Leo Frank TV

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 7th, 1913 Dalton Corroborates Jim Conley's Story DR. CHILDS IS CALLED BY DEFENSE TO REBUT DR. HARRIS' EVIDENCE With the cross-examination of Dr. H. F. Harris, the State Thursday afternoon rested its case against Leo M. Frank accused of the murder of Mary Phagan. Dr. L. W. Childs was called by the defense as its first witness to rebut the testimony of Dr. Harris. The mysterious C. B. Dalton, who was expected to make sensational revelations of incidents in which Leo Frank was alleged to have participated in the National Pencil Factory, proved a very tame and commonplace

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 7th, 1913 Judge Roan administered a severe blow to the defense Wednesday when he ruled that all of Conley's story should stand, although portions of it, he acknowledged, would have been inadmissible had objection been made at the time the testimony was offered. Judge to Rule as Case Proceeds. It was a particularly difficult allegation to combat. Unlike many allegations, it was exactly as hard to fight in the event it was false as in case it was founded on fact. Judge Roan said in regard to the testimony of Dalton that he did not know what it

This shows the Solicitor in an argument at the Frank trial. Atlanta GeorgianAugust 7th, 1913 By James B. Nevin Now that James Conley has been dismissed from the Frank trial, now that he has stood safely the fire of Mr. Rosser's most exhaustive grilling, what of him? If Frank is convicted, Conley subsequently will be convicted, no doubt, of being an accessory after the fact of Mary Phagan's murder—and that will mean three years, at most, in the penitentiary. After that—when the Frank trial, more or less, has been forgotten—Conley will be a liberty to come back amongst the people

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 6th, 1913 As soon as court opened Mr. Rosser asked the judge if he was ready to hear argument on the proposition to eliminate parts of Conley testimony. He said he was prepared to support his motion with authorities. Judge Roan replied that he would postpone this decision until 2 o'clock. Solicitor Dorsey declared that he had witnesses he expects to put on the stand Wednesday morning to substantiate the part of the negro's testimony in dispute. He said: "I just want the court to understand that I am going to do this." Judge Roan replied: "I'll give

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 6th, 1913 By L. F. WOODRUFF. Practically the entire case on which the State of Georgia bases its claim on the life of Leo Frank to pay for that life taken from Mary Phagan is before the jury. Most of the remaining evidence of importance, which the Solicitor General may introduce merely will be rebuttal to testimony, presented by Frank's counsel. Whether the evidence presented is strong enough to convict is a question for the jury to decide. Whether the testimony introduced by the defense will be convincing enough to cause the reasonable doubt which the law says

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 6th, 1913 By O. B. KEELER. The impression persists that courtroom crowds are made up in the main of two classes, as follows: (1) People who take it for granted that any person being tried on any charge in any court is guilty, and then some. (2) People who are constitutionally incapable of believing anybody is guilty of anything whatever. That is one powerful impression gained at the Frank trial. It is an impression sticking out pointedly in the wake of the Thaw trial, and the Nan Patterson trial, and the Beatty trial, and the Hyde trial. All

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 6th, 1913 Sweeper's Grilling Ends After 151/2 Hours, His Main Story Unshaken MYSTERY OF GIRL'S MESH BAG EXPLAINED BY NEGRO ON STAND That Mary Phagan's silver-plated mesh bag, mysteriously missing since the girl's bruised and lifeless body was found the morning of April 27, was in Leo Frank's office a few minutes after the attack and later was placed in the safe in Frank's office was the startling statement made by the negro Conley Wednesday in the course of his re-direct examination by Solicitor Dorsey. At 11:10 the negro left the stand after being questioned for fifteen and

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 6th, 1913 By James B. Nevin. "Gentlemen of the jury, having heard from James Conley, the blackest, most damning story ever told in Atlanta by one human being against another, having sat there and listened as he smudged with unspeakable scandal the defendant in this case, Leo Frank, although it is irrelevant, immaterial, and has nothing to do with this case, you will kindly forget it, being on your oaths as jurymen to consider the evidence declared competent!" And the jury, being like most other juries, in one way or another, and having heard all the things as

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 6th, 1913 Deplores Newspaper Publicity, but Poses Merrily for the Camera Brigade. W. H. Mincey, the school teacher and insurance solicitor who made an affidavit that Jim Conley confessed to him that he had already killed a girl that day and didn't want to kill anyone else, was the center of attention for the crowd on the outside of the courthouse Wednesday mornin. While deploring newspaper publicity, he readily agreed to pose for a group of newspaper photographers, assuming many poses, some of which were rather grotesque. He followed this with implicit instructions to the photographer that his

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 5th, 1913 By L.F. WOODRUFF. Sinister as a cloud, as raven as a night unaided by moon, planet or satellite, Jim Conley is to-day the most talked-of man in Georgia. His black skin has not been whitened by the emancipation proclamation. The record of his race for regarding an oath as it regards a drink of gin, something to be swallowed, remains unattacked. But Georgia is to-day listening to the words of Jim Conley with breathless interest. His every syllable has ten thousand of eager interpreters. His facial expression is watched as keenly as he answers the questions

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 5th, 1913 The determined onslaught against Jim Conley, his string of affidavits and the story he told before the Frank jury had its real beginning Monday afternoon. Luther Rosser, starting with the avowed purpose of breaking down the negro's story and forcing from the negro's lips a story more incriminating to himself than any he had uttered, went deeply into Conley's past history, his home life, his prison record and everything that directly or remotely might have a bearing on the solution of the murder mystery. Before taking up the events of the day that Mary Phagan was

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 5th, 1913 Judge, Favoring Defense, Reserves Decision as to Striking Out Testimony CONLEY CONTINUES TO WITHSTAND FIERCE ATTACKS OF ROSSER Reuben Arnold created a sensation at the opening of Tuesday afternoon's session of the Frank trial by making a motion that all of the revolting testimony concerning Leo Frank's alleged conduct before the day of Mary Phagan's murder be stricken out of the records. He also demanded that all of Jim Conley's testimony in reference to watching at the door at Frank's direction be expunged except the time he claims he watched on the day Mary Phagan was

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 5th, 1913 The defense of Leo Frank will bring out vividly before the jury Tuesday that the striking feature of Jim Conley's dramatic recital on the stand Monday was that it differed not only from the first two affidavits signed by the negro, which he later repudiated in large part, but it also conflicted in several particulars with the last sensational affidavit in which he charged Leo Frank with the killing of the girl and related that he (Conley) disposed of the body and wrote the notes that were found at its side at Frank's direction. As a

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 5th, 1913 By JAMES B. NEVIN. Black and sinister, depressing in its every aspect and horrible in its gloom, the testimony of Jim Conley in the Frank case was given to the court and the jury under direct examination Monday. The shadow of the negro had loomed like a frightful cloud over the courtroom for days—the negro himself came into the case Monday. And he came into it in an awful and unspeakably sensational way! The public was prepared for most that Conley said—it was not quite prepared for all he said. The State, in its direct examination

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 4th, 1913 A bitter, determined cross-examination of Jim Conley by Luther Rosser was marked by a prolonged battle between counsel for the defense and State over the method of questioning the negro. The defense won a complete victory, Judge Roan ruling that the accuser of Leo Frank could be cross-examined on any subject the prisoner's lawyers saw fit. In the course of this legal tilt Luther Rosser said: "I am going after him (referring to Conley) and I am going to jump on him with both feet." Turning to counsel for the State he added significantly: "And I

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 4th, 1913 Wife and Mother of the Accused Pencil Factory Superintendent Sit Calmly Through Trial. By TARLETON COLLIER Women are brought into a court room, as all the world knows, for one of two purposes. Their presence may have a moral effect in softening the heart of a juror, particularly if they be young, pretty or wistful of countenance. Or they may be there on the affectionate mission of cheering and encouraging a beloved defendant. Two women sat with Leo Frank through all the hot, weary days of last week. Their object was the one or the other.

