Evening star., 1934-11-29
WOMAN DESCRIBES
DEATH Of AGENTS
Gives Eyewitness Account
of Nelson's Battle
With Officers.
Ry the Associated Press.


CHICAGO, November 29.-The
story of the gun battle Tuesday in
which two Department of Justice men
were slain near Darlington is told
simply and briefly by Mrs. Frances
Kramer, who witnessed the fight from
Q distance of 200 feet.
She testified yesterday at a cor
oner's inquest into the death of Her
man E. Hollis, 81, agent who was slain
in the fight in which Inspector Sam
uel p CoWley also was fatally
wounded
Mrs Kramer, who operates filling
station, said she heard what she
thought was automobile back-firing
but did not become interested until
she heard the screech of brakes.
Thinking it was an accident, she ran
outside.
Then I saw the V-8 (the killers
carr swing sharply into the parkway,
she said The other car could not
make the turn with it and stopped up
the road as quickly as possible.
Two men got out of each car. Each
one had gun. They looked like
shotguns, but couldn't tell. The two
in the va got out of the car so il
was between them and the other car
All of them began to shoot.
Woman Hides in Weeds.
"a woman got out of the V-8 and
ran back toward the filling station
and hid in the weeds
THE V-8 was between the men that
got out of it and the other car. Sud-
denly one of the men from the other
car (Cowley) doubled up and fell in
the ditch. The other man Hollis)
started to get behind another car.
Then one of the gangSterS laid
his gun across the hood of the car
and fired. He hit the man (Hollis) in
the head the first shot. I saw his
head wobble and he fell down
Then the gangSterS ran to the other
car (the agents. and backed it into
the parkway. They transferred some
stuff from the va into the other ard
started back west. They stopped tc
pick up the woman and sped away
Mrs. Kramer said she could not
describe the two men or the woman
except that the woman was Clark ano
the men wore no overcoats.
Policeman Is Witness.
William Gallagher, rs. of PAIRING
ton, State highway patrolnan, tolc
of the fight as he saw it from a dis
tance of 800 feet.
The battle was under way. he said
when he heard the shots as he was
standing inside a filling station. He
looked out, saw the shooting. ''ducket
back in and grabbed a 80 calibre
rifle" and ran out the rear door
He could not shoot immediately. hi
explained, because he did not Krov
who was participating in the battle
AS he was running to tEe scene, one
of the two cars was driven away
II pumped bullets at it as fast a;
I could" he said, but they escaped
so I kept on running to where tht
men lay. AS I approached, one ot
them (Cowley) said, Don't shoot. In
a copper
Il took his word for it and looked
at the other fellow (Hollis). He wa!
lying on his face. I turned him ovel
and his hand and an automatic fel
out from under his coat. He mus
have been trying to draw it.
Shot Through Head.
This man was shot in tn,
head He was lying on an automatic
shotgun. It was empty. There wa:
a machine gun lying across the othel
fellows shoulder. 1t was empty, too
Then Gallagher told of summoninl
ambulances and doctors and finally
taking the wounded men to the hos
pital in Darlington in private car:
when he became impatient.
He said he gathered up all the gun;
he found, the three belonging to The
agents and one. a machine gun, hi
found in the car abandoned by tht
slayers.
The first witness was Byron F. Hol
lis, 26, Chicago, brother of the slair
agent. He gave briefly his brother
history and said he had last seen hin
two days before he was killed.
Chief Assistant Deputy Coroner
John Butler failed to get evidence
from two witnesses. One of them
p. w. Sherman, Chicago salesman
witnessed the shooting. The Other
was John L. Madala, Federal agent
who reached the scene soon after
the battle.
Salesman Refuses to Talk.
Sherman, who stopped his car a.
he neared the battle, abandoned il
and ran, said he had given his story
to Melvin Purvis, in charge of the
Department of Justice bureau here
and could not talk further.
Madala did little more than identify
himself. He declined to say on what
assignment" the slain agents were
working at the time, but admitted
they had had "leads" before going
there.
The jury brought in verdict that
Hollis was murdered by two un-
known persons, now at liberty" ano
added: I'VE further recommend
that a diligent search be made by
agents of the United States Govern
ment, local. county and State police
and that they be held to the grand
jury for murder"