Tag Archives: Atlanta Journal

Here is Testimony of Witnesses Given at the Final Session of Coroner’s Jury in Phagan Case

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Here is Testimony of Witnesses Given at the Final Session of Coroner's Jury

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

Atlanta Journal

Friday, May 9th, 1913

Full Story of Hearing Thursday Afternoon When Frank, Newt Lee, Detectives Black and Scott and Several Character Witnesses Were Placed on the Stand

The verdict of the coroner’s jury that Mary Phagan came to her death by strangulation and its recommendation that both Mr. Frank and Lee be held for investigation by the grand jury was rendered at 6:30 o’clock Thursday afternoon and marked by the conclusion of one of the most remarkable inquests ever held in this state.

Deputy Plennis Minor carried the news of the coroner’s jury verdict to Mr. Frank and to the negro. Mr. Frank was in the hallway of the Tower, reading an afternoon paper, when the deputy approached him and told him that the jury had ordered him and the negro held for an investigation by the grand jury.

“Well, it’s no more than I expected at this time,” Mr. Frank told the deputy. Beyond this he made no comment.

Newt Lee, says Mr. Minor, was visibly affected. He seemed very much depressed and hung his head in a dejected manner.

The jury was empaneled by Coroner Paul Donehoo on Monday, April 28, and has held four long and tedious sessions for the taking of testimony in addition to meeting to inspect the body and the scene of the crime. Twice the body of Mary Phagan was exhumed at the order of the coroner, in order that physicians might search more thoroughly for clues and evidence. Continue Reading →

With Two Men Held in Tower, Mystery of Murder Deepens

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With Two Men Held in Tower, Mystery of Murder Deepens

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

Atlanta Journal

Friday, May 9th, 1913

Belief That the Detectives Had Positive Evidence, Which They Were Withholding, Dissipated by Admissions

SCOTT AND BLACK REFUSED TO NAME MAN SUSPECTED

Case Now Goes to the Grand Jury but No Action Is Expected for a Week—Search for Evidence Will Continue

Coroner Paul Donehoo and the six jurors who investigated the murder of little Mary Phagan in the National Pencil factory on April 26, concluded Thursday the most thorough and exhaustive probe of a violent death ever conducted in this county and probably in the state.

The jury recommended that Leo M. Frank, superintendent of the factory, college graduate and man of culture and refinement, and Newt Lee, an ignorant negro watchman, both be held for investigation by the grand jury.

But the mystery of Mary Phagan’s death has not been solved. Continue Reading →

Superintendent Frank is Once More Put on Witness Stand

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Superintendent Frank is Once More Put on Witness Stand

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

Atlanta Journal

Friday, May 9th, 1913

Leo M. Frank general superintendent of the National Pencil factory, was recalled to the stand. He was questioned regarding the elevator. The coroner wanted to know what kind of a door there is to the shaft on the office floor. The witness replied that it is a heavy door solid, that slides up and down.

“Where was the elevator on Saturday, April 26?” he was asked.

“I didn’t notice.”

“Where was it on Friday night?”

“I didn’t notice.”

“Was the door open on Saturday?”

“I didn’t notice.”

Asked whether it would not be possible for some one to fall into the elevator shaft if the door was open, he replied that there is a bar across the door.

“Where was the elevator after the murder?”

“I can only say it was at the office floor on Sunday morning,” replied the witness.

The coroner reverted to the time-clock. “What time did you take the slip out of the clock?” he asked. Continue Reading →

Investigation Just Begun Says Detective Lanford

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Investigation Just BegunAnother in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Journal

Friday, May 9th, 1913

General satisfaction was expressed Friday morning by the detectives working on the Phagan case at the action of the coroner’s jury.

Chief of Detectives Lanford, however, declares that the work of his department is just now getting under way.

“We are going to continue right on with the investigation,” said the officials, “and try to dig down to the truth of this matter.”

“We have a theory as to who committed the crime, but we are ready to change it if we can possibly unearth any evidence, which will prove that theory wrong. We are going to make an impartial investigation and we are not going to leave anything undone, which might tend towards the solution of the mystery.

“My men will not be so pushed for time now and they can make systematic and deliberate investigation of every point of importance in the case, and they have much hard work before them. Even if nothing new develops, we have enough work outlined on the case to keep half a dozen men busy for the next week.”

Detectives Campbell, Starnes, Black, Bullard and Bass Rosser, who have been working on the case, are still detailed to the investigation.