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 4th, 1913 Dramatic in its very glibness and unconcern, Conley's story, if it failed to shake or disturb Leo Frank, at least had a wonderful impression upon each member of the jury. Conley told of seeing Mary Phagan enter the factory. This was the first time he had admitted to this, so far as the public had known. Frank showed only a mild interest, but the jurors strained forward in their seats. Conley told of hearing the footsteps from his vantage point on the first floor of two persons coming out of Frank's office. Frank still exhibited no

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 4th, 1913 By O. B. Keeler. Jim Conley, hewer of wood and drawer of water. On the witness stand at the Frank trial this morning, Jim unfolded a tale whose lightest word—you know the rest. It was a story that flexed attention to the breaking point: a story that whitened knuckles and pressed finger nails into palms; a story that absorbed the usual courtroom stir and rustle, and froze the hearers into lines upon lines of straining faces. And Jim Conley told that story as he might have told the story of a day's work at well-digging, or

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 4th, 1913 Deputy Sheriff W. W. ("Boots") Rogers, witness for the State in the Frank trial, is taking the Pasteur treatment at the State Capitol Monday after being bitten half a dozen times on the right ankle by a rabid dog that pulled him from his motorcycle at Henderson's crossing, on Capitol avenue, Sunday night about 11 o'clock. After a battle of more than fifteen minutes Rogers finally drove the dog away, and though his right leg was badly torn and lacerated, rode the two miles from the crossing to Grady Hospital. When he arrived at the hospital

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 4th, 1913 By L. F. WOODRUFF. A policeman's life is not a merry one. The thought was expressed and event set to music in those dim days of the distant past when people heard the lyrics and listened to the charming lilts of Gilbert and Sullivan opera instead of centering their attentions on a winsome young woman with a record in the divorce courts and not much else in either ability or raiment. Gilbert and Sullivan, now being tradition, can be considered authorities. Wherefore the thought is repeated that a policeman's life is not a merry one. But

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 4th, 1913 L. O. Grice, a stenographer in the offices of the Atlanta and West Point Railroad, was the first witness called. He said that he saw Frank on Sunday morning after the murder and Frank attracted his attention by his undue nervousness. Grice said he was on the way to the Terminal Station when he bought an "extra" stating that a murder had been committed at the National Pencil Factory. He said he stopped by the pencil factory and saw eight men on the inside of the building. "Did any of these men attract your particular attention?"

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 4th, 1913 NEGRO SPRINGS NEW SENSATION, ADDING TO STORY.James Conley, the negro sweeper in the National Pencil Factory, was called to the stand in the trial of Leo M. Frank, whom he accuses of the murder of Mary Phagan, at 10:15 Monday; under the skillful questioning of Solicitor Dorsey began the recitation of his sensational story.The negro was taken to the court in Chief Beavers' automobile and was accompanied by his lawyer, W.M. Smith. It was learned for the first time Monday that Conley would swear that he saw Mary Phagan enter the factory just before Monteen Stover,

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 4th, 1913 By JAMS B. NEVIN. When a prospective juryman is on his voir dire in a given criminal case, he is asked if his mind is perfectly impartial between the State and the accused. If he answers yes, he is competent to try the case, so far as that is concerned. If he answers no, he is rejected. How many people in Atlanta and Georgia, having heard part of the testimony in the Frank case, still feel themselves to be perfectly impartial between the State and the accused? How many people, having heard part of the evidence,

Courtroom Studies of Leo Frank: Three typical poses of the defendant in the famous Phagan case are show, while in the upper left of the picture is a study of Luther Rosser, his leading counsel. Here is what a study of Frank's face reveals: His face is immovable, except, perhaps, for the eyes. But fixity of countenance does not always go with unconcern. In this case it is a part of the man's nature. Immobility is the essential part of his physiognomy. It is the immobility of the business man given to calculation, of the gambler, of the person given

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 3rd, 1913 Solicitor Dorsey Indicates That Real Sensation Will Be Developed for State in Closing Days of Famous Mary Phagan Mystery Case. ANOTHER WEEK OF ORDEAL IN THE HEAT IS EXPECTED Routing of Detective Black and Surprise in the Testimony of Pinkerton Agent Gives the Defense Principal Points Scored—Newt Lee Hurts. Slow and tedious, almost without frills, full of bitter squabbles between lawyers, made memorable by oppressive heat, the first week of Leo Frank's trial on the charge that he killed Mary Phagan, the little factory girl, has drawn to an end. With the close of the week

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 3rd, 1913 Negro's Testimony Now Supremely Important Both Sides Stake Their All on His Evidence STATE FORGES CHAIN TO TAX ALL THE INGENUITY OF DEFENSES LEGAL ARRAY First Week of Battle Has Fixed the Time Almost Exactly According to Theory of the Solicitor—Doctors' Testimony His Important Bearing. BY AN OLD POLICE REPORTER. There are two tenable theories of the manner in which little Mary Phagan met her tragic death in the National Pencil Factory on Saturday, April 26. Either she was murdered by Leo Frank, as charged in the indictment, or she was murdered by James Conley, the

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 2nd, 1913 Are five and half ounces of cabbage to be the principal factor in sending a man to the gibbet? If the prosecution is warranted in its belief in the vital and incriminating importance of the testimony of Dr. H. F. Harris, director of the State Board of Health, this is exactly the outcome to be expected in the trial of Leo M. Frank, charged with the murder of little Mary Phagan. It remains, however, for the State to show explicitly just how the sensational statements made last Friday afternoon by medical expert any more clearly connect

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 2nd, 1913 By JAMES B. NEVIN. The testimony of Dr. Roy Harris, chairman of the State Board of Health, and one of the most learned and approved physicians in Georgia, was dramatic, both in its substance and in the manner of its delivery Friday. It was not calculated to help Leo Frank—and it did not. The exhibition of a portion of the contents of the dead girl's stomach, for the purpose of approximating the time of her death, held breathless the packed courthouse—and the fainting of the physician during the progress of his testimony gave a final touch

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 2nd, 1913 By L. F. WOODRUFF. Emotion's entire gamut is daily run on the screen of faces watching the Frank trial. A student of facial expression can find anything he seeks by watching the throng of spectators a half hour. A glance at one man may show a sneer of hate as bitter as gall. His neighbor in the next seat will probably be smiling in amused content as if her were witnessing the antics of his favorite comedian. Looking to the left he may see fear as vividly depicted on a countenance as trapped felon has ever

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 2nd, 1913 O. B. Keeler. The juror's life is not unmixed with care. Look him over next time you attend the Frank trial. Size up his little job. Weigh his responsibility. Consider his problems. And then, if seeking employment, go out and sign a contract to make little ones out of big ones. It's a more satisfactory way of earning $2 a day. The juror's business is to collect evidence by the earful, sift the same, separate the true from the false, and make it into a verdict as between the Stat of Georgia and Leo Frank. On

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 2nd, 1913 Newspaper on Judge's Desk Causes Protest DR. HURT UNDER FIRE OF DEFENSE, HITS A DR. HARRIS TESTIMONY A genuine sensation was sprung at the trial of Leo M. Frank Saturday morning when Luther Rosser and Reuben Arnold, attorneys for the defense, asked the State to consent to a new trial on the ground that Judge Roan had allowed the jury to catch a glimpse of a headline in the first extra of The Georgian. Judge Roan had laid the paper on the stand in front of him, and, according to the defense, the headline across the

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 1st, 1913 There are enough "hists," "aha's" and those other exclamations that mark a true detective besides the badge on his left suspender to fill a whole volume of Gaborieau thrillers at the Frank trial. A stranger whirled from the Terminal Station to Judge Roan's courtroom would be convinced before he had been in that temple of justice five minutes that all Atlanta earns its living following clews, and that if Sherlock Holmes was made a material being he could beat Jim Woodward for Mayor by 8,000 votes. Ever since the body of Mary Phagan was found, practically

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 1st, 1913 Was Mary Phagan killed at or very near the time she entered the National Pencil Factory April 26 to get her pay envelope or was she merely attacked at this time and murdered later? The line of questioning pursued by Luther Rosser in his cross-examination of two of the State's witnesses Thursday afternoon indicated this will be one of the questions the jurors will have to settle before they will be able to determine the innocence or guilt of Leo M. Frank. Rosser was most persistent in his interrogation both of William A. Gheesling embalmer, and

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 1st, 1913 Up Against a Hard Proposition Youthful Solicitor Is Fighting Valiantly to Win Case. By L. F. WOODRUFF. Georgia's law's most supreme penalty faces Leo Frank. A reputation that they can not be beaten must be sustained by Luther Rosser and Reuben Arnold. Atlanta's detective department's future is swaying on the issue of the Frank trial. But there is a man with probably as much at stake as any of the hundreds who crowd Judge Roan's courtroom, with the exception of Frank, and he is accepting the ordeal, though he realizes it, as calmly as a person

