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

The Atlanta Georgian

Sunday, July 13, 1913

Fugitive, Reported to Have Been Traced to Birmingham, Declares That He Witnessed the Attack on the Girl Slain in the Pencil Plant.

LAYS CRIME TO BLACK WITH WHOM HE HAD GAMBLED

Loser at Dice, He Declares, Planned to Rob Victim as She Came From Getting Pay—Tried to Prevent the Crime and, Failing, Fled.

Report that a negro who has declared that he witnessed the attack by another negro upon Mary Phagan, which resulted in her death in the National Pencil Factory on the afternoon of April 26, has been apprehended in Birmingham, became known Saturday night.

If this information is substantiated, its substance is of such startling character as to revolutionize the present status of the Phagan case, casting down practically every bulwark which has been erected in the prosecution of Leo M. Frank for the murder.

In its present form, however, The Sunday American does not vouch for the correctness of the report. Only the fact that it comes from a source which is so near the defense of the pencil factory head as to make it authoritative and the admission by those connected with the actual legal defense of Frank, prompts this newspaper to present the sensational story, asking that it be taken for what, on its face, it is shown to be worth.

Negro Hunted Since May.

It is known that a search has been made for the mysterious negro ever since a message came from St. Louis early in May, telling of his boast first made in that city.

The negro’s name is said to be Will Green, and he is described as light yellow, about 39 years of age and about 5 feet 9 inches tall.

The essential part of his story, in effect, is said to be like this:

“I was in Atlanta for a few days. I was shooting craps on the first floor with this negro that Saturday. This fellow was half drunk and was losing money to me. He got mad and cursed his luck.

“Before long a little girl went upstairs. This negro said he was going to take her money away from her when she came down. I thought he was fooling at first, but when she came down he started for her. I yelled at him not to do it, but he kept right on. Then I skipped out, for I didn’t want to get mixed up in any trouble. I stayed around town until the next Monday, and then I read all about how a little girl had been killed in the National Pencil Factory, and I knew that she was the one I had seen come downstairs at the factory.

“I got out of town right away and went back to St. Louis. They were surprised to see me back there, and I told a few of them how I happened to come back. That’s how they found out that I had seen what I did.”

Wired Clew to Atlanta Police.

Frank Morrow, of St. Louis, formerly connected with the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company, is reported to have been the first one to take notice of the negro Green. Morrow was seriously injured a few years ago, and Green is understood to have assisted in caring for him for several months. In this way Morrow came to know the negro well.

Morrow, on hearing the negro’s astounding tale, wired immediately to Atlanta. Little attention was paid his message at first, as it came along with many others which palpably were from persons seeking the rewards or who were offering evidence of no value. He repeated his wire and this led to an investigation of Morrow himself. His former connections were ascertained and it was found that he had a reputation for reliability.

He was authorized to locate the negro. The delay, however, was unfortunate. Sometime in the few days, Green vanished from St. Louis. Morrow telegraphed that he belived [sic] there was yet a chance to trail Green, and the chase began.

Dispatches to The Georgian and The American from time to time that the trail was growing warm and that Morrow, with his detectives, was just on the point of capturing the negro. Green, however, seemed to be able to slip out of their grasp as they were about to put their hands on him.

The trail led southward from St. Louis. The American’s[…]

Continued on Page 4, Column 4.

NEGRO ASSERTS HE SAW ATTACK ON PHAGAN GIRL

Fugitive, Reported Trapped in Birmingham, Lays Crime to Drunken Black Man.

Continued From Page 1.

[…]correspondent in Cairo, Ill., wired that Green had been seen in that city by negroes, but that he had duplicated his former performance by disappearing before he could be apprehended.

Down in Kentucky the negro made his way, the detectives close on his heels. The trail grew warmer in Tennessee and finally led into Alabama. The detectives believe they reached Birmingham on the train behind Green, and that they have him trapped in the city.

One report to The American was that Green was actually in the custody of the detectives, who were awaiting instructions from Atlanta.

Attorneys for Leo Frank denied Saturday night that they had received word of the capture of Green, but admitted that they had been advised that the negro had been trailed to Birmingham. They declined to say what dependence they would place in the negro’s story until they had interviewed him personally.

