Tag Archives: Atlanta Constitution

Hopkins Woman Denies Charges Made By Dalton and Jim Conley; Is Forced to Admit Untruths

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 9th, 1913

Daisy Hopkins, a resident of Redan, Ga., and the woman who Jim Conley and C. B. Dalton declare frequently went to the National Pencil factory with Dalton while Leo Frank was there and was aware of her presence, was the first witness called by the defense Friday morning.

The woman swore to a full and complete denial of every charge that the white man and the negro had made and declared that she only knew Frank by sight, as she had worked at the factory from October, 1912, until June 1912.

When Solicitor Hugh Dorsey took her on cross-examination, however, he succeeded in trapping her into admitting that she had sworn to a lie on the stand when she declared that she had never been in jail. When confronted with a man who is said to have secured her release she admitted that she had been there on a charge of immorality.

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N. V. Darley Denies Testimony Given by Conley and Dalton

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 9th, 1913

N. V. Darley, general manager of the National Pencil factory, who has already been used as a witness for the prosecution, was called to the stand for the defense following the pattern maker’s department.

He was examined by Mr. Arnold.

“You are the general manager of the pencil factory, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”

“Looking from a point of ground plan, isn’t this a correct model of the pencil plant?”

“Yes.”

Darley then described various furniture and fixtures in the basement and two floors depicted in the model.

Plain View of Stairway.

“If a body fell down the chute that rose from the first floor to the basement, how far would it land from the spot at which Mary Phagan’s body was found?”
“About thirty or forty feet.”

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Conductor Also Swears Epps Boy Was Not on Car With Mary Phagan

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 9th, 1913

W. T. Hollis, of 16 Western avenue, the conductor on the English avenue car on which Mary Phagan rode to town on the day she was murdered, followed the motorman on the stand.

He also declared that the girl was not accompanied by a boy and that she did not get off at Forsyth and Marietta streets where he left the car. He also declared that she was not accompanied by any boy answering the description of George Epps, but that a little girl was with her.

Hollis corroborated the testimony of the motorman in practically every detail as to time and other features up to the moment when he was relieved at Forsyth and Marietta and left the car.

Further than that the witness declared that there were only a few passengers on the car that trip and that he noted the girl’s appearance as she had often ridden with him on the way to the factory in the mornings. He said he did not know her name until after the murder, when he found out she was the one who had been killed.

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Holloway, Witness for Defense, Riddled By Cross-Examination

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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.”

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Couldn’t Locate Epps Boy When Wanted in Court

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 9th, 1913

At the opening of the afternoon session the defense called for George Epps, the 14-year-old newsboy, who says he rode uptown with Mary Phagan on the day of her death. He did not answer.

Mr. Arnold asked the assistance of Judge Roan in bringing the boy to court. The judge dispatched a bailiff in search of the newsie, armed with an attachment. He was not produced, however, at any time during the afternoon session.

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Atlanta Constitution, August 9th 1913, “Couldn’t Locate Epps Boy When Wanted in Court,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Defense Will Seek to Show That Mary Phagan’s Body Was Tossed Down a Chute in Rear of Pencil Factory And Not Taken Down by Elevator As the State Insists

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 9th, 1913

Eleven Witnesses Are Introduced Friday to Prove Discrepancies in Time Given by Witnesses for the State. Miss Daisy Hopkins Goes on Stand and Swears That She Never Visited Factory With Dalton, But on Cross-Examination She Admitted Having Been in Jail Recently—She Denied That She Knew Frank.

HOLLOWAY’S TESTIMONY RIDDLED BY SOLICITOR; MEMORY FORSAKES HIM

Confesses That He Had Told Detectives the Day That He Caused the Arrest of Conley That “If He’s Convicted, Remember He’s My Nigger”—From Present Indications the Trial Will Be Continued for Two Weeks Longer, and Defense Will Introduce Character Witnesses.

The defense in the Leo M. Frank trial introduced eleven witnesses Friday and a mass of testimony to prove that witnesses for the state were incorrect as to time was presented.

From questions put to Ira Kauffman, civil engineer, who made a drawing of the building, it was evident the defense will seek to show that the body of Mary Phagan was never taken down on the elevator, but was thrown down a chute in the rear of the building leading from the first floor to the basement.

Blood Spots Found.

It is stated that the defense has found blood stains on the floor of the dark passageway leading up the rear of the building.

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Rosser Swears Bludgeon Was Not In Factory Day After the Murder

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 8th, 1913

City Detective Bass Rosser, who worked on the Phagan mystery, followed Dalton on the stand Thursday morning to tell that Mrs. Arthur White, whose husband, father and brother work for the National Pencil company, had not told him of seeing a strange negro in the factory on the day of the crime, although he questioned her about her knowledge of what went on there that day, and she had also told her brother, Wade Campbell, of seeing the negro.

