Raleigh, Nov 16—“Slim” Anderson, alias Slim Frazier, lies dead in the Brown morgue and the highway robber who hoped into more notoriety in one leap than any man who ever came to Raleigh, has mobs a mile deep trying to see the spectacular cuss who blew into Raleigh today, bout $108 worth of clothes from Frank King and Willis Holding, paid for it with a punch of the pistol then died in a pistol battle in which Traffic Officer W.E. Mangum was severely shot.
Slim Anderson, alias Slim Frazier, stood Raleigh on its head about 2 o’clock this afternoon. He came into the King and Holding haberdashery and looked over many clothes. Just why anybody ever called him “Slim” anyways does not appear. He measured 32 inches in the waist and 42 in the chest, a perfect build for a light heavyweight champion of the world. He was hard to fit, but finally the clerks measured him and dressed him up. He was a most affable stranger, but when Clerk C.A. Tucker finished with him, Slim Anderson, alias Slim Frazier, blithely pushed a pistol into Tucker’s face and ordered him to stand back.
Collects Cash
That brought other salesmen to inquire the trouble and Slim Anderson, alias Slim Frazier of Memphis, Tenn., he said, informed the whole store crowd that they must stand back. Willis Holding was one of the backstanders and he stood back nobly. E.H. McCain was another and Mr. Anderson-Frazier pushed his way to the cash register. He repeated his purpose to blow up the whole posse comitatus if there was any trouble.
He was an amateur. He could not work the cash register, but Mr. Holding could. Holding pushed open the drawers, apologized for the emptiness of the depository and explained that he had lately gone to the ban. Mr. Anderson-Frazier assured him “that’s all right” and emphasized his satisfaction by poking the pistol in Mr. Holding’s neck.
Getting the 40-odd dollars, Mr. Anderson-Frazier opened the door, warned anybody within the store that moving meant death, took the street and then flew. Messrs. Holding and McCain followed him with great care not to run ahead of the interference. They went where he went and finally saw him go into the McQuillan basement on McDowell Street near Hotel Raleigh, just a block from Union Station. Officers followed and Anderson-Frazier issued a manifesto that anybody following him must die. There was a hasty conference. Officer Mangum said the fellow must be taken and opened the door in face of warning. There were two shots, one of which struck Mr. Mangum in the stomach. “You’ve got me, but I’ll get one of you,” the robber said. Mangum then told his fellow officers that he had the highwayman who was shooting. Officers Sanders and Perkins returned the fire and brought the fellow down. Mangum’s bravery made the arrest possible.
In Heart of Town
No two stories agree and perhaps the absolute facts will not be learned. But these melodramatics were going on in the heart of Raleigh. The King-Holding store is about 40 feet from the post office. It is on the Tucker Pharmacy corner, is 50 feet from the Wachovia Bank and Trust Company, 50 yards from the Citizen National Bank and a little farther from the Commercial National Bank.
Almost in sight of the shooting sat Rev. Dr. J.O. Adkinson of Elon College and the Christian Sun, well-known Christian minister. Rev. Dr. Omer S. Thomas, secretary for home missions of the Christian Church, Dayton, Ohio, was lunching with him in the Raleigh Hotel cafeteria. They heard all the shooting and all the talking. Slim Anderson-Slim Frazier was standing Raleigh on its head. Both wounded men were taken to the hospital where examination showed beyond a doubt that the highwayman was mortally hurt. It was not so certain that Mr. Mangum was less damaged. But the traffic officer was soon perky, and chatting with his brother and fellow officers.
Plenty of Nerve
Meanwhile, Slim Frazier-Slim Anderson was begging for water and crying like a sick girl. He hadn’t lost his nerve. One of the physicians telling him that he had but a few minutes to live, asked him if he had anything to say.
“Not a damned thing,” Slim snapped, then added that he is Slim Frazier of Memphis, Tenn., where he is wanted for bank robbery. A reward of $2,000 was hanging over him, he said. Nobody believes that. Later he insisted that his name is Slim Anderson and by that he went until he died about 6 o’clock this evening.
The death of the robber brought a crowd quickly to the undertaking place, but Coroner Waring would allow nobody to see the dead man. So far as could be learned tonight he was never seen here before. Fragments followed him. He is credited with having stolen a Packard limousine in Augusta and with having parked it near the Sir Raleigh filling station. This car had a Georgia license n it and in the chariot were several Raleigh licenses. Some unknown woman showed up at the hospital and placed some flowers in his hand as he was being brought from the hospital, dead. The police were able to find out little about him.
Far From Insane
Clerks in the King and Holding place scout the idea that the dead man was crazy. They were impressed with his brightness, not to say his keenness. They have heard few men talk better. Willis Holding admitted his disinclination to play the games that the dead fellow sprang on such short acquaintance. But nobody seems able to account for the robber’s taking a store instead of a bank if money was what he sought.
The suit which the bad man chose cost $58, but he outfitted himself with a coat and hat additional. He exchanged his clothing which he wore into the store and dressed while there. How he managed to shift his weapon without being detected is not entirely plain. But Mr. Slim Anderson worked in a hurry today.
Deputy Warden Honeycutt of the state prison took the finger prints of the dead robber and will use them in the hope of finding out exactly who the fellow is.
From the front page of The Sampson Independent, Clinton, N.C., Thursday, November 19, 1925.
Posse comitatus is a Latin phrase meaning “the power of the county. It refers to a group of citizens who are called upon to assist a sheriff in maintaining order or apprehending criminals.
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn91068086/1925-11-19/ed-1/seq-1/
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“Slim” Anderson Was Clarence Neagleye
Raleigh, Nov. 21 (AP)—“Slim” Anderson, slain robber, whose body lies unclaimed in a local undertaking establishment, was Clarence Neagley, who was sentenced to 10 years in the Pennsylvania Reformatory at Huntington, Pa., May 24, 1923, for breaking and entering according to a letter received here by H.H. Honeycutt, director of the State Bureau of Identification, Department of Justice, Washington.
From the front page of the Concord Daily Tribune, Saturday, Nov. 21, 1925. His fingerprints were sent to Washington, D.C., for possible identification. The headline spelled his last name “Neagleye” and the article spelled it “Neagley”.
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073201/1925-11-21/ed-1/seq-1/
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