Wednesday, June 11, 1913
In New Sworn Statement Gentry Declares He Came to Realize He Was Dealing with "Bunch of Crooks"—Charges Lanford and Beavers Names Were Inserted.
That the dictograph conversations in which it was plotted to trap Colonel Thomas B. Felder, Mayor Woodward and C. C. Jones were padded and altered in meaning is the sensational charge brought back to Atlanta in an affidavit sworn to by George M. Gentry, who fled to Washington after the conversations, in their alleged garbled form, had been offered for publication by A. S. Colyar, Jr., and printed.
Gentry's charges appear to substantiate in a large measure, if not entirely, the repeated statements of Colonel Felder and Mayor Woodward that an attempt had been made to make them the victims of a conspiracy.
Gentry said in making his affidavit: "I came to the realization that I had been dealing with a bunch of crooks, and decided that the best thing for me was to tell the whole story."
Cleared, Says Felder.
Colonel Felder said that he regarded the affidavit of Gentry as a complete invidication of himself. He declared that he [sic] explanation contained in the sworn statement of Gentry on the face of it showed hat [sic] Colyar and Chief of Detectives Lanford had been in a miserable conspiracy to ruin his (Felder's) reputation by seeking to prove him guilty of attempted bribery.
Mayor Woodward said that the affidavit bore out his previous statements that he never had mentioned the names of Chief Beavers or Chief Lanford in his conversation in room 33 of Williams House No. 2, where the trap was sprung.
"The whole thing was a frame-up. I was suspicious the moment I entered the room. I knew that something was wrong, and I was on my guard. In spite of that, they twisted and turned my statements around, as the original notes taken by young Gentry will show."
Chief Lanford said he did not believe Gentry had signed the new affidavit.
Colonel Felder said:
A Dirty Plot.
"Gentry's affidavit is a complete vindication. It bears out my statement that the whole thing was a frame-up on the part of Newport Lanford and his hirelings. Everyone agrees with me now that I was the innocent victim of a dirty, contemptible plot.
"The notebook is not in the hands of Gentry's brother. It was at the time he left Atlanta, but it is now in a safe deposit vault and I have the key.
"I have given Mayor Woodward a copy of the affidavit, and I expect he will ask the Grand Jury to look into the matter.
Incident Closed.
"So far as I am personally concerned, the incident is closed with this vindication, Gentry will return to Atlanta within the next week or ten days, and he may have something additional to say
"As to the Grand Jury scouring the country for witnesses to find out whether I was carrying a concealed weapon on the day Lanford attempted to assault me, the matter could have been facilitated by them calling on me. I am a truthful man and would have told them.