“Have you worked on this case?” asked Solicitor Hugh Dorsey.

“Yes, sir,” replied the detective.

“Did you visit Mrs. Arthur White?”
“Yes.”

“Did Mrs. White mention to you anything about having seen a negro in the factory?”
“She did the second time I talked with her.”

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Will Defense Put Character of Leo Frank Before Jury?

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 8th, 1913

Will Leo Frank’s character be one of the issues in his trial for the murder of little Mary Phagan?

That is the question which has been the subject of speculation since it was first known that he would be tried for the murder, and as the case has progressed the subject has been discussed frequently.

Not one in a hundred defendants place their character in issue when on trial for murder, but a condition has arisen in the Frank case which may cause his attorneys to think it wise to take this step.

It came when James Conley, the negro who accuses Frank of the murder, testified to misconduct on the part of the defendant which would brand him as an outcast among men, and when C. B. Dalton, the white man, mentioned by the negro, testified to having visited the factory for immoral purposes with Frank’s knowledge and to have seen him drinking beer with women in his office.

Defense Lose Point.

The defense, after letting the testimony of the negro stand until they had cross-examined him upon it, moved to strike it from the record and only lost after a hot argument on both sides.

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Harris Sticks to Testimony As to Time of Girl’s Death

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 8th, 1913

Dr. H.F. Harris, the state’s final witness against Leo M. Frank, was put on the stand for cross examination shortly after 10 o’clock Thursday morning, and through a series of questions Attorney Reuben Arnold, for the defense, sought to make him less definite in regard to the time of Mary Phagan’s death after eating the meal of cabbage and bread about 11:30 on the day she was killed.

Dr. Harris was asked a number of questions about digestion, and while he admitted it to be a subject that is not thoroughly understood by scientists, he clung to the main portion of his original testimony that the girl must have been killed within a hour after she ate her meal.

“Tell of some things that might retard indigestion, Dr. Harris,” Mr. Arnold started out.

“Well, it is hard to tell about that,” replied the physician, “there are some nervous troubles which have that effect and then certain things put into the stomach have that same effect. The subject is not too well known and it’s necessarily rather vague.”

“As a general proposition, any sort of physical or mental activity would retard digestion, wouldn’t it?”

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Dr. Frank Eskridge Aiding Prosecution

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 8th, 1913

Dr. R. T. Dorsey Also Comes to Assistance of Solicitor in the Frank Case

Dr. Frank L. Eskridge, a well-known physician, is assisting Solicitor General Dorsey in the solicitor’s examination of expert chemists and medical men and in cross-examinations of experts presented by the defense.

Dr. Eskridge is widely versed in various branches of medicine, chemistry and surgery, and has proved an invaluable aid to the solicitor, especially in the examination of Dr. Roy Harris.

In the cross-examination of Dr. Leroy Childs, in the afternoon session Thursday, the solicitor was valuably assisted by his brother, Dr. R. T. Dorsey, a prominent figure in local medical circles. Dr. Dorsey’s assistance proved decisively effective in rebutting the expert’s testimony.

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Atlanta Constitution, August 8th 1913, “Dr. Frank Eskridge Aiding Prosecution,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Defense May Call for Character Witnesses Today

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 8th, 1913

C. B. DALTON TELLS ABOUT VISITS HE PAID THE PENCIL FACTORY WITH MANY WOMEN

Declares He Used Basement for Immoral Purposes at Same Time That Frank Was in Building, But Did Not Attempt to Say What the Superintendent’s Relations With Women Were—Declares Conley Acted as Lookout for Him.

DR. LEROY W. CHILDS CALLED BY DEFENSE TO REFUTE DR. HARRIS

Harry Scott Is Also Put on Stand by Defense to Prove That Conley Lied on Many Occasions—Detective Was on the Stand When Court Adjourned for Day—Cross-Examination Fails to Shake Dr. Harris.

Shortly after Dr. H. F. Harris had completed his testimony for the state and was cross-examined in detail by Reuben Arnold, the state rested its case against Leo M. Frank.

Solicitor Dorsey had called for Frank’s bank book to show that he had in his possession approximately $200—the sum Jim Conley says he gave him and then took back—but the book was not produced, and the state rested. Later the solicitor may introduce other witnesses, but not until after the defense has closed.

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Scott Called by Defense To Refute Conley’s Story

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 8th, 1913

SHOWS NEGRO LIED MANY TIMES

The defense sprang a surprise during the afternoon session whey they called Detective Harry Scott to the stand to testify to the third-degree under which Jim Conley had been placed at police headquarters and which process had exacted his three conflicting confessions.

