Detectives Seek Corroboration of Conley’s Story

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

Atlanta Journal

Thursday, May 29th, 1913

They Declare That They Are Anxious to Get at the Truth of the Murder Case, Regardless of Who Is Guilty

Little if any credence is placed by the city detectives in the theory of the officials and employes of the National Pencil factory that Mary Phagan was killed by James Conley, the newro [sic] sweeper, and that his motive was robbery.

The detectives have accepted as true Conley’s second affidavit, in which he swears that he wrote the notes found by Mary Phagan’s body, and that he did so about 1 o’clock on the day of the murder, at the dictation of Superintendent Leo M. [F]rank, who is now under indictment by the grand jury.

However, they are somewhat puzzled by the discrepancies in the time of certain occurrences as sworn by Conley and testified at the coroner’s inquest by other witnesses.

Harry Scott, the Pinkerton detective who is working with the city detectives on the Phagan murder case and who developed the fact that Conley could write, notwithstanding his denials, declared that the shortest route to a complete solution of the mystery is to bring the negro Conley and Superintendent Frank face to face. He says the negro insists that he is anxious and willing to confront Mr. Frank with his story, and that if Mr. Frank and his attorneys agree, they (Conley and Mr. [F]rank) will be brought together to discuss the truth or falsity of the negro’s declarations. Continue Reading →

Conley Says He Helped Frank Carry Body of Mary Phagan to Pencil Factory Cellar

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conley-says

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

Atlanta Constitution

Friday, May 30th, 1913

Helped Frank Dispose of Mary Phagan’s Body Conley Now Confesses

Negro Sweeper Who Swore to Detectives That He Wrote Murder Notes Found Near Dead Girl’s Body Now Admits His Complicity in Case, According to Statements Which Have Stirred Police Headquarters as Nothing Since Murder.

LANFORD AND BEAVERS PLEASED OVER RESULT OF GRILLING NEGRO, THEY ANNOUNCE TO REPORTERS.

Police and Detective Heads Refuse to Go Into Details of Negro’s Statement Or to Discuss What He Said, But Declare That It Will Prove a Big Factor in the Murder Case—Negro Will Be Subjected to Another Third Degree Today.

Dumbfounding his hearers with the confession that he had helped Leo M. Frank lower the lifeless body of Mary Phagan into the darkness of the pencil factory basement, James Conley, the negro sweeper, is authoritatively said to have made that astounding admission during a strenuous third degree at police headquarters late Thursday afternoon.

He is said to have minutely described the movements of himself and Frank as they packed the mutilated form from the office floor of the building down into the dark cellar, where it was left in the desolate recess in which it was discovered the following morning.

Saying he had found the girl stone dead when he entered the building at 1:15 o’clock with the suspected superintendent, he is declared to have admitted that he and Frank proceeded immediately to remove the corpse, silently and with utmost precaution, to its hiding place in the basement.

Conley Asked No Questions.

Through fear he states he did not ask his employer how the little girl met her death. He is said to have told the police that he asked no questions, carried out Frank’s instructions to the letter, and departed directly after he emerged from the grewsome trip into the basement. Continue Reading →

Ready to Indict Conley as an Accomplice

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ready-to-indictAnother in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Georgian

Thursday, May 29th, 1913

Dorsey Ready to Act if Negro Sticks to Latest Story Accusing Frank.

Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey announced that if Conley persisted in his story he would take steps to have him indicted as an accessory after the fact and bring him to trial on this charge.

Conley was Friday afternoon removed to the Tower, on an order signed by Judge Roan.

Conley’s startling tale came late Thursday afternoon after he had been under a merciless sweating for nearly three hours. Noting the signs of weakening, Detective Harry Scott and Chief Lanford shot question after question at him in rapid succession.

Conley hesitated and then told the men who surrounded him that he had seen Mary Phagan on the day of the crime, but that she was dead when he saw her. When it became evident that he most important disclosures of the long investigation were to be made, G. C. February, secretary to Chief Lanford, was called in and took the negro’s statement.

Sticks to Note Story.

Conley stuck to his story that Frank had him write the notes that were found by the girl’s body and the detectives believe that there can be no doubt of this now.

