Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-10-04
POLICE HOLD NO
STATEMENT BY
HEPRiSONER
Louisville Detective Chief
Participated in Inter
view.
BEGINS TO BACK UP

Charges made against J. Herbert
Hartman, Republican candidate for.
city Judge; Samuel Lewis Shank, Re-
publican candidate for mayor, and
a number of other Indianapolis
politicians, purporting to be taken
from a confession" Of Frank
Francis, Louisville prisoner, are pred
icated wholly on notes" purported
to have been taken from conversa-
ton between Francis and William H
BlOdgett, Indianapolis News agent,
in which William Deforester, chief of
Louisville detectives, participated.
Francis has given them no signed
, statement and the police Of neither Louis
I vile nor indianapolis have any signed
| confession from Francis or anything that
/ purports to be a direct and concise
statement Of the participation Of Hart
man or any one else In any law viola
! uons
Francis. a prisoner, is an oLHgfng
talker who takes great pleasure in giving
! out interviews concerning indianapolis
( citizens in the course Of which ne does
not hesitate to charge others with par
( ticipatiOn in crime after crime with him
/ These interviews, which any newspaper
man who desires can obtain from
Francis, and in which he shows a dispO-
sition to oblige with any kind Of a story
form the basis of the Confessions
printed in indianapolis and represented
as parts Of q confession, made by
Francis"
POLICE OF NEITHER
/ CITY HOLD CONFESSION.
Neither the police Of Louisville nor the
police Of indianapolis have anything in
the nature Of a confession from Francis
on which to proceed in their investigation
Of the conduct Of any one else in either
indianapolis or Louisville.
They have been asked TO establish the
truth or the falsity of statements alleged
to have been made by Francis in a con-
versation between Francis and a news
paper man, of which notes were taken by
a detective.
The notes have not been authenticated
by Francis. he has not signed the state
ments attributed to him and already he
has begun 10 repudiate details of the
alleged conversation which was published
in this city as "a statement signed by
Frank Francis, alias William Moore"
William Deforester. chief of detectives
of Louisville, was asked today by a staff
I correspondent Of the Daily Times to pro-
duce the alleged confession purported to
have been made by Francis. He declared
that there was 10 such confession in
existence and that the notes he had ex-
hibited recently while in Indianapolis
were notes taken from a conversation
he and Blodgett had with Francis.
FRANCIS ELABORATES
ON SOME STORIES.
Francis was interviewed By the Times
correspondent and in his conversation
elaborated some Of the stories which he
is alleged to have told before concerning
Herbert Hartman.
In the course of this statement he de-
clared that an attempt had been made by
Indianapolis politicians to hire him to
kill Rufe Page, negro supporter of Mr..
Thomas c. Howe in the primaries
He declared that he had personally
paid half Of the purchase price Of a
home bought by Herbert Hartman.
/ He declared he had bought and trans
| ported to Indianapolis all the liquor
| which he IS purpOTted to have said was
used in the primary.
! He said statements attributed to him
regarding intimacy with Samuel Lewis
Shank were untrue. that Shank did not
know him and had never met him but
once, and that was at Z hotel In LOUIS
Vile ElabOrating on this meeting he
asserted that Hartman invited him to
ride to the Derby races in the car with
Shank and that he had done So lie
declared Shank was not with the Hart
man party of which he says he was q
member, in Louisville.
+ Repeatedly he requested the Times
representative TO make it clear that
shank never had anything to do with
him.
He asserted that Doggy johnson, an
indianapolis man, hda stolen the autos
which Harry Z. Yockey lost during the
primary.
REVERTS To ATTACKS
ON HARTMAN.
Repeatedly he reverted to his attacks
! on Hartman, who, he declared Ra@
! framed" the robbery of Dr. E. Z. Katter-
/ henry's home, and had supplied him with
bills Of sale for stolen automobiles.
At the climax of his attacks on Hart
man he asserted that for the last two
years he practically supported Hartman
and his family with the spoils of his
rObheries and that Hartman had partici-
pated in a robbery in Louisville.
Like a man with mania, Francis con
Hartman, the general line of his talk
being similar to those previous state
ments which were given credence in In
dianapolis as the context of ''signed
statement" represented to have been
made in the form Of a confession" to q
police official
/ Following a conference between Claude
Worley, special investigator for the Grim
inaI Court, and Inspector of Detectives
Fletcher today 1t was announced that q
request probably would be made for the
grand jury to meet tomorrow afternoon
to hear evidence In the case.
Fletcher said he would get in touch
4 with Chief DeForrester of the Louis
Vile detective department at once and
if the chief could be here tomorrow he
would ask that he be allowed to testify
before the grand jury.
EVANS REFUSES
TO DISCUSS CASE.
, Prosecuting Attorney William P. Eavns
refused to discuss the case further, other
than to state that the investigation Of
the local end of Francis activities will
be continued and if facts warrant they
will be laid before the grand Jury in the
regular manner. This investigation &c
I is known. includes proLe ff all phases
Of the Francis charges, suEh as the al
legged use Of repeaters In Hartman's pria
1 CONTINUED on paEe Twn.A