* * *

Atlanta Journal, May 9th 1913, “Investigation Just Begun Says Detective Lanford,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Newt Lee Tells of the Talk He Had in the Popice [sic] Station

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Newt Lee Tells of the Talk He Had in the Police Station

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

Atlanta Journal

Friday, May 9th, 1913

Newt Lee, the negro night watchman, was recalled and asked to tell about any conversation he had with Mr. Frank at the jail or the police station. Lee said he has not talked to Mr. Frank at the jail, but that he had talked with him at the police station.

Mr. Frank came into the room, where he was, Lee said, and asked, “How are you feeling, Newt?”

“Not so good, Mr. Frank?” Lee said was his answer.

Lee said that he then told Mr. Frank that it was mighty hard on him “an innocent man” to be handcuffed there in the chair, and that Mr. Frank told him he knew he (Lee) was innocent, but he believed he knew something about the murder.

Lee said that he then told Mr. Frank that the officers had said the girl was killed on the second floor; that he said in his rounds of the building he had to pass through the second floor room, which had been indicated, every half hour and that he would have known it if the murder had been committed there.

Lee said that Mr. Frank then said: “Let’s don’t talk about that. Let that go.”

Lee said that the furnace had been fired on Friday, but that it had not been fired on Saturday. He went to work shortly before 4 o’clock, Saturday afternoon and called to Mr. Frank, as usual, “All right, Mr. Frank.” Continue Reading →

Detective John Black Tell[s] the Jury His Views on the Phagan Case

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Detective John Black Tell the Jury His Views on the Phagan Case

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

Atlanta Journal

Friday, May 9th, 1913

Detective John Black followed Detective Scott on the stand. He was questioned about the finding of the bloody shirt at Newt Lee’s home. He said that on the Tuesday afternoon after the murder he went with Detective Fred Bullard to Newt Lee’s house at 40 Henry street.

They searched the premises, he said, and found the bloody shirt in a clothes barrel in Lee’s room. The shirt was near the bottom of the barrel and was covered with scraps of old clothes, he said, the barrel apparently being used as a dumping place for old garments.

Asked whether he had seen the shirt that Lee had worn the Sunday morning the Phagan child’s body was discovered, Detective Black said it was not the same shirt that was found in the barrel. The shirt found at Lee’s house had apparently been washed but not [rest of sentence cut off—Ed.]

Juror Langford at this point asked Detective Black, “Have you discovered any positive information as to who committed this murder?”

Detective Black replied, “Do you mean positive information? No, sir, I have not.” Continue Reading →

Coroner Donehoo Points Out the Law to the Jurors

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Coroner Donehoo Points Out the Law

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

Atlanta Journal

Friday, May 9th, 1913

The coroner’s charge to the jury was in part as follows: “You have heard the statement of the county physician. You have seen what caused death. You have seen the body and have heard the evidence in the case.

“It is your duty to inquire diligently as to how Mary Phagan came to her death. That was your oath. In case of unnatural death, you were to determine at whose hands death came.

“You have heard the county physician say strangulation caused death. In determining who is guilty of the murder you turn to the evidence, and if you find that any other party is implicated or is attempting to shield the murderer, he is guilty in the same degree.

“Your position in this matter is similar to that of a commitment court, not a trial court.

“If there is a reasonable suspicion in your mind directed against any person or persons in connection with this crime, it is your duty to hold them. You can also hold witnesses who are essential in trying this case. If you think anybody not actually connected with the case has important information bearing upon it, you can hold them.

“If you believe any one is concealing information, it is your duty to commit that person as an accessory of the crime.”

* * *

Atlanta Journal, May 9th 1913, “Coroner Donehoo Points Out the Law to the Jurors,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Mr. Frank’s Treatment of Girls Unimpeachable, Says Miss Hall

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Mr. Frank's Treatment of Girls

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

Atlanta Journal

Thursday, May 8th, 1913

Miss Corinthia Hall, an employe in the factory, was the first of the young women employed there to testify before the coroner from their viewpoint regarding Mr. Frank’s attitude and demeanor toward them.

She declared his conduct toward the young women in the factory to be irreproachable.

She works in the varnish department on the fourth floor of the pencil factory, and lives at 19 Waverly street, Kirkwood, she told the coroner. She has been working at the factory about three years, she said.