He said that after the notes were written Frank took his arm and led him to the body. Frank’s hand was shaking, the negro declared. Together, they raised the limp form from the floor, Conley told the detectives, and took it into the basement.

Offering no explanation of the tragedy which had occurred, Frank ordered Conley to leave the building, according to the statement. Conley explained his long silence by saying that he thought Frank had plenty of money and that he would be able to get both of them free within a short time.

Chief Lanford and Detective Scott both declared after the third degree that they were confident that the negro at last was telling the truth. If he has any further knowledge of the crime, they said they would get it out of Friday when they put him through another grilling. Continue Reading →

Negro Conley’s Affidavit Lays Bare Slaying

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

Atlanta Georgian

Thursday, May 29th, 1913

Swears Frank Told Him Girl Had Hit Her Head Against Something.

The Georgian in it second Extra published exclusively the first REAL confession of James Conley, the negro sweeper at the National Pencil Factory, regarding the part he played in the Mary Phagan mystery.

The Georgian has dealt in no haphazard guesses as to the negro Conley’s testimony to the police and in giving prominence to his statements desires to say that it must not be taken as final until it is examined at the trial of Frank. Continue Reading →

Conley Re-enacts in Plant Part He Says He Took in Slaying

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conley-re-enacts

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

Atlanta Georgian

Thursday, May 29th, 1913

With Detectives Looking On, Negro Shows How He Carried Girl’s Body to Basement at Direction, as He Swear, of His Employer, Leo Frank.

As a sensational climax to the confession of his part of the Mary Phagan tragedy, Jim Conley, negro sweeper, was taken to the National [P]encil Factory Friday afternoon, where he enacted by movement every detail of the event that took place in the building of mystery after the death of the little girl.

With the detectives noting every sentence that fell from the ready lips of the negro, Conley started from the exact point at the top of the stairs on the second floor where he says Leo Frank met him, and went through the grim drama with a realism that convinced all who listened and watched that he at last was telling the whole truth.

He reproduced the conversations that passed between him and Frank. He lay down full length at the rear of the metal room to show precisely how the body of the little girl lay when he first saw it. He lay partly on his face, with his right leg slightly drawn up, to portray the position of the dead girl when he first saw her as he was led to the rear of the building, as he says, by Leo Frank.

Show How Body Laid.

Later in the basement he lay down again to show the detectives just how the body was dropped to the ground as though it had been a sack of salt. The negro lay on his face. His right arm was curled up under his body. The left arm was partly under his body, but straight. His feet pointed toward the rear door and his head toward the front of the building.

The announcement that this spectacular reproduction of the crime was to take place was made at the end of another third degree session in the office of Chief Lanford. The negro was put in Chief Beavers’ automobile. All the curtains were drawn and the utmost secrecy was maintained. Only those in authority in the factory were aware that the tragedy was to be re-enacted, step by step.

Conley was handcuffed to Chief Beavers when he stepped from the car. Many of the employees, at leisure during the noon hour, were congregated at the foot of the stairs on the first floor when the strange procession filed up the stairs. The city detectives had come on foot. Chief Lanford and Chief Beavers, with the negro, arrived a few minutes later. Continue Reading →

Felder Bribery Charge Expected

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felder-briberyAnother in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Georgian

Thursday, May 29th, 1913

Believed Beavers Will Try to Have Grand Jury Consider Accusations Against Attorney.

That bribery charges against Colonel Thomas B. Felder and others will be placed before the Fulton County Grand Jury by police officials, was the indication when G. C. February, secretary of Chief of Detectives Lanford, and the person alleged to have been offered $1,000 in bribe money, secured a subpena Thursday afternoon for A. S. Colyar, Jr., to appear before Solicitor General Dorsey and give testimony Friday morning.

The subpena formally summoned Colyar, who was the author of the dictographing of Felder and Mayor Woodward, to appear before the Grand Jury. The preliminary hearing, however, will be in Solicitor Dorsey’s office.

That February carried away with him a number of subpena blanks is taken to mean that others will be called upon to testify.

At the hearing of testimony Friday morning it is believed that Lanford and Police Chief Beavers will endeavor to show Solicitor Dorsey the plausibility of their bribery charges and ask that the matter be placed before the Grand Jury.

