Evening star., 1928-11-20
Bitterly Arraigns Daughters
Conduct for Period Pre-
Ceding Her Death.
TELLS OF HIS CONNECTION
WITH SALVATION ARMY
Blames Those Who Had Taught
Girl to Drink Liquor and
Smoke Cigarettes.


ranged and in a highly excited frame
of mind when he strangled and suffo-
Gated the last spark of life from the
body of his daughter, Bessie L. Smith,
September IS, in their apartment at
ISL New Jersey avenue, Franklin Els
worth Smith. so years old, today
harangued the jury in District Supreme
Court, Criminal Division /, for nearly
two hours, in an attempt to escape the
death penalty for his crime.
Smith was called to the stand a.
the second witness for the defense. He
was allowed by his attorney, e. Russel
Kelly, to tell the jury his story with
out questioning and at lengthy detail.
Defendant on Stand.
Smith took the stand at 10:45 thi
morning, and still was on the stant
when the court recessed at 1880. He
Immediately launched forth into de-
tailed explanation of his relations with
his daughter. Most of his testimony,
addressed directly to the jury, dealt
with her association with John Steele,
the man with whom he declared his
time of her death.
He described Steele as worthless,
no account loafer, who lied, stole and
would not work."
Coming up to the morning he killed
his daughter, Smith said he came home
without the slightest intention OF slay-
ing her. He said that he found her and
his son, William, eating breakfast when
he arrived and got int an argument
with his daughter over a pork pudding
which he bought the night before.
which he wanted for breakfast. After
eating his breakfast, he said, he up
braided his daughter for her failure to
attend to the apartment, wash the
dishes, fix the beds and perform general
household duties. Her association with
Steele also came into the argument, he
said, and as she prepared to go out,
fully clothed, he said he caught her and
pulled her back from the door. The
argument, he said, grew more heated
after this, and finally, after preventing
her from Leaving several times, he
grabbed her around the neck, forced
her to the bed in the bedroom and his
hands tightly clenched about her throat
"Had to Go Through With Il"
He said that she moved convrIlsively
unconscious on the bed.
81 didn't want to harm the girl" he
said, "but when started felt that
just had to go through with 1t. So
after she stopped moving I held my
hands over her throat for from three
to five minutes. Then was sure she
was beyond all human aid. Just to
make sure. however, that she would
have no suffering whatever, took
mirror from bureau and held it be-
fore her mouth. A small spot of mois-
ture, about the size of a quarter, formed
on the mirror and then placed two
fingers over her nostrils, shutting of
her breath there, and placed my other
hand over her mouth. I held her thus
for some time, don't know how long,
and I again put the mirror in front of
her face and again the small spot of
moisture appeared. I repeated the
process of holding her nose and mouth
until 1 was sure that she was beyond
all hope of recovery and would suffer
no more.
''I loved that girl with all my heart.
I would have given my life for her.
IF had planned to kill anybody, 1t
is only natural to assume that would
have killed John Steele also My
daughter is dead and John Steele is a
free man today. It isn't reasonable to
suppose that if I had planned killing
any one that I would not have killed
him before killed my daughter"
Steele Listens Unmoved.
Steele, who was in the courtroom dur
ing Smiths denunciation of him, except
for few minutes when he went out
side to smoke cigarette, sat during
the final denunciation unmoved.
Mrs. Lily E. Allen, 73, mother Of
Smith, was the first defense witness to
take the stand this morning. She told
how one of her sons eyes was crushed
at the time of his birth and how his
eyesight has been poor al his life, final
ly forcing her to withdraw him from
graded school when he was in about the
fifth grade. She said she then put her
son to work to keep him on the streets
When he was about Is, Mrs. Allen
said, Smith became interested in the
Salvation Army evangeliStic services
here and would attend the services
whenever his work permitted. 1t was at
these services that Smith met his wife
There never was a better kind u
boy that walked this earth than Frank,
Mrs. Allen said. HE gave me every cent
almost that he earned. He was always
very affectionate to me and always
worked hard"
His Eyesight Bad.
Smith told the jury that his eyes al
ways had bothered him and that he
was forced. in 1922, to leave position
as bookkeeper with the National Metro
politan Bank on account OF poor eye
sight.
He said he had had for many years
little voice in the running OF his house,
hold and for the greater part Of the
time had prepared all the meals, washed
the dishes and attended to other de-
tails of the household without any aid
from his wife, who was working, or his
daughter, who wolud assume no re-
sponSibilities.
He bitterly arraigned his daughters
conduct for the two or three years
preceding her death, saying that In
that time she had formed improper
associations, had turned to drink and
smoke and used profanity and had
been continually abusive and con-
temptuous of him.
He named several men and women
with whom he said his daughter had
associated and whom, he said, were
UNIT associates for a young girl.
II continually upbraided her ano
demonstrated with her without avail,
he said
Smith described his associations with
the Salvation Army as those OF a SOL
dier and all through his testimony TO
the jury he gave evidence Of distinct
disapproval of smoking and drinking
taught his daughter to smoke and