The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-06-21
Death Penalty For Murder of Mary Phagan, Factory Girl, is Commuted to Life Imprisonment By Execu- tive Order of Georgia s Governor.
Prisoner Taken to State Penitentiary At Midnight
 Fear of Violence Causes Order To Close Many Sa- looms in Atlanta Slaton is Silent.

Atlanta, Ga., June 2Is-Leo M. Franks death sentence was oomm1zted to life imprison- ment to-day by Governor Sla- ton
 Acknowledgement of the gov eEnorss decision came several houRs after Frank had been hsecne44y taken from the jail here and hurried to the state prison farm at Mi1ledgevilIe.
 Frank was sentenced to be hanged here tomorrow for the murder of Mary. Phagan in April, fO1S.
 9oveenoF s1aAon made Che an- nouncea1ent of his decision at his count4y home and dtctabed the fol- lowing statement:
 ~AM ask is that the people of GeoBBAa read my statement of the reasons why I oommuted Leo M Franks death sentence to life inn pr4sOnment before they pass Juds- men&
 rFee21us as do about this case ] "OEA081SE | man to hang. Ii means that must live in obscur1ty the rest of my days. but I would rather be blowing in a field than to feel for the rest of my life that had that mans blood on my hands"
 long statement giving his reasons for his act1on and this, he said, would be naad6 public laEer-
 Although crowds on the streets dis- cussdng the Frank case did not ap. pear so excited as the day wore on the police ordered all near-beer sa- Icons closed shortly before Il o'clock and an extra 100 policemen were put on duty. Orders were issued to imme- diately arrest anyone attAmptang to tnc1te violence.
 Frank was secretly removed from the county Jail here shortly after last midnight and taken under heavy guard to the state prison farm at Mil1edgevflle, upon orders of Governor S1aton.
 Franks removal from the jail here was carefully planned and the officers were able to e1ude neWspapermen and others who might have recognized their prisoner. Leaving the jail by a rear door shortly before midnight they went in an automobile to the termi- nal, station, where a deputy purchased
  was not handcuffed and was without the heavy spectac1es he usually wears The few persons who were in the rail- way station at the time failed to re- eognize him and it was more than an hour after midnight before the report was circulated that he had been re- moved from the cell he has occupied for many months.
 Governor Slaton was at his country home, several miles from the city and telephone connection with his home had been cut off.
 When the train reached Macon sev- era1 persons at the station saw the sheriffs and prison leave the Pullman and Frank was positively identified. Obtaining an automobile the party started from Macon immediately for 11nIedgevi1Ie, a distance of tI1irty-one miles, arriving at the state farm at 4:3O this morning. Not even the su- perintendent of the prison farm had been notified that Frank would be taken there today.
 Mrs Frank declared she knew nothing of any move to take her hus- band to Mf11edgevi1le~ and Franks at i torneys said they had not been notified of it. Solicitor Dorsey, who prosecut- ed Frank, also said he had not been informed of the plan.
 Two hearings were held here on l Franks application for executive clemency, one before the state prison commission May 31 and the other be- fore the governor, ending Jun 16.
 Befort the prison commission oral argument on Franks behalf was made by his counsel and by jurists, lawyers and prominent citizens of fEeorgia, Illinois and Massachusetts and petitions for communication, as well as of individual leters were presented Ito the commission. In opposition to Fthe application there were filed a let
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