Dr. Harris Collapses on Stand as He Gives Sensational Evidence

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

Atlanta Journal
August 2nd, 1913

Physician Testifies at Frank Trial That Mary Phagan Met Death Half Hour After Lunch—Describes Wounds

Secretary of State Board of Health Compelled to Leave the Witness Stand on Account of Illness

In the midst of sensational testimony, Dr. H. F. Harris, secretary of the state board of health, collapsed Friday afternoon on the witness stand and was excused until Saturday. Dr. Harris and just testified that his examination of the contents of the stomach of little Mary Phagan showed that the dinner which she had eaten before leaving home was still undigested, and he therefore concluded that he little girl was killed within thirty minutes or three-quarters of an hour after she had eaten. Part of the undigested food taken from the stomach was exhibited in the court room. It had been preserved in alcohol.

Dr. Harris testified that there was no evidence of an assault but there were indications of some kind of violence having been committed. He thought this violence had preceded her death five or ten minutes.

Before he finished his testimony Dr. Harris became suddenly ill, his voice became faint and he begged to be excused. He promised to return Saturday, if possible. He said he had gotten up from a sick bed to come to court. He was assisted from the court room.

Also featuring the opening of the Phagan, was the testimony given by N. afternoon session of the trial of Leo M. Frank charged with the murder of Mary V. Darley under cross-examination of Attorney Reuben R. Arnold, for the defense.

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Miss Smith Declares Darley Was Incorrect

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

Atlanta Journal
August 2nd, 1913

Miss Mattie Smith has given The Journal a statement in which she says that a part of the testimony of N. V. Darley at the Frank trial in reference to her was not true. Mr. Darley stated that on April 26 Miss Smith told him that her father was dying and asked him to help bear the funeral expenses. Miss Smith says that she merely told Darley that her father was very low and that she said nothing about helping with the funeral expenses.

Newt Lee Gets Hat; Now He’s Considering What He Wants Next

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Atlanta Journal
August 2nd, 1913

And Newt Lee gets the hat.

The darky who has been the stanchest witness yet examined at the Frank trial has but little more to wish for.

First it was watermelon Newt wanted. With his very life in danger as he droned away the long hot days in the Fulton county Tower, Newt lifted up his voice and prayed for “dat juicy watermillion.” And they gave him one.

Then it was a “chaw of ‘bacca,” his first request as he came down from the witness stand. Somebody gave him a plug and immediately there were a score who pressed forward with all varieties of cut and twist. Newt had enough ‘bacca to keep his teeth in a state of perpetual motion.

“Now ef I only had’r hat,” declared Newt. “Dis nigger’ud be happy.”

When they took Newt back to the Tower he got the hat. A lady who would not give her name called up the jailer Friday and asked about Lee. Could she send him a hat? she asked. It was all right with the jailer.

The hat came, a monstrous felt creation that delighted Newt to the soul. He put it on his woolly head and his white teeth flashed. Then the smile faded. There was a far-away look in Newt’s eyes.

He was thinking of what he wanted next.

“Smile,” Says Gheesling, “When Facing Bear-Cat Like Luther Rosser”

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Atlanta Journal
August 2nd, 1913

“Keep smiling on the witness stand.”

That is the motto of Will Gheesling, of the P. J. Bloomfield undertaking establishment, who testified at the Frank trial Thursday.

“When you get a bear cat like Luther Rosser after you,” he declares, “the only thing you can do is to laugh at him.”

Gheesling was one of the few witnesses who came through the ordeal of Attorney Rosser’s cross-examination with flying colors.

His face wreathed in beatific grins, and he calmly fanned himself with a tremendous palm leaf fan from the moment he took the stand until he left it several hours later. Not once did Attorney Rosser’s cross-fire feaze him, not once did the battery of questions from the guns of the defense ruffle his demeanor.

While other witnesses left the stand with dripping brows and a vast respect for Mr. Rosser’s quizzing powers. Gheesling only grinned.

“It was the fan did it, you see,” he stated. “It gave me good luck. Keep fanning and keep smiling. How could I get rattled with this palm leaf?”