Scott stated throughout his testimony that Conley had told conflicting stories on numerous occasions during his early imprisonment, and that had failed to tell the detectives much of the story which he related on the witness stand Tuesday and Wednesday.

Scott’s statement created a telling of fact and it is said to have caused the wavering of opinion of the negro’s story. According to the detective’s testimony Conley’s story from past records showed itself to be an unfathomably mess of fabrications.

The Pinkerton man was not removed from the stand until the adjournment of the afternoon session.

He was questioned by Luther Rosser.

“You had information on Monday following the murder that Mrs. Arthur White had seen a negro loitering on the first floor, didn’t you? Did you give it to the police?”

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Dr. Childs Differs with Harris As to Processes of Digestion

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 8th, 1913

Following Dr. H. F. Harris, the final witness of the state, DR. L. W. Childs also an expert on matters pertaining to the various processes of digestion was placed on the stand by the defense to refute what Dr. Harris had said about the food in Mary Phagan’s stomach showing that she had been killed in about half an hour after she ate.

Dr. Childs took a decidedly opposite stand from that of his brother physician and declared that he would hazard no guess within two hours of the time that death occurred after eating and also after looking at the sample of cabbage taken from the girl’s stomach stated that he had seen cabbage look that way after it had remained in a person’s stomach for 12 hours.

After ascertaining for the benefit of the jury that Dr. Childs graduated in 1906 from the medical college of the University of Michigan and that his occupation was that of surgery and general medicine Mr. Arnold propounded a number of hypothetical questions.

“If a person dies and the body is found at 3 o’clock in the morning when rigor mortis has set in to a certain extent: said the attorney “and the body is then embalmed at 10 o’clock that day and later disinterred nine days after and a physician finds a wound in the back of head say about 2 inches long and cut through to the skull with perhaps a drop of blood on the skull but with no pressure on the brain and injury to the skull could that physician determine whether or not that a would had caused unconsciousness before death?”

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Dorsey Forces Childs to Admit Certain Portions of His Testimony Could Not Be Considered Expert

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 8, 1913

Dr. LeRoy W. Childs who was the first witness placed on the stand by the defense underwent a rigorous cross examination by Solicitor Dorsey.

The solicitor showed a keen knowledge of medicine and chemistry in the volley of questions he fired at the medical expert, and, upon one occasion elicited the admission from the witness that he was not informed of a certain phase of laboratory work on which great stress had been laid by Dr. Roy Harris who preceded Dr. Childs to the stand.

In concluding his testimony Dr. Childs when asked by the solicitor who explained the condition in which Mary Phagan’s body had been discovered declared that it was his opinion death did not result from the blow upon the head.

Dr. Childs was on the stand at the opening of the afternoon session under direct examination of Attorney Arnold.

“State whether or not doctor a bruise upon an eye can be inflicted after death?”

“Such a bruise could be produced before the body is cold. Some bodies retain heat longer than others.”

“Can a blow on the back of the head cause a black eye?”

“Such a blow could blacken both eyes.”

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Dalton Corroborates Statements Contained in Conley’s Testimony

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 8th, 1913

C.B. Dalton a railroad carpenter who was heralded as one of the star witnesses for the defense was called to the stand by Solicitor Dorsey whe[n] court convened Thursday morning. The most startling statement uttered by Dalton from the stand was that he used the basement of the National Pencil company factory for clandestine meetings with girls and women.

Although not an employee of the factory and although his acquaintance with Frank was a [1 word illegible] Dalton testified that the factory superintendent knew of his visits to the basement with women. Dalton named three females with whom he went into the basement. He told Solicitor Dorsey that Jim Conley, the negro sweeper of the factory, allowed him to use the basement. He gave the negro a quarter to watch on one occasion.

Dalton admitted to Attorney Luther Rosser that he did not know his birthplace.

“Were you ever employed at the National Pencil factory?” asked Solicitor Dorsey after a perfunctory examination of the witness.

“No, sir,” Dalton replied.

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Hugh Dorsey Wins His Spurs; Crowd Recognizes Gameness

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 7th, 1913

By Sidney Ormond

When the spectators at the Frank trial Wednesday broke into a ripple of applause, after Judge Roan had announced his decision that the damaging evidence of Jim Conley that he had “watched out for Frank on several occasions prior to the murder and had encountered him in an attitude which set him apart from normal men would remain in the records—when this applause came—it was not that any man contributing to it necessarily thought Frank guilty. It was simply a spontaneous tribute to Solicitor Hugh Dorsey who has fought so doggedly against such enormous odds to get before the jury a mass of evidence which, woven together, forms the whole fabric of the state’s case. The applause was a recognition of the ability of a young man who, say what you will of the guilt or the innocence of Leo M. Frank, has demonstrated that he is an an agonist of whom any man need feel fear.