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 4th, 1913 There was a murmur of excitement following the calling of Jim Conley; there was a wait of several minutes, officers having just left the police station with the negro a minute or two before he was called. Judge Roan impatiently ordered the Sheriff to bring in the witness. A number of spectators who were crowded up too close to the jury box were moved back by the court deputies. "The Sheriff hasn't got Jim Conley," said Attorney Rosser, after a statement from Deputy Sheriff Plennie Miner. "Mr. Starnes will bring him in," returned Solicitor Dorsey. "See

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 1st, 1913 By JAMES B. NEVIN. Has the State succeeded in thoroughly establishing the fact that little Mary Phagan's tragic death was effected on the second floor of the National Pencil Factory, in Forsyth street? It has not, of course—but it has set up by competent evidence a number of suspicious circumstances, which, if properly sustained later along, will prove damaging in the extreme to Leo Frank. Unless these circumstances, trivial in some aspects, are braced up and backed up, however, by other much stronger circumstances, they will give the jury, in all probability, little concern in arriving

Atlanta GeorgianAugust 1st, 1913 Lawyers Wrangle Over Frank's Nervousness DORSEY WINS POINT AS ROSSER BATTLES TO DEFEND ACCUSED Jim Conley, accuser of Leo Frank, will take the stand Saturday morning, according to all indications Friday, to repeat the remarkable story he told concerning his part in the disposition of the body of Mary Phagan and undergo the merciless grilling of the defense. Solicitor General Dorsey said that he expected to have his case completed by Saturday night and police, believing he will call the negro to-morrow, had him shaved and cleaned up and in readiness for his appearance. Regardless of

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 31st, 1913 By JAMES B. NEVIN. Poor John Black! With this unwitting assistance of the Solicitor General and the assistance of Luther Rosser, he furnished all the "punch" there was in Wednesday's story of the Frank trial. Black evidently was undertaking to tell the truth, and was unwilling to tell more or less than the truth, but that didn't help matters much, so far as the State was concerned. When Solicitor Dorsey exclaimed "plant!"—which means nothing more than "faked" or "framed up" evidence for the benefit of the defense—I glanced rapidly at Rosser. I saw precisely what I

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 31st, 1913 FRANK NOT IN OFFICE JUST AFTER 12 ON DAY OF SLAYING, SAYS GIRL The deliberate charge that he had been "trapped" by Pinkerton Detective Harry Scott was made by Solicitor Dorsey at the trial of Leo M. Frank Thursday. Scott played a curious part in the trial, being attacked by both sides. He was given the same fiery baptism that annihilated City Detective Black the day before, but he passed through the ordeal in much better shape than his brother detective. Scott left the stand at 11 o'clock and Miss Monteen Stover was called. The Stover

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 31st, 1913 He Raps With the Barlow Blade and Waves the Oriflamed Kerchief Judiciously. Plennie Minor, chief deputy sheriff, has a man's sized job on his hands and he handles it with the aid of a red bandanna handkerchief and a pocketknife. More formidable armament has been invented, but the oriflammed kerchief and the barlow blade are all that Plennie Miner requires to perform a duty that many would deem arduous, all of which shows that the deputy sheriff is a man of resource and ability. It is his job to keep order in Judge Roan's courtroom, while

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 31st, 1913 Here are the important developments of Thursday in the trial of Leo M. Frank: Harry Scott, Pinkerton detective, is accused of having "trapped" the prosecution by Solicitor Dorsey, when he testifies that Frank was not nervous when he first saw him. He is fiercely grilled by the defense after having testified to finding blood spots on the second floor, wiped over with a white substance. He testifies in addition that Herbert Haas, attorney for Frank, asked him to give him reports on his investigations before he gave them to the police and that he refused. He

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 31st, 1913 By L. F. WOODRUFF. The sun's heat is broiling. No man can stand it without suffering. And still men stand, not one man, but scores of them, on a blistered pavement gazing on a red brick building as unsightly as a gorgon's head and look at nothing by the hour. They are led there by a trail of crimson, and they are held there by the carmine charm that—since Cain committed his deed of fratricide—has made murder the deed that the law most severely punishes and has made it the act that most interests man. Go

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 31st, 1913 Although the State's witnesses were on the stand all of Wednesday the day was distinctly favorable for Frank, partly because nothing distinctly unfavorable was developed against him—the burden of proof being upon the State—but most largely because of two other factors, the utter collapse of the testimony of one of the State's star witnesses, City Detective John Black, and the testimony in favor of Frank that was given by another of the State's witnesses, Miss Grace Hix, a 16-year-old factory employee. Girl Helps Frank. Miss Hix testified that the strands of hair found on the lathing

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 30th, 1913 By JAMES B. NEVIN. If Mr. Luther Z. Rosser's bite is one-half so dangerous as his growl undoubtedly is disconcerting and awe-inspiring, there will be little save shreds and patches of the prosecution left when the State comes eventually to sum up its case against Leo Frank. Rosser's examination of Newt Lee was one of the most nerve racking and interesting I ever listened to. It reminded me much of a big mastiff worrying and teasing a huge brown rat, and grimly bent eventually upon the rat's utter annihilation. A witness up against one of Rosser's

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 30th, 1913 STATE ADDS NEW LINK TO EVIDENCE CHAIN BY BOOTS ROGERS' STORY Sensational testimony by J. M. Gantt, discharged pencil factory employee, was promised Wednesday by Solicitor Dorsey and Frank A. Hooper, who is assisting him. They admitted that Gantt had testimony that had never before been published and would be one of the State's most material and direct witnesses. The defense has heard that Gantt will testify he saw Frank and Conley together on the day of the crime. Gantt was expected to follow Grace Hicks on the stand. The State added another link in the

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 30th, 1913 Defendant Perfect in Poise, His Wife Picture of Contemptuous Confidence. By L. F. WOODRUFF. Arm akimbo; glasses firmly set, changing position seldom, Leo M. Frank sits through his trial with his thoughts in Kamchatka, Terra del Fuego, or the Antipodes, so far as the spectators in the courtroom can judge. He may realize that if the twelve men he faces decide that he is guilty of the murder of Mary Phagan, the decree of earthly court will be that his sole hope of the future will be an appeal to the Court on High. His mind

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 30th, 1913 By O. B. KEELER. The trouble is, plain human emotions won't stick at concert pitch all the time. And so the Frank trial, after the first twenty minutes, say, becomes much like any other trial. Except in the flashes. You get into the courtroom with some formality. At once you are in the midst of order. It is rather ponderous, made-to-order order. But it is order. Officials stalk about, walking on the balls of their feet, like pussy cats. But they do not purr. They request you to be seated. You must not stand up; you

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 30th, 1913 That a sensation is be sprung by the defense by the production of the mysteriously missing ribbon and flowers from the hat of the murdered girl was repeatedly indicated by Attorney Rosser's line of questioning Tuesday and the afternoon before. Beginning with Mrs. J. W. Coleman, mother of Mary Phagan, the attorney for Frank interrogated every witness who saw the girl alive or dead that day in regard to the ribbon and flowers. Mrs. Coleman said that the ribbon and flowers were on the hat when Mary left home. Newt Lee said that he had seen

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 29th, 1913 Outwardly Quiet and Singularly Lacking in Excitement, Frank Trial is Enactment of Grim Drama. By JAMES B. NEVIN. One of the most commonplace things in the world—crime—is riveting the attention of Atlanta and Georgia to-day. Crime is almost as commonplace as death—and yet death, in a thousand ways, never is commonplace at all. If I were a stranger in Atlanta and should walk into the courthouse where Leo Frank is being tried for the murder of Mary Phagan, doubtless I should be utterly astounded to discover what I had walked into. That pale-faced, slight, boyish-looking party

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 29th, 1913 By L. F. Woodruff A page was ripped from a story of Harris Dickson. "Old Reliable" was paraded in the life in as somber a setting as was ever conceived and the temper of the audience that is following the fortunes of Leo Frank through his struggle for life and liberty was revealed. Some sinister things have been said of the spirit of Atlanta in reference to the trial of the pencil factory superintendent as the slayer of Mary Phagan. It was whispered once that the law would not be allowed to take its course, but

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 29th, 1913 STATE TRIES TO SHOW GIRL WAS STRANGLED ON THE SECOND FLOOR Here are Tuesday's important developments in the trial of Leo M. Frank on the charge of murdering Mary Phagan in the National Pencil Factory, Saturday, April 26. Newt Lee, negro night watchman at the pencil factory, leaves the stand after four hours and forty minutes of examination and cross-examination with the essential points of his story unshaken. Efforts to discredit the negro's story result only in showing several discrepancies in the story he told before the Coroner's jury and his testimony on the stand at

