Sunday, 27th July 1913 Pinkerton Men Brand Lanford Charges False

Reading Time: 94 minutes, [15875 words]

Detectives Declare City Police and Dorsey Were Told All Evidence They Developed

Emphatic denial of the charges by Chief of Detectives Lanford that he had kept bad faith with the city department in connection with the investigation of the murder of Mary Phagan was made by H. B. Pierce, superintendent of the Pinkerton Detective Agency in Atlanta, Saturday night.

Chief Lanford's accusations against the Pinkerton official were mainly that he had withheld evidence from the city police, especially the bloodstained stick and the pay envelope of the Phagan girl, both of which were found by Pinkerton operatives on the first floor of the factory and were later reported in possession of the defense. The Chief intimated that the Police Board would be asked to take action against Pierce personally.

"The stick was submitted to Chief Lanford by myself," declared Mr. Pierce. "The Mary Phagan pay envelope was shown him by our representative, Harry Scott.

Scoffs Stick Story

"When I displayed the stick to Mr. Lanford, he informed me that it could not have been found in the place it was reported found, as a minute search of every bit of the three floors in the factory already had been inspected by two of the city detectives, in company with Mr. Scott. Under this information, we cast the stick aside and did not regard it as evidence and thought nothing else about it until I read about it in the newspapers I think, Thursday.

"The stick was turned over to Mr. Rosser. When I learned a day or two ago that Mr. Dorsey had not heard of it, I went to Mr. Rosser's office, obtained the stick, and took it to Mr. Dorsey. Mr. Dorsey, I understand, does not think much of the stick as evidence, and neither does Mr. Rosser.

"As to it being planted evidence, I desire to say that I believe Mr. Rosser to be entirely too honorable to have been connected with the planting of evidence, while I also hold the same opinion of Mr. Dorsey.

"In as much as two city detectives and Mr. Scott had made a minute investigation of the factory before the time of the reported finding of the stick, I do not regard the stick highly as evidence.

"Scott Has Been Fair."

"The policy of the Pinkerton Agency is to be fair and impartial in its investigations. Mr. Scott has been absolutely in charge of this investigation, and I think the least that could be said is that he has been absolutely fair with the police, Solicitor General and the National Pencil Company people in his work upon it.

Mr. Scott was with Mr. Pierce at the time of the interview. He said he did not remember hearing the conversations between Chief Lanford and Pierce regarding the stick.

"I submitted the pay envelope to Chief Lanford, though," he said. "He asked me for it, and I said that I preferred to keep it. The Police Department has been advised of everything we have developed in the case, while the same is true of the Solicitor General and Mr. Rosser."

PAGE 29, COLUMN 5

FRANK FIGHTS FOR LIFE MONDAY

Dorsey Ready to Avenge Mary Phagan

Mystery of Months Is Still Unsolved

PRINCIPAL figures in Atlanta's most noted criminal case. Two pictures of Mary Phagan, the little factory girl, whose slaying has proved South's most baffling mystery, are shown, while below is Leo Frank, superintendent of the National Pencil Factory, where her body was found, who is accused of her murder, and about whose guilt or innocence brilliant legal battle will be fought.

Most Bitter Legal Battle in History of Atlanta Courts Is Expected---Case Will Probably Last for Weeks

AFTER three months of mystery in the death of Mary Phagan, a climax is at hand more tense, more dramatic, more breathlessly interesting to Atlanta and all Georgia than any situation of fiction. Leo M. Frank, employer of the little girl whose tragic death, April 26, stirred a State, will be brought to trial Monday on the charge that he killed her.

Frank's trial is the crowning event of the hundred thrilling circumstances surrounding the tragedy. Whatever the outcome, regardless of Frank's conviction or acquittal, the incidents that follow the trial will come as an anti-climax. The prosecution has cast almost all its chances for solving the mystery into the case it has prepared against Frank. Its heavy guns are trained against the factory superintendent. It has opposed the indictment of the single other suspect, the negro Jim Conley. The enthralled interest of a public has been pitched about the question: Is Leo Frank guilty?

FRANK DRAMA'S CENTRAL FIGURE

Even the pitiful figure of the little factory girl, mysteriously slain, has become subordinate in interest to that of Frank. The young man's own personality, his steadfastly loyal and loving family, his friends who affirm his innocence in the face of a dark suspicion, all have become factors in making Frank the central figure of the crime drama.

At the last moment efforts have been made by Frank's counsel to have the case continued until fall, but the indications are that Judge Roan will order the trial to go on Monday.

A hundred ramifications have sprung out of the case, each one entailing bitterness, aligning factions, engendering a deeper mystery. Many persons, even before the trial, are ready to express a belief of Frank's guilt. As many are firm in the conviction that he is innocent. But the great bulk of the public views the case through a haze of speculation and doubt which is as impenetrable as on the first day.

LEGAL TALENT BRILLIANT

Everybody is in one of the three classes. It is likely that no one lives in Atlanta who is indifferent to the case, which has been the central topic of news and of conversation since the day the body of Mary Phagan was found.

The trial will be an event worthy of all the interest with which the public has invested it. The array of legal talent is most imposing. Already the defense and the prosecution have met in skirmishes, in the courts and in the newspapers. They were skirmishes so hard fought and bitter as to hold out the promise that

PAGE 30, COLUMN 1

TITANIC COURT STRUGGLE PREDICTED IN FRANK CASE

Continued From Page 1.

the trial will be a titanic fight.

Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey, Frank Hooper and Assistant Solicitor Stephens will conduct the case against Frank. The three are known as aggressive, tireless lawyers. The Solicitor General has put into the State's case all the energy for which he is noted.

At the very first he took charge of the case with a masterful hand, and when the mystery seemed beyond solution he set an army of detectives to work. Through all the stress of a veering public opinion, he has held firmly to the course he had set, defiant, obviously preparing for the great fight of his career as a public prosecutor. In most of the preliminary legal battles, especially in his hardest fight against the indictment of Conley, he has been successful.

The Solicitor General, from the evidence in his hands, believes in the guilt of Frank. He will defend his conviction to the end.

The defense presents a corps of attorneys who are reputed to be as able criminal lawyers as the South can produce. Luther Z. Rosser, county attorney, is the towering figure of the defense. He is a pitiless questioner of witnesses and cross-examinations which he conducts are generally productive of significant results. The defense will build its greatest hope, it is expected, on the charge that Jim Conley killed the Phagan girl. Jim Conley will be one of the witnesses against Frank, and all the force, all the ruthless power of Luther Rosser's questions will be brought into play against the negro. The public expects a wonderful psychological demonstration on the hour the negro takes the stand.

Arnold Striking Figure

No less powerful as a criminal lawyer is Reuben R. Arnold, who was retained by the defense to co-operate with Mr. Rosser. Arnold is a brilliant lawyer, and always a spectacular and compelling figure in the criminal cases with which he is connected. Associated with Rosser and Arnold in the case will be Herbert Haas and Sam Boorstin, who were employed by the Frank family when Leo Frank first was arrested, and who have been zealous in conducting the score of investigations that were made necessary by the unexpected turns which incidents took time after time.

The trial will be called Monday morning in the Superior Court room on the first floor of the courthouse, at South Pryor and Hunter streets. The room, which is the largest available to the State courts, is expected to be all too small for the crowd that will come, eagerly curious and expectant. A strict police supervision of the crowds will be necessary, and arrangements already are being made by court officials to prevent congestion or disturbance.

Special deputies will be employed for the occasion, and altogether it is expected that twenty officers will guard the courtroom. The little army will be in charge of Deputy Sheriff Miner, who will be stationed at the main entrance. According to the plan, all principals in the case, all who are interested as lawyers, relatives, witnesses and press representatives, will be admitted before any spectators are allowed to enter. After them the spectators will be admitted, one by one, until the seats in the room are filled. Then the doors will be locked.

It has been suggested in the Sheriff's office that every person admitted to the courtroom will be searched for firearms, but whether this course will be followed has not been decided.

Postponement Unlikely

Judge L. S. Roan will preside at the trial. He announced in a telegram from Covington, where he is spending a short vacation, that the case will be called Monday morning, without fail. There is little probability that an attempt will be made to obtain a postponement, although it has been hinted that there are one or two causes which might tend to bring about delay. One is excessive heat, another the fact that certain attorneys in the case are engaged simultaneously in other litigation hardly less important. But the court officials and all who are interested vitally are ready to scout the idea of a postponement.

The ground thus is laid for what is confidently expected to be the greatest battle of Atlanta's legal history. A mysterious death, a chain of damaging circumstances pointing to the guilt of the accused, a coterie of lawyers for the defense who are given to surprises and who are known for inexhaustible resources, a Solicitor who is determined and a fighter everything points to a great struggle.

Considerable difficulty will be entailed at the first, it is expected, when the jury must be drawn. From indications, it is likely that the preliminary jockeying will consume the first day of the trial, or even more. So widespread has been gossip concerning the Phagan case, so thoroughly have citizens of Atlanta had the details recalled, so much has it become a part of the city's life that men will be hard to find, it is expected, who will be willing to view the evidence coolly, without prejudice or without bias. Then, too, the lawyers, knowing the men from whom the jury must be picked, will select the men with the utmost care.

The defense, it has been announced, will ask that a jury be selected from the Grand Jury venire. Whether this request will be granted is altogether in the discretion of the trial judge. It is expected, however, that it will be refused unless significant reasons are brought to bear by the defense.

Trial Will Last Days

Then the case will start. Evidence probably will not be taken until the morning or afternoon of the second day. It will be taken slowly, in great detail, at such length as to insure a a trial of many days' duration, if the length of time consumed in examining the witnesses at the Coroner's inquest is any indication.

Surprises will come, surely. It is likely that most of the surprises will be those of the defense, the public generally crediting that side with more evidence hitherto hidden than the prosecution.

The State's case has been perpetually before the public. The agencies of the State have been crossed at times, and out of the antagonism has grown publicity that was not good for the privacy of the prosecution's line of attack. The defense, on the other hand, has kept quiet. When the Mincey affidavit was published last week, favoring the defense, it came as a surprise to the public, and led everyone to expect further surprises.

The Frank trial absorbs the public interest for more than one reason. The revolting nature of the crime by which Mary Phagan went to her death, the mystery surrounding its circumstances, the uncertainty that came with new revelations day after day, pointing first to one and then to another suspect, the final centering of all suspicion on the two prisoners Frank and Conley the charges and countercharges that have been bandied back and forth all make the case one to attract and to hold the interest of every man or woman who can hear or read.

