
not TO say anything to anyone else
about what ] had told them.
Tells of Seeing Dorsey.
THE next thing ] knew, ! got
subpoena to go to Solicitor Dorsey's
Office. This was some time during the
week after the murder, There We're
IA lot of people around. Two or three
young girls We're there who had been
subpenaed, too. Mr.. Dorsey was i'm "a
hurry, and | don't suppose ! talked
with him more than half an hour.
Il told him Just what ] have told
YOU, and he said, Are you sure about
the time% | told him I was. and
that it was when the Decoration Day
..ar,, la.H a.. l.tf
fixed the time. He says to me, Now,
are YOU sure? Think good about this.
You know the girl was killed before
this time
81 told him didn't know the time
except ny the tact that the parade
was passing. and that the old soldiers
had gone by and the High school boys
Were right iu front of me when I
walked out Of the store.
"Then he says TO me We'll, / think
it was earlier than that. lust think
81 over again Mr. Frank is sup
posed not to have been i'm the factory
ut o'clock or 2:30 o'clock
Says He Argued With Her.
told him that tt didn't make any
difference to me where Frank was
supposed To be; | was going To- tell
The truth just as ii was didn't
care whom it helped or hurt. He kept
ON arguing with me, but ] stuck hv
what | said at first, lie nor anyone
else couldn't change me. know
what 1 heard and when | heard it,
When ] came down here / sent him
letter telling him where / was. but
he never sent for me To testify at the
trial. This surprised me. but I read
the papers and IL looks as IL he didn't
need my kind of testimony
i was talking to Mrs A. h. Davis.
who lives here I'M Birmingham now.
but who used TO live iu Atlanta and
she told me that ! ought 10 let Mr..
\ Franks lawyers know about H.. /
\ took her advice and that is how they
Mound u al out n Frank us the one
Mat Killed the little girl I think he
Snould he punished, but IL me- wasn't
IN the factory az the time ] heard
the screams ! DON'T see how he could
have done ID"
- Simmons story to The Geor-