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

Atlanta Constitution
August 25th, 1913

Solicitor Dorsey Is Expected to Complete His Address to Jury During Morning Session of Court

MANY FRIENDS VISIT FRANK IN THE TOWER

Judge Has Intimated That He Will Be Ready to Receive Verdict at Any Time of Day or Night

By 11 o’clock this morning—and perhaps earlier—Solicitor Hugh Dorsey will have finished his address in the case of Leo M. Frank, charged with the murder of Mary Phagan, and Judge Roan ‘will’ begin charging the jury.

In a talk with a Constitution reporter last night, Mr. Dorsey intimated that the final summing up of his argument would not take two hours, and that it probably would not last much longer than one. He intimated that by 11 o’clock the judge would be well under way in his charge.

With two more hours added to the already record-breaking speech of the solicitor, it will establish a mark that many declare will not be excelled in years to come. Mr. Dorsey has already spoken over six hours.

Because of exhaustion, resulting from his speech of over four hours Saturday afternoon, the solicitor spent a quiet Sunday, getting ready for the end of his argument today.

Rosser at Warm Springs.

Luther Z. Rosser, senior attorney for the defense, spent Sunday and Sunday night in Warm Springs and Woodbury, which he visited with his wife. At Warm Springs during the day, he was besieged by a host of admirers.

Leo Frank spent a typical Sunday in jail. Throughout the day his cell was a mecca for callers. His wife and mother came late in the afternoon, remaining with him for considerable while. On these trips, he is permitted to see them in the jailer’s dining room on the first floor.

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 26th, 1913

WAITS WITH WIFE IN TOWER FOR NEWS FROM COURTROOM; FRIENDS TELL HIM VERDICT

“I Am as Innocent Today as I Was One Year Ago,” He Cries—“The Jury Has Been Influenced by Mob Law”— “I Am Stunned by News,” Declares ‘Rabbi Marx, One of Prisoner’s Closest Friends—Defense Plans to Carry Case to Supreme Court in Order to Secure New Trial—Judge Roan Will Defer Sentence For a Few Days.

OVATION FOR JURY AND SOLICITOR GIVEN BY CROWD WAITING ON STREET

Judge Roan Thanks Jurymen for Services During Four Long, Hard Weeks, and Tells Members He Hopes They Will Find Their Families Well—Courtroom Was Cleared by Order of Judge Before Jury Was Brought in to Give Its Verdict—“’I’m Sorry for Frank’s Wife and His Mother,” Says Solicitor Dorsey.

 Leo M. Frank, superintendent of the National Pencil factory; president of the B’nai B’rith, graduate of Cornell university, student of literature, and until recently regarded as a man of unblemished character and reputation, and a leader among his people, has been declared guilty of the murder of Mary Phagan, a 13-year-old employee of the factory which Frank is the head.

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 26th, 1913

“I could not begin to tell you how glad and relieved I feel, now that it is all over.” said Mrs. J. W. Coleman, mother of Mary Phagan, talking to a Constitution reporter last night.

“For weeks I have felt that I just could not sleep another wink for thinking of that man Frank, and the possibility that he might escape the consequences of his crime. I have felt satisfied all the time that he was guilty, and the verdict of the jury is no surprise to me. They are good, noble men, and should be commended by all for doing their duty as they have done. I do not see how anyone who has read all the evidence could possibly think there is the smallest doubt as to Frank’s guilt.”

“I have not been well for the last week, and my mother also has been sick, so you see I could not attend all the sessions of the court, but I have gone as often as possible, and I have read every line regarding the progress of the trial published in the papers. I hope that they will not be hard on that Conley negro. Although he lied a great deal at first, he did turn round and tell the whole truth at last, and in my opinion, he should be let off with a light sentence.”

“The only real regret I feel about the entire trial is that I was unable to attend court this afternoon, and shake hands with each member of the Jury and with Judge Roan, I will take the first opportunity of seeing every one of them and thanking them for the patient, careful consideration they have shown to everything connected with the trial any way.”

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Atlanta Constitution, August 26th 1913, “Glad and Relieved Trial is Over; No Doubt of Leo Frank’s Guilt,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 26th, 1913

LEO FRANK’S LIFE HISTORY.

The following chronological history of the life of Leo Max Frank is taken from his statement to the jury, made Monday, August 18, 1913:

April 17, 1884, born in Paris, Texas.

July, 1884, taken by parents to live in Brooklyn, New York.

June, 1902, graduated from Pratt Institute, a Brooklyn high school.

September, 1902, entered Cornell university, Ithaca, New York. 

June, 1906, graduated from Cornell.   

July, 1906, accepted position as draftsman with B. F. Sturtevant company, of High Park, Mass.

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 26th, 1913

To those who sat with pent-up excitement in the court room Monday on the last day of the Leo Frank trial, the various events called the Jury and began his charge. The various events flashed by with kaleidoscopic regularity. At the time it seemed a long wall between each picture as it flashed on the screen, but looking back on it, the spectator feels that one came after the other in much short order that the real significance of each had not been taken in before the next event was past.

Solicitor General Hugh Dorsey entered the court room promptly at 9 o’clock amid a storm of cheers on the outside and tumultuous hand-clapping in the courtroom. He began his speech and then things went on with regularity until the verdict came.

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 26th, 1913

Chief Newport Lanford made the following statement Monday night in talking with a Constitution reporter:

“It is very gratifying to the members of my department that the jury, after their undoubtedly careful deliberation, found Frank guilty. I am not in the least surprised, nor do I think are any of the detectives, who have been associated with me in this case.”