Harris Testimony May Be Stricken by Court

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

Atlanta Journal
August 2nd, 1913

Question Will Be Solved by Physician’s Recovery and Return to Stand

If Dr. H. F. Harris, secretary of the state board of health, is not physically able to be presented in the court room before the state closes its case, will his testimony be stricken from the record?

This question came for informed discussion at the court house Saturday. Dr. Harris was suddenly attacked with illness while in the middle of his direct examination and had to be assisted from the witness stand. The defense attorneys, therefore, had no opportunity to cross-question him.

Solicitor Dorsey, when asked if the testimony would be withdrawn said that he did not know.

“It would be a question for debate,” he said.

Another prominent local attorney not connected with the case gave as his off-hand opinion that the testimony could not be erased from the records. He also pointed out that, with the permission of the court, Solicitor Dorsey could recall Mr. Harris to the stand to complete his direct examination and for the cross-examination of the defense any time before the final arguments to the jury begin.

At the residence of Dr. Harris, 52 Ponce de Leon avenue, it was Saturday afternoon that the doctor was improved today and expected to be ready to go on the stand Monday morning. He was confined to his bed during the morning and early afternoon, but shortly after 1 o’clock arose with the remark that he was feeling better.

In the event that Dr. Harris’ health will permit him to come to court Monday morning he probably will precede James Conley, negro sweeper, on the stand.

Dr. J. W. Hurt, Coroner’s Physician, Gives Expert Testimony

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Atlanta Journal
August 2nd, 1913

DR. HURT’S TESTIMONY NOT CONFIRMATORY OF EVIDENCE GIVEN BY DR. H. F. HARRIS

On Cross-Examination, Dr. Hurt Admits That Cabbage Is Considered Very Difficult to Digest and That Under Some Conditions as Much as Three Hours and a Half Might be Required Before the Process of Digestion Was Completed

PHYSICIAN ON STAND GREATER PART OF MORNING AND UNDERWENT RIGID CROSS-EXAMINATION BY DEFENSE

He Found No Evidence of Violence, He Declared — Detective Waggoner, Chief Beavers, Detective Bass Rosser, Patrolman Lassiter and Miss Ferguson Testify — Court Adjourns Until Monday Morning at 9 o’Clock

Dr. J. W. Hurt, coroner’s physician, who examines the body of little Mary Phagan, was the principal witness introduced by the state at the Saturday morning session of the Frank trial. Dr. Hurt’s expert testimony was the subject of fierce contention between the lawyers for the defense and the state. Attorney Reuben R. Arnold succeeded in drawing from the physician testimony to offset that given on Friday by Dr. H. F. Harris. While Dr. Harris testified that he found evidence of violence of some sort having been committed, Dr. Hurt declared he did not find any evidence that would show a criminal attack of nay [sic] kind.

Dr. Hurt further admitted, in answer to Mr. Arnold’s questions, that cabbage was a difficult article of food to digest and that under some circumstances it might require three and one-half hours before the process of digestion was complete. This testimony was brought out by Mr. Arnold fro the evident purpose of disputing Dr. Harris’ conclusion that the state of digestion the cabbage was found in showed that Mary Phagan must have been killed within a half hour or forty-five minutes after eating.

When court convened Miss Helen Ferguson was cal[l]ed to the stand and testified that Frank refused to let her have Mary Phagan’s pay on Friday afternoon, the day prior to the murder, and that she was told by some one in Frank’s office that Mary would have to come to the factory Saturday and draw her own pay. Attorney Rosser drew from the witness on cross-examination the admission that she had never before drawn the Phagan girl’s pay and that she didn’t know whether Frank knew her name or not.

R. L. Waggoner, one of the city detectives, was next called and told of how Frank twisted his hands on Tuesday, April 29, at the National Pencil factory. The witness said that he accused appeared at the window of his office twelve times in a half hour and each time twisted his hands and looked down as if he was in a very nervous state. Detective Waggoner said that he had been sent there to watch Frank and the factory prior to the accused’s arrest.