They said that the negro had been trailed on the representation that his testimony would be of the utmost value, but they refused to vouch for it before reviewing it thoroughly on their own account.

Says Women Heard Conefssion [sic].

Saturday’s other important development was the statement of Attorney J.H. Leavitt that several negro women heard Jim Conley make his alleged angry boast to William H. Mincey, the insurance agent, that “he had killed a girl to-day, and didn’t want to kill nobody else.”

Attorney Leavitt indicated that the defense will be able to call these women at the trial of Frank to support Mincey’s affidavit and testimony as to the conversation of Conley on the afternoon of the crime.

By an agreement between Solicitor Dorsey and Graham & Chappell, attorneys for Newt Lee, who has been held in jail technically as a “suspect” but actually as a material witness in the Phagan mystery, the habeas corpus proceedings brought in behalf of the negro were dropped.

Solicitor Dorsey promised to take steps which would give Lee his rightful status as a material witness, and Sheriff Mangum advised the court that he would give Lee all the freedom to which a material witness in custody is entitled.

* * *

The Atlanta Georgian, July 13th 1913, “Seek Negro Who Says He Was Eye-Witness to Phagan Murder,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

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

The Atlanta Georgian

Sunday, July 13, 1913

Attorney Leavitt Declares Tale That Conley Admitted Killing Girl Will Stand Test.

NEWT LEE STILL HELD IN JAIL

Solicitor General Hugh Dorsey Promises to Present a Bill Against Him as Suspect.

That several negro women overheard Jim Conley when he ran the insurance agent, Mincey, away with the alleged statement that he had just killed a girl and didn’t want to kill anyone else, and that the affidavits from the women are in the hands of the attorneys for the defense, was stated Saturday by Attorney J.H. Leavitt, who aided in obtaining the sensational affidavit from Mincey.

Attorney Leavitt defended the character of the man who made the affidavit and denied emphatically that Mincey even asked about the money he would receive as a witness, except whether his railroad fare would be paid if he were out of the city.

Explains Dukes’ Doubts.

“I am attorney for the American Insurance Company and know its manager, J.S. Dukes, very well,” said Leavitt. “He sought to discredit the affidavit very likely because Mincey left his employ to get a better position, and he had to do some of the outside work. Mincey is a college graduate and is well known in Atlanta. It will be utterly impossible to shake his evidence.

“I am not employed to represent Frank and aided in getting this affidavit purely because I happened to stumble on to the information. Before I submitted it to Mr. Rosser, Frank’s attorney, I spent eleven days investigating the character of the man, questioning the women in the neighborhood and generally verifying the facts. When I turned it over to him I was convinced of its absolute truth and that it would stand the acid test.”

Habeas Corpus Fight Fails.

Habeas corpus proceedings to release Newt Lee collapsed in the court of Judge Ellis Saturday morning.

By agreement, Bernard L. Chappell, representing Lee, withdrew his application for a habeas corpus; Solicitor Dorsey promised to present a bill against Lee as a suspect in the Phagan murder case, with the expectation that a “no bill” would be returned. This appeared satisfactory to the attorneys for Lee, as well as to the State.

Luther Z. Rosser, Reuben R. Arnold and Herbert J. Haas, of counsel for Frank, were in court to fight against the appearance of Frank as a witness. William M. Smith represented Conley, one of the witnesses subpenaed.

Conley Gets Third Degree.

Jim Conley underwent a racking third degree late Friday afternoon at the hands of Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey and Attorney Frank A. Hooper in an effort to verify or discredit the W.H. Mincey affidavit, in which the negro was charged with confessing to the murder of a girl on the afternoon that Mary Phagan met her death.

The grilling of nearly four hours followed The Georgian’s publication of the details of Mincey’s accusations and was undertaken with the utmost secrecy, an attempt being made to avoid knowledge of the “sweating” becoming public by taking Conley to the Commissioners’ room on the second floor of the police station by a circuitous route.

* * *

The Atlanta Georgian, July 13th 1913, “Affidavits to Back Mincey Story Found,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

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

The Atlanta Constitution

Sunday, July 13, 1913

Solicitor Dorsey Does Not Believe the Negro Guilty of Any Part in Crime.

That Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey does not believe that Newt Lee, negro night watchman at the National Pencil factory, who was bound over by the grand jury with Superintendent Leo M. Frank for the murder of Mary Phagan, is guilty, was the only matter of importance brought out yesterday at the hearing of the habeas corpus before Judge W.D. Ellis by which Lee’s attorneys, Graham & Chappell, sought to free him.

Judge Ellis denied the motion for habeas corpus and remanded Lee back to the custody of the sheriff to await the outcome of Frank’s trial. Attorneys L.Z. Rosser and Reuben Arnold were also successful in their fight to prevent Frank being brought into court to testify.

Solicitor Dorsey declared that he had not brought a bill against Lee before the grand jury because he believed he had no evidence which would indict Lee.

The negro’s attorneys secured from the sheriff a statement that Lee would be given more eexrcise [sic], as the darkey declared that this was all that was troubling him. He said he was getting stiff from staying in his cell.

“Frank has the entire freedom of the jail whenever he wants it,” declared Attorney Chappell, “and Lee ought to be allowed some chance to take exercise.”

The character of the darkey and his love for the juicy fruit of a Georgia watermelon came out when Lee was being taken back to jail in charge of Deputy Plennie Miner.

“Why don’t you get Mr. Miner to buy you a nigh beer, Newt?” said a bystander.

“Ah don’t want no beer; all Ah wants is er watermelon,” replied the negro, and his large eyes rolled hopefully in his head.

“Ah ain’t had er melon this summer, and it’s the fust time that July ever come ’round without me having er melon.”

* * *

The Atlanta Constitution, July 13th 1913, “Lee Must Remain Behind the Bars,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

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

The Atlanta Journal

Saturday, July 12, 1913

Frank’s Attorneys Said to Have Corroborating Evidence, Newt Lee Denied Freedom

Joseph H. Leavitt, an attorney, with offices at 422 Grant building, the man who secured the affidavit of W.H. Mincey, who alleges that James Conley confessed to the killing of a girl on April 26, the day Mary Phagan was murdered, declares that a number of affidavits fully corroborating every word that Mincey has said, are in the hands of counsel for the defense of Leo M. Frank.

Mr. Leavitt states that the Mincey affidavit is really much stronger than the published reports, which have purported to give its substance.

The reports are correct as far as they go, Mr. Leavitt admitted to a Journal reporter, but the affidavit dictated and signed by Mincey contains still more testimony, damaging to Conley.

“Mincey is a good citizen,” Mr. Leavitt told a Journal reporter, “a man of education and of character. However, every assertion which he made in the affidavit has been corroborated.”

“Then you must mean that some one else heard the confession Mincey claims that Conley made?” the reporter asked.

“Yes, others head [sic] it,” was the answer of Attorney Leavitt.

While he states that he doesn’t know his address, Mr. Leavitt says that he is confidence [sic] that Mincey will be here when Leo M. Frank faces a jury on the charge of murdering Mary Phagan.

Mincey in his affidavit claims that he went to see Conley on the afternoon of April 26, the day Mary Phagan was murdered to solicit insurance from him, and that Conley became angered and told him that he had killed a little girl that day and did not want to have to kill another person.

The police make light of the Mincey affidavit, and say that Mincey once came to headquarters to identify a man he had seen drunk in the negro quarter. He saw Conley, they say, and then admitted that he had never seen the engro [sic] before.

Attorney Leavitt says that the affidavit will give a good reason for Mincey’s failure to make known at once the information, which he claims to have on the sensational murder case.

Solicitor General Dorsey and Attorney Frank A. Hooper, who will assist him in the prosecution of Frank, grilled James Conley at headquarters for more than an hour Friday afternoon. While Mr. Dorsey would not discuss the matter, it is understood that he questioned Conley closely about the statements alleged to have been to Mincey, and the negro claims that he never saw [the] insurance agent except at police headquarters.

LEE DENIED FREEDOM.

The only result of the hearing of the habeas corpus writ for the release of Newt Lee Saturday morning was the announcement of the sheriff that the negro would be given increased opportunities for taking exercise.

The negro himself stated to the court that he was perfectly willing to remain in jail until the Mary Phagan murder case has been disposed of. He said that he was well treated and well fed, and that his only complaint was that he was stiff from a want of exercise. Sheriff Mangum then told the court this was the first he had heard of  the negro’s want of exercise, and that he would see that he had plenty in future.

