Category Archives: Newspaper coverage

Dragnet for ‘Slavers’ Is Set

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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 [sic], 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 are as follows:

Dora Rothstein has made a new statement, implicating three more men in her downfall, and naming half a dozen girls as victims of the ring.

The detective department, following a severe grilling given them by Chief Beavers Friday night, is seeking evidence against the vice ring with renewed vigor.

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Five Caught in Beavers’ Vice Net

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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 country girl, who has been in Atlanta only four weeks, is held as a material witness.

A man whose name is given as Joe North escaped through a back window while the police were raiding the place. A general order has been issued for his arrest. The raid was made by Officers Brannan, Moncrief and Baker.

More Arrests Probable.

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Parents Are Blamed for ‘Slavery’

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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 that the parents of the girls were largely responsible for the deplorable conditions which exist. This accusation followed a severe reprimand of the parents of the Rothstein girl, who were in court.

“If you had a dog in your home,” said the Recorder to the two parents as they stood before the bar of justice, “you would not treat it as you have treated this girl. Just such action as this is resulting to-day in the ruin of hundreds of girls of this city.”

Efforts to Convict Fail.

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Says Women Heard Conley Confession

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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 are in the hands of the attorneys for the defense, was stated Saturday by Attorney J.H. Leavitt, who aided in obtaining the sensational affidavit from Mincey.

Attorney Leavitt defended the character of the man who made the affidavit and denied emphatically that Mincey even asked about the money he would receive as a witness, except whether his railroad fare would be paid if he were out of the city.

Explains Dukes’ Doubts.

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Mincey’s Story Jolts Police to Activity

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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 was again put on the grill late Friday afternoon. The cross-examination was conducted by Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey personally at the police station and was attended by utmost secrecy.

[Conley was taken into the Police Commissioners’ room on the second floor of the station house by a circuitous route to avoid being seen. In the room awaiting him were the Solicitor, his assistant, Frank J. Hooper, and Chief of Detectives Lanford. The negro was questioned for more than an hour. The result of the inquiry was not made known.

[That Mincey’s affidavit is of the utmost importance became obvious with this latest move by the prosecution. Undoubtedly its startling accusations, directing guilt at the negro, have shown themselves to the State to have foundation of more strength than Mr. Dorsey and his colleagues have so far cared to admit.]

Steps Taken Immediately to Discredit Affidavit Published Exclusively in The Georgian.

The Georgian’s exclusive publication of the sensational details of the W.H. Mincey affidavit, in which Jim Conley was alleged to have confessed to the killing of a girl the afternoon that Mary Phagan was slain, created a big stir Friday in police circles and immediate efforts were made to discredit the accusations against the negro.

Detectives set out at once on a still hunt for Mincey. Lines were thrown out to produce witnesses who would swear that Mincey’s word was not to be depended upon. The detective force, which virtually had been resting on its oars in the Phagan case for several weeks, was galvanized into action by the startling charges made in the affidavit of Mincey, which was first made public by The Georgian.

Police Deny Being Told.

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Girl Tells Police Startling Story of Vice Ring

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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 Mrs. Lola White, 768 Marietta Street.

The woman is a cousin of Hattie Smith and lives next door, while both Estes and Monroe are in the employ of the Collier Garage at Cone and James Streets, where the Smith girl says she met Lena Barnhardt, who later took her to the Cumberland Hotel.

Says She Went Joy Riding.

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Slaying Charge for Conley Is Expected

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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 been allowed to go without an attempt at bringing an indictment against him. The startling new evidence which indicates most strongly, if the credibility of the defense’s witness can be established, that Conley was not the accessory after the fact, but the actual principal in the crime, is expected to result in a thorough investigation by the Grand Jury of all the rumors and stories which have been in circulation of the negro’s connection with the pencil factory tragedy.

Counsel Relies on Mincey.