At Factory Short Time

Mary Phagan, an employee of the National Pencil Factory, was a girl 14 years old. Her father was dead, and she lived with her mother and her stepfather, W. J. Coleman, at No. 146 Lindsay street. This is in that suburban section of Atlanta known as Bellwood. She was a gay, friendly, lovable girl, well liked by the children of the neighborhood and by the grown folks as well, according to every revelation of her personality that has come since her death.

The little girl had worked for some time, straitened circumstances of the family driving her to that necessity. She had been employed at the pencil factory on South Forsyth street only a short time.

Saturday afternoon, April 26, she went to the factory to draw her weekly pay. It was the day of the Confederate Memorial parade. Forsyth street was deserted. The factory was quiet. The little girl went alone to the big building at about 12:10 or 12:15 o'clock, according to the statement of the street car men who took from her home to the down town section.

Watchman Finds Body

Early Sunday morning, at about 3 o'clock, Newt Lee, the negro watchman at the factory building, found the girl's body in a dark corner of the basement, bloody from a dozen cuts and bruises. The clothes were torn, and every evidence pointed to the fact that there had been a struggle in which the little girl fought vainly against her assailant. Her neck was discolored, where a rope had been used to lower her body down an elevator shaft from the first floor.

Later, on the third floor, in the bathroom of the factory, blood, strands of hair and other evidences of a struggle were found, pointing to the fact that the child had there been attacked first.

Few men were in the factory building between the last time Mary Phagan was seen alive and the hour her body was found by the night watchman. The men were Leo Frank, the factory superintendent; Jim Conley, a negro sweeper; Newt Lee, the negro night watchman; John Gantt, a former employee of the company who entered with Frank's permission, that he might get a pair of shoes he had left behind, and two workers, Harry Denham and Arthur White, who were on the fourth floor and who remained in the building until 3 o'clock. At that time Frank, who had left the building at 1 o'clock, came in and let them out. Frank was alone in the factory until 4 o'clock, by his own admission. When Conley came in, or when he left, no one knows.

Newt Lee Suspected

After the first discovery of the body suspicion fell on Newt Lee, who had reported the discovery of the body. He was arrested. The negro, frightened to within an inch of his life, protested his innocence. The police were not satisfied that he was the murderer, and began the search.

Information came thick and fast and of every variety. The first tangible statement was from Ed Sentell, a groceryman, who said he had seen Mary Phagan walking by the side of a tall young man as late as 12:30 o'clock Saturday night. Later he identified the young man as Arthur Mullinax, a street car worker. Mullinax was arrested.

Developments came fresh with every hour that day. Gantt, the young man who was in the factory late Saturday afternoon, was arrested on suspicion, which deepened when it was announced that he had been in love with Mary Phagan.

Monday morning following the discovery of the body an inquest was held, and as a result of revelations that he had been alone in the factory building much of Saturday afternoon, Superintendent Frank was arrested on suspicion. Detectives asserted their conviction that the guilt lay between Lee and Frank. Gantt and Mullinax, proving alibis, were released.

The third day of the mystery a young man named Paul Bowen was arrested in Houston, Tex., on the charge that he had killed Mary Phagan. It is said that he had acted in a suspicious manner upon being confronted with news of the girl's death.

He was arrested by the Houston police, but later was released when he established an alibi. Out of his arrest grew a scandal in the Houston police circles.

That Lee killed the girl was assured by the detectives for several days. By the side of the girl's body had been found several dirty scraps of paper, on which were written almost undecipherable words. They were supposedly from the unfortunate girl. One note was as follows:

"He said he wood love me laid down like the night witch did it, but that long, tall, black negro did it by hisself."

The other was:

"Mama, that negro hired down here did this I went to get water and he pushed me down this hole a long tall negro black that has it woke long lean tall negro I write while play with me."

Experts declared positively that these notes were in Lee's handwriting.

The inquest, stretching through several days, was productive of one result, at least. The bulk of the suspicion veered to Frank. The negro Lee made a number of candid statements which afterward were found to be true, and thus much of the suspicion against him lightened.

Elevator Boy Arrested

Testimony tending to show that Geron Bailey, a negro elevator boy in the factory's employ, had been seen lurking around the building the fatal Saturday evening, brought about his arrest. Lee and Bailey still are held in the Tower, although suspicion against them is negligible.

Until several days after the body of the unfortunate girl was found no one had thought of Conley as a man to be suspected. But while the inquest over Mary Phagan's body was in progress E. F. Holloway, an employee of the factory, found the negro sweeper in a secluded spot on the fourth floor washing a bloody shirt. He told detectives, and Conley was arrested on suspicion.

Days passed, days that were full of theories and speculation, but productive of no real result. Eyes were turned to Frank as the guilty person, with an inconsiderable number of people suspecting Newt Lee.

On May 25 came a statement from a woman named Mrs. Mima Formby, the keeper of a rooming house. Mrs. Formby declared that the night of the murder Frank had telephoned her with the request that she rent him a room for himself and a girl. She declared in her statement that she refused him; that he insisted, later becoming desperate and announcing that it was a matter almost of life and death with him. The statement was pretty generally discredited by the public.

Conley Admits Writing Notes

After three weeks Frank was indicted by the Grand Jury.

Then came a startling and unexpected thing. Jim Conley, silent under a siege of questions, suddenly issued an affidavit, in which he declared that he had written the notes at Frank's dictation, on Friday before the Sunday on which the girl's body was found.

Not until then was Conley suspected with any degree of strength. But when the affidavit came, with its inconceivable charge that Frank had plotted the death of the girl more than a day before he killed her, Conley was suspected of having had a hand in the murder. It was recalled that Mary Phagan's visit to the factory had not been anticipated Friday, and that there would have been no reason for a murder plot. Conley, it seemed, had destroyed himself.

The next day he issued a revised affidavit, declaring that he wrote the notes on the morning of Saturday, the day before the body was found. Then came his third affidavit, that he had dragged the body of the girl to the cellar, where it was found, at the instance of Frank.

The three affidavits seemed to contradict one another, and to make charges that were unbelievable. It was not until then that suspicion against the negro solidified.

Public speculation and doubt deepened. Then, after two weeks, it developed that W. H. Mincey, a school teacher, in conversation with a negro on the afternoon of April 26, when the murder occurred, had been told by the negro:

"Go away. I've killed a girl this evening. I don't want to kill anybody else."

Mincey Identifies Conley

He identified this negro as Conley.

Against every statement and every affidavit that has been published, charges of untruthfulness and misapprehension have been made by one side or the other. Mincey's statement has been attacked, Conley's affidavits are declared false, Mrs. Formby's declaration is said to be without foundation. Refutations come for every bit of evidence, revealing plainly that the trial itself will be a fight of veracity and of reasonableness of testimony.

And so the case stands to-day. Brilliant detective talent has been engaged. Pinkertons were first retained to reinforce the local detectives, and later the Burns men were called in. But out of that incident grew another scandal, another of the unpleasant incidental features that have made the Phagan case the most notable of Georgia's crime annals, even beyond the fact that it is the greatest mystery.

Last week it was announced that the Pinkertons believed Frank innocent, after weeks of announcing that he was guilty. Later the declaration came that they had not made the statement. This incident was valueless in unfolding the mystery, but is indicative of the turmoil in which the case has been from the first.

PAGE 137, COLUMN 7

STATE BOLSTERS CONLEY

Solves Discrepancies of Time

Mistaken Identity To Be Plea

Leo M. Frank Goes to Trial for the Slaying of Mary Phagan Monday, With Both Prosecution and the Defense Confident

All Preparations Are Made for Big Crowds Judge Roan To Be on Bench, Despite Recent Illness Bitter Battle Expected

Leo M. Frank will go on trial for his life to-morrow forenoon. With the beginning of the great legal battle, hardly more than 24 hours distant, it has been learned that the prosecution has overcome to its own satisfaction the greatest obstacle with which it has been confronted the reconciling of the time element in the story of the negro Conley with that contained in the statements of all the persons who visited the factory and were seen by Conley the day that Mary Phagan was murdered.

The most powerful argument against the truthfulness of the remarkable affidavit in which Conley told of helping Frank dispose of the body of the slain girl was contained in the fact that Conley's original story in its designation of the time of various occurrences at the factory was in direct conflict with the statements of a number of factory employees.

Miss Mattie Smith, one of the young women working for the National Pencil Company, told when she was first questioned of leaving the factory at about 9:30. Foreman M. B. Darley walked down the steps with her and said at the Coroner's inquest that the hour was about 9:30.

At this stage of the investigation the time element in the forenoon had not assumed the vital importance which it now has, and Miss Smith and Darley, so far as is known, had no reason for misrepresenting the time that they departed from the building.

Difference in Time Baffling

Yet when Conley came to make his affidavits he repeated the conversation of Darley and Miss Smith which he had overheard while hidden behind the boxes on the first floor, and described Miss Smith's attire beyond mistake, although he stoutly maintained that he did not get to the factory until he arrived there with Frank at about 11 o'clock, when Frank returned from his visit to Montag Brothers' plant at Nelson and Forsyth streets.

How he could have overheard a conversation that took place at 9:30 o'clock when he did not arrive at the factory until 11 o'clock was a mystery that baffled the detectives and the prosecution until Solicitor Dorsey had Miss Smith summoned to his office, and she told him that she had seen a negro, presumably Conley, in the factory at three minutes before 9 o'clock when she went there for her money Saturday morning.

From reliable sources the information comes that the negro, in one of the protracted quizzings that was given him by the Solicitor, admitted that he was in the factory before the time he had named in his first stories, and that he listened to the Smith-Darley conversation at about 9:30, instead of an hour and a half later.

Discrepancy in Story

Another discrepancy occurred in his story of the visit of Miss Corinthia Hall and Miss Emma Clark to Frank's office. He declared that Frank said: "My God, here come Corinthia Hall and Emma Clark," while Frank was preparing to dictate the notes about 1 o'clock. The two young women, however, entered the factory more than an hour before and left at about 11:45 to go to a nearby lunchroom.

It is understood that the prosecution will contend that Frank was mistaken in the identity of the two young women when he heard them approaching, and that as a matter of fact, two other women entered the office. It is said that Solicitor Dorsey has the names of the two who, he says, were in Frank's office at about 1 o'clock, and that he will call them as witnesses.

