Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-03-11
CONSCIENCE CLEAR,
EX-ATLANT|AN SAYS;
DENIES $4,000 FEE

/
NEW YORK, March S.-Thomas
B. Fielder. former Atlanta attorney.
indicted yesterday by a federal grand
jury, here, on a charge of attempt
| ing to bride Attorney General Harry
M. Daugherty and two assistant
United States district attorneys in the
glass casket' case. today charged
in an interview with a reporter for
The Atlanta Journal, that his indict-
ment is political, pure and simple"
/ My hands are clean, my. con-
science clear and ! would have the
people of my native state know
! that" he said.
! Indicted with Fielder were CASTOR
B. Means, a private detective, and
the latter's secretary, Elmer Jar
necke The indictment grew out of
the complaint of Samuel Safir, presi-
dent of the Glass Casket company,
officers of which are under sentence
for mulcting the public in stock
scheme, who charged that he had
paid Fielder $65, 900 upon the repre-
sentation of the former Albanian
! that he could, through his friendship
with Attorney General Harry Daugh-
erty, prevent the indictment of Safir
/
pending for the recovery of the
money.
| Fielder denied today that Safir and
his co-defendants had paid him $685.
600. He set the figure at $1,000 and
denied that he promised to aid them
| otherwise than in court. He produced
a copy of a statement signed by Safir
and five otEer men which says,
among other things; Il have not
only never heard YOU say, but
never heard you intimate that you
! could prevent the Indictment of my
self and others. or that you would
exercise any influence whatever to
prevent the trial of the case against
myself or others; that You could or
would do anything in respect to the
case except to represent myself and
others to the best of your profes-
sional skill and ability"
Mr.. Fielder said he had Safir sign
! the agreement after he had heard
rumors reflecting upon him in con-
/ nection with the case.
The political aspect OF the prose.
! cution of myself is shown" he said,
in the fact that although my firm
/ was retained in my absence and the
money was paid in my absence, the
other two members of my firm were
not indicted in this alleged con-
spiracy. II it were a conspiracy. are
they not liable also? 1t is politics,
pure and simple.
Two previous grand juries had in
Vestlgated the charges against
Means, with whom | was alleged to
be in conspiracy, and found that
/ there was nothing in the charges
against myself or my firm, although
three indictments were returned
against Means. | accepted EMPLOY
ment as Means attorney After my
employment by Means, the matter
was taken up again. and notwith-
standing the fact that it was thor.
oughly established before The grand
Jury that the three gentlemen who
were associated with me in xhe prac.
tlce OF law, conducted with Safir and
his associates the negotiations made
the contract with them and accept
ed the fee in my absence, ! was in.
/ dlcted and they were not | do not
mean by the above statement to alb
. solve myself for responsibility for
J anything that was done by nv as
( sociates. Nor to reflect upon them.
/ out this statement is made purely
. for the reason that it clearly estah-
hshes that | was indicted for politi-
cal purposes and reasons only"