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Agent Claims Conley Confessed to Murder

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The Atlanta Journal

Friday, July 11, 1913

Detectives Deny That Mincey Told Them of Alleged Confession of Negro

In the possession of the attorneys for the defense of Leo M. Frank is an affidavit of William H. Mincey, formerly an insurance agent working in Atlanta, who declares that the negro, James Conley, while drunk on the afternoon of April 26, admitted and even boasted to him that he had killed a girl that day.

The admission is alleged by Mincey’s affidavit to have been made when he met Conley, whom he knew, in the negro quarter, and attempted to sell him insurance.

The negro became enraged, the affidavit recites, and told him (Mincey) that he (Conley) didn’t want to have to kill another person that day, as he had already killed a little girl.

The affidavit is said to further recite that Mincey offered, a day or two after the killing of Mary Phagan, his information to the city police, who refused to consider it. The affidavit is also said to recite that Mincey visited Conley at police headquarters and there again definitely identified him as the man who boasted on April 26 of having killed the girl.

N. A. Lanford, chief of the city detectives, and Harry Scott, of the Pinkertons, who has been working on the case, declare that they first heard of Mincey on the day of Conley’s second confession of complicity.

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Conley Not Right Man, Says Mincey

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The Atlanta Constitution

Friday, July 11, 1913

Insurance Man Who Made Affidavit Says Conversation Was With Some Other Negro—Saw Conley at Station.

It was disclosed Thursday afternoon that William H. Mincey, the insurance agent who has made an affidavit to the effect that Jim Conley on the date of the Phagan murder drunkenly admitted that he had slain a girl had appeared at police headquarters during Conley’s grilling and had positively failed to identify the negro.

This was told a Constitution reporter by Detective Harry Scott of the Pinkertons and Detective Chief Newport Lanford. The insurance agent, they declared, had come to the police station while Conley was being cross-examined and had asked to see the prisoner.

He wanted to see if he could identify Conley as the negro whom he had seen drunk at the corner of Electric and Carter streets on the afternoon of Saturday, April 26. He was admitted to Conley’s presence. After asking the negro a number of questions pertaining to a conversation he had held with the black encountered at Electric and Carter streets, Mincey, the detectives assert, declared he could not identify the suspect.

He’s not the man I saw, Lanford and Scott say the insurance man declared.

Conley was asked by Mincey on that date if he had not talked with him about the issuance of a life insurance policy. Conley denied having ever seen the man. Mincey, the detectives say, was positive in his declaration that Conley was not the negro with whom he had held the conversation.

Did Not Approach Detectives

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No Finger Prints Found by Expert on Phagan Envelope

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The Atlanta Journal

Thursday, July 10, 1913

Examination of Portion of Slain Girl’s Pay Envelope Fails to Throw Any Light on the Murder Mystery

FLETCHER, AT FEDERAL PEN MAKES EXAMINATION

Fight for Release of Newt Lee on Habeas Corpus Resumed and Hearing Will Be Given Saturday Morning

That the murderer of Mary Phagan can never be identified by finger prints on the pay envelope found in the factory, and the “re-setting” of Newt Lee’s habeas corpus for 10 o’clock. Saturday morning, were two important developments of the sensational murder mystery Thursday.

According to Attorney Bernard L. Chappell, of Graham & Chappell, counsel for the negro night watchman, fifty witnesses among them the negro James Conley, confessed accomplice, and Leo M. Frank, accused of the crime, will be subpenaed for the habeas corpus hearing.

It is known that the solicitor general, Hugh M. Dorsey, will oppose the release from the Tower of Lee on the ground that he is a material witness.

Counsel for Frank will take no part in the fight to secure the release of Lee, but Attorney Reuben R. Arnold stated when the case was postponed that he would oppose any effort to bring Frank into the court for the habeas corpus hearing.

It is said that the counsel for Frank will oppose bringing him to the court on the ground that it is not lawful to force a defendant to give any testimony which relates to or bears on the crime for which he is to be tried.

This, as a result, will prevent the much talked of meeting of Frank and Conley.

According to the attorney for Lee, subpenas will be issued to the many detectives who have worked on the case, to the solicitor general and to the foreman of the grand jury that failed to indict Lee.

EXAMINED BY EXPERTS.