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Defense Claims Members of Jury Saw Newspaper Headline

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

Atlanta Journal
August 2nd, 1913

WHEN JUDGE ROAN UNWITTINGLY HELD RED HEADLINE IN FRONT OF JURY, DEFENSE MADE POINT

Jury Is Sent Out of Room While Attorneys for the Defense Tell the Court That the Jurymen Were Seen Reading Red Headline, “State Adds Links to Chain” — Judge Then Calls Jury Back and Cautions Them

FOLLOWING JUDGE’S SPEECH TO THE JURY, TESTIMONY IS RESUMED, NO FURTHER MOTION MADE BY DEFENSE

In His Address to the Jury, Judge Roan Declared That They Must Not Be Influenced by Anything They Had Read in the Newspaper, but Must Form Their Opinion Solely on the Evidence That Was Developed in Court

A red headline in a newspaper, held in the hands of the presiding judge, came near causing a mistrial Saturday about noon in the case against Leo M. Frank.

While the defense did not ask the court to declare a mistrial in the case, it seriously considered in a conference of attorneys, asking that the case be stopped, and while apparently satisfied with an admonition to the jury to disregard anything they might have seen in a paper, it is probable that the incident will be a part of the basis for an appeal, in event the verdict goes against the defense.

During the course of the discussion of the incident Solicitor Dorsey contended that the jurors had not seen the headline.

During the progress of the trial Judge L. S. Roan picked up an extra edition of an afternoon Atlanta newspaper bearing an eight column red headline touching on the case before the jury. The headline read:

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Frank Juror’s Life One Grand, Sweet Song—Not

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

Atlanta Georgian
August 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[e] of Georgia and Leo Frank.

On the face of it, the plan is beautifully simple.

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Roan Holding Scales of Justice With Steady Hand

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

Atlanta Georgian
August 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.

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State Hopes Dr. Harris Fixed Fact That Frank Had Chance to Kill Girl

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Atlanta Georgian
August 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 of melodrama to the trial that thrilled the audience as nothing else has thus far.

Dr. Harris impressed me, too, as believing in Frank’s guilt—I do not know that he does believe that way, it merely happens that he seemed so to impress me.

And if he impressed that jury as he impressed me, then the things he testified may, if the remainder of the case against Frank holds together, prove eventually to be the defendant’s undoing.

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Will 5 Ounces of Cabbage Help Convict Leo M. Frank?

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

Atlanta Georgian
August 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 Leo Frank with the terrible crime than they connect Jim Conley, the negro, who was skulking in the National Pencil Factory at the same time. The testimony of Mrs. Arthur White is relied upon to do that very thing.

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Audio Book: The Frank Case, part 1

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The cover of the book on which our new audio book is based

THE AMERICAN MERCURY is proud to present the first part of our audio version of a rare, almost-suppressed book on the murder of Mary Phagan and the trial of Leo Frank, 1913’s The Frank Case — published almost immediately after the events it details took place, when they were fresh in the minds of Atlantans. Only one original copy is known to survive, though there are rumors of others. This book is also unique as it is the earliest known book published about the case.


Its full title is The Frank Case: Inside Story of Georgia’s Greatest Murder Mystery. It was published anonymously. It highlights the events leading up to the trial and aftermath surrounding the April 26th, 1913, murder of Mary Phagan by her sweatshop boss, the superintendent of the National Pencil Company, Leo M. Frank. The book strives to maintain neutrality and includes a dramatically-rendered history of this sensational crime.

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Defense Threatens a Mistrial

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

Atlanta Georgian
August 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 first page could be read by the men in the jury box.

The headline said: “State Adding Links to Chain.”

The defense’s lawyers went into immediate conference with the judge, and a few minutes later asked Solicitor Dorsey to consent to a new trial. The Solicitor refused.

Rosser Asks Explanation.

Rosser and Arnold then came into the courtroom and asked that the jury be withdrawn.

Rosser addressed the court:

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Mrs. Arthur White Takes Stand Today

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 1st, 1913

Will Testify She Saw Negro Idling in Shadows of Stairway.

Mrs. Arthur White, wife of Arthur White, the witness who will testify that on Saturday morning when she appeared at the pencil factory to see her husband, she saw a negro idling in the shadows of the stairway on the first floor, will be the first called to the stand this morning.