In line with this action, Chief Beavers called upon Carl Hutcheson, the attorney, again Thursday morning for the list of “protected disorderly houses” which Hutcheson declared be held, and which Hutcheson said he would reveal in an effort to prove that vice under police protection is rife in Atlanta. Continue Reading →

Chief Asks Hutcheson for “Protected List”

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chief-asks-hutchesonAnother in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Journal

Thursday, May 29th, 1913

Lawyer Not Ready Yet, Is Answer—Beavers Says He Is Disappointed

Chief of Police James L. Beavers called Attorney Carl Hutcheson over the telephone Thursday morning and asked if the list of “protected disorderly houses,” which Mr. Hutcheson promised in a card several days ago was ready.

Mr. Hutcheson is said to have replied that the list is not yet ready and that he will telephone the police official when it is completed.

Chief Beavers in the telephone conversation is said to have reminded Mr. Hutcheson that Thursday is the third day since the publication of Mr. Hutcheson’s card stating that the list could be furnished in three days.

Chief Beavers is said to have declared in the telephone conversation that he had hoped to receive the list of disorderly houses in his morning mail, and was very much disappointed in not finding it.

The chief told Mr. Hutcheson that if the latter had the list in his office that he (Beavers) would be glad to send a call officer for it, as he is very anxious to get the information.

Mr. Hutcheson told the police official, it is said, that he would telephone him when the list is complete.

In the course of the conversation Chief Beavers said that he wanted the list in tangible shape; names of persons operating the houses, street numbers, etc., and he asked Mr. Hutcheson to sign the list.

Mr. Hutcheson answered that he didn’t propose to have any one dictate to him as to how or when he should get up the list, and that he intended to use his own judgment in making it up and submitting it.

* * *

Atlanta Journal, May 29th 1913, “Chief Asks Hutcheson for ‘Protected List,'” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Burns Joins in Hunt for Phagan Slayer

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Burn Joins in Hunt for Phagan Slayer

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

Atlanta Georgian

Thursday, May 29th, 1913

All Evidence Gathered by His Operatives Sent to the Noted Detective.

James Conley, the negro sweeper at the National Pencil Factory who has turned suspicion on himself with a maze of contradictory statements, was put through a gruelling third degree examination at police headquarters this afternoon. Pinkerton Detective Harry Scott said as the grilling began before Chief Beavers and Chief Lanford that he expected to glean important information. Scott had interviewed factory employees and was convinced that there were many things to be cleared up before the negro’s second affidavit, on which the police rely so much, could be accepted.

With the maze of contradictory statements sweeping an avalanche of suspicion upon the head of James Conley, the negro sweeper, the potent information was unearthed Thursday that Detective William J. Burns personally will take charge of the investigation into the Mary Phagan murder case which his operatives have been conducting.

Despite the published report that Burns operatives had withdrawn from the case, and despite the procedure of the State in prosecuting its case against Leo M. Frank, the pencil factory superintendent, the Burns investigation will continue and from now on be under the famous detective’s direction.

This information came from Detective C. W. Tobie, William J. Burns’ lieutenant, Thursday morning. It tends to show that Tobie, who has had charge of his agency’s investigation here, does not consider the case as closed.

Mr. Tobie went so far as to deny emphatically the published interview with him, in which he was quoted as declaring Frank to be the guilty man. Continue Reading →

Governor Slaton’s Leo Frank Commutation Order: Full Text

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commutation_signature2The following is the full text of outgoing Governor John Slaton’s decision to commute Leo Frank’s sentence from death to life in prison. Slaton was widely regarded as corrupt for having made this decision under significant Jewish pressure in the last few days of his administration, and because he was a partner in the law firm that defended Frank. This document is also available as a photographic reproduction. In a future article, we will analyze this document in detail.

Governor Slaton’s Commutation Decision (full text)

June 21st, 1915.

In Re Leo M. Frank, Fulton Superior Court. Sentenced to be executed, June 22nd, 1915.