How the most recent changes in the negro's story will affect his credibility when he goes before a jury is problematical. The defense is certain to train its most destructive guns upon Conley's veracity. The alterations, by which the State hopes to strengthen its case, may instead weaken it for the attack which will be made by the shrewd lawyers who are

PAGE 138, COLUMN 1

COURT IN READINESS FOR FRANK TRIAL OPENING

Factory Superintendent To Be Placed on Trial for Girl's Slaying Monday Morning Both Sides Confident of Winning a Victory

Continued From Page 1.

defending Frank. They already ridicule the idea of accepting an iota of Conley's testimony, in view of the many changes he has made in it since he first talked to the detectives. They brand him as a perjurer and his statements rot.

State Ready for Fight

Solicitor Dorsey and his associate in the prosecution, Frank A. Hooper, have been preparing themselves for the fight that may be precipitated at any moment after the opening of the trial over the subpoenas duces tecum which have been issued by Luther Z. Rosser and Reuben R. Arnold, lawyers for Frank.

The subpoenas, which were issued last month when it was thought that the trial might begin June 30, commanded Solicitor Dorsey, Chief Lanford, Chief Beavers, Harry Scott and other detectives who had worked on the Phagan mystery to bring to court with them the affidavits of Jim Conley, Newt Lee, Monteen Stover, W. M. Matthews and several other witnesses.

The attorneys for the prosecution branded the subpoenas as a trick to discredit the State's witnesses if their testimony should vary in the slightest from that contained in the affidavits. They announced that they would fight the move before the bar of the court. If unsuccessful, it was regarded as not unlikely that they would retaliate with subpoenas duces tecum of their own. It is possible that the skirmish over the subpoenas may precede the drawing of the jury, which also will involve a large amount of legal jockeying.

P. H. Brewster, one of the oldest members of the Atlanta bar, and known for his wealth of legal information, has been called in to assist the prosecution in preparing certain phases of its case.

Colonel Brewster to Figure

Colonel Brewster has compiled briefs bearing on the admissibility of every particle of evidence which the prosecution has in its possession, and he is expected to be an interesting figure in the courtroom during the progress of the trial.

Attorneys for the defense announced yesterday that they knew of nothing that would influence them to ask for a continuance when the case is called to-morrow. Subpoenas have been issued for about 150 witnesses by Frank's lawyers. One of the subpoenas was served upon Harry Scott, who conducted the investigation into the murder mystery for the Pinkerton Agency. Scott also is under summons by the prosecution.

Frank and his attorneys will go into the trial confident of an acquittal. Evidence has been in their possession for weeks which points suspicion directly at the negro Conley.

All of the veniremen, with the exception of two or three who could not be located yesterday, have been notified to appear. The courtroom has been prepared for the crowd that will pack it while the trial is in progress.

Judge Roan has said that he knows of no reason why there should be a further postponement.

Judge Roan to Preside

The formal trial of Leo M. Frank for the murder of Mary Phagan will begin at 9 o'clock Monday morning, when Judge L. S. Roan calls the criminal division of the Superior Court to order in the courtroom on the first floor of the old City Hall, South Pryor and Hunter streets.

Under direction of Deputy Sheriff Plennie Minor, all preparations for receiving the vast crowds that are expected to be drawn by the celebrated case have been made. Benches, outside the space reserved for the attorneys and newspaper men, have been replaced with chairs there, and the seating capacity of the room has been raised to 250. No spectator will be admitted after the seats are filled.

Saturday morning electricians were installing half a dozen electric fans, which will help to make the room comfortable during the battle to come. There also have been installed half a dozen ozonators to help purify the air.

Judge Roan was in his chambers all of Saturday. He declared that despite his recent attack of indigestion he will be on the bench when the hour of the trial arrives.

PAGE 138, COLUMN 1

Prominent Atlantans Named On Frank Trial Jury Venire

The venire of 144 men from which twelve will be selected to decide the fate of Leo M. Frank is considered to be one of the most representative ever drawn from a petit jury box in Fulton County. Prominent among the prospective jurors are Joel Hurt, Dr. E. L. Connally and J. W. Alexander, capitalists; David Woodward, president of the Woodward Lumber Company; George Law, of Law Brothers; R. F. Shedden, of the Mutual Life Insurance Company; Thomas D. Meador, vice president of the Lowry National Bank, and Edwin F. Johnson, advertising man.

The complete jury list is printed below:

C. A. Virgin.

J. D. Hardy, B. R.

J. M. Defoore, E. P.

Bud Waits, C. P.

W. W. Sorrells, Hapeville.

Sol Benjamin, 348 Whitehall street.

P. H. Miller, Peachtree.

C. J. Bosshardt, No. 215 Bryan street.

W. S. Copelan, Oak Grove.

O. T. Camp, No. 309 Oakland avenue.

A. W. Brewerton, 45 W. Peachtree Pl.

F. W. Stone, No. 82 East Linden street.

W. H. Dunne, not in directory (probably Wynne).

W. A. Abercrombie, Blackhall.

R. G. Elliott, Atlanta Agricultural Works, Glendale.

T. C. Lauren, No. 13 Decatur street.

L. E. Smith, Hapeville.

C. T. Hopkins, Jr., 403 N. Boulevard.

W. D. Cates, South Bend.

R. F. Shedden, Mutual Life of New York, Grant Bldg. 20 East Linden Ave.

T. G. Young, Georgia Railway and Power Company, 42 Loomis avenue.

D. D. Henry, 178 Oakland avenue.

Howard Oliver, B. R.

H. E. Lackey, 4 Rosedale avenue.

James F. Hast, Collins.

Alfred Barilli, Jr., Grant Building.

O. L. Spurlin, 156 Lawton street.

A. H. Henslee, No. 74 Oak street.

Thomas D. Meador, Imperial Hotel.

R. E. Biggers, 745 Glenn, carpenter.

F. V. L. Smith, Empire Building, No. 481 Cherokee avenue.

R. L. Cliett, No. 58 Boulevard place.

H. R. Callaway, 691 Piedmont Ave.

A. J. Shide, No. 45 Lucy street.

F. A. Hull, 60 Milledge, 130 Grant.

Edward E. Hawkins, Collins.

H. D. Hurlbut.

S. J. Mc Dowell, No. 80 Waddell.

W. W. Brown, No. 107 Peachtree place or No. 217 Glennwood avenue.

Edwin F. Johnson, Appeal Publishing Company, 176 West Peachtree.

J. L. Fulghum, Hapeville.

W. C. Willis, E. P.

H. C. Hasty, No. 261 Jones avenue.

George R. Law, No. 4 Whitehall street, residence No. 205 Ashby.

F. M. York, No. 221 Cooper street.

A. H. Cook, 252 E. Georgia avenue.

Chas. H. Candler, 114 Elizabeth St.

George R. Wall, No. 139 Hill street.

S. C. Owens, E. P.

J. C. Henderson, 413 Piedmont ave.

J. W. Heinsman.

D. M. Brown, College Park.

W. J. Brooks, 224 East Fair St.

R. J. Baldwin, Hapeville.

D. Townsend, 84 Whitehall terrace.

R. A. Thompson, 152 Ashby street.

C. C. Thorne, 135 East North Ave.

C. A. Vaughn, Collins.

R. A. Palmer, No. 68 Austin avenue.

Ben F. Willis, Cooks.

C. M. Patten, Hapeville.

Carl Weinmeister, 27 Elbert St.

S. L. Miller, No. 27 Fraser street.

Henry L. Solmonson, 71 Sells Ave.

C. S. Johnson, 140 Gaskill street.

L. A. Hendon, 91 West Fifth street.

W. S. Medcalf, not in directory.

Homer C. Ashford, 83 East Fifth St.

E. C. Wachendorff, 22 Willow St.

Nicholas Ittner, 234 Forrest Ave.

J. C. Harrison, 304 Capitol Ave.

W. H. Hudson, 298 Myrtle St.

H. Maness, rooms No. 47 Bell street.

G. R. Jilner, not in directory.

John S. Head, Oak Grove.

C. H. Allen, not in directory.

V. N. Carroll, 1292-A Marietta St.

Robert Schmidt, 195 Angier Ave.

T. F. Barber, 281 E. Georgia Ave.

H. B. Chamberlain, Peachtree Dis.

O. Wingate, 328 Edgewood Ave.

T. E. Winslow, 29 Boulevard Ter.

C. A. Withers, 15 Simpson St.

A. W. Wafford, not in directory.

W. F. Burdett, Buckhead.

H. H. Kelly, Blackhall.

M. A. Lang, not in directory.

John W. Bowin, Collins.

C. W. Gittens, Hapeville.

H. T. Ferguson, 332 E. Georgia Ave.

W. L. Merk, No. 108 Grant street.

G. F. Hardy, 514 St. Charles.

F. E. Walker, 610 North Boulevard.

E. L. Connally, No. 53 Ashby street.

T. B. Sale, 136 N. Moreland avenue.

Elmo Moore E.

W. S. Gaston, 481 Whitehall.

C. L. Asbury, No. 44 Park avenue.

J. W. Chatham, rooms 132 Jones.

C. W. Seagraves, Collins.

J. A. Mc Crary, 78 E. North ave.

L. A. Helms, rooms 253 Forrest ave.

T. J. Henderson, 25 Woodson.

L. F. Davis, 148 Bellwood ave.

David Woodward, 635 Peachtree.

J. E. Betterton, College Park.

J. H. Holcomb, Oakland City.

M. J. Sewell, East Point.

J. F. Higdon, 108 Ormond.

F. E. Winburn, 213 Lucile ave.

Chas. Witherspoon, 23 Vedado way.

Walter H. Scott, No. 215 Gordon.

H. J. Kuglar, South Bend.

T. J. Hale, South Bend.

J. P. Hays, South Bend.

A. L. Wisbey, No. 31 Hood street.

E. L. Winn, 1210 Peachtree.

Joel Hurt, No. 85 Elizabeth.

W. H. Abbott, No. 224 Rawson.

K. P. Mason, Peachtree.

W. M. Jeffries, Collins.

Boyd Perry, 537 N. Boulevard.

M. Johenning, rooms 161 Jones ave.

M. S. Woodward, No. 182 Park.

Samuel Schoen, 214 Washington.

W. F. Wingleton, not in directory.

Earl Davis, Collins.

C. F. Cantrell.

W. M. Donehoo, Buckhead.

John W. Woodruff, 58 Cooper.

David W. Perdu, Collins.

George Mathieson, Buckhead.

S. J. Hayles, 20 Flat Shoals ave.

John W. Alexander, 439 S. Pryor.

John W. Collier, 81 Washington.