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 28th, 1913 Newt Lee Repeats His Story in Court Room Negro Watchman Swears Frank Acted Oddly Day of Crime Here are the important developments in the trial of Leo M. Frank for the murder of Mary Phagan. Jury chosen at 1:30 p. m. Mrs. Coleman, girl's mother, takes stand after recess, at 3:15, and tells of Mary leaving for the factory 11:45 a. m. on April 26. George W. Epps, boy companion of Mary Phagan, repeats his story that he had an engagement to meet her on the afternoon of the fatal day. Newt Lee, night watchman at

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 28th, 1913 Wife Helps Prisoner Pick Men to Try Him All in Readiness for Real Trial to Begin After Short Recess Events on the opening day of the trial of Leo M. Frank, accused of the slaying of Mary Phagan in the National Pencil Factory, moved with such unexpected swiftness that it was apparent that the trial proper would be under way and the first witnesses called before the close of the first day's session. The jury had been completed by the time recess was taken at 1:30. After a few preliminary clashes between the opposing attorneys which

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 28th, 1913 Here is the Frank jury complete: A. H. Henslee, 74 Oak street; salesman. F. V. L. Smith, 481 Cherokee avenue, manufacturer's agent. J. F. Higdon, 108 Ormewood avenue. F. E. Winburn, 213 Lucile avenue, claim agent. A. L. Wisbey, 31 Hood street, cashier of the Buckeye Oil Company. W. M. Jeffries, a real estate man, with offices at 318 Empire building. Marcellus Johemming, 161 James street, a machine shop foreman with offices at 281 Marietta street. M. L. Woodward, cashier King Hardware Company, 182 Park avenue. J. T. Osburn, an optician for A. K. Hawkes, was

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 28th, 1913 Frank was escorted from the Tower to the courthouse shortly after 6 o'clock in the morning, nearly three hours before the trial was schedule 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

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst's Sunday American)July 27th, 1913 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

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst's Sunday American)July 27th, 1913 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

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst's Sunday American)July 27th, 1913 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

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst's Sunday American)July 27th, 1913 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

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst's Sunday American)July 27th, 1913 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.

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst's Sunday American)July 27th, 1913 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

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst's Sunday American)July 27th, 1913 This newspaper article is a continuation from the first page of an Atlanta Georgian newspaper. The first page is missing from our archives. If any readers know where to obtain the first part of this article, we would appreciate any help! Thank you! 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

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst's Sunday American)July 27th, 1913 Dorsey Ready to Avenge Mary Phagan Mystery of Months Is Still Unsolved 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

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst's Sunday American)July 27th, 1913 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

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst's Sunday American)July 27th, 1913 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

Atlanta Georgian (Hearst's Sunday American)July 27th, 1913 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

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 26th, 1913 Both Sides Hide Vital Phagan Facts State's Prosecutor Shrouds Identity and Stories of Scores of Witnesses in Secrecy. Prosecution and defense continued their preparations for the Frank trial Saturday, the last-hour hurry of interviewing new witnesses and gathering up the stray ends of evidence giving a fair promise that the trial will start as scheduled next Monday forenoon. That Solicitor Dorsey has nearly a score of important witnesses whose testimony has been carefully guarded from the defense and the general public is well known. These witnesses have come to his office from time to time, and

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 26th, 1913 Says Pierce Broke His Promise Detective Head Also Asserts Phagan Evidence Private Sleuth Unearthed Was Plant. Chief of Detectives Lanford roundly scored H. B. Pierce, head of the Pinkerton Detective Agency in Atlanta, Saturday for what he termed questionable procedure in connection with the Phagan murder investigation. When application was made by the agency for permission to operate in Atlanta and the matter was under consideration by the Police Board, the promise was made that the Pinkerton's would work in harmony with the city detective department and would co-operate in the apprehension of criminals. This promise,

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 26th, 1913 The Negro Conley's Confession That He Was Frank's Accomplice and Events Leading Up to Trial. Chapter VI. "He (Leo Frank) told me that he had picked up a girl back there and had let her fall, and that her head had hit against something—he didn't what it was—and for me to move her, and I hollered and told him the girl was dead." With this startling accusation Jim Conley introduced his third confession. Under the rack of a merciless third degree, continued through the long afternoon of May 29, he weakened or became desperate toward the

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 25th, 1913 Despite Judge's Statement All Is In Readiness, Move for Postponement Is Expected. Despite the fact that Superior Judge L. S. Roan stated everything was in readiness for the trial of Leo M. Frank next Monday, that State's Attorney Hugh M. Dorsey has announced he will fight a delay, and that the defense actually commenced summoning witnesses, the impression still prevailed Friday that a motion for continuance would be made by the defense when the case is opened. Attorneys Luther Rosser and Reuben R. Arnold, declined flatly to say whether they would permit the trial to proceed

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 24th, 1913 Arrests of Suspects in the Factory Slaying. Sensation as Leo Frank, Manager Was Taken Into Custody. CHAPTER III. Everything that occurred, trivial or important, during those first few days after the body of little Mary Phagan was discovered in the pencil factory basement took on a dramatic aspect. The people were keyed to so high a pitch by the revolting crime that for for a time it seemed to require only a spark to fire them to violent deeds. Let a strange person so much as appear at the police station to confer with Chief of

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 24th, 1913 Leo Frank should be placed on trial Monday for the murder of Mary Phagan. The crime was committed April 26; Frank was arrested April 28; he was indicted Mary 23 and his trial set for June 30. At the suggestion of the judge in whose court the trial is to take place, a postponement was agreed on, and the date of the trial moved up to July 28. Now attempts are being made to secure another postponement. The only reason given to the public is that the weather is hot and it would be disagreeable to

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 24th, 1913 STATE READY AND WILL FIGHT A DELAY Solicitor Disappointed When Court Fails to Draw Jury Panels at Time Planned. With the belief growing that a serious effort is being made to delay the trial of Leo Frank, set for next Monday, Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey Thursday renewed his protest against further postponement in a vigorous statement, declaring the prosecution is ready with a complete case against the National Pencil Company factory head, accused of killing Mary Phagan. The trial date rests entirely with Judge Roan, who is in Covington. The drawing of the jury venire

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 23rd, 1913 The Discovery of the Body of the Slain Factory Girl and Start of Hunt for Slayer. CHAPTER II. His heart pounding in superstitious fright, Newt Lee, the night watchman, forced himself to approach the strange object on the pile of debris in the pencil factory basement. A step nearer and he could make out what appeared to be a human foot. He recoiled and was on the point of precipitate flight. But he must look closer, he thought. Perhaps, after all, it was only the ghastly prank of some of the factory employees who had manufactured

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 23rd, 1913 Scouts New ‘Proof' of Defense Detective Chief Scoffs at Claim of Evidence That Club Used by Negro Was Found. Chief of Detectives Newport Lanford Wednesday morning ridiculed the story that the defense of Leo M. Frank has in its possession a bloody club, alleged to have been found by two Pinkerton detectives on May 10 in the National Pencil Factory, and with which, it is reported, the defense will contend Mary Phagan was slain by James Conley, the negro sweeper. Asserting that he knows nothing whatever of the alleged bloody club, Chief Lanford declared that, if

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 23rd, 1913 TRACE FOUND HERE OF NEGRO SAID TO HAVE SEEN PHAGAN SLAYING Sister of Will Green Tells Police He Slept at Home at Hour Girl Was Slain; Jim Conley, Factory Sweeer Again Grilled. The two negro principals in the Phagan case—Newt Lee and Jim Conley—were put on the grill together in the cell of the former in the county jail by Solicitor Dorsey and his assistant, Frank G. Hooper, late Wednesday afternoon. Present at the cross-examination were J. M. Gantt, former pencil factory employee, and Detectives Starnes and Campbell, the officers who have had charge of Conley

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 22nd, 1913 Slaying of Factory Girl, South's Most Baffling Crime Mystery, Reviewed in Detail. CHAPTER I. Will the veil of mystery be lifted when the curtain rises next Monday on another scene in Atlanta's darkest tragedy? A vast audience, shocked by the horror of Mary Phagan's fate on a Saturday of last April and held through the succeeding weeks in the thrall of the baffling crime drama, in keen suspense awaits this question's answer. Will Fulton County's Solicitor General be able to point his finger at Leo M. Frank and exclaim, "That is the man who strangled Mary