Saturday April 26th, was Memorial Day in Georgia and a general holiday. At that time Mary Phagan, a white girl, of about 14 years of age, was in the employ of the National Pencil Company located near the corner of Forsyth & Hunter Sts in the city of Atlanta. She came to the Pencil Factory a little after noon to obtain the money due her for her work on the preceding Monday, and Leo M. Frank, the defendant, paid her $1.20, the amount due her and this was the last time she was seen alive. Continue Reading →

Negro Sweeper Tells the Story of Murder Notes

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Negro Sweeper Tells

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

Atlanta Constitution

Thursday, May 29th, 1913

James Conley Makes New Affidavit, Swearing That He Wrote at the Dictation of Leo M. Frank.

EVIDENCE CHAIN NOW COMPLETE, SAY POLICE

Conley Declares Frank Gave Him $2.50 for Writing the Notes—He Writes “Night Witch” for Night Watchman.

James Conley, the negro sweeper at the National Pencil factory, in which little Mary Phagan was murdered, made a new affidavit Wednesday morning in which he threw additional light on the case, incriminating Leo M. Frank, and which detectives think will solve the long-drawn-out mystery.

“Write ‘night watchman,’” he is said to have been commanded by detectives Wednesday morning. The result was ‘night witch,’ just as in the note found by the body of the murdered girl. This, the detectives declare, is the strongest corroboration of his statement that he wrote the notes at the direction of Frank, the factory superintendent.

The city detectives are said to put full credence in his statements now, as in the new affidavit he is said to have sworn that the notes were written on Saturday, about 1 o’clock, and not on Friday, as he first declared.

Feared for His Neck.

His reason for deception the first time is said to be that he feared for his own neck if he admitted the truth. As matters stand now, he is regarded by the detectives merely as an unwilling tool, and not as an accomplice of the murderer, whomever he may be.

According to this new affidavit, the negro’s complete story of his part in the affair is said to be as follows: Continue Reading →

A. S. Colyar Released From Bond on Thursday

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AS Colyar ReleasedAnother in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Journal

Thursday, May 29th, 1913

Tennessee Authorities Failed to Forward Requisition Papers on Date Agreed

A. S. Colyar, the Tennessean, who figured conspicuously in the recent dictograph sensation involving bribery charges and countercharges of graft between Colonel Thomas B. Felder, Mayor Woodward and others, on the one hand and Chief of Police Beavers and Chief of Detectives aLnford [sic], on the other was released from his bond Thursday at 2 p. m. by Chief Beavers.

Colyar’s name jumped into the news when the dictograph matter became public and the following day there came a wire from the Knoxville police to the Atlanta police, asking that Colyar be arrested and held for them. They charged an indictment for forgery. Accordingly, Colyar was arrested. He said the charge was four years old and had never been prosecuted. He alleged a conspiracy.

A few hours later, Colyar was released on bond.

Thursday was the day set by the Tennessee police for the delivery of requisition papers and the extradition of Colyar to Tennessee.

No documents came, but instead Chief Beavers received a letter from the Knoxville chief of police requesting that Colyar be held until June 3.

Chief Beavers declined to accede to this. His reply to the Knoxville chief was quoted by him to be that immediate action would have to be taken on Thursday or he would order the release of Colyar and his bondsmen. Continue Reading →

Chief Beavers to Renew His Vice War

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Chief Beavers RenewsAnother in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Georgian

Wednesday, May 28th, 1913

Declares That He Will “Clean Out” Disorderly Places When Hutcheson Furnishes List.

Renewed crusades to clean out vice in Atlanta have been precipitated by the publication Tuesday of an open letter to Chief of Police Beavers by Carl Hutcheson, an Atlanta attorney.

Chief Beavers called up Hutcheson with a demand for his information, asking names, addresses and character of occupants, and declared Wednesday that he would proceed to clean up if the requested information was furnished.

Hutcheson is now preparing a list of the places which he declared are immoral and told the chief he would place the list in Beavers’ hands three days hence. Hutcheson was asked by the chief to swear to the character of the inmates of each house he names and to sign his name to his affidavit, and will be called as a witness in prosecuting the landlords.

“We will have some clean-up sure,” said Chief Beavers Wednesday. “When I get Hutcheson’s information I will prove that I am giving no protection to anybody. I would be glad to have every one report to me any resort that they might know of. It will help in the crusade. I will take speedy action against them all.”

Dorsey to Confer With Felder.

Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey declared Wednesday that he would confer with Colonel T. B. Felder relative to the proposed Grand Jury probe of his corruption charges against police officials and the counter charges of bribery made against him by the police.

Colonel Felder would not comment on the affair at all, other than to say he was not yet ready to issue his statement substantiating his sensational charges. Continue Reading →

Woman Writes in Defense of Leo M. Frank

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

Atlanta Georgian

Wednesday, May 28th, 1913

Mrs. Rebecca Brannon Declares Her Belief in Innocence of Factory Superintendent.

Mrs. Rebecca C. Brannon, 356 Forest Avenue, a well known Atlanta woman, has written a letter to The Georgian in defense of Leo M. Frank. Mrs. Brannon, in her communication, avows a strong belief in the pencil factory superintendent’s innocence, and denounces the hardships which the law has thrust upon him.

In line with its policy to present all sides of the Phagan case, The Georgian herewith prints Mrs. Brannon’s letter:

In the name of God, humanity, and justice, I beg the public to suspend judgment in the case of Mr. Leo M. Frank, indicted for the murder of Mary Phagan, until he has had a fair trial before a jury of his peers.

I consider Mr. Frank an innocent man. Is it because he is a Jew that the negro’s word is taken as gospel truth, and reflection cast on his testimony? From the first, pap seemed to be put in Newt Lee’s mouth, as well as that of Conley, to make them say or hint that Mr. Frank was suspected by them of committing the crime.

Calls It Persecution.

What negro, with dread of lynching or summary justice being meted out to him, would not swear to a lie, and put the crime on another if he could thereby escape the consequences of his crime? And even so late as Saturday the negro Conley admitted he wrote the notes found beside the murdered girl, as he said, at the suggestion of Mr. Frank.

Is it not inconceivable to think that an astute man, planning with finesse, to kill a little girl who might possibly call for her pay envelope the following day, would take into his confidence the sweeper Conley and have him write what he contemplated putting in a note he intended to lay before her mutilated body, when he shall have murdered her the next day, and exclaiming, “There is no reason why I should hang for it!”

Oh, no! Gentlemen, this is entirely too unlikely a thing for a man of his astuteness and caliber to have done or said. There has been some colossal blunder on the part of the city detectives in rounding up the quarry.

It looks very like persecuting this man simply because he is a Jew. I like to see fair play and justice. This is the first time a Jew has ever been in any serious trouble in Atlanta, and see how ready is every one to believe the worst of him. Continue Reading →

Conley Was in Factory on Day of Slaying

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Conley Was in Factory

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

Atlanta Georgian

Wednesday, May 28th, 1913

Police Secure Admission From Negro Sweeper During Examination for Phagan Clews.

Admission that he was in the National Pencil factory on the day of the murder of Mary Phagan was gained from James Conley, the negro sweeper on whom suspicion has turned, after cross-examination by detectives at police headquarters.

The negro, who became the center of attention with his amazing story that Leo Frank had told him to write the death notes, changed his narrative again to-day. Confronted by E. F. Holloway, a foreman in the plant, he admitted having been in the factory after having steadily maintained that he was on Peters Street between 10 and 2 o’clock that fatal Saturday and at home all other hours of the day.

Says Confession Is Near.

Holloway, after leaving the secret grilling at which the admission was obtained, declared he was sure it was only a matter of hours before Conley would confess. He asserted that if he had been allowed to put questions to Conley he could have gotten important information.

The police questions were, of course, all put with the idea of gaining information against Frank.

Chief Lanford had announced that he would go before Judge Roan with a request for an order allowing him to confront Frank with the negro, so that Conley’s statement would be admissible in court. Lanford, however, failed to carry out his plans, although he would not admit they had been abandoned.

Found Negro Falsified.

Conley told the officers when he was first arrested that he could not write. Later they found releases that he had written for watches, and he admitted he had been lying. He gave them an address on Tattnall Street when they took him in custody. It later was found that he had not lived there for six months or a year. Continue Reading →

Carl Hutcheson Again Attacks Chief Beavers

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no-place-for-a-strangerAnother in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Journal

Wednesday, May 28th, 1913

Calls Rim [sic] “a Contemptible Liar” and a “Pig Head.” Chief Asks for That List

Attorney Carl Hutcheson renewed his attack on Police Chief Beavers Wednesday when he gave out an open letter referring to the chief as a “malicious and contemptible liar,” a “pig head,” and asserting that he didn’t have “enough brains in his head to rattle in a gourd after the water was turned off.”