J. E. Redd, not in directory.

Y. R. Norris, Blackhall.

W. W. Hammett, 34 Decatur.

A. F. Bellingrath, 91 Milledge ave.

D. Berger, 380 Capitol ave.

E. A. Massa, 305 E. Fair.

J. T. Osburn, not in directory.

J. H. Gilbert, South Bend.

H. H. Jones, 69 E. Ashland ave.

PAGE 138, COLUMN 3

Every Bit of Evidence Against Frank Sifted and Tested, Declares Solicitor

Solicitor-General Hugh Dorsey, who will prosecute the case against Leo M. Frank, last night gave the Sunday American the following statement:

WITHOUT going into the merit of the State's case against Leo M. Frank, charged with the murder of little Mary Phagan, the possibility of a mistake having been made is very remote.

To say why the State believes Frank to be guilty of this murder would be hurtful, and lay before the defense the evidence we have so carefully guarded.

We have employed only the fairest methods and have accepted no evidence until it had been subjected to the acid test.

Conley's connection with the case occasioned the most careful investigation. No statement of his was accepted until it had been proved. He is merely a link in the chain.

We looked into the possibility of Conley having committed the murder, but with other facts considered, it was impossible to connect him other than as an accessory.

Whether there can be a reasonable doubt when the evidence is weighed remains to be seen, but on the eve of the trial I have no misgiving as to the strength of the State's case.

SOLICITOR GENERAL DORSEY.

PAGE 138, COLUMN 3

Public Demands Frank Trial To-morrow

Old Police Reporter Sees No Cause for Delay

Either Side Asking Postponement Will Reveal Weakness, as Time Has Been Given for Preparation

Conley Is Center of Interest

Defense Must Break Story of Negro or Face Difficult Situation

State Will Base Case on Chain of Circumstantial Evidence

By AN OLD POLICE REPORTER.

The defense in the case of Leo Frank would have made a mistake, if current street comment counts for anything, had it decided to move for a continuance of the case to-morrow.

Indeed, the fact that the defense even was suspected of an intent to move for a continuance righteously or otherwise has not had a happy effect upon the public, even if it has not, on the other hand, served particularly to prejudice the case.

The people want the Frank case tried. I think there is no mistake about that.

And when it was rumored that it might be postponed, with the consent of the defense, even if not of its own motion, more than one person in Atlanta, even those inclined to be friendly to Frank, began, more or less impatiently, to ask themselves, WHY?

If the State is sure of itself, why delay? If the defense is sure of itself, why delay?

If either is not sure of itself, why, then, it must be because the one not sure of itself has a weak case.

Thus reasons the public.

Leo Frank is guilty or he is not guilty.

The case against him can be thrashed out NOW as well as later along. Frank is reported eager for trial. The State professes to be altogether ready.

Hesitancy upon the part of either now is not apt to win favor to the hesitating.

Public Not Muddled

While much has been said of Jim Conley of late, and an effort was made to have him indicted in advance of Frank's trial, the public has not permitted itself to be muddled.

It realizes that Conley occupies a somewhat dual position, to be sure, and that the finger of suspicion points to him as a possible principal to the killing of Mary Phagan, no less than as a confessed accessory after the fact.

The public has its eye very much on Conley YES. But the public has not YET been convinced and may never become convinced that Leo Frank is innocent of the crime for which he has been indicted.

And he has been indicted, by "twelve good men and true," as the law requires one must NOT forget that!

Frank is admitted to have been in the pencil factory when the crime MIGHT have been committed. The evidence that he actually committed the deed is, to be sure, entirely circumstantial.

Even the affidavit of the negro Conley, if it withstands the blistering attacks Attorneys Rosser and Arnold unquestionably will make upon it, still will not be direct evidence that Frank committed the crime.

It is rather difficult for the layman to comprehend fully the exact difference between circumstantial and direct evidence, and to keep his mind quite clear when passing through the twilight zone dividing the one from the other, but there IS a dividing line, and Frank stands well within the circumstantial limits.

Law Recognizes Circumstances

While, however, the law holds the State to a sterner accounting in the matter of establishing guilt through circumstances rather than by direct evidence, it nevertheless permits circumstances to convict SWEEPINGLY AND COMPLETELY, if properly sequenced and sustained!

Here, then, is the case against Leo Frank, from the State's point of view, as given to the newspapers and not otherwise:

Frank was in the factory at the time Mary Phagan might have been slain. He had the OPPORTUNITY to consummate the deed. He had been in prior communication with the girl, when they two were practically alone in the pencil factory, save for the then unsuspected presence of the negro Conley. There is some evidence that Frank had been, at times, rather familiar with factory employees particularly with two or three young girls.

Frank, contrary to his usual custom, permitted Newt Lee to go away from the factory during the afternoon of April 26 Saturday. This extraordinary procedure has not been accounted for to the State's satisfaction.

Frank, contrary again to his usual custom, phoned to the factory after he arrived at his home Saturday evening, and this fact also never has been explained to the State's satisfaction.

A negro, Jim Conley, a sweeper in the factory, has signed an affidavit to the effect that Frank, nervous and seemingly much agitated, called him to the second floor of the factory the negro admitting that he had been dozing in a drunken stupor on the floor below along about 1 o'clock in the afternoon of the killing, and that Frank thereafter hired him to remove the dead body of Mary Phagan from the second floor to the basement below, hide it, and, at Frank's dictation, write and place the notes beside the dead girl, found next morning.

Frank also is accused whether the State will rely upon this evidence in any particular is not altogether clear, however with phoning persistently a notorious woman between 7 and 10 in the evening of April 26, asking that he be permitted to bring to her house a girl, unnamed, "upon a matter of life and death."

Conley Center of Case

Now, if the State can sustain itself thoroughly upon these allegations, it must be admitted that the case against Frank will be very serious, indeed!

Of course, Conley will be the most damaging witness against him, for upon Conley's evidence will depend the hurtfulness or the utter worthlessness of the other circumstances set up against the defendant.

In other words, if Conley is BROKEN DOWN, the remaining allegations against Frank doubtless will be quickly and easily disposed of.

If Conley is NOT broken down, however, then the other circumstances become links in a chain against Frank that likely can be made to hold together.

It is just as well to look things squarely in the face, as the Frank trial comes on to-morrow!

Can the defense break Conley down?

That, of course, I do not know I can not know.

The only thing I know of experience in cases of this kind is that the defense MUST break Conley down or Leo Frank will face a very, very dangerous situation!

It must be borne in mind, moreover, that it will be the defense's burden to break Conley down, rather than the State's burden to establish his credibility.

Unless successfully assailed, Conley's affidavit will stand before the jury unprejudiced for exactly what it may be worth.

The defense claims to be prepared perfectly for the annihilation of Conley's statement. Maybe it is the defense should have read its own hand pretty well by now.

The defense, however, may be in the situation "Br'er Rabbit" found himself once when he "clum a tree" because he just naturally was "obleeged to," and NOT because anybody ever had heard of a rabbit climbing a tree before in all natural history. And I do not write this flippantly, but to illustrate the point.

Whether the defense can break down Conley or not, the DEFENSE MUST BREAK DOWN CONLEY or face a perilous alternative!

Refused Conley Indictment

All the circumstances and recitals concerning Conley, tending to show that he and not Frank more likely was the principal in the killing of Mary Phagan, is beside the IMMEDIATE QUESTION. The trial to called to-morrow is the trial of LEO FRANK and not James Conley.

In addition to that, a Grand Jury but recently has definitely and directly REFUSED to indict James Conley for the murder, pending the disposition of the Frank case.

These are stubborn facts the defense is called upon to face and it will not do, I take it, to face them either hesitatingly or otherwise than frankly and candidly.

The defense may be loaded with ammunition sufficient to shoot the State's case to pieces, just as it claims to be. There are many people who believe it is but there also are quite as many people, perhaps, who believe it isn't.

Looking back over the progress of events in this puzzling, elusive and continuously interesting Phagan case to my mind by far the most bizarre and grimly engaging mystery in all the catalogue of crime in Georgia I am moved to no great surprise that the public yet is largely of open and fair mind in respect of it.

PAGE 138, COLUMN 4

CHRONOLOGY OF PHAGAN CASE

April 27 Body of Mary Phagan found in factory. Arthur Mullinax arrested. Newt Lee arrested.

April 28 J. M. Gantt arrested. Geron Bailey arrested. Leo Frank held.

April 29 Pinkertons declare Lee guilty. Eliminate Gantt, Mullinax and Bailey.

May 1 Coroner issues commitment against Lee and Frank. Jim Conley, negro sweeper, arrested.

May 8 Coroner's verdict orders Frank and Lee held for Grand Jury.

May 12 Burns put on case, through agency of T. B. Felder.

May 23 Grand Jury considers case. Dictograph scandals revealed. A. S. Colyar accuses T. B. Felder of attempts to corrupt policeman. Frank indicted. Conley says he wrote notes at Frank's dictation, April.

May 25 Mrs. Mima Formby says Frank asked her for room night of killing.

May 30 Conley says he helped Frank dispose of body. Re-enacts crime at factory.

June 6 Conley denies he confessed killing to A. S. Colyar.

June 15 Mrs. Frank, in statement to Sunday American, stands by her husband.

July 10 W. H. Mincey's statement first published, that he heard Conley boast of killing.

July 15 E. F. Holloway, factory employee, says he was told of negro's boast just after killing.

July 23 Frank says he is ready for trial. Search for Will Green, Conley's companion, said to have seen killing.

PAGE 138, COLUMN 7

DEFENSE CLAIMS CONLEY AND LEE PREPARED NOTES

Theory Is That Watchman Surprised Sweeper Attempting to Dispose of Body and Entered Into Pact

An amazing chain of evidence, laying bare the mystery of the two notes found beside the body of Mary Phagan, which have proved the most baffling of all the facts connected with the girl's murder, came to light as in the possession of the defense Saturday.

According to the theory of the defense, Conley murdered the girl and was unexpectedly discovered with her body in the basement of the pencil factory by Newt Lee; that the night watchman declared the blame for the murder would be placed upon himself instead of Conley, and that the two notes, laying the blame upon the negro fireman Knoyls, and openly accusing the night watchman of the crime, sealed an agreement of secrecy between Lee and Conley.

Motive of Notes

The first note, written by Conley, to soothe Lee's fears, is believed to have been the one reading:

"Mama, that negro hired down here did this. I went to get water and he pushed me down this hole a long tall negro black that has it woke long lean tall negro I write this while play with me."

According to the defense's theory, this did not satisfy Lee, and hence the second one reading:

"He said he would love me laid down like the night witch did it, but that long tall black negro did it by hisself," was written.