“Frank was given one of the fairest trials it has ever been my lot to figure in. A body of twelve honorable gentlemen of high standing in the community have found him guilty, as charged, of the murder of Mary Phagan, and I am of the opinion that nearly everyone who is familiar with the case believes him guilty.”

“We, the other detectives and myself, have worked very hard on the case and have been untiring in our efforts to get at the truth regarding this terrible crime. We have been severely condemned by a few persons, most of whom are unfamiliar with the case, and with police methods of obtaining evidence, for the manner in which the city detectives have handled the Frank case, but the verdict rendered by the jury comes as a complete vindication of our department. In my opinion, and we feel that we have received the greatest reward possible, namely, the conviction of the man responsible for the little Phagan girl’s death.”

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Atlanta Constitution, August 26th 1913, “Leo Frank Received Fair Trial Declares Chief Newport Lanford,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 27th, 1913

Motion for New Trial Made and Hearing Set for October 4, 1913, Thus Making It Certain Prisoner Will Get Delay.

NEWT LEE IS RELEASED BY ORDER OF THE COURT

Leo Frank Tells Judge That He Is Innocent, but That His Case Is in the Hands of Counsel.

Leo M. Frank is sentenced to be hanged on Friday, October 10, 1913. This was the date set yesterday morning by Judge Leonard Strickland Roan, when the man convicted of the murder of little Mary Phagan was brought before him to be sentenced on Tuesday, August 26. The fact that the man’s attorneys immediately made motion for a new trial and that Judge Roan set this hearing for October 4 makes it certain that Frank will not hang on the date set.

Should Judge Roan, after a hearing, grant a new trial, the execution would be postponed; should he refuse it, the execution would be postponed while the matter went through the higher courts.

With the sentencing of Frank came a court order, secured by Attorneys Graham and Chappell, giving freedom to Newt Lee, negro nightwatchman for the National Pencil factory, of which Leo Frank was superintendent. The negro had been in custody since 3 o’clock on the morning of Sunday, April 27 when officers came at his call and found the dead girl’s body in the factory basement.

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 31st, 1913

Leo Max Frank, recently convicted on the charge of murdering Mary Phagan, is to receive aid in his battle for life and liberty from the alumni of Cornell University of Ithaca, New York, which institution he is a graduate [on June 21, 1906], according to dispatches received in Atlanta Saturday night from New York city lawyers, when the movement was started some days ago.

T. B. Strauss, a prominent Cornell alumnus, is heading the movement, and it is stated that circular letters will be sent out to Cornell graduates throughout the country asking their cooperation in the effort to establish Frank’s innocence. It is further stated in articles recently published in New York that it is possible that a subscription will be taken up to make up a fund to finance his defense.

Frank’s latest method of amusing himself in his prison cell is to solicit the autograph of every visitor. He Is insistent on this point before he will see anyone. It is stated, and it is estimated that he has already accumulated hundreds upon hundreds of signatures. He is keeping a diary of each day’s happenings, and faithfully sets down every detail of each hour. He writes down the time to the very minute at which anyone visits him, what time they arrive, and what time they leave. He is equally consistent in jotting down the time at which he eats, how long It takes him to finish each meal and at what time he arises, and not even the smallest detail of the hours in which he is awake is allowed to escape a place on his record.

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Atlanta Constitution, August 31st, 1913, “Graduates of Cornell Will Aid Leo M. Frank in Fight for Life,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 28th, 1913

Prisoner is Preparing Statement as Answer to Solicitor Dorsey’s Argument.

The cell of Leo M. Frank in the Tower is fast assuming the appearance of a living room. Yesterday a new bed and a number of furnishings arrived. All the day prison attaches worked renovating the interior, oiling the floor and cleaning the windows. 

Mrs. Lucille Frank appeared at the jail shortly after noon. For the first time since her husband’s imprisonment, she visited him in his cell. Heretofore they have accepted the use of the jailers dining room on the first floor. Frank’s mother, Mrs. Rea Frank, also visited him Wednesday afternoon. The wife remained until nightfall.

Frank Cheerful, Say Friends.

Frank is cheerful, his friends say, and is hopeful of the future. He expresses confidence of a new trial and of the prospect for complete exoneration in the long run. He apparently has suffered no ill effects from the strain of the four long weeks at trial and of the resultant verdict. He has suffered not a moment’s illness during his entire imprisonment.

It was stated Wednesday by friends that Frank is preparing a statement for publication in which he brands the speech of Solicitor Dorsey as unfair and underhanded. “It was as full of holes as a slave,” they quote him as having said, “and if I could have had just one hour In which to reply to his argument, I could have convinced the jury that I was an innocent man and that the solicitor was misrepresenting facts.

“I am preparing a statement in reply to his argument,” he is said to have stated, “and if my lawyers deem it advisable, I will make it public. I know that his statements were presented to the jury unfairly and that they had their weight in influencing the twelve men. Therefore, this Is the only way by which I will be able to cope with this unfair situation.”

Summons Chief Clerk.

Frank summoned his chief clerk, Herbert Schiff, who was an important witness for the defense, to the jail, Wednesday morning and dictated a number of letters, business and otherwise. The prisoner Is compiling a diary.       

Attorney Luther Rosser is busy preparing his case for presentation to the courts. In case Judge Roan refuses to grant a new trial, it will be immediately carried to the Supreme Court. At present, the defense is boiling down its plea to the required brevity.

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Atlanta Constitution, August 28th 1913, “Jail Cell of Leo M. Frank Now Like Living Room,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)