Mr. Hutcheson objects to the chief’s reference to him as “small fry” and “only a cog in the gang machine.”

The first open letter written by Mr. Hutcheson appeared in The Journal Tuesday afternoon. It was addressed to both Police Chief Beavers and Detective Chief Lanford. Mr. Hutcheson declared in this letter that the chiefs should be removed from office because, as he alleged, immoral houses were being operated on Spring, Ivy, Pryor and other streets, without police interference.

Mr. Hutcheson, in his first letter, announced that he had the addresses in his possession which he would furnish to the chiefs if called upon to do so within three days. Continue Reading →

Conley Says Frank Took Him to Plant on Day of Slaying

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Conley Says

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

Atlanta Georgian

Wednesday, May 28th, 1913

Negro Sweeper in New Affidavit Denies His Former Testimony and Makes Startling Assertions; Now Declares He Wrote Notes Saturday.

James Conley, negro sweeper, in an affidavit made Wednesday, said that he was lying when he said he went to the National Pencil Factory on Friday. He said that he made the statement that it was Friday when Frank (as he says) told him to write the death notes, because he was afraid he would be accused of the murder of Mary Phagan if he told the truth.

He said he felt that if he said he was there Saturday the police would connect him with the murder. Conley said he got up between 9 and 9:30 o’clock Saturday morning, he knew the time because he looked at the clock on the Atlanta University from his front door. He returned indoors and had breakfast.

He got three silver dollars from his wife to exchange for paper money so that she would not lose it. He continued: Continue Reading →

Conley Tells in Detail of Writing Notes on Saturday at Dictation of Mr. Frank

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

Atlanta Journal

Wednesday, May 28th, 1913

Negro Declares He Met Mr. Frank on the Street and Accompanied Him Back to the Factory, Where He Was Told to Wait and Watch—He Was Concealed in Wardrobe In Office When Voices Were Heard on Outside, It Is Claimed

NEGRO LOOKED UPON AS A TOOL NOT PRINCIPAL DECLARE DETECTIVES WHO HAVE QUESTIONED HIM

Chief Beavers Confer With Judge Roan In Reference to Taking Conley to Tower to Confront Frank but Is Told That It Is a Question for Sheriff to Decide—No Effort In This Direction Likely Until Mr. Rosser Returns to City

“Write ‘night-watchman,’” the city detectives are said to have commanded James Conley, negro sweeper at the pencil factory, in jail Wednesday.

The result is said to have been “night-wich.”

So also the note found beside the dead body of Mary Phagan spelled it.

The detectives regard this strongly corroborative of Conley’s admission that he himself wrote the notes found beside the dead girl. Conley declares that he wrote them, however, at the dictation of Leo M. Frank, superintendent of the pencil factory, under indictment for the murder. The detectives are disposed to place full credence in his story now, it is said, since he has declared that he did the writing on Saturday afternoon instead of on Friday afternoon as he first swore, and has gone into details.

A new and lengthy affidavit, going into detail in sequence throughout the day of the fatal Saturday, was sworn to by the negro in the detective headquarters Wednesday morning.

In it the negro recited as minutely as he could remember them, his actions and movements upon the day. Continue Reading →

Conley Reported to Admit Writing Notes Saturday

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Conley Reported to Admit

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

Atlanta Constitution

Wednesday, May 28th, 1913

Negro Sweeper, It Is Stated, Acknowledges That He Erred in Former Statement to the Detectives.

POLICE NOW SATISFIED WITH NEGRO’S EVIDENCE

Conley Is Taken to Frank’s Cell, But Prisoner Refused to See Him Except in the Presence of His Lawyer.

In a gruelling three-hour third degree at police headquarters last night, James Conley, the negro pencil factory sweeper, is reported to have made the statement that he erred in the date of his original confession and that he wrote the murder notes at Leo Frank’s dictation at 1 o’clock on the Saturday of Mary Phagan’s disappearance instead of the preceding Friday.