About 11:45 o’clock on the morning of April 26, she said, she left the pencil factory. She had been there for about ten minutes with Mrs. Emma Freeman, a bride of a day, formerly employed there, to get Mrs. Freeman’s coat. She remembered looking at the clock as they went out. She and Mrs. Freeman spoke to Mr. Frank. He asked Mrs. Freeman, “How’s the bride?” Continue Reading →

Miss Daisy Jones Convinces Jury She Was Mistaken for Mary Phagan

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

Atlanta Journal

Thursday, May 8th, 1913

Miss Daisy Jones, identified by J. L. Watkins as the girl whom he had mistaken for Mary Phagan on the afternoon of April 26, appeared before the coroner’s jury dressed exactly as she was on that afternoon, and testified that she had been just where Watkins said he saw Mary Phagan at the hour when Watkins thought he saw the girl, and that she had crossed a vacant field just as Watkins described Mary Phagan as having done.

In short, with Mr. Watkins’ new testimony, she proved conclusively that it was not Mary Phagan who was seen that afternoon there, but heself—the witness.

She lives at 251 Fox street, said the witness. She is fifteen years old. Her home is on the corner of Fox and Lindsay streets, one block from Mary Phagan’s home. Between 5 and 6 o’clock on the afternoon of Saturday, April 26, said she, she carried her father’s supper to him in his store at the corner of Bellwood avenue and Ashby street. She went back home along Bellwood avenue and crossed a vacant field before she reached Lindsay street, passing between two trees in that field.

She was acquainted with Mary Phagan, said the witness. They were about the same size, said she, though Mary was a little heavier and not quite so tall. Their hair was about the same color, she said.

On the afternoon of April 26, said she, she was dressed exactly as she appeared there at the inquest—in a blue serge skirt, white shirtwaist with a blue bow on the front of it, and a blue bow in her hair. The coroner asking her height, she was measured against a board in the detectives’ office and was found to be five feet one and a quarter inches tall.

* * *

Atlanta Journal, May 8th 1913, “Miss Daisy Jones Convinces Jury She Was Mistaken for Mary Phagan,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Stains on Shirt Were Not Made While Shirt Was Being Worn

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Stains on Shirt Were Not Made While Shirt Was Being Worn

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

Atlanta Journal

Thursday, May 8th, 1913

A number of new witnesses had been summoned for the inquest, and the indications were said to be that the session (promised as final in the coroner’s investigation) might last all day.

It became known, before the inquest convened, that several witnesses whom the detectives have discovered would not be introduced there at all. The evidence that they can furnish, whatever it may be, will not become public until some later time, it was said.

It was stated further Thursday morning that the report by Dr. Claude A. Smith, city bacteriologist, upon the analysis by him of stains upon the shirt supposed to have been found at the house of Newt Lee, the negro, had been mailed to Chief of Police Beavers late Wednesday afternoon. The report set forth, it was said, that the stains are not old, and that probably they are stains of human blood. Continue Reading →

J. L. Watkins Says He Did Not See Phagan Child on Day of Tragedy

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J. L. Watkins

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

Atlanta Journal

Thursday, May 8th, 1913

J. L. Watkins, called to the stand after Miss Hall, the stenographer, was excused, clarified his former testimony that he had seen Mary Phagan on the street near her home on Saturday afternoon, April 26, by declaring that he is convinced now he was mistaken about it.

“Mr. White [sic], on last Thursday did you not swear before this inquest that between 4 and 5 o’clock on the afternoon of Saturday, April 26, you saw Mary Phagan walking along Bellwood avenue toward her home?” asked the coroner.

“Yes, that’s so,” answered the witness. “I was honestly mistaken.”

He was asked how he had found out that he was mistaken. He replied that Detectives Starnes and Campbell had found the young woman whom he mistook for Mary Phagan. He is absolutely certain now that he was mistaken, said he. They had brought the girl before him, dressed in the same clothes that she wore that afternoon, and had caused her to cross a vacant field just as she crossed it that afternoon.

The girl whom he mistook for Mary Phagan, said he, he knew now to be Daisy Jones. He pointed her out among those in the room.

He was excused from the stand.

* * *

Atlanta Journal, May 8th 1913, “J. L. Watkins Says He Did Not See Phagan Child on Day of Tragedy,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Bowen Given Liberty, Makes Full Statement

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Bowen Given LibertyAnother in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Journal

Wednesday, May 7th, 1913

P. P. Bowen, who was arrested here yesterday on suspicion in connection with an Atlanta case and who was released last night, made this statement today:

“My father is S. C. Bowen. He lives at Newnan, Ga. I told the detectives that they had made a mistake at the time they arrested me, and knew that they would soon find this to be so, if they investigated my references and letters. Of course, I was scared when they entered my room. I did meet them at the door with an open knife, and before I knew who they were I did say that if I had a gun they would not have come into my room. I meant it, too.”