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 22nd, 1913 TALK OF POSTPONING FRANK TRIAL TILL FALL Protest of Solicitor Dorsey Wins Presents Evidence Showing Indictment of Negro Would Hinder Frank Prosecution. Here are the important developments of Monday in the Phagan case: The decision of the Grand Jury of Fulton County not to bring at this time an indictment against James Conley. The information that there is a strong probability of another postponement of the trial of Leo M. Frank. The Grand Jury's refusal to reopen its investigation of the Phagan murder mystery was a decided victory for the Solicitor after that body had overridden

Atlanta GeorgianJuly 22, 1913 Hearing of Crawford Case May Conflict Conference Planned to Decide Which Shall Take Precedence. Ready to Draw Venire. Reuben R. Arnold, of counsel for Leo M. Frank, announced Tuesday that he proposed to seek a conference of the attorneys in the Frank case and in the Crawford will hearing to determine which case should be postponed next Monday, the date set for the beginning of the trial of Frank on the charge of slaying Mary Phagan. Mr. Arnold, Luther Z. Rosser, chief of counsel for Frank, both also are attorneys in the Crawford will case, and

The Atlanta Georgian Monday, July 21, 1913 Presents Evidence Showing Indictment of Negro Would Hinder Frank Prosecution. Here are the important developments of Monday in the Phagan case: The decision of the Grand Jury of Fulton County not to bring at this time an indictment against James Conley. The information that there is a strong probability of another postponement of the trial of Leo M. Frank. The Grand Jury's refusal to reopen its investigation of the Phagan murder mystery was a decided victory for the Solicitor after that body had overridden his request that no session be called to take

The Atlanta Georgian Monday, July 21, 1913 Protest of Solicitor Will Be Heeded Foreman Declares Inquisitorial Body Will Not Ride "Roughshod" Over Dorsey. With Solicitor Dorsey reaffirming his certainty that Jim Conley will not be indicted before the tral of Leo M. Frank and declaring that he will fight with all his vigor any movement in that direction, the Grand Jury members gathered in the Thrower Building Monday morning in response to the call of Foreman Beatie to decide whether they will reopen their investigation of the Phagan murder mystery. A strong probability that no action would be taken during

The Atlanta Georgian Monday, July 21, 1913 Four young women, three of whom had been caught in Chief Beavers' vice dragnet last week, escaped from the Martha Home during chapel exercises Sunday night. The women were Effie Drummond, who after being caught in a raid on Mrs. Lula Bell's place at Peters and Fair streets, declared she was a minister's daughter from North Carolina, and had been the victim of a white slaver; Maude Doughetry, apprehended at the same house; Beatrice Renfro, companion of A.N. Trippe, a Whitehall street clerk, arrested on complaint of Tripp'e wife, and Myrtle Bell, who

The Atlanta Georgian Monday, July 21, 1913 Dr. M. W. Lewis, a prominent physician of Carrollton, was arrested Monday morning and placed under $1,000 bond on a charge of disorderly conduct. He is charged with registering as man and wife at the Hotel Scoville, on Mitchell street, with Miss Effie McColman, who is held as a witness in the case. The trial will be held before Recorder Broyles Tuesday afternoon. The arrest was deloyed until the physician had finished a difficult operation at a sanitarium. According to the charges, Dr. Lewis arrived in Atlanta Monday morning with Miss McColman, registering

The Atlanta Georgian Sunday, July 20, 1913 By AN OLD POLICE REPORTER. The most important and interesting development of the week in the Phagan case was the Mincey affidavit, directing suspicion more surely in the direction of James Conley than ever before, if the affidavit is that of a credible witness. If what Mincey says is true—if his evidence can be made to "stand up" in court—then he is far and away not only the most important witness yet discovered, but his testimony will serve to clear up the mysterious Phagan case in its most obscure phases. Solicitor General Hugh

The Atlanta Georgian Sunday, July 20, 1913 Man Who Says He Heard Negro Confess Now Is at Rising Fawn, Georgia W.H. Mincey, the school teacher who made an affidavit declaring Jim Conley confessed to him on the afternoon of the murder of Mary Phagan that he killed a girl, will appear before the Grand Jury to repeat his startling story when that tribunal convenes Monday to consider the Phagan matter, it was reported Saturday night. Mincey, who is now at Rising Fawn, Georgia, has expressed his willingness to come to Atlanta for this purpose. His evidence, which has proved the

The Atlanta Georgian Sunday, July 20, 1913 Solicitor Is Bombarded With Letters to Proceed Against Negro as Slayer of Mary Phagan. THE GRAND JURY IS CALLED Hottest Battle of Famous Case To Be Waged Behind Closed Doors of Inquisitory Body. Solicitor Dorsey is fighting vigorously the movement in the Grand Jury to indict Jim Conley Monday for the murder of Mary Phagan, despite the bambardment of letters from many citizens and by the sentiment of some of its own members. It is for the consideration of these letters and petitions, asking the reopening of the Phagan matter, that the meeting

The Atlanta Georgian Sunday, July 20, 1913 Attorneys Rosser and Arnold, in a Statement to the Press, Make Bitter Attack on Solicitor for His Conduct of Phagan Case. Call Attention to Secrecy Maintained by Prosecution, and Declare Action of State's Attorney Has Inflamed Public Opinion. Luther Z. Rosser and Reuben R. Arnold, attorneys for Leo M. Frank, who will be tried July 29 on the charge of killing Mary Phagan, joined Saturday in a bitter attack upon the policy of Solicitor Hugh M. Dorsey, whose procedure in the case, they said, had inflamed public opinion and had placed the Solicitor

The Atlanta Georgian Sunday, July 20, 1913 "Not Necessary to Indict Negro to Close His Mouth," Declares William Smith. William M. Smith, attorney for Jim Conley, the negro now being held as a material witness in the Phagan murder case and whose indictment for complicity in the crime will be considered by the Grand Jury Monday, brought to the office of The Sunday American Saturday night a statement in behalf of his client. In a letter accompanying the statement, Mr. Smith conveyed a doubt as to whether this newspaper would print what he had to say. The attorney's statement in

The Atlanta Georgian Saturday, July 19, 1913 "Dyspeptic, Fanatic, Stoneheart, Monomaniac" Are Other Terms in "Final" Retort. Mayor Woodward Saturday said he was finally dismissing Recorder Nash R. Broyles from his mind with the statement: "He is a natural dyspeptic, crank and a fanatic. If he ever had a heart it was turned to stone. Therefore, it is natural that he should become a monomaniac over the subject of using his czar-like authority in his own petty sphere. I don't care anything more about him." Mayor Woodward again went over the head of Recorder Broyles Friday when he reduced the

The Atlanta Georgian Saturday, July 19, 1913 GRAND JURY SPLIT BY LATEST MOVE Public Opinion Forces Consideration of Move to Indict Conley for Phagan Slaying. Solicitor Dorsey is fighting vigorously the movement in the Grand Jury to indict Jim Conley Monday for the murder of Mary Phagan, despite the bombardment of letters from many citizens and by the sentiment of some of its own members. It is for the consideration of these letters and petitions, asking the reopening of the Phagan matter, that the meeting has been called. That it will result in the indictment of the negro is thought

The Atlanta Georgian Friday, July 18, 1913 REVERSAL OF VERDICTS IS DENIED BY JUDGE Apologizes Also to Porcine Family for Likening Woodward's Legal Knowledge to Theirs. Recorder Nash Broyles penned a polite note of apology to the whole hog family Friday. With the same hand he picked up the cudgels with which again to belabor his honor, Mayor Woodward. The Mayor, quoth the recorder, was the author of a ridiculous and absurd falsehood and it was a regrettable libel upon Mr.Hog to have to submit to a comparison with Atlanta's Mayor. As for the Mayor, he declared he was tired

The Atlanta Georgian Friday, July 18, 1913 POLICE HALT GRILLING OF CONLEY Detective Bent on Questioning Negro Is Barred From Cell by Chief Lanford. With Pinkerton detectives taking the trail in search of W.H. Mincey, whose startling accusations against Jim Conley stirred the police department and won the negro another "sweating" from Solicitor Dorsey, the Mincey affidavit Friday became the storm center about which the prosecution and defense in the Frank case waged their battle. Despite the degree of indifference with which the detectives and prosecuting officials affected to look upon the remarkable statements of Mincey, it became known Friday

The Atlanta Georgian Thursday, July 17, 1913 Joe North, Alleged White Slaver, Declines to Talk Before Hearing in Recorder's Court. Joe North, alleged white slaver, arrested on the statement of Effie Drummond, a young woman who told the police he lured her into a rooming house, will be tried before Recorder Nash Broyles at 2:30 o'clock Thursday afternoon and every effort made to get from him the names of other persons in the "vice ring," to which Chief of Police James L. Beavers says North owes allegiance. North was arrested Wednesday night after a search of very nearly a week.