In an effort to confront the suspected pencil plant superintendent with this acknowledgement, Chief Beavers, Chief Lanford and Harry Scott, of the Pinkertons, took the negro to the Tower at 8 o’clock, where they tried to gain admission to Frank’s cell. Sheriff Mangum refused entrance unless permitted by Frank.

When word came to him that the police chiefs and the Pinkerton man desired to confront him with Conley, the prisoner positively refused them an audience, declaring that he would have to first consult his counsel, Attorney Luther Rosser.

Secrecy Shrouds Confession.

Secrecy shrouds the negro’s reported confession amendment. All three men who subjected him to the third degree admit that he has made a statement of importance, but will neither deny nor affirm the rumor of his change of dates. Chief Lanford was seen by a reporter for The Constitution at police headquarters a few minutes after the negro had been returned to his cell.

He admitted that an important admission had been made by Conley, and, that as a result, he would be used as a material witness against Frank. Continue Reading →

State Faces Big Task in Trial of Frank as Slayer

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Luther Z. Rosser, who is leading attorney of counsel for the defense of Leo M. Frank, indicted for the murder of Mary Phagan at the National Pencil factory. Mr. Rosser, as usual, is playing a game of silence. He has not indicated his line of defense.

Luther Z. Rosser, who is leading attorney of counsel for the defense of Leo M. Frank, indicted for the murder of Mary Phagan at the National Pencil factory. Mr. Rosser, as usual, is playing a game of silence. He has not indicated his line of defense.

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

Atlanta Georgian

Tuesday, May 27th, 1913

What will be the defense of Leo M. Frank when he is called upon next month to answer to the charge of strangling little Mary Phagan?

With the confident announcement of the police Monday that they had completed a case against the factory superintendent that was as conclusive as it possibly could be without the testimony of actual eyewitnesses of the crime, this question naturally is being asked to-day by everyone who has any interest in the mystery, and that means practically every person in Atlanta.

The people will not get their answer from Luther Z. Rosser, the close-lipped and able attorney of Frank, until the trial actually begins. But even at this early date, when only the vaguest of hints have been given as to the course that will be followed in the battle to free Frank from all suspicion, it is patent that there are many openings offered the defense for attacks upon the theories of the State.

Burden of Proof on State.

Those who are close to the daily developments in Atlanta’s baffling murder mystery and who venture to predict the line of defense that will be offered are bearing in mind that, in the first place, the great burden of proof is upon the prosecution and not upon the defense.

It is absolutely necessary, due to the protection with which the law has hedged everyone under suspicion of crime, that the State in some manner, by some piece of evidence, connect Frank directly with the crime or establish his connection beyond a reasonable doubt.

Until the State is able to do this, Luther Z. Rosser may rest on his oars if he so desires. Leo Frank is innocent this moment in the eyes of the law. His innocence does not need to be proved. It is presumed. Continue Reading →

Burns Man Quits Case; Declares He Is Opposed

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Burns Man Quits

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

Atlanta Georgian

Tuesday, May 27th, 1913

C. W. Tobie, chief criminal investigator for the Burns Detective Agency, formally withdrew from the Phagan investigation Tuesday morning. The calling off of the Burns forces was announced by Dan P. Lehon, superintendent of the Southern branch, after Tobie had stated explicitly that he would not withdraw from the case.

Colonel Thomas B. Felder, who brought the Burns detectives into the Phagan case, would make no statement relative to their withdrawal but announced that it did not mean the end of his investigation or connection with the case.

Tobie made up his mind last Friday to drop the Mary Phagan investigation so he said Tuesday—but deferred action until, Monday night, when he announced his intention to withdraw to Solicitor General Dorsey.

Disgusted With “Fuss.”

Acute disgust at the “four or five cornered fuss” raised by the Phagan investigation was assigned by Tobie as the cause. This disgust was superinduced by the direct charge and general impression that the Burns Agency was pretending to ferret out the Phagan case, when in reality its purpose in Atlanta was to investigate the police department.

Tobie said to-day that while he has quit and was going to leave Atlanta, still the withdrawal of the Burns Agency need not be permanent. Continue Reading →