Lawyers Appear Very Interested in Raincoat Lent to Leo M. Frank

Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Constitution
August 15th, 1913

Charles F. Ursenbach, husband of Mrs. Leo Frank’s sister was put on the stand following Miss Dula May Flowers. He was used by the defense to show what Leo Frank had broken the baseball engagement early on Saturday morning. He also testified to Frank’s demeanor after the crime and was asked a number of questions about lending Frank his raincoat Sunday afternoon. What the importance of the raincoat was, neither side would say, but each asked a large number of questions about it.

“Did you see Frank on Sunday?” asked Mr. Arnold.

“I did.”

“Did you telephone Frank Friday afternoon about going to the Saturday ball game?”
“I did.”

“What did he say?”
“He said he would let me know later.”

“Did he?”
“Yes, when I got home at lunch Saturday I found a message from him saying he could not go.”

“Did you see any scratches on his face Sunday?”
“No, none at all.”

“What was his manner?”
“He appeared a little disturbed.”

Mr. Hooper took up the cross-examination.

“Isn’t it a fact that the baseball engagement was broken on Friday afternoon?”
“No, I phoned him and made it Friday afternoon and he phoned to my home Saturday before noon and left word saying he could not go?”
“Didn’t Frank wear your raincoat about that time?”
He borrowed it about 4:30 o’clock Sunday afternoon the day the body was found and then he returned it about two hours later.

“Hadn’t he borrowed it before that and didn’t he have it at the factory on Saturday?”
“No.”

He was then excused.

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Atlanta Constitution, August 15th 1913, “Lawyers Appear Very Interested in Raincoat Lent to Leo M. Frank,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)