It is the claim of the defense that in the obvious exoneration of Lee by Conley, as is shown in the second note, despite the admissions of both that they were barely acquainted with each other lies the proof that Lee directed the execution of the note.

The defense will also show, it is said, that when the notes were picked up by officers, Lee called their attention to the peculiar spelling of words "night witch" and explained that they meant night watchman and himself.

Missing Time Punches

Following the writing of the two notes, Conley is supposed to have been the companion of Lee until the watchman telephoned to the police. Then Conley departed.

The defense, it is declared, believes the notes to have been written between 11:30 and 1:30 o'clock on the night of the murder and will present the fact to uphold this theory that Lee's time clock failed to show that he was at his post on the upper floor during this time. The time clock slip in the possession of the defense shows that Lee missed punching it at 11:30, 12:30 and 1:30 o'clock that morning.

Despite the claims of the defense as to the missing punches in the time slip, however, Leo M. Frank, on the witness stand at the Coroner's inquest, declared that the time card showed that the negro made his rounds regularly on the night of the murder, and that no misses appeared, so far as he knew.

Prosecution Knows Theory

That the prosecution is aware of the defense's theory of the presence of the notes was indicated by the bringing of the two negroes together last week in Newt Lee's cell in the county jail, when Solicitor Dorsey put them through a cross-examination. At this time, however, both are declared to have denied emphatically the conspiracy of which they are accused.

As astounding as may be the defense's conception of the murder notes, it satisfactorily explains their potentiality and conforms readily with the other evidence in the hands of Frank's counsel to direct guilt at Conley namely, the torn bit of the dead girl's pay envelope, found near the elevator shaft on the first floor, the umbrella of the girl discovered at the bottom of the elevator shaft, the murder notes, the broken latch on the basement door and the time slip with the missing punches.

Contention of Defense

Here is the theory of the defense as it has been learned by the prosecution:

Conley is believed to have waylaid the girl on the first floor, and when she descended the stairway, after receiving her pay envelope from Frank, to have struck her from behind with the stick which was afterward found blood-stained near by. As the girl fell unconscious from the blow the negro is believed to have heard the footsteps of Lemmie Quinn entering the building. Witht a quick movement he is thought to have snatched the girl's purse and cast her body and umbrella down the open elevator shaft, then dashed behind some boxes to hide. There he opened the purse, took out the envelope and tore it open, casting the torn-off top behind the radiator, where it was later found by Pinkerton detectives. After Quinn had gone upstairs, the theory is that Conley came from his hiding place, descended the ladder through the trap door to the basement, picked up the girl's body and carried it back to the sawdust pile. In his haste, he is declared to have forgotten the umbrella which had fallen with the girl, and left it to be found later by detectives. After depositing the body, Conley broke open the basement door and escaped, but returned at nightfall to get the body and take it away. Then it was that Newt Lee is supposed to have discovered him, to have framed the murder notes and entered the pact of secrecy.

PAGE 190, COLUMN 1

FRANK WATCHES CLOSELY AS THE MEN WHO ARE TO DECIDE FATE ARE PICKED

Continued From Page 1.

At 9:58 o'clock Solicitor Dorsey announced that he was ready to open the case of the State against Leo M. Frank, charged with having killed Mary Phagan by Mary Phagan by strangulation. This was followed by the request of the defense that the State's witnesses be called, sworn and put under the rule.

The prosecution opened by announcing its readiness to go on with the trial and called the list of witnesses. Bailiffs brought them down from the second floor. In regular order called, their names were: Mrs. J. W. Coleman, mother of Mary Phagan; J. W. Coleman, the girl's stepfather; George Epps, newsboy; L. S. Dobbs, policeman; W. W. Rogers, bailiff for constable; L. S. Starnes, detective and also prosecutor on the indictment; Pat Campbell, detective; Grace Hicks, girl who identified Mary Phagan's body; J. M. Gantt, once held for inquiry, now supposed to be a star witness for the prosecution; Harry Scott, the Pinkerton detective; R. P. Barrett, pencil factory employee; B. P. Haslett, policeman; M. V. Darley, factory employee; W. A. Gheesling, undertaker that cared for the girl's body; Dr. Claude Smith, City Bacteriologist; Dr. H. F. Harris, member of the State Board of Health; Dr. J. W. Hurt, Coroner's physician; E. L. Parry, court stenographer; E. S. Smith, Monteen Stover, girl employee at pencil factory; Minola Mc Knight, cook at Frank's home; Albert Mc Knight, Minola's husband (Mc Knight did not appear in court); Helen Ferguson, Mrs. Arthur White, wife of factory employee, and L. Stanford.

Agree on Conley Affidavits

Attorney Reuben Arnold asked concerning the duces tecum that he had served on the State's attorneys for the affidavits of Jim Conley and others. On the promise of Solicitor Dorsey that he would produce the affidavits whenever needed the duces tecum was waived.

Solicitor Dorsey said he did not concede the right of the defense to force a production of the affidavit. He, however, at the request of Mr. Arnold, dictated a statement giving the dates of each of the affidavits signed by Conley, saying they were all of the affidavits Conley had made and that he would produce them whenever necessary.

The Solicitor asked then that the defense's witnesses be called and sworn. This was met by strenuous objection on the part of Attorneys Rosser and Arnold, who claimed their list was fragmentary.

Solicitor Dorsey protested vehemently, declaring that it would be extremely unfair to the State not to swear the defense's witnesses at this time. Attorney Rosser said it would delay the trial to complete their list at this time.

Judge Roan ruled that he would give the defense time to get up the list. The defense capitulated and it took but five minutes for the list to be made up.

Witnesses for Defense

Attorney Stiles Hopkins, at the table for the defense, called the names of the witnesses by whom they expect to clear Frank. They were Mary Burke, Dora Small, Ella Thomas, C. P. Gilbert, F. Payne, Eula Flowers, Josephine Stelker, Mattie Thompson, Mrs. L. J. Cohen, J. C. Lowe, M. H. Liebman, Miss Bessie White, Joe Williams, Fred Howell, Wade Campbell, J. A. Price, J. E. Lyon, Cora Lavender, M. O. Nix, J. C. Matthews, F. Jenkins, Mrs. Josephine Selig, E. Selig, J. H. Haas, W. H. Mincey, J. B. Spier, E. L. Skipper, E. L. Sentell, May Barrett, Rebecca Carson, C. H. Carson, Harry Denham, Corinthia Hall, Mattie Hall, J. L. Holloway, Mrs. George Jefferson, Jerome Michael, George W. Parrott, M. W. Morrow, Mrs. M. W. Morrow, Rabbi David Marx, A. E. Mayo, Fred Weller, A. E. Marcus, Ed Montag, I. H. Haas, W. B. Owens, T. Y. Brent and Ossie Shields.

These were all of the witnesses whose names were called, but at least 100 more, who will be used mostly as character witnesses, were in the room on the second floor waiting to be called.

First Talesman Too Old

After the venire had been sifted and many excused, W. S. Copeland was the first talesman examined. He was excused when he said that he had passed the 60-year mark. Solicitor Dorsey put the questions, using the formal ones ask in murder trials.

Being conscientiously opposed to capital punishment or conviction by circumstantial evidence was held not to disqualify a juror by Judge Roan. This was in connection with O. T. Camp, the second talesman.

"I am conscientiously opposed to capital punishment on certain grounds," said Camp.

"What are those grounds," asked Solicitor Dorsey.

"Circumstantial evidence," he replied.

Judge Sustains Defense

"That disqualifies him, then," said Solicitor Dorsey.

Attorney Rosser objected, saying that such belief did not disqualify the juror. Judge Roan sustained the defense, but Solicitor Dorsey struck him.

A. W. Brewerton was disqualified because he was opposed to capital punishment.

W. H. Winn was struck, Solicitor Dorsey taking this action after looking over his record.

R. G. Elliott was struck by the defense.

L. A. Smith was struck for cause.

C. T. Hopkins, Jr., struck by State.

Not One Is Obtained

W. E. Cates, disqualified because opposed to capital punishment.

T. G. Young, struck by defense.

D. D. Hewey, struck because he did not believe in capital punishment.

That ended the first panel of talesmen and not a single juror was obtained. The State struck three and the defense two. Seven were disqualified for cause.

Four Jurymen Obtained

Four jurors were obtained from the second panel. They are:

A. H. Henslee, No. 74 Oak street, a salesman.

F. V. L. Smith, No. 481 Cherokee avenue, a manufacturers agent.

J. F. Higdon, 108 Ormewood avenue, a contractor.

F. E. Winburn, No. 21 Lucile avenue, a claim agent.

On the second panel the following men were struck:

Howard Oliver, by the defense.

H. E. Luckey, for cause.

O. L. Spurlin, No. 156 Lawton street, struck by defense.

H. A. Shide, for cause.

E. E. Hawkins, No. 369 Edgewood avenue, a negro, who was accepted by the prosecution, but struck by the defense.

L. F. Davis, for cause.

David Woodward, for cause.

M. J. Sewell, for cause.

Imposing Array of Counsel

The buzz of conversation in the little courtroom instantly was hushed when Judge Roan appeared and Deputy Sheriff Plennie Miner called the court to order. The impaneling of jurors was begun at once.

Luther Z. Rosser, chief of counsel for Frank, pressed his way to the defense's table just as Deputy Miner rapped for order. Solicitor Dorsey and his associates were at their table busily arranging papers and documents several minutes before the swearing of the veniremen began.

An imposing array of legal talent was presented when the case was called. Heading counsel for Frank were Rosser and Reuben R. Arnold, two of the foremost lawyers of the South. At their table were Herbert J. Haas, a civil attorney, who has been engaged in looking up character witnesses in behalf of Frank; Styles Hopkins, of the Rosser & Brandon law firm; Oscar Simmons and Paul Goss, engaged especially to assist in picking the jury; George Cox, of Arnold & Arnold law firm, and Luther Z. Rosser, Jr.

Wife at Frank's Side

With Solicitor Dorsey were Frank A. Hooper, the brilliant attorney who made his reputation as a prosecutor in criminal cases; E. A. Stephens, Assistant Solicitor, and detectives who have been working on the case. Jim Conley's attorney, W. M. Smith, also was in court.

A stir was created when Mrs. Frank, wife of the accused, made her way into the courtroom and hurried past the rows of spectators into the anteroom where her husband was confined. She bore herself bravely, and when she reached Frank, was seen to converse cheerfully with him.