The Atlanta Georgian Thursday, July 17, 1913 *Editor's Note: Some words in the middle of this article are missing due to scanning blur near a page fold. Recorder Replies to Mayor's Charges of "Czar-Like" Police Court and Scores Him Severely "KNOWS MUCH LAW AS HOG DOES ECONOMY," HE SAYS The Judge Says, "Never Argue With an Ignorant Man, for You Can't Convince Him He's Wrong" Recorder Nash R. Broyles, in replying to Mayor James G. Woodward's criticism of his heavy sentences, quotes the philosopher who says, "Do not argue with an ignorant man, for you can never convince him that

The Atlanta Georgian Thursday, July 17, 1913 Declaring that police officers placed him under arrest while he was attempting to convey a woman in the throes of an epileptic fit to a hospital and forced him to be the companion to a negro in riding in the patrol wagon to the police station, Mongin F. Smith, vice president and secretary of the Eagle Stamp Works, Thursday afternoon carried a trenchant complaint of police stupidity to Mayor Woodward for investigation. "The young woman whom we were endeavoring to place in a hospital was Miss Mabel Parker, a performer at the Old

The Atlanta Georgian Thursday, July 17, 1913 WOODWARD SCORED BY BROYLES "Can't Convince Ignorant Man He's Mistaken," Says Judge, Quoting Epictetus. WHAT BROYLES THINKS OF THE MAYOR. He's ignorant. He's a menace to civilization. He knows as much law as a boy does political economy. WHAT WOODWARD THINKS OF RECORDER. He's a petty czar. My office is bigger than his. If he wants to run my office, let him come up and give me orders. "Do not argue with an ignorant man, for you can never convince him he is wrong." Recorder Nash R. Broyles, quoting Mr. Epictetus, the late

The Atlanta Georgian Thursday, July 17, 1913 *Editor's Note: This article ran in other editions of the Georgian with slight variations in the headline. GRAND JURY AGREED NOT TO ACT Solicitor Bitterly Opposes Plan of New Body to Reconsider Slaying Case. That the most strenuous opposition of Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey was all that prevented the last Grand Jury from reopening its investigation of the Phagan mystery with a view of indicting the negro Jim Conley became known Thursday. It was admitted by persons acquainted with the events in the Grand Jury room that the Solicitor's determined stand only

The Atlanta Georgian Wednesday, July 16, 1913 Grand Jury Foreman Admits That Action Against the Negro Is Considered. The reported proposal by some of the members of the Grand Jury to meet for an investigation of Jim Conley's connection with the murder of Mary Phagan has precipitated a sharp struggle in which Solicitor Dorsey has declared himself bitterly opposed to any action looking toward the indictment of the negro as a principal in the crime or even as an accessory after the fact, as the negro admits himself to be. The fight has resolved itself into a contest to determine

The Atlanta Georgian Wednesday, July 16, 1913 *Editor's Note: This article also ran in the Final (Box Score) Edition under the headline "State Finds New Frank Evidence." Solicitor Declares Prosecution's Plans Are Unchanged—Doesn't Expect Conley Indictment. That affidavits as sensational and direct against Leo M. Frank, accused of murdering Mary Phagan, as the Mincey statement was against the negro, Jim Conley, are in the hands of the State and will be substantiated by witnesses at the trial, July 28, was admitted by Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey Wednesday morning. The Solicitor and Frank A. Hooper, associated with him in the

The Atlanta Georgian Tuesday, July 15, 1913 Mayor Woodward entered the fight which Chief Beavers is waging against vice in Atlanta Tuesday when he told of a negro dive and blind tiger which he said had been reported to him Tuesday morning by a man whose name he refuses to make public. This man, Mayor Woodward declared, had told him he had seen policemen passing through an alley in the direction of the blind tiger, though none of them had actually been seen to enter the place. Chief Beavers ordered an investigation. Captain Poole has been given particular instructions to

The Atlanta Georgian Tuesday, July 15, 1913 A crusade against white men frequenting negro dives has been started by Recorder Nash Broyles. He fined three men, who gave their names as Kirk, Smith and Little and A.B. Arnold, of Macon, who forfeited $50.75. The five white men were arrested in a raid on a place at 76 Chestnut street, early Sunday morning. Helen Lester, who runs the dive, was held for the higher courts in bonds of $500. "The mingling of whites and blacks does more to stir up race trouble than anything else," declared the Recorder. * * *

The Atlanta Georgian Tuesday, July 15, 1913 Chief Beavers Opens Real Fight on Doubtful Places—Several Under Watch. Active steps against doubtful rooming and boarding houses were taken by Chief of Police Beavers Tuesday morning. He declared that he intends to close every "shady" rooming house in the city against which he can obtain evidence. He intimated that he has the addresses of a number of boarding houses where, it is alleged, young girls and men visit and where the roomers are in reality inmates of the place, and his campaign is to be directed especially against these. They will be

The Atlanta Georgian Tuesday, July 15, 1913 RECALLS HE WAS TOLD STORY OF CONLEY Watchman Remembers of Visit of Witness to Factory on Day of Crime. Further corroboration of several of the important details in the remarkable affidavit of W.H. Mincey, insurance agent and teacher, who swore he heard Jim Conley confess killing a girl, came Tuesday in a statement by E.F. Holloway, day watchman at the National Pencil Factory. Holloway substantiated in every particular the story of Mincey's visit to the factory the Tuesday following the crime and recalled the general trend of the conversation, which was practically as

The Atlanta Georgian Monday, July 14, 1913 Revocation of License Will Be Asked if Law Is Violated. Girl Sentenced. The vice inquiry Monday morning resulted in a close surveillance of hotels which, it is alleged, harbor young girls for immoral purposes. If the law is violated, the police authorities say, the police committee of Council will be requested to revoke the license of the hotel involved. Chief Beavers has detailed men to watch for violations of the law following information given by Corinne Wilson and Dora Rosthstein , sentenced to the Reform School Saturday afternoon. The new information, it is

The Atlanta Georgian Monday, July 14, 1913 MRS. CRAWFORD BEGINS FIGHT FOR HER FREEDOM STATE STILL CONFIDENT OF CASE Story of Negro Who Says He Was Eyewitness of Slaying Disbelieved by Solicitor. Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey and Attorney Frank A. Hooper, engaged in the prosecution of Leo M. Frank, were induced Monday to break the silence they have maintained grilling the negro Jim Conley last week. They made their first public comments on the sensational developments of the last few days in the Phagan murder mystery. Both declared emphatically that neither the affidavit of W. H. Mincey, insurance solicitor,

The Atlanta Georgian Monday, July 14, 1913 *Editor's Note: This article also appeared in the Night Edition under the headline "Mincey Tells of Confession." Tells How Conley Confessed Killing Girl ‘I AM SEEKING ONLY TO DO MY DUTY FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE' The Georgian Secures Remarkable Statement From Chief Witness for Defense in the Trial of Frank. Declares Belief in Conley's Guilt. On Thursday, July 10, The Georgian published the exclusive story of an affidavit in the possession of the lawyers for Leo M. Frank, accused of the murder of Mary Phagan, made by W.H. Mincey, an insurance agent, the

The Atlanta Georgian Monday, July 14, 1913 Young Woman From the Country Says She Was Lured to Resort on Peters Street. Raid Frees Victim of Alleged Gang From a Resort on Peters Street. Five White Men and Dozen Negroes Arrested in Raid Are Convicted in Court. *Editor's Note: This article was also published under the headlines "Police Hunt Vice Band's Leader" and "17 Caught in Vice Drag Fined," the latter article containing the following six paragraphs in brackets. The sub-headlines for each article are listed above in the same order. There is also a continuation of the article on a

The Atlanta Georgian Sunday, July 13, 1913 Fugitive, Reported to Have Been Traced to Birmingham, Declares That He Witnessed the Attack on the Girl Slain in the Pencil Plant. LAYS CRIME TO BLACK WITH WHOM HE HAD GAMBLED Loser at Dice, He Declares, Planned to Rob Victim as She Came From Getting Pay—Tried to Prevent the Crime and, Failing, Fled. Report that a negro who has declared that he witnessed the attack by another negro upon Mary Phagan, which resulted in her death in the National Pencil Factory on the afternoon of April 26, has been apprehended in Birmingham, became

