Monday, 4th August 1913 Frank on Stand Wednesday Week

Atlanta Constitution
August 4th, 1913

Defense Intimates Trial Will Run Into Middle of Third Week With Defendant Final Witness.

It will probably be Wednesday or Thursday of next week before Leo Frank takes the stand to explain his actions on the day Mary Phagan was slain.

This was intimated last night by attorneys associated with the defense, who stated that the trial very likely would run into the middle of the third week, and that, from present plans, the defendant would be the final witness.

It is understood that the defense will introduce much expert testimony, and that it will be of exceedingly interesting nature. Physicians, it is stated, will testify in rebuttal to evidence produced by the prosecution.

The session this afternoon will begin with the statement of an expert chemist, who is testifying in behalf of the state—Dr. Roy F. Harris, secretary of the state board of health, who testified Friday of examining Mary Phagan's stomach and of finding undigested cabbage which indicated, in his belief, that death had ensued within an hour after she had eaten dinner.

Thus far, the story told by Dr. Harris is the most interesting in the famous case. It also furnished more thrills than any other phase. A wave of intense interest surged over the courtroom as he explained the minute details of his examination of the corpse, and told of his opinions regarding the cause of death and the time at which it had been committed.

A vigorous battle will be waged over his testimony. In an effort to discredit the statement that Mary Phagan was slain within an hour after her noon-day meal, Dr. J. W. Hurt, coroner's physician, was kept on the stand for three hours Saturday morning, and examined mercilessly by the defense.

It is intimated that Reuben Arnold will handle the expert testimony introduced by both sides.

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