JUDGE PRESIDING IN TRIAL OF LEO FRANK

Judge L. S. Roan, of Stone Mountain Circuit.

Judge Roan has presided in nearly all of Atlanta's celebrated murder trials in the past ten years. He is distinguished for his knowledge of criminal law and procedure.

The loyal woman, who insisted on being by the side of her husband until he was called into the courtroom with his attorneys, drew the attention away from the routine proceedings several minutes.

Judge Roan in Good Humor

Judge Roan appeared in unusually radiant humor and enlivened the dull routine of the early proceedings with facetious remarks directed at the jurors who sought to evade duty on various pretexts.

To one who claimed deafness, Judge Roan said that he had heard his own name readily enough when it was called.

Another juror, Dr. E. L. Connally, well known capitalist, and gray haired veteran of the war, remarked, smiling rather slyly, that he thought he was over age.

Plea Wins Excuse

"How do you know that?" inquired the judge.

"My mother says I am," was Dr. Connally's reply.

"Do you claim exemption on that account?" asked the court.

"I guess I do, judge," admitted the capitalist.

"Well, then, I guess I will excuse you," said the judge, amid a general laugh from the courtroom.

Dr. Connally left his place with a vigor that belied his years.

Old Dr. Stork was responsible for the excusing of several of the jurors. By the time the eighth panel of men had taken the oath three men had told of new arrivals at their homes and had been excused.

Defense Not to Ask Delay

Luther Z. Rosser, of counsel for the defense, stated to a Georgian reporter as he left his office for the scene of the trial that the defense would make no move for delay.

"We will not seek a change of venue or make any move of any kind to delay justice for our client," he said. "We are entirely confident that justice and truth will prevail, as it always must."

Reuben R. Arnold, of the defense, made the same kind of a statement.

"We will announce ready as soon as the case is called," he said.

One important witness for the defense was reported to be missing. He is a traveling salesman, and the defense was said to be confident of locating him.

Sentell in Navy Now

Edgar L. Sentell, who testified that he saw Arthur Mullinax and Mary Phagan together at midnight of the day of the crime, has enlisted in the navy and will not be able to appear at the trial.

A great crowd gathered in front of the courthouse as the hour of the trial drew near, and when 9 o'clock arrived, Pryor street at Hunter was almost impassable. The corridors of the courthouse were a mass of humanity, through which a lane had to be cut by deputies to allow the passage of witnesses and lawyers and newspaper men.

The crowd was tense with curiosity, but to all appearances inclined to be orderly and apparently was moved only by the commonest of human motives curiosity.

Frank Feeling Fine, He Says

Frank was escorted from the Tower to the courthouse shortly after 6 o'clock in the morning, nearly three hours before the trial was scheduled to begin. This was done to avoid the curious crowd which it was expected would be about the courthouse and thronging the corridors at 9 o'clock.

Frank was up and dressed and freshly shaven when Deputy Sheriff Plennie Miner appeared before his cell at the early hour.

"How are you feeling this morning, Mr. Frank?" the deputy inquired.

"Tip top, only I'm mighty hungry," replied Frank.

Exhibiting the same poised confidence that has characterized him through three months since he was locked in a cell in the county jail, the young factory superintendent chatted freely with Miner on the way to the courthouse.

Sure He Will Be Freed

He was attired in a natty light gray mohair suit and wore a fancy gray tie. His face was fuller and he appeared slightly heavier than when he was arrested shortly after the murder of the Phagan girl. He seemed cheerful and in the best of health.

"I am very sure of acquittal," he said, as he arrived at the courthouse. "I am glad that the trial is about to begin after this long wait. I have no fear of the outcome. I am not only innocent of the terrible crime, but I am innocent of any knowledge of it, save as the information has come to me since the officers came to my house that morning three months ago."

At this moment E. C. Essenbach, a relative of Frank, appeared with a tempting breakfast which was spread in the prisoners' room at the courthouse. Frank gave ocular proof that his appetite had not suffered from his long confinement as he proceeded to make way with the delicacies prepared for him.

Frank greeted his relative cheerfully and conversed with him for more than an hour. The topic seldom was on the crime or the trial which was about to begin. Long before the time set for the judge to take the bench other friends and relatives of the prisoner had appeared and some of them were permitted to talk to him.

Conley Ready For the Stand

Jim Conley, Frank's accuser, was made ready for the trial early in the morning, although it was not probable that he would be called during the day.

He was given a shave and a new suit of clothes, as he had worn for the last three months the same shabby garments that he had on at the time he was arrested while washing a shirt at the National Pencil Factory.

Conley said that he was ready to go on the witness stand at an instant's notice. He declared that he would stick to the same story that he told in his last affidavit and which he has since repeated many times for the benefit of Solicitor Dorsey.

"If they had just let me face Mr. Frank, I could have made him tell the truth long before this," he asserted.

Less than half a hundred persons were waiting about the courthouse at 8 o'clock, an hour before the time set for the beginning of the trial. It was thought that not a large crowd would be clamoring for admission to the courtroom as it had become quite generally known that the small room would accommodate hardly more than the witnesses and the veniremen and that it would be necessary to exclude practically all spectators.

Much Preparation Made

For no trial in the history of Georgia have such elaborate arrangements been made for the comfort of the comparatively small number of spectators who will gain admission, the attorneys who will handle the case, the jury and the newspaper men. Deputy Sheriff Plennie Miner has received much praise for the splendid preparations made.

Electric fans have been installed at every window and on the railing separating the spectators' seats from the bar, ozonators have been placed to keep the air purified. It probably will be the coolest and best ventilated place in Atlanta.

Not more than 250 spectators will be admitted. Approximately that number of chairs have been placed outside the inclosure. When they are filled the doors will be closed and no one else will be allowed in. No one will be permitted to occupy standing room.

The usual custom of permitting disinterested attorneys to occupy seats inside the bar will not be followed, and this particular part of the courtroom will be less crowded than during the average criminal trial.

How They Will Line Up

Prosecuting Attorney Dorsey and at least five assistants will occupy a table directly in front of the bench and witness stand with the jury box close on the righthand side. Attorney Rosser with his assistants and the accused will be seated at a table to the left of the State's and farther away from the jury. The table for newspaper men is back of the State's table. The arrangements were agreed upon by the attorneys and the judge.

The table for the defense was selected by Attorney Rosser with a view to the number of persons who would wish to be near Frank during the trial. Seats have been arranged to the back of the table to accommodate at least 30 persons, friends and relatives of the accused, who have visited him constantly since he was confined at the Tower.

Deputy Sheriff Plennie Miner, who will have charge of the crowd and keeping order in court, will also have charge of the prisoners. Long before any crowd congregated around the courthouse Frank and Lee were brought from the Tower and placed in the room reserved for them. When court opened Frank took his place at the table reserved for his attorneys.

No Room For Spectators Now

For the first day of the trial, or until the jury is selected and the hearing actually under way, it is extremely doubtful if any spectator will gain admission to the court. Seating arrangements have only been provided for about 250. The venire of 144 men will have to occupy that number of the seats when court is opened. The witnesses for the two sides will occupy the remaining seats and standing room until they are disposed of in some way, which may not be until after the jury is drawn.

The court rule to segregate the witnesses will, of course, be enforced, but it may not be until twelve men have qualified as jurors, which will hardly be before the middle of the week.

When the witnesses are segregated they will be kept in the large courtroom on the floor above the trial room. A bailiff will be placed in the hall and one on the door of the witness chamber, and as the names are called they will be brought from the floor above to the court.

It is probable some rule will be made to keep the witnesses for the State and the defense separated, in which event the third floor of the building would have to be used.

Jury Room Carefully Selected

But if any great difficulty is anticipated in drawing a jury, and the judge thinks it impossible to finish this task during any one day, he will probably excuse the witnesses until the next day, and continue to do so until the jury is impaneled.

The jury room was selected with a great deal of care. It is almost inaccessible from the outside and large and airy. Its windows are about twenty feet above an alleyway that runs on either side. Deputies will be kept in the alley to keep anyone from getting this close to the room.

As each juror qualifies he will be escorted to the room and kept there until the full panel is drawn. Recess will be taken at 1 o'clock in the afternoon and the jury will be taken to luncheon at a restaurant almost directly across the street from the court. At night it will be quartered at the Kimball House under a heavy guard of deputies.

From the time a juror is acceptable to both sides until the conclusion of the case he will not be allowed to go to his home or communicate with anyone except a fellow juror.

The least of the deputies' troubles will not be in handling the crowd that will gain admission to the court, but in handling the crowd that will daily congregate on the outside and wait through the day for news of the proceedings in the trial. Ten deputies and as many members of the county police will be on duty on the streets around the building.

PAGE 190, COLUMN 6

Brewster Denies Aiding Dorsey in Phagan Case

Colonel P. H. Brewster has written The Georgian a letter correcting a statement in The Sunday American. The letter quotes the report that Colonel Brewster had aided Mr. Dorsey, and proceeds:

"Where such information could have been obtained I can not understand, since it is absolutely false.

"I have had nothing whatever to do with the Frank case. My advice has not been even sought as to any question involved in the case, nor have I volunteered it, and I have prepared no briefs on any phase of the case. Mr. Dorsey, the Solicitor General, is fully competent to meet every demand his office imposes on him, and I do not wish the impression to be made that he leans on me or others, nor that I am interested in any way in the prosecution of Mr. Frank.

"The statement made in your Sunday issue is unjust to me, to the prosecution and the defense, and therefore I trust you will at once correct this statement."

PAGE 190, COLUMN 5

Venire Whipped Into Shape Rapidly; Negro Is Eligible

Within a minute or two after Deputy Sheriff Plennie Minor had called the court to order the examination process was applied to the venire panel of 144 men. From each panel of twelve one or more men were excused after being asked the formal questions and furnished a sufficient reason to bar them.

J. H. Jones, Deputy Clerk, called the names. F. W. Stone, No. 82 East Linden street, was excused on account of illness. R. F. Shedden was refused on an excuse of military exemption. Only one man was excused from the first twelve men.

H. R. Calloway, of No. 691 Piedmont avenue, first of the second panel, was not served. F. A. Hull, No. 180 Grant street, was excused on account of his age, 20 years. T. J. Henderson, No. 25 Woodson street, was excused as opposed to capital punishment. J. A. Mc Creary, No. 78 East North street, was excused because of his residence in De Kalb County. J. F. Patterson, of College Park, was excused on account of deafness. Five were excused from the second panel.

Negro Declared Eligible

W. H. Scott, No. 215 Gordon street, was excused on account of ill health. He had a doctor's certificate. W. H. Abbott, Record Clerk of the court, was refused excusal. Only one man was excused from the third panel.

