Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
Atlanta Constitution
August 9th, 1913
E. F. Holloway, watchman and timekeeper at the pencil factory, whose testimony Solicitor Dorsey riddled on cross-examination, followed General Manager Darley to the stand.
He gave his answers rapidly, making them frequently even before Attorney Arnold had finished propounding his questions. He is a man who looks older than 60, with cold gray eyes and thin lips.
His general appearance causes the lover of Dickens to think that the aged witness had stepped from one of that author’s novels. He became confused upon the cross-fire of the solicitor, and perspired profusely.
Same Rule for All.
He was examined directly by Mr. Arnold.
“Was it a habit of Jim Conley to register as he pleased?”
“No”
“You applied the same rule to him as you applied to all of the help?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever see Frank pinch him or touch him?”
“Never saw Mr. Frank even touch him.”
“Do you recall a Saturday that you missed since you have been employed with the pencil company?”
“Not a one.”
“Who would relieve you before Lee went to work on Saturday afternoons?”
“Kendrick, the nightwatchman.”
“At what time?”
“Four o’clock.”
“Where did you stay on Saturdays?”
“All over the building.”
“Did you ever see any women in Frank’s office?”
“None except his wife.”
“Did you, on any Saturday of this or any other year, see Conley watching the front door?”
“No.”
“Could you have failed to see him if he had watched?”
“No, I think not.”
Could Have Seen Women.
“If Frank had had any women in his office couldn’t you have seen them?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever see Frank bring any women into his office for himself or for Schiff?”
“No.”
“Did you know that anybody was practicing immorality in the building?”
“No.”
“Did you know Daisy Hopkins?”
“Yes.”
“Has she ever been to the factory since she quit?”
“No.”
“On Thanksgiving day, while there was snow on the ground, did you see a woman with white stockings and white shoes come into the building?”
“No, nor women with any other kind of shoes or stockings.”
“Those men who stayed during the holidays to work on the machinery upstairs, had to be there at such times in order to get at the machinery while it wasn’t working, didn’t they?”
“Yes.”
“It’s very dark near the elevator shaft on the first floor, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
Could Throw Girl Down.
“Could a man waiting near the shaft take hold of a girl and throw her down the shaft with ease?”
“Yes.”
“Did you observe anything about Conley the week following the murder?”
“Yes; he left his work and stayed around where the detectives and newspaper reporters were searching for clues.”
“What caused his arrest?”
“I caught him washing his shirt.”
“Did you walk from Broad street down Hunter to Forsyth and up Forsyth to the pencil factory on a test?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
“How long did it take you?”
“Two and a half minutes.”
“Did you walk from the bridge on Forsyth street to the pencil factory?”
“Yes.”
“How long did it take?”
“Six minutes.”
Saw Frank in Jail.
Here the solicitor began the cross-examination.
“How many times have you been to see Frank in the jail?”
“Only once.”
“Do you remember talking to Kendrick, the old night watchman?”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember asking him if he would swear Frank had called him over the telephone of nights after Frank had gone home?”
“No; I did not.”
“Now, the time the detective named Whitfield was there searching the factory, didn’t you tell him to come back tomorrow and he would find something, and he came back tomorrow to find the bloody club?”
“No, sir, I did not.”
“Do you know Daisy Hopkins and her general character?”
“Yes.”
“Was it good or bad.”
“So far as I know, it was good.”
“Do you deny this affidavit you made to me and to which you signed your name and in which you said nothing could be depended on what Daisy Hopkins said?”
“No.”
“Didn’t you tell me that Mr. Frank and Mr. Darley went out of the factory together on the morning of the 26th at 10:45?”
Admits He Was Guessing.
“I can’t recollect that I did.”
“Well, let’s refresh your memory.”
Dorsey showed the witness the affidavit.
“Well,” answered Holloway, “it was all guesswork, anyway.”
“You don’t deny saying it?”
“No.”
“Wasn’t your memory better three months ago than it now is?”
“I can’t say it was.”
“What did you say about getting the reward for Conley?”
“I told Detective Black that if Conley was guilty he was ‘my nigger.’”
“Did you tell Mr. Arnold that you left the factory every day about 5:30 o’clock?”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t you tell me you left sometimes at 3 o’clock?”
“If I said 3, I meant 4.”
“What did you mean by 4:30?”
“I never said 4:30.”
“How much time did Conley put in before April 26?”
“Two years.”
Jim Conley’s Number.
“What was Jim Conley’s number on the punch clock?”
“I don’t know.”
“Wasn’t it 71?”
“No.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then, why did you say it wasn’t?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Look at this slip and see how well it is registered?”
“I haven’t got my glasses.
“Very well, then.”
“Did Conley work regularly for sixty days preceding the murder?”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t he punch the clock accurately every day?”
“He did every morning.”
“On Monday morning you say the door was open in the Clark Woodenware company?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you know, as a matter of fact, that it was obstructed by a huge pile of boxes?”
“There were only four or five cases, but you could see the door.”
“Was that before Mr. Darley nailed the door?”
Nailed the Door.
An objection was interposed to this question, in which Mr. Arnold argued that Darley could have instructed the witness himself to nail the door.
“Mr. Darley told me to get a hammer and nail the door,” said the witness.
“Why?”
“Because nobody wanted that door open.”
“Do you know that it was open Saturday?”
“It wasn’t open Saturday.”
“Are you absolutely sure it was open Saturday?”
“I am.”
“What about the chute on the first floor?”
“They were nailed up.”
“Weren’t they open, though?”
“No.”
“You don’t claim to be an expert in women’s dress, do you Mr. Holloway?”
“No.”
Objection Is Sustained.
“You don’t know whether or not a “fancy lady” would wear white uppers to her shoes in November?”
An objection by Mr. Arnold was sustained.
“Don’t you know that frequently on Monday morning you would find empty beer bottles in the office?”
(Pause.)
“What time?” queried the witness.
“Any time?”
“No, there never were but two bottles found in the whole plant.”
“Why, then, did you ask me ‘what time’ just now?”
“I wanted to know whatever time you meant.”
“Was that negro drayman there Saturday—you said so awhile ago, didn’t you?”
“If I said he was there, he was. If I said he wasn’t there, he wasn’t.”
“Which was the truth?”
“I won’t say.”
The collector insisted upon the judge requiring an answer of the witness. Judge Roan ordered Holloway to answer the solicitor’s question.
“I don’t remember,” he replied.
“Then, why did you say he was there?”
“I don’t know.”
Nothing in Particular.
“Now, tell the jury what Jim Conley did that was unlike the other workmen of the place on Monday?”
“I can’t say there was anything in particular.”
“You do not know whether the street car clock and the pencil factory clock corresponded, do you?”
“No.”
Direct examination was again taken up by Mr. Arnold.
“How many men asked you questions when you were in Solicitor Dorsey’s office?”
“Three or four—somewhere along there.”
“You formed the opinion, didn’t you, that Daisy Hopkins wasn’t a nice girl?”
“I never formed my opinion.”
Holloway was called from the stand and court was over for the day.”
* * *