254 Page – American State Trials 1918 Volume X Leo Frank Document

Here is the translated text as follows:

X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS

Dr. J.C. Olmstead, a practicing physician for 36 years, stated that given the facts of this case, it would not be possible for a physician to determine whether or not the wound produced unconsciousness before death. Such a wound could have been made within a short while after death. Cabbage like that is liable to obstruct the opening of the pylorus and delay digestion. A microscope examination of parts of the vagina removed from the body showed that the blood vessels were congested, which may be due to menstruation or the natural gravitation of blood to those parts and is not necessarily indicative of violence. The use of embalming fluid would make a diagnosis of violence utterly unreliable. It would be impossible for a doctor finding those conditions in the vagina by means of a microscope 9 or 10 days after death to tell that violence had been inflicted from 5 to 15 minutes before death.

Dr. W.S. Kendrick, a practicing physician for 35 years, stated that he did not think the finding of the epithelium stripped from the wall would indicate anything unusual, nor would it indicate any act of violence. A female's menstrual periods bring about congestion and hemorrhages of the blood vessels every time. Nine or ten days after death, one could have no way of telling whether that wound would produce unconsciousness or not; it would be pure conjecture. Skulls are sometimes fractured without unconsciousness. Some stomachs will digest different substances quicker than others; he did not think there is an expert in the world who could form any definite idea by either chemical analysis of the liquids of the stomach or by the condition of the cabbage lodged in the stomach as to how long it had been in the stomach.

John Ashley Jones, who has known Mr. Frank for a year, stated that his general character is good. He is the resident agent for the New York Life Insurance Company and has never heard any talk of Mr. Frank's practices and relations with the girls down there. Mr. Frank has a policy of insurance with them. It is their custom to seek a very thorough report on the moral hazard on all risks. The report on him showed up first-class, physically as well as morally. He has never seen any nude pictures hanging in his office, although he has been there a number of times, and has never heard that he smiled and winked at young girls.

Dr. Leroy Childs, a surgeon, stated that cabbage is the hardest food to digest among carbohydrates because it has so much cellulose, which is a woody fiber. Cabbage gets its digestion in the mouth. That cabbage has not been masticated thoroughly; they have been swallowed almost whole. Raw cabbage is easier to digest than cooked cabbage. The shortest time for boiled cabbage to pass into the small intestines is 4 and a half hours after it is eaten. The stomach does not digest the cabbage. Physical influences will retard digestion such as excitement, fear, anger, as well as physical or mental exercise. If a human body is examined after death, it is difficult to determine the exact time of digestion due to these factors.

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