Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
Atlanta Georgian
Saturday, May 24th, 1913
The following conversation occurred in room No. 31, at Williams House No. 2, 34-36 N. Forsyth Street, Atlanta, Ga., Wednesday evening, between 8 and 9 o’clock, between C. C. Jones, E. O. Miles and A. S. Colyar:
Colyar—It has been very warm to-day, hasn’t it?
Miles—Yes, it has. I asked Mr. Felder if you mentioned Mr. Jones’ name to him and he said no.
Colyar—He told me Monday night that Mr. Jones was a friend of his and he thought it an outrage the way they had done him.
Miles—You know I asked you this afternoon why you wanted to see Mr. Jones.
Colyar—If you don’t want to talk, that’s all right.
Jones—In what way?
Colyar—Tom told me they did you pretty dirty down here at the station house.
Jones—Yes. They closed up the houses I had. I had a lot of property.
Colyar—He told me they framed up on you.
Jones—There is no doubt but what it was a frame-up.
Colyar—Tom told me he would like to see the gang out of business.
Jones—The record now is (voice very indistinct just then). They never grafted me. Wouldn’t be any use for me to give them any money.
Miles—You told me you wanted to see Jones. It is not a question of lack of confidence, as what I told you was true as far as I know, but if he knows anything at all about it, I don’t know just what it is.
Jones—I don’t know anything. I just told them to go ahead and build them houses and move them across the street. Even some of them went and paid for them. Three or four days before they closed the houses, the Chief of the City of Atlanta —— —— —— that it would never do to close this district and I was surprised one morning by a telephone message from someone at No. 18, that the Chief had given five or six days notice to get out, I don’t remember which, and I never even went to the trouble to go out to this man to ask him what he meant, as I could not figure it out to save my life what he meant. That is all that I know of. I found out what he was doing. I understand that Jackson was holding conversation with him anywhere from one to three times a day.
Colyar—Who is Jackson?
Jones—Jackson is the man that owns the biggest —— house in Atlanta now. —— and the Chief was there and wanted to know what he had done about the license of the hotel, and the Chief ——. The people owe him $500 a month each. I understand he opened.
Colyar—Who is John Eagan?
Jones—He is one of them Jackson crowd.
Colyar—They certainly must have some kind of a pull.
Jones—They got something. I don’t know what it is.
Colyar—What does Jackson do?
Jones—Jackson runs them religious bulletins. I know them to be the fact, for he owns this place and on one occasion after he told someone I made a remark to a man that was very close to him. I told him that he had better close his own mouth. TO BE EXACT, HE OWNS THE EMPIRE HOTEL. The man that was running the hotel had an engagement to introduce me to this man. John Dawson told me that he had just had the hotel for three or four months, and that he had cleaned the hotel out, and I looked at him and said, “Yes, you cleaned it out, no doubt of that, but run it different from what other people run it. The man went to one room and the woman to the other, with a door opening between it.” So I will be frank with you, if I had anything that would convict Mr. Beavers I would tell it on the public streets. I think he is everything in the world but a man. I will be frank with you about that. If he takes my dollar and then goes to the other fellow and takes his dollar, he would tell me to go to hell, but, of course, I used to be a gambler; I run the Rex, and everybody knows it. I wouldn’t trust Beavers as far as I could throw——
Colyar: I want to talk to you about—
Jones—Well, we can make it. I will show you something.
Jones—I don’t think it is going to— As far as my own knowledge is concerned, I have never been able to—well, I haven’t tried to. Well, as I haven’t slept much lately I think I will go. Well, I will see you to-morrow.
Miles—Well, I am much obliged to you for coming in.
Jones—I will try and go there between 10 and 11. Will that suit you? I am glad to have met you. Good-night.
Colyar—Have you seen Felder since you saw me?
Miles—Yes.
Colyar—What did he say about going out of town?
Miles—He will go.
Colyar—Well, we will get the papers.
Miles—I told him that was reasonable.
Colyar—Then I will get the papers at 2:30 to-morrow. What time will you get in in the morning?
Miles—I will get in at 8:30 to-morrow, and I will have an appointment.
Colyar—I think it is best to go out there.
Miles—I have no doubt. It can’t possibly use our side.
Colyar—Call me up at 2401, Atlanta phone, at the hotel, at 1 o’clock. I wont’ have anything to do with the transfer of them in Fulton County. As long as he—
Miles—Yes, it makes a great deal more—. He can bull — a Morse out. I think he owes him most of it.
Colyar—What was his fee?
Miles—A hundred thousand dollars.
Colyar—How much did he get?
Miles—Oh! Absolutely—
Colyar—How long have you known Felder?
Miles—I have known him 35 years, personally.
Colyar—(Question incoherent).
Miles—Did you hear him commit himself?
Colyar—(Answer incoherent). Now listen here, this boy needs protection. Will you do all in your power to see that he gets protection? Will you promise not to use it any way as to jeopardize his position in any way?
Miles—* * * And I believe he would, because I have seen him tried. I have been through all his campaigns with him, and I have never known him to go back on his word. I can’t convince my mind that the young man won’t balk. He is liable to lose his nerve. He seems nervous and afraid.
Colyar—No, he won’t balk; he is just timid.
Miles—In dealing with rattlesnakes I never think about (dictograph not clear) Do you?
Colyar—No.
Miles—I presume every man has his own code of honor, and mine is if the right is figured in the wrong that the right needn’t hurt you. I don’t mean to call him a rattlesnake as I don’t know anything against him. But that respect I had in mind the general corruption in that department down there.
Colyar—He goes down there and gets the papers and brings them out there and they are the papers that you and Felder want and they would know that nobody could get them but Lanford, and him and Lanford would say that he didn’t get them and they would know February [sic] got them and would fire him right away. Now, how is the Mayor going to put him back?
Miles—If they are the documents of the nature he understands they are, there will be another Chief in his office. They would put him back for the very reason it would insure a straight administration of the next Chief.
Colyar—Will you call me in the morning at 10 o’clock?
Miles—I will call you at 10 o’clock.
Colyar—We will make Tom spend his money now.
Miles—Yes. You don’t want to give the Mayor any list of these things.
Colyar—I thought you wanted the papers.
Miles—I don’t want them.
Colyar—Tom does. He can tell about the papers whether they are what he wants.
Miles—We agree with the Mayor that we get this list.
Colyar—I am willing to copy it.
Colyar—Tom said that the papers—
Miles—Between you and Tom, we have nothing to do with it. If you are going to sell them to him, we will drop out of it. You say you will see the Mayor?
Colyar—I will see him to-morrow.
Miles—Good-night.
Colyar—Good-night.
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