The Atlanta Georgian Sunday, July 13, 1913 *Editor's Note: Some text is blurred in the original document, and illegible text is marked by "". The text box insert is transcribed at the bottom of this post. Old Police Reporter Declares True Bill Against Negro Might Alter Entire Frank Prosecution. RULES OF EVIDENCE CITED Mincey Affidavit May Have Important Bearing on Defense of Pencil Factory Manager. By An Old Police Reporter. Persistent rumors have been abroad of late that the present Grand Jury may indict James Conley for the murder of Mary Phagan. This is interesting, for if the Grand Jury

The Atlanta Georgian Sunday, July 13, 1913 Attorney Leavitt Declares Tale That Conley Admitted Killing Girl Will Stand Test. NEWT LEE STILL HELD IN JAIL Solicitor General Hugh Dorsey Promises to Present a Bill Against Him as Suspect. That several negro women overheard Jim Conley when he ran the insurance agent, Mincey, away with the alleged statement that he had just killed a girl and didn't want to kill anyone else, and that the affidavits from the women are in the hands of the attorneys for the defense, was stated Saturday by Attorney J.H. Leavitt, who aided in obtaining the

The Atlanta Georgian Saturday, July 12, 1913 *Editor's Note: This article also ran with the headlines "Says Women Overheard Conley Confess" and "Says Women Heard Conley Confess" in the Final and Home Editions, respectively. The headline used here is from the Night Edition. AFFIDAVITS SUPPORT MINCEY STORY Attorney Leavitt Declares Tale That Negro Admitted Killing Girl Will Stand Test. That several negro women overheard Jim Conley when he ran the insurance agent, Mincey, away with the alleged statement that he had just killed a girl and didn't want to kill any one else, and that the affidavits from the women

The Atlanta Georgian Saturday, July 12, 1913 *Editor's Note: The second portion of this article is not available. Acting Recorder Sends Girls to Reform School and Binds Two Men Over. Probe into vice conditions resulted in a startling climax Saturday afternoon when Acting Recorder Preston sentenced two girls, Corinne Wilson and Dora Rothstein to the Cincinnati Reform School and bound over two men, W.W. Suttles and C.A. Dollar, under $200 bond each, making eight vice cases tried Saturday, with the prospect of five more trials for Monday. The trial was featured by the statements of the Acting Recorder, who declared

The Atlanta Georgian Saturday, July 12, 1913 *Editor's Note: The second part of this article is not available. Police, Spurred by Chief, Raid Boarding House—Additional Arrests Due Soon. As the result of the increased activity by the detective and police departments, following the grilling given the detectives Friday afternoon by Chief Beavers, five new arrests were made by a squad of officers shortly after noon Saturday, in a raid on a boarding house at No. 164 1-2 Peters Street. The persons under arrest gave their names as Lulu Bell, Maud Wilson, Mrs. Lee Berkstein and L.W. Berkstein. Effie Drummond, a 22-year-old

The Atlanta Georgian Saturday, July 12, 1913 Arrest of Additional Men Named by Girl Victim of the "Ring" Due Soon. With rapid-fire developments featuring the day's investigation of the "vice ring" said to exist in Atlanta, Chief of Police Beavers announced at noon that he is accumulating new evidence through which he hopes to be able soon to break up the gang. The new evidence, he intimtaed , is startling, and is expected to result in arrests of several men and women within 24 hours. The principal developments of the day, through which Chief Beavers is obtaining his new evidence

The Atlanta Georgian Saturday, July 12, 1913 After Gruelling Third Degree, Officials Refuse to Deny or Affirm Negro Confessed. Habeas corpus proceedings to release Newt Lee collapsed in the court of Judge Ellis Saturday morning. By agreement, Bernard L. Chappell, representing Lee, withdrew his application for a habeas corpus; Solicitor Dorsey promised to present a bill against Lee as a suspect in the Phagan murder case, with the expectation that a "no bill" would be returned. This appeared satisfactory to the attorneys for Lee, as well as to the State. Luther Z. Rosser, Reuben R. Arnold and Herbert J. Haas,

The Atlanta Georgian Friday, July 11, 1913 Speedy Indictment of Negro Is Likely Following Publication of Mincey Affidavit. The speedy indictment of Jim Conley on the charge of murdering Mary Phagan was the strong possibility discussed in court circles Friday following the sensational turn given the strangling mystery by The Georgian's publication Thursday of the accusation of William H. Mincey, an insurance solicitor, that he had heard the negro boast on the afternoon of the crime of killing a girl. For nearly two months a self-confessed accessory after the fact of the murder of the little factory girl, Conley has

The Atlanta Georgian Friday, July 11, 1913 *Editor's Note: The following column ran in the final edition of the Georgian with the title "Georgian's Story Stirs Officials to Action," and contains the following bracketed text in lieu of the first two paragraphs and preceding sub-headline. [Mincey Affidavit Leads to Another Cross-Examination of Phagan Case Suspect. [As a result of the publication by The Georgian exclusively Thursday of the sensational affidavit of W.H. Mincey, the insurance agent, which declared that Jim Conley had confessed on the afternoon of the Phagan murder, that he had killed a little girl, the negro sweeper

The Atlanta Georgian Friday, July 11, 1913 THREE NEW VICE WAR ARRESTS Man Prisoner Declares He Will Bare the Whole System if Brought to Trial. As a result of statements made to Chief Beavers Friday morning by Hattie Smith, the young girl who has been held for the Grand Jury in connection with the vice war, Detective Rosser at noon arrested three persons—two men and a woman—who were named by the Smith girl as contributing to her downfall and being involved in her white slavery charges. The persons under arrest are Paul Estes, 52 Queen Street; Hoyt Monroe, Edgewood, and

The Atlanta Georgian Thursday, July 10, 1913 *Editor's Note: Articles with the titles "Tells of Conley Confession" and "Says Conley Confessed" also appeared in other editions of the Georgian. NEGRO MADE BOAST OF KILLING A GIRL, AGENT DECLARES Attorneys for Frank Will Put Main Reliance of Defense on the Startling Affidavit Made by W. H. Mincey and Now in Their Possession. That Jim Conley, negro sweeper at the National Pencil Factory, made a virtual confession to him that he attacked and killed Mary Phagan is the startling allegation made in an affidavit by William H. Mincey, until recently a solicitor

The Atlanta Georgian Thursday, July 10, 1913 MEN NAMED BY GIRL ARE SOUGHT Chief Beavers Declares New and Startling Arrests Are Near. Alleged Procuress Held With the principals in the sensational vice case, Hattie Smith, a 17-year-old girl victim; Mrs. Lena Barnhart, a flashily-dressed woman, alleged white slave procuress; Lige Murray, negro ally, and Clyde Cox, the youth who was arrested in the hotel raid, all bound over to the higher courts, the police Thursday turned the full flare of a searching investigation directly on the hotels and alleged immoral resorts, with the result that new arrests and startling developments

The Atlanta Georgian Thursday, July 10, 1913 Georgia Suffragists Adopt Resolution Indorsing Chief's Course in Atlanta. Chief of Police Beavers' fight against vice was enthusiastically indorsed at the Thursday morning session of the convention of the Georgia Woman Suffrage Association. The following resolution, introduced by Mrs. Margaret T. McWhorter, was adopted: The Georgia Woman Suffrage Association realizes the high civic ideals which actuate Chief of Police James L. Beavers, of Atlanta, and we wish to place ourselves on record as indorsing every move which he has taken for good government and clean morals, and especially do we commend his action

The Atlanta Georgian Thursday, July 10, 1913 Chief of Police Beavers caused a stir Thursday morning when he went before the day watch and addressed the men on their conduct. His talk resulted from the recent scandal in which several policemen were found guilty of visiting a resort in the rear of 127 Auburn Avenue. "Any man who hangs around a negro dive has no place on the police force of Atlanta," the Chief said, addressing the men. "If you get positive evidence that any of your brother officers are engaged in discreditable practices and frequenting disreputable places, it is

The Atlanta Georgian Wednesday, July 9, 1913 Accused Prisoners in White Slave Inquiry Held for Higher Court. That sufficient evidence had been produced in court to make a case against one of the city's most prominent business men was the statement of Recorder Broyles Wednesday afternoon at the trial of the persons involved in the latest vice scandal. Lena Barnhardt, alleged white sliver and procuress, was bound over to the higher court under a bond of $500. Hattie Smith, who claimed in court to be a white slave victim of the Barnhardt woman, was placed under $100 bond for the

