Sunday, May 25th, 1913
Thomas B. Felder, the Atlanta lawyer who is accused of having offered a bribe for an affidavit of J. W. Coleman, stepfather of Mary Phagan, now in the possession of the police, yesterday issued the following statement: To the People of Atlanta:
The publication of the sensational "story" in The Atlanta Journal on yesterday afternoon relating to myself and my connection with the Phagan case is but the symptom or manifestation of one of the most diabolical conspiracies ever hatched by a venal and corrupt "system" to protect crime in a civilized community.
To be more specific, this conspiracy was formed just after the arrest of Newt Lee and Leo Frank, charged with the murder of Mary Phagan. The controlling genius of it is Newport Lanford, chief of the city detectives; its object is to shield and protect the murderers of this innocent child, and in its wicked ramifications it marks our distinguished (?) chief of detectives as the Lieutenant Becker of our "system," and renders his co-conspirators as dangerous to the lives, liberty and property and reputation of our citizens as the bloody and deadly Society of the Mafia.
Part Played By Papers.
Pity it is that the press of the city has been and is being made the innocent, if effective, instrument in their hands to further and effectuate the object of this wicked conspiracy by prostituting their potential columns in the exploitation of the mass of forgeries and perjuries which has been given to the public through their columns, for be it known that these papers have tacitly sanctioned the utterances of Colyar by reproducing his affidavits in the face of the fact that the editors and proprietors of all would without hesitation swear that they would not believe him on oath if called upon to do so. Strangely enough, a portion of the criminal record of this man Colyar is reproduced, showing him to be a man steeped in crime and infamy, while in the parallel column is published his defamatory utterances against me.
I would have the good people of this community know that from the day and hour of the arrest of Lee and Frank, charged with the murder of little Mary Phagan, Newport Lanford and his co-conspirators have left "no stone unturned" in their efforts to shield and protect these suspects, and I shall demonstrate later the truth of this statement with so much clearness that "he who runs may read."
Winked At Forgeries.
In furthering and effectuating this conspiracy they have suborned perjury, winked at forgeries and, in short, employed every agency that low and groveling criminal instincts could contrive and conjure up. In their frantic efforts to shield the murderers of this girl "Lieutenant Becker" Lanford secured the services of A. S. Colyar, Jr., whose criminal record was known to the "lieutenant," but whose services he willingly availed himself of.
