The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-07-07
New Tells Reason
for Killing Girl
Says She Would Not Marry
Him and in Moment of Mad
ness He Shot Her.

NLos Angeles. Cal. July s.--Harry S.
New. Jr.. who claims to be the son Of
United States Senator New. OF In
diana. today told for the arst time In
apparently unmistakabie terms of truth
why he shot Frieda Lesser. his sweet
heart
1t was a simple. ancient and paren-
ssial reason. the cause OF innumerab BILE
tragedies-she refused to marry him.
The midnight colloquy in the To-
rango canyon road, to which there Is
no surviving witness except New HIM
the final erime-centsred in the one
Issue.
You have decided Hnany then.
Frieda. that you Will not marry me-"
"Yes~
1t was upon this question and an
swer that death, unwittingly to the
Girl. was hanging in the balance
In that moment New says. he was
blind and irresponsible.
And that will be his defense He will
have an attorney. possibly the best
lieves--that his father. Senator New,
Will assist him.
He himself has not personally inn
pertuned the senator, but learned today
from his half-sister, Edna Clancy tina /
his mother. Mrs. Lille Burger. has mad
the appeal.
II is lqhg time since the mother
has communicated with the father OF
this unfortunate man. not since he was
little boy. But now comes the SUI
prenae call of blood. the "he is ours"
supplication.
Will Senator New respond The
man in tn city Jail bases his confidence
n affirmative action upon what he says
has been the senator's long and con-
tinuous interest in him
When he was boy the Senator.
who then was a publisher of the In
dianapolis Journal took a deep in
terest in his career, he says He
wanted TO equip him for worthy pur-
suit and sent him to Notre Dame Uni
versity. \
He appears to have had neither APP
titude nor ambition for scholarship:
admits 1t himself with regret now.
Later. the Senator still planning for
his sons future, sent him to a uni
versity in Denver. but after two years
OF the college course. New gave up
and has never seen the inside Of an
institution of learning since.
He became farm hand He was
an elevator starter in the Merchants
bank building in Indianapolis. But
his father. who had grown wealthy
and powerful. while he may have lost
the hopes which the early youth Of
the boy had inspired, maintained
much OF his interest
NY mother and travelled a great
DEAL he said. But every time wa
returned to indianapolis called on
my father. He always was glad to see
me and constantly assured me that II
ever needed help to cali on him
Immediately.
Before enlisted In the Indiana
Guard for service on the border
was down In Texas working. caught
typhoid malaria. Myeemployer wired
Senator New a. my direction md word
came back at cncc that was to have
every attention regardless of expense.
The last time ] saw my father was
after had left the border with the
troops an.. lad been mustered out. He
was very pleased shat should have
enlisted. He said that was what he
would DO II he were younger, that II
was what he lad done during the
Spanish A merican war.
We had snite long talk that time
and he told me again II were In
trouble to call on him. But / have
not personally. He knows the nx
am In. should like for him to
know. ~ am sure he does, that
an not criminal: that I have never
bNen In trouble before, never harmed
any one; that what ! did was from
an impulse that came 90 quick I did
not even fenNze myself what I had