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Chief Traces Vice Conditions to Men; Promises Arrests

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The Atlanta Journal

Thursday, July 10, 1913

Beavers Puts Police on Trail of Men Blamed By Girl Guests for Situation in Downtown Hotels

GIRL VICTIM BARES HOTEL CONDITIONS TO RECORDER

Judge Broyles Hears Sensational Expose of Vice Situation Said to Exist in Many Atlanta Rooming Houses

As the outcome of the dramatic confession made by Hattie Smith in the recorder’s court Wednesday afternoon Chief Beavers announced Thursday morning that he will open a war against the men who, he asserts, are ruining girls.

Following the trial in court Wednesday the chief says that Hattie Smith gave him more details than came out in the testimony, detailed though it was. He says that he now has the names of several men whom the Smith girl says she had taken auto rides with. The chief says that he will take steps against these men.

In beginning his campaign, the chief makes the statement that he holds the men responsible for the life led by the wayward woman. Poor girls, without even the necessities of life, have no show against men who are always on the watch to prey upon them, declared Beavers.

SMITH GIRL TELLS STORY.

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Beavers’ War on Vice is Lauded by Women

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

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 in the matter of recommending the appointment of women probation officers for Atlanta; therefore,

Be it Resolved, That we convey to him our hearty congratulations and pledge to him the support and co-operation of the association in securing the appointment of these women officers, and also pledge our co-operation in any movement toward bettering civic conditions of Atlanta, which mean better civic conditions for the whole State, and be it further

Resolved, That The Atlanta Georgian, The Atlanta Constitution and The Atlanta Journal be requested to publish these resolutions.

Mrs. McWhorter’s resolution invoked tremendous enthusiasm among the delegates to the convention, and the indorsement of the association was given to Chief Beavers without a dissenting vote.

The Georgian’s Editorial Praised.

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Says Conley Confessed Slaying

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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 for the American Insurance Company, of 115 1/2 North Pryor Street.

It became known Thursday that this affidavit, which is in the hands of the defense, will be the principal reliance, aside from the alibis which have been established for Frank, in bringing an acquittal of the accused man and obtaining a conviction against the negro.

No other evidence, in all of the more than two months’ investigation of the mystery, has been so damning and so direct. The defense has practically only to establish the credibility of Mincey to assure itself of victory.

Said He Had Killed Girl.

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Beavers in Speech Warns Policemen to Keep Out of Dives

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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 your duty to report it.”

The Chief will make a similar speech to the night and morning watches.

* * *

The Atlanta Georgian, July 10th 1913, “Beavers in Speech Warns Policemen to Keep Out of Dives,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Chief Expects Arrests in Vice Probe

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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 were expected during the day.

Chief Beavers Thursday morning declared that his crusade would include the men principals in the vice system as well as the women.

A number of names were given him by Hattie Smith. He will use these as a start along this line of his investigation, and sensational results are expected.

Girl Tells Story in Court.

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Hotels Involved By Story of Vice Young Girl Tells

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The Atlanta Constitution

Thursday, July 10, 1913

Soda Water Stands, Chop Suey Joints and Automobile Rides Figure in Her Narrative.

NAME OF BUSINESS MAN BROUGHT INTO SCANDAL

Hattie Smith Says She Registered With Men in Cumberland and Brittain—Recorder Binds Over Three.

A story of vice that is unprecedented even in the sorbid [sic] history of police court, was poured into the ears of Judge Broyles Wednesday afternoon, when Hattie Smith, the 17-year-old “Girl of the Streets,” was called to the stand.

She made no attempt to withhold anything. She gave names and addresses with startling willingness, and told of her own crimson career with a frankness so bold that color was drawn to even the cheeks of the most morbid courtroom frequenter.

As a result, Lena Barnhart, alias Lena Levison, the good looking young woman whom the girl accused of being a white slave procuress, was bound over to higher courts under bond of $500, and Lige Murry, who was charged with having been the woman’s ally, was bound over bond of $100.

Three Hotels in Case.