A moment before adjournment yesterday afternoon she was summoned to testify, but Judge Roan ordered the session closed before she could reach the witness stand. Mrs. White, it is stated, has already declared that she is unable to identify Jim Conley as the negro she saw in the building that fatal Saturday.

Sweeper Swears No Spots Were on Floor Day Before Murder

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 1st, 1913

Mel Stanford, a sweeper and plater at the factory, was put on the stand at 12:20. He testified that he had worked there for about two years and was there on Friday, April 25, on the second floor.

“What did you do on Friday?” asked the solicitor.

“I swept up the entire floor in the metal room.”

“Were you there Monday, April 28?”

“Yes.”

“See anything at water cooler near girls’ dressing room?”

“Yes; a spot which had a white substance over it.”
“Was it there Friday?”

“It was not there when I swept the floor between 9 and 12 o’clock Friday.”

“What sort of a broom did you use?”

“A small broom.”

“Do you know anything about a large broom?”

“Yes; there were several up there.”

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Blood Found by Dr. Smith on Chips and Lee’s Shirt

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 1st, 1913

Dr. Claude A. Smith, the medical expert who made microscopic examinations of the blood-spotted chips chiseled from the floor of the pencil factory and of the bloody shirt discovered in Newt Lee’s home, was next called in.

He was asked by Solicitor Dorsey:

“What is your business?”

“I am city bacteriologist and chemist.”

He was handed the chips from the pencil factory flooring.

“Did you test these chips?”

“Yes. Some detectives brought me these specimens and asked me to examine them. They were considerably dirty and stained. On one of them I found blood corpuscles.”

“Was it human blood?”
“I don’t know.”

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Leo Frank Innocent, Says Mrs. Appelbaum

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 1st, 1913

Acquitted in Same Courtroom, She Is Now Eager Spectator at Big Trial.

A little woman, neatly dressed and wearing a dark hat crowned with a flowing aigrette, slipped quietly into the rear of the courtroom at the afternoon session of the Frank trial yesterday afternoon, and sat down near the press table unnoticed.

Presently, a reporter looked up from his notes, caught sight of her and instantly walked to where she sat. Soon reporters swarmed around her. The press table and trial proceedings were almost deserted for the moment by the Fourth Estate.

She was Mrs. Callie Scott Appelbaum, principal figure in one of Atlanta’s recent murder trials, when she was arraigned before the court on a charge of murdering her husband, Jerome Appelbaum, in the Dakota hotel.

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Haslett Describes Visit to Home of Leo Frank

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 1st, 1913

Detective B. B. Haslett, who went with Detective John Black on Monday morning, April 27, to Leo Frank’s home to summon him to police headquarters for a statement Chief Lanford wished him to give, was next called to the stand.

“Did you go to Leo Frank’s home at any time?” the solicitor asked.

“Yes. At 7 o’clock Monday morning we were sent to see Frank and have him come to the detective bureau.”

“What did you tell him?”
“That Lanford wanted to see him.”

“Do you know whether he was liberated or not?”

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Finding of Hair and Envelope Described by Factory Machinist

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 1st, 1913

R. B. Barrett, a machinist at the National Pencil factory, who declares that he found strands of hair similar to Mary Phagan’s on his machine after the murder, and who also told of finding a torn piece of pay envelope in the same room and under the machine where the hair was found, followed Monteen Stover on the stand.

He was asked if he had testified before the coroner’s and the grand jury, and replied that he had.

“What did you see near Mary Phagan’s machine?”

“A peculiar spot on the floor,” he replied.

“Was the spot there Friday?”

He described the spot as being four or five inches in diameter and with similar spots back of it and leading toward the entrance to the rear.

“What hour Monday did you find these spots?”

“Between 6:30 and 7 o’clock on Monday.”

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E. F. Holloway Testimony

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

The article below is just a piece of the printed testimony of E. F. Holloway from the Atlanta Constitution. Unfortunately, most of the beginning part of this article is missing from our archives.

Atlanta Constitution
August 1st, 1913

“Who was the next man?”

“Mr. Darley.”

“Who was the next man or woman?”

“Mattie Smith.”

“Did you turn the building over to Newt Lee?”
“Yes.”

“How many negroes worked in the building?”

“Seven or eight.”

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