The applause was simply an expression of the desire of the average person for fair play. Feeling for or against Frank seemed to be suspended. It was, more than anything else, an expression of approval for work well done by a young man who was passing through a strenuous ordeal. Interest in the actual evidence in question and its possible effect on the fate of the defendant seemed to be set aside for just the brief interval that it took for the clapping of hands.

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While Murder Trial Goes on Witnesses While Away Time With Old Camp Meeting Songs

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 7th, 1913

By Britt Craig.

There is one woman with no connection whatever with the Frank case who sits undisturbed in an obscure corner of the courtroom. Throughout Jim Conley’s testimony, she remained in her seat while court deputies removed women from all parts of the place and sent them outside at order of the judge.

She is Mrs. Hattie Barnett, a detective, and a woman who has seen more of the world and knows more of its multivaried phases than many of Atlanta’s most successful business men. She has seen and heard enough not to be touched by the negro’s sordid story. She has rubbed shoulders with all manner of mankind long enough not to be affected by anything which might develop in the trial.

Mrs. Barnett is attending the Frank case to study human nature and to study court procedure in a state’s biggest trial. To her, it will be a liberal education. She will learn many things that will be of inestimable value in her work.

Spectators have watched her as she sits alone in the obscure corner and listens intently to all of the trial. They have wondered at who she is and why she is able to remain there unmolested in a courtroom where all women have been barred. If the truth were known there is room for but little wonderment.

She is there for an education in a line of work she follows daily. A peculiar education it might be but a valuable education it is.

Mrs. Barnett is a middle aged woman who has been an investigator for the larger part of her life. She has been connected in many of the state’s biggest criminal cases and at first, did a deal of work on the Phagan investigation. Since the movement has been started in police headquarters to employ female detectives, it has been suggested that she be put at the head of the squad of women.

Witnesses Sing Time Away.

Sitting quietly for hours and hours in a large room is enough to try the patience of a modern Job. Thirty or more witnesses for both the state and defense in the Frank trial are cooped up in the second floor of the [1 word illegible] court building whiling away the long and tedious days by gossiping and talking and reading and dodging the newspaper cameras.

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Judge’s Decision Admits Conley Testimony in Full

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 7th, 1913

At the continuation of the argument on the subject of Judge Roan’s reserved decision, Solicitor Dorsey cited extracts from many legal volumes, many of which pertained to the untimeliness of objections in just such cases as the one which he argued.

“It makes no difference if the act in question was a separate or distinct crime,” he said, “just so it shows a course of conduct and has sufficient [1 word illegible] value to the case on trial. It is absolutely admissible.

“We contend that the defense has stopped at this late hour, after examining extensively, and [1 word illegible] along the point and have attempted to do something which is deplorably irrelevant. We object to the ruling out of this testimony because we propose to substantiate the truth of Conley’s statement by other witnesses, including C. B. Dalton, George Epps and others.

“We intend to introduce Epps to show that Mary Phagan, fifteen minutes before she went to her death, expressed fear of Leo Frank because he had been flirting with her and making continued advances.”

At this the solicitor cited the case of a trial in which the deceased, a woman, stated upon leaving home that there were two persons in a nearby alley and that she thought one was her husband, the other his sweetheart, and that she would go see. She went into the alley never to return alive. Her body was found there late.

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Because He is Patriotic Mincey is Here for Trial

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 7th, 1913

W. H. Mincey, witness for the defense in the Leo M. Frank trial whose substantial affidavit that Jim Conley had told him of killing a white girl on the day Mary Phagan was murdered was published some weeks ago was a conspicuous figure in front of the courthouse Wednesday.

Mincey is a country school teacher and has been for twenty years. He is not used to city ways, he says, and the excitement of the crowd around the courthouse seemed to worry him.

“I have great patriotism,” said Mr. Mincey, “and that is the sole reason I am here. I felt it was my duty to throw any light I could on the case. No, I will not talk at the present time. I’ll do my talking when I get on the stand.”

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Atlanta Constitution, August 7th 1913, “Because He is Patriotic Mincey is Here for Trial,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Mrs. Coleman Tells of Cooking Cabbage for Dr. H. F. Harris

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

Atlanta Constitution
August 7th, 1913

Mrs. J. W. Coleman, mother of Mary Phagan, followed Dr. Harris to the stand. She told of cooking an amount of cabbage at the chemists request for his experiments with the four men.

She stated that it had been ground finely as she had prepared it on the day of Mary’s last meal and had boiled it for an hour. She remained on the stand but for a few minutes and was asked but a few questions by either the state or defense.

She was asked to describe Mary’s pocketbook answering that she had already given a description when she first went upon the stand at the opening of the trial.

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Atlanta Constitution, August 7th 1913, “Mrs. Coleman Tells of Cooking Cabbage for Dr. H. F. Harris,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)