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Mary Phagan’s Pay Envelope is Found

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

The Atlanta Constitution

Thursday, July 10, 1913

Discovery Made by Detectives Weeks Ago, But Is Just Announced

The discovery of the pay envelope given Mary Phagan on the day of her murder is believed by detectives to furnish the missing link in the chain of circumstancial [sic] evidence they declare they have forged.

The envelope was found by Detectives Harry Scott and John Black. It is now in possession of the solicitor general. It was discovered on the first floor of the plant building behind a radiator that is situated in immediate vicinity to the spot at which James Conye [sic], the negro sweeper, says he sat in waiting for his superintendent’s summons.

The production of the envelope as evidence will be a strong point in behalf of Frank’s defense according to his friends, however. It is rumored that his counsel is already preparing to use it as a basis of one of their many attacks upon the negro’s story.

The envelope was found three weeks after the discovery of the girl’s body. It was not made public, however, until Wednesday.

Solicitor Hugh M. Dorsey won his point Wednesday and will keep Newt Lee, the negro night watchman, in the tower until the trial of Leo M. Frank for the murder of Mary Phagan is held on July 28. Attorneys Graham and Chappell for Leo had secured an order directing that the sheriff show cause why he should hold their client but the solicitor held a conference with the negro’s lawyers shortly before the hearing and by mutual consent the affair was indefinitely postponed.

* * *

The Atlanta Constitution, July 10th 1913, “Mary Phagan’s Pay Envelope is Found,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Sensations in Story of Girl Victim

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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 [sic] 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 higher court.

Clyde Cox, who is alleged to have been trapped with the Smith girl, was put under the same bond.

Elijah Murray, colored bellboy at the Cumberland Hotel, who, the Smith girl testified, had arranged dates for the woman inmates of the hotel, was held in default of $100 bond.

Hattie Smith repeated the sensational story she previously had told to the detectives in regard to her meeting with the Barnhardt woman, and of the manner in which she was lured into a life of shame.

Aside from the sensational revelations of a systematic white slavery business carried on in some of the city’s hotels, the girl’s most startling testimony had to do with the prominent business man whose name she mentioned in open court.

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Mary Phagan Pay Envelope Found

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The Atlanta Journal

Wednesday, July 9, 1913

MYSTERY’S LOST LINK IS FOUND NEAR WHERE CONLEY SAYS HE SAT

Finding of Portion of Salary Envelope Bearing Victim’s Name Expected to Strengthen Defense’s Contention

CONTENTS OF ENVELOPE HAVE NEVER BEEN FOUND

Find Was Made by Pinkertons Just Three Weeks After the Murder, but Was Kept a Secret Until Wednesday.

The pay envelope, which was the quest of Mary Phagan’s visit to the National Pencil factory on April 26, when she met her death, has been found.

At least enough of the envelope to definitely identify it is in the hands of the authorities.

The upper corner of the pay envelope, bearing the name of the victim of the sensational murder mystery, was found on the first floor of the factory by Pinkerton detectives three weeks after the commission of the crime.

While attorneys for the defense and the prosecution have known of the find for weeks, the fact only became public Wednesday.

The corner of the pay envelope was found on the first floor of the factory, behind a radiator, about 15 feet from the stairway and about 8 feet from the place, where James Conley, the negro sweeper, says he sat for more than an hour on the day of the tragedy.

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New Evidence in Phagan Case Found

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The Atlanta Georgian

Wednesday, July 9, 1913

iGrl [sic] 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 she identifies the negro, it will disprove Conley’s statement that he did not go to the factory until after he had met Frank Saturday.

Judge W. D. Ellis Wednesday morning postponed indefinitely the hearing on the application for a writ of habeas corpus to liberate Newt Lee, material witness in the Phagan murder mystery.

The action came as a result of an agreement reached between Graham & Chappell, attorneys for Lee, and Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey. It is believed to mark the end of all efforts to gain the negro’s freedom before the trial of Leo M. Frank July 28.

The most unconcerned person in the courtroom was Newt Lee. He was brought before Judge Ellis by Deputy Sheriff Miner.

Lee is Unconcerned.

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