The Atlanta Georgian Wednesday, July 9, 1913 iGrl Called to Tell of Negro She Saw in Pencil Factory—Lee Stays in Jail. A sensation in the Phagan murder mystery developed Wednesday afternoon when Solicitor Dorsey summoned Miss Mattie Smith under a special subpena to question her in regard to a negro she saw in the National Pencil Factory the morning of the Saturday that Mary Phagan was murdered. Miss Smith told a Georgian reporter that she saw a negro there that morning and believed it was between 9 and 10 o'clock. She thought she might be asked to identify Conley. If

The Atlanta Georgian Wednesday, July 9, 1913 PART OF PAY ENVELOPE FOUND Discovered Shortly After Tragedy by Detectives, but Find Was Kept Secret. *Editor's Note: The following headlines also appeared: (Night Edition): NEW PHAGAN EVIDENCE FOUND PART OF PAY ENVELOPE HELD BY POLICE (Extra Final Edition): PHAGAN PAY ENVELOPE FOUND Two sensational developments marked the Phagan case Wednesday. One was the testimony of Miss Mattie Smith, an employee of the National Pencil factory, that she had seen a negro sitting on the first floor of the factory betwen 9 and 10 o'clock, at a time when Conley had denied being

The Atlanta Georgian Tuesday, July 8, 1913 Dorsey Confident That Move, Which May Confront Frank With Conley, Is Futile. Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey said Tuesday he was confident the State would be able to defeat any attempt to get Newt Lee out of the Tower, where he has been confined since April 27, first as a suspect in the Mary Phagan murder case and later as a material witness. He said he had advised Lee's attorney not to take the action, as the negro was regarded as an important witness in making a complete chain of evidence against Leo

The Atlanta Georgian Tuesday, July 8, 1913 The Prison Commission again has taken up the application of J. J. Mangham for a pardon. A recommendation is expected to be made to Governor Slaton in the next day or two. Mangham is the Griffin cotton mill man given four years for embezzlement and one year on a misdemeanor charge. The application came up some time ago and was sent to Governor Brown by the commission without any recommendation. The Governor returned it with the statement that the board should make a recommendation. That great influence will be brought to bear on

The Atlanta Georgian Tuesday, July 8, 1913 Search Records of Guests for the Leaders of System Named by Girl Victim. A general rounding up of hotel registers by detectives for the identification of notorious men and women added the latest sensation in the vice investigation instituted following the startling disclosures of Hattie Smith, the pretty 17-year-old girl, who claims to be the victim of the "system." The first move was made Tuesday morning when the manager of the Cumberland Hotel was subpenaed to appear in Police Court with his register that afternoon. The register will be examined by the Smith

The Atlanta Georgian Tuesday, July 8, 1913 Negro's Counsel Secures Chance to Argue for Habeas Corpus Writ Wednesday. Reuben R. Arnold, of counsel for Leo M. Frank, communicated with Sheriff Mangum Tuesday afternoon directing him under no circumstances to permit the removal of Frank to appear Wednesday as a witness in the habeas corpus hearing to free Newt Lee. "There is no law on earth to bring Frank to court under an order as a witness," said Arnold. Attorney Rosser, chief of counsel, was absent from the city Tuesday. Attorney C. J. Graham, of the firm of Graham & Campbell,

The Atlanta Georgian Tuesday, July 8, 1913 Hattie Smith Warns Young Women of Atlanta Against the Wiles of Procurers. The startling expose of vice conditions by Hattie Smith, the prety 17-year-old girl, one of the alleged victims of the "system," resulted Tuesday in an aggressive war n the downtown hotels. Chief Beavers declared he would stamp out vice if he had to detail a special officer at every one of the hotels in question. Several additional arrests will be made before noon, it is believed. The Smith girls repeated her story with many additional details of the "system" which is

The Atlanta Georgian Tuesday, July 8, 1913 Attorneys for Accused Man Can Keep Him From Facing Accuser if They Wish. That Leo M. Frank, superintendent of the National Pencil Factory, and James Conley, Frank's accuser in the Mary Phagan murder mystery, would be brought face to face Tuesday was the strong possibility presented by the contemplated application for a writ of habeas corpus in behalf of Newt Lee, negro night watchman at the factory. The plan of bringing Conley and Frank together may meet an insurmountable obstacle when it comes to getting the permission of Frank's attorneys. The law allows

The Atlanta Georgian Monday, July 7, 1913 Victim Tells Beavers Names of Women and Man Engaged in Traffic in Girls. A new and sensational expose of vice conditions said to be prevalent in Atlanta was made Monday morning by Hattie Smith, a pretty 17-year-old girl, who was arrested in a hotel which was raided Sunday night. If the statements of the Smith girl, who made a confession of her own guilt to the Chief, are true, Atlanta is in the clutches of one of the best organized vice systems in existence. Certain downtown hotels, the girl claims, are the rendezvous

The Atlanta Georgian Monday, July 7, 1913 Habeas Corpus Move to Free Negro in Phagan Case Due to Start Monday. Habeas corpus proceedings in behalf of Newt Lee, negro night watchman at the National Pencil Factory, were promised Monday by the negro's attorney, Bernard L. Chappell. Settlement of this phase of the Phagan murder mystery will determine definitely the status of the negro. It is known that the State regards Lee as a material witness in building up its case against Frank. The attitude of Mr. Chappell is that his client knows no more about crime than he already has

The Atlanta Georgian Sunday, July 6, 1913 *Editor's Note: See insert article, "Decisions Which May Aid Defense of Frank", at the conclusion of this post. Frank Expects Freedom by Breaking Down Accuser's Testimony, and State a Conviction by Establishing Truth of Statements. BY AN OLD POLICE REPORTER. The developments in the Phagan case have been of late highly significant and interesting. During the past week, it became evident that the very heart and soul of both the prosecution and the defense is to center largely about the negro, James Conley. He is at once apparently the hope and the despair

The Atlanta Georgian Sunday, July 6, 1913 Dorsey Will Endeavor to Force Defense to Disclose Their Documentary Evidence. ACT IS COUNTERSTROKE Frank's Attorneys Said to Have Affidavits Exonerating Frank and Indicating Conley's Guilt. A sensational turn in the Phagan murder mystery, according to one of the attorneys for the defense, will develop next week when Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey issues a subpena duces tecum on Attorneys Luther Z. Rosser and Reuben Arnold, citing them to produce all the affidavits they have secured that bear on the crime. The movement is in the nature of a counterstroke to block the

The Atlanta Georgian Sunday, July 6, 1913 Negro's Lawyer Says He Will Offer Habeas Corpus When Solicitor Dorsey Returns. On account of the absence from the city of Prosecuting Attorney Hugh M. Dosey , Bernard L. Chappell, attorney for Newt Lee, announced Saturday that he would not file a writ of habeas corpus until Monday. He claims in the petition for the release of the negro that Lee is being held unlawfully and without any charge against him. Solicitor Dorsey left for his country place at Valdosta, Georgia, Saturady morning. He will return Monday. Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey will

The Atlanta Georgian Saturday, July 5, 1913 New Governor Declares He Will Take Action After Hearing All Sides. Governor Slaton has formed no opinion in the famous McNaughton-Mattie Flanders murder case, and says he will make no decision until he has heard all sides. The new Governor says he has not talked to the former Governor about the case. He will hear, he said, all arguments without prejudice. It is known that the hopes of McNaughton's friends for commutation of sentence, if not pardon, have been greatly strengthened now that Governor Slaton is in the executive office. The statement, made

The Atlanta Georgian Saturday, July 5, 1913 Writ to Free Watchman From the Tower Will Be Filed—State to Oppose Liberation. The prosecution will fight an entirely new angle in the Phagan case Saturday morning when Barnard L. Chappell, attorney for Newt Lee, the negro night watchman, files a writ of habeas corpus for the release of the negro from the Tower, where he is being held without any charge against him. Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey will ask the courts to hold the negro as a material witness for the State, or may charge him with being an accessory. He

The Atlanta Georgian Saturday, July 5, 1913 Charges Preferred Against Another Patrolman and Suspension Is Near. Atlanta's police scandal was revived Saturday by the preferring of charges against another member of the police force. His suspension by Chief of Police James L. Beavers is expected to follow within a few hours. The subject of the accusations is the ninth policeman involved in the scandal. Chief Beavers would not make public the man's name until formal order of suspension was made. The charges against the majority of the policemen are they they frequented the notorious negro resort in the rear of