Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-02-05
'Ht's an Internal Lie, " He
Protests - Mother-Loye
Her Sole Motive, Mrs,
South Declares
LAST ANNOUNCEMENT
WAS OF TRIPLETS
Did That, She Says, Because
of Church 0ffer-Her Own
Children Are Grown and
Married

One of the most amazing stories
Of mother-love that the world has
ever known came to light in At
lanta Friday morning, when Mrs. f.
e. A. South, of % Weyman avenue,
confessed that the "triplets" sup
posedly born to her on New Years
eve were not her own, that twin
girls born. to her two years ago
were not her own, that twin girls
"born" to her four years ago were
rot own; that she has reared alto
gether eleven, children whom even
her husband believed were born to
her, when, in reality, they were all
adopted secretly because of her
great desire for babies.
Mrs. South's husband. who is
clerk in the Fulton Grocery company
at 1923 Decatur street, first laughed
when he was informed of his wife's
confession. and then was indignant,
declaring it was an internal lie."
"If she made such a statement, IL
was because some sinister influenza
was at work on her." he declared.
''They are all my children, and my
neighbors will testify to the fact"
While Mrs. South fooled her hus-
band, fooled the children themselves,
fooled the newspapers and the pub
lie, fooled everybody but herself and
the institutions from which she pro-
cured the babies, she has commits
ted no wrong in the eyes of the law,
and it is to be doubted if she has
even committed wrong from q
moral standpoint.
For it appears her motives were Of
the highest. II don't like movies,
don't like theaters, I dor't like to
go out; the greatest thing in my
life is children" she declared That
is why I did it-because L love chill
dren and because 1 wanted to give
them the best raising I could, espe-
cially the little nameless waits in
the maternity hospitals who haven't
a chance in the world"
Thus, Mrs. South declared that
the reason she fooled her husband
with triplets born" on New Years
eve, but ir reality procured from
Mrs. NJ r. Mitchelps maternity hos.
pital at % Windsor street, was be-
cause the. ladies in charge of the
cradle rolT' at st. Paul's Methodist
church, where she has her MEM
bership, had agreed to educate as
missionaries the first triplets born
to church member
FELT IT HER DUTY TO
TO TRAIN CHILDREN
Il have raised all my children to
be good men and women" declared
Mrs. South, "and 1 saw here "a
chance to have three little ones
brought UP to go out and teach tbs
gospel to the heathen."
Mrs. South said she is the daugb-
ter Of a Methodist minister, now
dead. and that her mother Is dead
also. She was brought up in a re-
ligious home, she declared, and she
felt it was her duty to train as
many good children as possible,
whether they were her own or not.
During her married life, she has ae.
tually had three children of her
own, now grown up and married
Mrs. South is now So years old.
More than ten years ago, she said,
her yearning for children to take the
place of her grown-up sons and
daughters was so overpowering that
she hit upon the scheme of deceiy-i
ing her husband with fake birth"
And she succeeded in fooling him,
she said. She said the plan worked
so well that at annual intervals she
adopted three more. These four ba-
bies, said Mrs. South. she got from
institutions the names of which she
would not give. They now range in
age from five to thirteen, and live
at the South home, in complete ig-
Eorance of their true origin.
Four years ago, said Mrs. South,
she decided to have twins. She got
them from the maternity home OF
Mrs. Mitchell on Windsor street, she
later died. So, two years ago, Mrs.
South declares, she got two girls
from the Windsor street home which
she palmed off as twins. And then,
the last day in December she pro-
cured three little girls from the
Mrs. Mitchell, who conducts the
home, admitted Mrs. South's state
ment, regarding these sets of "trip
let's" and twins" The trin1ets, said
Mrs. Mitchell, were not really trip
let's, but were three little girls of
three different mothers.
NO CERTIFICATES
OF BIRTHS APPEAR
The birth" of the "triplets" was
first announced in the newspapers
shortly after New Years. Their pic
lures were publ'Shed, along with
Mrs. South's and those of one pair of
twins" Hundreds of people called
at the Weyman avenue home to see :
them. The church people were ex-
tremely interested and the Associat-
ed Charities, to whom the case was
reported on January II, sent out two
loads of coal to help the family
And then official Atlanta took
note of the case. There began
the first inkling anyone had that the