Bowen gives his record since 1908 as follows: Continue Reading →

Paul Bowen, Held in Houston, Known Here But Left Atlanta in October; Hasn’t Been Back

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Paul Bowen

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

Atlanta Journal

Tuesday, May 6th, 1913

Negative Alibi Seems Established for Young Man Held in Texas City as Suspected Murderer of Mary Phagan in Atlanta — Police There Say “Strong Evidence,” but Nothing Shows Young Man Was Around Here April 26

BROTHER, IN NEWNAN, SAYS PAUL HAS BEEN IN HOUSTON SIX WEEKS; OUT WEST SINCE OCTOBER

Two Friends, Young Men in Atlanta, Report Recent Letters From Him—Brother Has Had One—So Has Father—Detectives Say Quinn Changed His Story—Newt Lee Declares Murder Must Have Occurred During the Afternoon

A negative alibi established for Paul P. Bowen by several authorities, among whom are his brother and his father Newnan, seems to clear the young man arrested Monday night in Houston, Tex, from any suspicious connection with the murder of Mary Phagan in Atlanta on the night of April 26. Continue Reading →

L. M. Frank’s Complete Story of Where He Was and What He Did on Day of Mary Phagan Murder

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L. M. Franks Complete Story of Where He Was and What He Did on Day of Mary Phagan Murder

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

Atlanta Journal

Tuesday, May 6th, 1913

For Three Hours and a Half Mr. Frank Was on the Stand, Answering Questions About His Movements Every Hour and Minute of the Day—He Was Calm and Unruffled When Excused From Stand and Returned to the Tower

HE TELLS OF VISIT OF LEMMIE QUINN TO HIS OFFICE TEN MINUTES AFTER MARY PHAGAN RECEIVED WAGES

Introduction of Quinn Gives the Factory Superintendent an Important Witness, in Confirmation of His Statements. Only Three Witnesses Examined by Coroner at Session Monday Afternoon

For three hours and a half Leo M. Frank, general superintendent of the National Pencil factory in which Mary Phagan was murdered, faced the coroner’s jury Monday afternoon and told minutely, detail by detail, in precise sequence, where he was and what he did during practically every minute of Saturday, April 26, Saturday night, and Sunday, April 27. When he had finished, his father-in-law, Emil Selig, was put upon the stand and questioned closely regarding what he knew of Frank’s whereabouts and acts on those days. And after Mr. Selig had been excused, Mrs. Josephine Selig, his wife, was called to testify along the same line. These three witnesses occupied the entire session Monday, which was at work for almost five hours.

That Lemmie Quinn, foreman of tipping department, visited the Naitonal Pencil factory shortly after Mary Phagan is supposed to have received her pay envelope and departed, was an absolutely new feature in the murder mystery brought out by Mr. Frank’s testimony.

While Quinn has never been on the stand he has corroborated Mr. Frank’s statement in interviews with the detectives, and goes further by saying that he recalled his visit to the factory for the incarcerated superintendent. Continue Reading →

Story of Paul Bowen’s Arrest as Told by Associated Press

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Story of Paul Bowens Arrest as Told by Associated Press

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

Atlanta Journal

Tuesday, May 6th, 1913

The actions of a man giving his name as Paul P. Bowen, observed by a woman boarder at the hotel where he was stopping, and the story she told the police, caused his arrest here last night. Bowen is held on suspicion, the charge being based on telegrams from the Atlanta, Ga., police, saying that Bowen may be wanted in connection with the murder of Mary Phagan in Atlanta.

From Bowen’s trunk the police obtained a woman’s vest which they say was blood-stained, copies of Atlanta newspapers and photographs which they identified as that of the murdered girl, Mary Phagan.

The police also found a packet of letters which they are examining this morning.

The woman informant gave her name as Mrs. A. Blanchette. The police say she resides here and so far as they can learn, she had no previous acquaintance with Bowen. Continue Reading →

Pictures of Fifty Girls Found in Search of Bowen’s Trunk

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Pictures of Fifty Girls Found in Search of Bowen's Trunk

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

Atlanta Journal

Tuesday, May 6th, 1913

BY KENNETH TODD.

Formerly reporter on The Atlanta Journal, now the special correspondent in Houston.

(Special Dispatch to The Journal.)

Paul P. Bowen, a round-faced youth of twenty years, was arrested in Houston by detectives Monday night in connection with the murder of Mary Phagan in Atlanta several days ago.