The first surprise came with the questioning of the fourth panel, when Earl Davis, a negro, was not excused. He was ruled eligible to jury duty. There is little prospect that he will be drawn as one of the jurors.

George Mathieson, Assistant Chief of County Police, was excused on account of his duties. John W. Alexander, capitalist, of No. 439 South Pryor street, was excused because of illness. W. M. Donehoo, of Buckhead, was let out on account of the death of his mother. E. A. Massa, of No. 305 East Fair street, was over age. J. H. Gilbert, of South Bend, was let out because of illness. The jury panels were thus being revised and made into a compact venire by this process of elimination.

Joel Hurt Out of Town

The following men were excused in the selection of the fifth panel: George R. Wall, No. 139 Hill street, on account of illness; F. M. York, No. 221 Cooper street, on account of the illness of his wife; W. I. Brooks, No. 224 East Fair street, on account of having removed from Fulton County. The following were excused in the selection of the sixth panel: H. Maness, No. 112 Jefferson street, account of deafness; Joel Hurt was out of town.

PAGE 191, COLUMN 1

WORK OF CHOOSING JURY FOR TRIAL OF FRANK DIFFICULT

Veniremen Searchingly Examined by Both State and Defense

Slightest Objection Used to Disqualify Attorneys Shrewdly Gauge Candidates from Every Angle

In the selection of the twelve men to comprise the jury which will try Leo M. Frank for the murder of Mary Phagan, one of the bitterest contests of the great legal battle which begins Monday is anticipated.

That counsel for both the defense and State will probe deep into the character of each of the men drawn from the venire of 144 who take the stand for examination for jury service in this case is certain. The attorneys will endeavor to unearth in the character of the prospective juryman such traits as they may believe favorable or unfavorable to their case.

The slightest objection will be used to disqualify the man from becoming a member of the deciding tribunal. Under the cross-examination of such skilled lawyers as those who will appear in the Phagan case no iota of information which will tend to sway the verdict will remain concealed to be carried into the jury box and fight against the delivery of justice.

Every man of the twelve who will be chosen will be as an open book to the counsel of both sides. Not only will his mentality be shrewdly gauged with respect to the evidence to be presented, but his past life will be searched for a flaw in the man's make-up which may prove a weak link in governing his decisions.

Difficulty Expected

In view of the widespread discussion which the lengthy investigation of the murder has aroused throughout Fulton County, great difficulty is expected in securing men of unbiased minds.

Probably the first question to be asked each venireman when he takes the stand, after being sworn, will be:

"Have you formed and expressed any opinion in regard to the guilt or innocence of the prisoner at the bar?"

The negative answer to this question will but begin the examination of the prospective juryman. Since the crime of which the pencil factory superintendent is accused is punishable by death, the next question in importance, especially to the prosecution will be:

"Are you conscientiously opposed to capital punishment?"

By an affirmative answer to either of the two questions above, the venireman undoubtedly will be disqualified from jury duty.

Owing to the vast importance of the Frank trial, given impetus by its wide publicity, the great weight which will necessarily be assumed with jury service will not be looked favorably upon by most men, it is declared, and the ease with which by one answer this duty can be avoided, much difficulty is anticipated in securing the twelve men.

Each Minutely Examined

Upon each man, however, who passes satisfactorily the two challenging questions of opinion and capital punishment, the opposing counsel will center their fire of penetrating questions.

Taken from the criminal code of Georgia, the following questions and provisions will govern the questioning in the witness chair of the prospective juryman:

"Have you, from having seen the crime committed, or having heard any of the testimony delivered on oath, formed and expressed any opinion in regard to the guilt or innocence of the prisoner at the bar?"

"Have you any prejudice or bias resting on your mind either for or against the prisoner at the bar?"

"Is your mind perfectly impartial between the State and the accused?"

If he shall answer these questions satisfactorily, he shall be adjudged and held a competent juror in all cases where the offense does not involve the life of the accused, but when it does, the following additional question shall be put to him:

"Are you conscientiously opposed to capital punishment?"

Judge's Word Final

If he shall answer this question in the negative, he shall be held a competent juror, provided, nevertheless, that either the State or the defendant shall have the right to introduce evidence before the judge to show that the answers, or any of them, are untrue; and it shall be the duty of the judge to determine upon the truth of such answers as may be thus questioned before the court.

If a juror shall answer any of these questions so as to render him incompetent, or he shall be so found by the judge, he shall be set aside for cause.

The State or the accused may make either of the following objections:

That he is not a citizen, resident of the county.

That he is over 60 or under 21 years of age.

That he is an idiot or lunatic, or intoxicated.

That he is so near of kindred to the prosecutor, or the accused, or the deceased, as to disqualify him by law from serving on the jury.

20 Challenges for the Defense

Every person indicted for a crime or offense which may subject him to death, or four years' imprisonment, may peremptorily challenge twenty of the jurors impaneled to try him. The State shall be allowed one-half the peremptory challenges allowed the prisoner.

Here is the complete jury list:

C. A. Virgin, B. R.

J. M. Defoore, E. P.

Bud Walts, C. P.

W. W. Sorrells, Hapeville.

Sol Benjamin, No. 348 Whitehall street.

P. H. Miller, Peachtree.

C. J. Bosshardt, No. 215 Bryan street.

W. S. Copelan, Oak Grove.

O. T. Camp, No. 309 Oakland avenue.

A. W. Brewerton, No. 45 West Peachtree place.

F. W. Stone, No. 82 East Linden street.

W. H. Dunne (not in directory), probably Wynne.

W. A. Abercrombie, Blackhall.

R. G. Elliott, Atlanta Agricultural Works, Glendale.

T. C. Lauren, No. 13 Decatur street.

L. E. Smith, Hapeville.

C. T. Hopkins, Jr., No. 403 North Boulevard.

W. D. Cates, South Bend.

R. F. Shedden, Mutual Life of New York, Grant Building, No. 20 East Linden Avenue.

T. G. Young, Georgia Railway and Power Company, No. 42 Loomis avenue.

D. D. Henry, No. 178 Oakland avenue.

Howard Oliver, B. R.

H. E. Lackey, No. 4 Rosedale avenue.

James F. Hast, Collins.

Alfred Barilli, Jr., Grant Building.

O. L. Spurlin, No. 156 Lawton street.

A. H. Henslee, No. 74 Oak street.

Thomas D. Meador, Imperial Hotel.

R. E. Biggers, No. 745 Glenn street, carpenter.

F. V. L. Smith, Empire Building, No. 481 Cherokee avenue.

R. L. Cliett, No. 58 Boulevard place.

H. R. Callaway, No. 691 Piedmont avenue.

A. J. Shide, No. 45 Lucy street.

F. A. Hull, No. 60 Milledge, No. 130 Grant.

Edward E. Hawkins, Collins.

H. D. Hurlbut.

S. J. Mc Dowell, No. 80 Waddell street.

W. W. Brown, No. 107 Peachtree place or No. 217 Glennwood avenue.

Edwin F. Johnson, Appeal Publishing Company, No. 176 West Peachtree.

J. L. Fulghum, Hapeville.

W. C. Willis, E. P.

H. C. Hasty, No. 261 Jones avenue.

George R. Law, No. 4 Whitehall street; residence No. 205 Ashby street.

F. M. York, No. 221 Cooper street.

A. H. Cook, No. 252 E. Georgia avenue.

Chas. H. Candler, No. 114 Elizabeth street.

George R. Wall, No. 139 Hill street.

S. C. Owens, East Point.

J. C. Henderson, No. 413 Piedmont avenue.

J. W. Heinsman.

D. M. Brown, College Park.

W. J. Brooks, No. 224 East Fair street.

R. J. Baldwin, Hapeville.

D. Townsend, 84 Whitehall terrace.

R. A. Thompson, No. 152 Ashby street.

C. C. Thorne, No. 135 East North avenue.

C. A. Vaughn, Collins.

R. A. Palmer, No. 68 Austin avenue.

Ben F. Wills, Cooks.

C. M. Patten, Hapeville.

Carl Weinmeister, No. 27 Elbert street.

S. L. Miller, No. 27 Fraser street.

Henry L. Solmonson, 71 Sells avenue.

C. S. Johnson, 140 Gaskill street.

L. A. Hendon, 91 West Fifth street.

W. S. Medcalf, not in directory.

Homer C. Ashford, 83 East Fifth street.

E. C. Wachendorff, 22 Willow street.

Nicholas Ittner, No. 234 Forrest avenue.

J. C. Harrison, No. 304 Capitol avenue.

W. H. Hudson, No. 304 Capitol avenue.

W. H. Hudson, No. 298 Myrtle street.

H. Maness, rooms No. 47 Bell street.

G. R. Jilner, not in directory.

John S. Head, Oak Grove.

C. H. Allen, not in directory.

V. N. Carroll, No. 1292-A Marietta street.

Robert Schmidt, No. 195 Angier avenue.

T. F. Barber, No. 281 East Georgia avenue.

H. B. Chamberlain, Peachtree district.

O. Wingate, No. 328 Edgewood avenue.

T. E. Winslow, No. 29 Boulevard terrace.

C. A. Withers, No. 15 Simpson street.

A. W. Wafford, not in directory.

W. F. Burdett, Buckhead.

H. H. Kelly, Blackhall.

M. A. Lang, not in directory.

John W. Bowin, Collins.

C. W. Gittens, Hapeville.

H. T. Ferguson, 332 East Georgia avenue.

W. L. Merk, No. 108 Grant street.

G. F. Hardy, No. 514 St. Charles.

F. E. Walker, No. 610 North Boulevard.

E. L. Connally, No. 53 Ashby street.

T. B. Sale, No. 136 North Moreland avenue.

Elmo Moore, E.

W. S. Gaston, No. 481 Whitehall.

C. L. Asbury, No. 44 Park avenue.

J. W. Chatham, rooms 132 Jones.

C. W. Seagraves, Collins.

J. A. Mc Cray, No. 78 East North avenue.

L. A. Helms, rooms 253 Forrest avenue.

T. J. Henderson, No. 25 Woodson.

L. F. Davis, No. 148 Bellwood avenue.

David Woodward, No. 635 Peachtree street.

J. E. Betterton, College Park.

J. H. Holcomb, Oakland City.

M. J. Sewell, East Point.

J. F. Higdon, No. 108 Ormond street.

F. E. Winburn, No. 213 Lucile avenue.

Charles Witherspoon, No. 23 Vedado way.