Information furnished the department by Mrs. A. Blanchett, of Texas City, led to the arrest. Bowen and Mrs. Blanchett occupied adjoining rooms at the St. Jean hotel Sunday night, according to the story she told detectives. She saw young Bowen reading an Atlanta paper and saw him collapse while reading an account of the murder. Continue Reading →

Coroner’s Inquest Resumed 2:30 p. m.; Frank Will Testify

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Coroner's Inquest Resumed

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

Atlanta Journal

Monday, May 5th, 1913

Factory Superintendent Was Expected to Be the Chief Witness, Though 200 Others Had Been Subpoenaed

NEW GRAND JURY URGED TO PROMPT INVESTIGATION

A Thousand Violations of Law Against Vice Do Not Equal Crime of Mary Phagan’s Murder, Says Judge Ellis

The jury empanelled a week ago by Coroner Paul Donehoo resumed its probe into the mystery of the murder of little Mary Phagan on Monday afternoon shortly after 2:30 o’clock.

Although police headquarters was crowded by nearly 200 witnesses, mostly employees at the National Pencil factory, where Mary Phagan met her death, it was said at the opening of the session that only a few witnesses would be called upon to testify.

The coroner, the chief of detectives and the solicitor general held a short conference just before the inquest was resumed.

It is said that the conference was held in order that the officials might reach a decision as to just what witnesses it will be necessary to bring before the inquest. It is said to be the desire of Solicitor Dorsey that the inquest may proceed without disclosing any more of the “state’s hand’ than is absolutely necessary. Continue Reading →

Girl in Red Dress May Furnish Clue to Phagan Mystery

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Girl in Red Dress May Furnish Clue to Phagan Mystery

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

Atlanta Journal

Sunday May 4th, 1913

[The top part of this article is cut off including the headline and the sub-headings – Ed.]

A 17-year-old miss, [several words illegible] blonde and who weighs about [several words illegible] 140 pounds, and who was in [several words illegible] in Marietta last Wednesday afternoon wearing a dark red dress and a [1 word illegible] leghorn hat, may furnish the vital clue in the mystery of the murder of Mary Phagan.

Who is she?

Where does she live?

Is it true that she was the last friend of Mary Phagan’s to see the murdered girl alive on Saturday afternoon, April 26?

She alone can answer. It is but a matter of hours until her identity is revealed.

If she knows what she is said to know, she can tell the officers of the law something that they are very anxious to learn. Continue Reading →

Detectives Confer With Coroner and Solicitor Dorsey

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Detectives Confer with Coroner and Solicitor Dorsey

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

Atlanta Journal

Saturday, May 3rd, 1913

Following Meeting Lasting Two Hours, Officials Investigating Murder Mystery Visited Scene of Tragedy

NO CHANGE IN PLANS FOR INQUEST MONDAY

Progress Has Been Made In Developing Evidence, It Is Said, but its Nature Has Not Been Divulged

The three central figures in the investigation of the Phagan murder case—the solicitor general, the coroner and the chief of detectives—held a conference Saturday morning, which lasted for more than two hours. The officials discussed the evidence in the case and the many theories which have been advanced, but refused to divulge any definite information about the long conference.

It is said, however, that the officials have decided to lend their efforts towards building their case on the ground that Mary Phagan never left the pencil factory.

New evidence, strengthening this view, is said to have been developed during the day by Detectives Black and Scott and Starnes and Campbell, but they refuse to divulge its nature. Continue Reading →

Solicitor Dorsey is Making Independent Probe of Phagan Case

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Solicitor Dorsey is Making Independent Probe of Phagan Case

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

Atlanta Journal

Friday, May 2nd, 1913

Outside of Solicitor’s Activity There Have Been No Developments Since the Suspects Were Transferred to Tower

GROUNDLESS RUMORS DENIED BY OFFICIALS

Chief Lanford’s Busy Running Down Tips—Coroner’s Inquest Will Be Resumed on Monday Afternoon at 2

The Atlanta Journal has published every fact and development in connection with the mysterious murder of Mary Phagan. The Journal will continue to print news of further developments and additional evidence as the investigation proceeds. No fact has been suppressed nor will any news relating to the hunt for solution of the crime be withheld from the public. Many silly reports about a confession having been made by one or both of the prisoners held on suspicion in the case have been circulated, but they are without the slightest foundation.

AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION.

Forces in the employ of the solicitor general, Hugh M. Dorsey, are making an independent investigation of the Phagan murder case, it was learned Friday. Continue Reading →