Walter H. Scott, No. 215 Gordon street.

H. J. Kuglar, South Bend.

T. J. Hale, South Bend.

J. P. Hays, South Bend.

A. L. Wisbey, No. 31 Hood street.

E. L. Winn, No. 1210 Peachtree street.

Joel Hurt, No. 85 Elizabeth street.

W. H. Abbott, No. 224 Rawson street.

K. P. Mason, Peachtree.

W. M. Jeffries, Collins.

Boyd Perry, No. 537 North Boulevard.

M. Johenning, rooms 161 Jones avenue.

M. S. Woodward, No. 182 Park.

Samuel Schoen, No. 214 Washington street.

W. F. Wingleton (not in directory).

Earl Davis, Collins.

C. F. Cantrell.

W. M. Donehoo, Buckhead.

John W. Woodruff, No. 58 Cooper street.

David W. Perdu, Collins.

George Mathieson, Buckhead.

S. J. Hayles, No. 20 Flat Shoals avenue.

John W. Alexander, No. 439 South Pryor street.

John W. Collier, No. 81 Washington street.

J. E. Redd (not in directory).

Y. R. Norris, Blackhall.

W. W. Hammett, No. 34 Decatur street.

A. F. Bellingrath, No. 91 Milledge avenue.

D. Berger, No. 380 Capitol avenue.

E. A. Massa, No. 305 East Fair street.

J. T. Osburn (not in directory).

J. H. Gilbert, South Bend.

H. H. Jones, 69 East Ashland avenue.

PAGE 191, COLUMN 3

SLAIN GIRL AND MAN TRIED FOR LIFE

Two pictures of Mary Phagan and Leo Frank, on trial as slayer of factory girl.

Trial to Surpass in Interest Any in Fulton County History

No murder trial in Fulton County ever has approached the spectacular interest which is in prospect in the Frank case from the first, sharp skirmish between the opposing attorneys, through the long, bitter legal battle, and to the final pleas of the prosecution and the defense.

The presence of Luther Z. Rosser and Reuben R. Arnold in the brilliant array of legal talent at once made certain that the trial would be out of the ordinary. Neither has the reputation of making a half-hearted fight when there is anything at stake. This time it is a man's life that is depending upon their legal ability, their shrewdness and their eloquence.

Both have a disconcerting habit of carrying the fight to their opponents. In ring parlance, they do not give their courtroom rivals a chance to "get set." This is going to keep the spectators constantly on the edge of expectation, and will furnish a series of exciting incidents that will give the Frank trial a place by itself in the criminal annals of Georgia.

Crisis When Conley Is Grilled

To describe Rosser's tactics as aggressive is expressing it euphemistically. If he were only aggressive, his name would not inspire the trepidation that now is felt by persons who have to face him in the witness box or by young lawyers who have to pit their strength against him.

Rosser and Arnold are at their best when they are cross-examining the witnesses called by the other side. This fact is expected to bring about the most thrilling situation of the entire trial in the witness box the grilling of the negro Jim Conley. Not satisfied with seeking to prove the entire innocence of their client, the two lawyers propose to show that Conley himself is the man who attacked Mary Phagan in the National Pencil Factory and flung her dead body upon the trash heap in the basement.

From whom are they to get testimony of this startling nature?

Certainly from no one else than the negro himself.

Nothing daunted by the difficulty in obtaining evidence of this character from a man who has told and retold his story of the crime, insisting always on his own innocence and Frank's guilt, Rosser has set out to get it. It is a bold plan, but one characteristic of the two-handed fighting methods of Rosser. Anyone who has seen a witness made the object of Rosser's attack knows that Jim Conley is in for a bad day when he is called to the stand to testify that Leo Frank had him assist in the disposal of Mary Phagan's body.

Chance Seen for Confession

Only a Rosser would have the courage of his convictions to expect to break down the negro after he repeatedly had told the remarkable story of finding the girl's dead body on the second floor of the pencil factory and carrying her, at Frank's direction and with Frank's assistance, down the elevator into the basement.

Rosser's plan opens up the dramatic possibility of a courtroom confession from Conley. In the opinion of those who are convinced of Frank's innocence and the negro's guilt, it would not be a matter of great surprise if Conley, under the fire of questions directed at him by Rosser and Arnold, should collapse and confess he alone was concerned in the crime.

The cross-examination of Conley is certain to be one of the spectacular features of the trial. His vivid tale, under the lead of questions by Solicitor Dorsey and Attorney Frank A. Hooper, will be repeated to the courtroom full of spectators. It will lose none of its dramatic elements, in that its essential features already are well known to the public. They are waiting to hear it first hand from the negro's lips.

Raked Up His Past Life

Then Conley will be turned over to the scarcely tender mercies of counsel for Frank. He probably will be on the rack for hours. Whether he will be able to stand the ordeal is problematical. No point in his history that could have any possible bearing on the case will be overlooked. The defense is in possession of a mass of information relating to Conley's conduct for years. He will be asked in regard to every one of these circumstances.

Before the events of the day of the tragedy are reached the negro will have undergone a searching examination of significant incidents in his past life. Then his story of his part in the crime will be attacked. The discrepancies will be brought out in the glare of the cross-examination. The falsehoods that he told for days after he was arrested will be resurrected. All of his affidavits will be ridiculed. The two attorneys will join in an effort to break down and utterly to discredit the story to which he now sticks. Whether or not they are successful, their attempt will be a dramatic feature of the trial.

A fight, scarcely less spectacular, will develop over the story of William H. Mincey. This time the attorneys for the prosecution will be in the role of scoffers. Mincey has declared that he heard Conley boasting of killing a girl.

Mincey, a quiet almost diffident type of the country pedagogue, will be made the target for the Solicitor's and Attorney Hooper's fire of questions. They will seek to show that Mincey never saw Conley the afternoon of April 26, when Mincey asserted he had the conversation with the negro.

Climax When Frank Is Called

A hot fight also will be precipitated by the demand of the defense that the State make known the identity, at the beginning of the trial, of all the witnesses against Frank. Solicitor Dorsey has said that he will fight any demand of this sort.

The subpoenas duces tecum issued by the defense will form another casus belli that is expected to provide a spirited skirmish between the attorneys at the beginning of the trial. The defense insists on having in court, for the purpose of comparison, all of the affidavits taken from Jim Conley, Newt Lee, Monteen Stover, W. M. Matthews and others. Dorsey declares this is a flimsy trick to discredit the State's witnesses, and proposes to resist to the extent of his ability any move to compel him to comply with the demand.

Leo Frank probably will take the stand in his own defense. It is regarded as not at all unlikely that Attorney Rosser will turn him over to the prosecution and give them the permission to question him as far as they like. If this be done, the trial, already invested with a host of dramatic possibilities, will reach its climax in interest.

PAGE 191, COLUMN 7

Phagan Case of Peculiar And Enthralling Interest

As Leo Frank faces to-day the ordeal decreed by law that for man's life, man's life shall pay, interest in his case that has held Atlanta, Georgia and the South enthralled for three months has diminished not a whit since the Sunday morning the body of the little factory girl was found.

Wise judges of news, men who are paid thousands of dollars each year for their knowledge of the fickleness of the public, men who can time to the second the period when interest dies in one thing before the public eye to be born anew in another, have for years contended that no single item of news can sustain its interest longer than one brief week.

And yet for three months the public has read of Mary Phagan's death and the quest for her slayer and their demand for this news has been insatiable.

That the vaunted insight of these news experts is as shallow as the mirror reflection of a beauty of the stage is the thought that common logic first presents.

The insight of these experts has not been at fault. On the contrary, it has been sustained. For in the mystery veiling the death of Mary Phagan and the trial of Leo Frank as her slayer, a more varied array of things that interest, thrill, horrify, shock and make men think is presented than in any one case developed since typesetting machines made the modern newspaper possible.

Harry Thaw's case comes to mind, that tragedy of romance that presented in the same cast of characters the brilliant Lothario, the man of millions, and a woman as fair as the dawn. But there was never the element of mystery in the slaying of Stanford White. District Attorney Jerome described it pretty well as a commonplace tragedy of the tenderloin.

The only question that confronted the public was whether there was a law decreed by God that a man should take up arms and avenge his family honor that should nullify the law made by man that decreed that the courts of the country and the judgment of heaven could alone mete out reparation for personal injury.

But in the Phagan case, there is a mystery so deep, so impenetrable, that there are thousands in Atlanta who believe that Mary Phagan's slayer walks about to-day a free man as another battles for his life accused of his crime.

Victim Only a Child

There was mystery in the famous case of Henry Clay Beattie, the Virginia aristocrat, who met death in the electric chair for slaying his wife after his infatuation for Beulah Binford.

But again, we have a feature of the Phagan case which was missing in the Beattie tragedy that makes the Atlanta mystery as grippingly pitiful as the Virginia problem was sordid.

For in the Phagan case a child is one of the principals. All the world may love a lover, but all the world loves a child more. And when the innocent, wistful, appealing face of the little factory girl first appeared in the public prints more heartstrings were touched than there were thrills caused in all the sinister revelations of the Virginia trial.

The child interest has made many a case appeal to the public interest more than struggles of statesmen, ravages of nature, or even the love of man for woman. The entire United States waited breathlessly for news of the capture of the kidnapers of little Billy Whitla, the sturdy Pennsylvania lad, in 1909.

But when the kidnapers were taken and Billy Whitla returned safe and sound and maybe a little happier from his thrilling experience to the home of his parents, the public forgot all about little Billy and to-day, in four short years, there are few who remember his case at all. For Billy Whitla lived. Mary Phagan died.

Lamana Case Was Absorbing

In 1907 the hearts of every mother and father in the Southland bled for the wealthy father and mother of the little Lamana boy, who was taken from their New Orleans home by members of the Crescent City Mafia. Interest was intense at every period of the search and public sentiment was kindled near to the blazing point when the beheaded body of the boy was found in a Louisiana swamp.

But as thrilling as was the Lamana case, it did not have that quality that is so essential to make a case universally absorbing. The Lamanas were foreigners, the kidnapers were foreigners. And Americans want an American in their news stories.

And so on and on. Recall any case of thrilling interest to your mind, analyze it, and you will discover that the Phagan case has features which that case does not possess and any one of those features would make a story of breathless interest in itself.

That is why public interest in the slaying of the factory girl has not lagged for one day since the discovery of the crime; that is why during the trial of Leo M. Frank Judge Roan's court room will hold the interest of every American, be he banker or beggar, be he black or white; be he churchman or sinner.