Attorneys Graham and Chappell, counsel for Lee, made two points in their petition for a habeas corpus. First, that the negro night watchman had been bound over by the coroner’s jury, and that the two grand juries had failed to act on his case; and, second, that Lee was not a material witness.

The attorney admitted, however, in his petition that the negro did find Mary Phagan’s body.

Solicitor Dorsey declared that Lee was one of the most material witnesses of the state, and that he could testify[…]

(Continued on Page 5, Col. 2.)

MORE AFFIDAVITS TO SUPPORT MINCEY CLAIMED

(Continued From Page 1.)

[…]to several points that no one else could.

The hearing then developed into whether or not Lee should be placed under bond as a material witness or whether he should be held in jail as a witness.

COULDN’T MAKE BOND.

The negro said that he couldn’t make bond, and an order remanding him back to the custody of Sheriff Mangum was issued by Judge W.D. Ellis, who was presiding.

Attorney Chappell, who wanted to go into the issues of the case, presented a petition to have Leo M. Frank, who is charged with the Phagan murder, and James Conley, self-confessed accomplice, brought into court.

The solicitor general stated that he would admit the seevral [sic] things which Attorney hCappell [sic] set out in his petition, and that phase of the case was disposed of.

Attorneys Reuben R. Arnold and Luther Z. Rosser, counsel for Frank, were in court to fight any effort to bring Frank to the court, if a fight had been necessary. Mr. Arnold stated that a complete and exhaustive examination of Frank had been made at the inquest and he was ready to produce the record of Frank’s statement if it was needed.

Solicitor General Dorsey told the court that he would submit the warrant binding over Lee to the grand jury to that body, but could not conscientiously ask that Lee be indicted for murder, as there is no evidence against him.

* * *

The Atlanta Journal, July 12th 1913, “More Affidavits to Support Mincey Claimed,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

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

The Atlanta Georgian

Saturday, July 12, 1913

After Gruelling Third Degree, Officials Refuse to Deny or Affirm Negro Confessed.

Habeas corpus proceedings to release Newt Lee collapsed in the court of Judge Ellis Saturday morning.

By agreement, Bernard L. Chappell, representing Lee, withdrew his application for a habeas corpus; Solicitor Dorsey promised to present a bill against Lee as a suspect in the Phagan murder case, with the expectation that a “no bill” would be returned. This appeared satisfactory to the attorneys for Lee, as well as to the State.

Luther Z. Rosser, Reuben R. Arnold and Herbert J. Haas, of counsel for Frank, were in court to fight against the appearance of Frank as a witness. William M. Smith represented Conley, one of the witnesses subpenaed.

Jim Conley underwent a racking third degree late Friday afternoon at the hands of Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey and Attorney Frank A. Hooper in an effort to verify or discredit the W.H. Mincey affidavit, in which the negro was charged with confessing to the murder of a girl on the afternoon that Mary Phagan met her death.

The grilling of nearly four hours followed The Georgian’s publication of the details of Mincey’s accusations and was undertaken with the utmost secrecy, an attempt being made to avoid knowledge of the “sweating” becoming public by taking Conley to the Commissioners’ room on the second floor of the police station by a circuitous route.

Negro’s Most Severe Ordeal.

It was the most severe ordeal through which the negro has passed. Its result was kept a profound secret both by the Solicitor and Attorney Hooper. Neither would deny the rumor that Conley had made a complete confession admitting that it was he that killed the little factory girl, nor would they confirm the report, which arose when it was learned that Solicitor Dorsey apparently was making ready to take an entirely new statement from the negro.

Dorsey, Hooper and Chief Lanford were present in the Commissioners’ room when the inquisition began. After a few minutes Chief Lanford departed and did not return while the questioning was in progress. He was inclined to deny at first that Conley even was behind the closed doors. But ocular proof had been afforded and the newspaper men hovered about the hallway in the hope that some scrap of information might come to them.

Policeman Guards Door.

Their hovering tactics received a bad setback when Chief Lanford detailed a policeman to guard the door and keep all inquisitive persons away.

For an hour Dorsey and Hooper alternated in shooting questions at the negro, apparently without getting anything from him that he had not already told. Then they removed their coats and renewed the grilling. At one point it seemed Conley must have wavered in some of his statements or changed some of the testimony he previously had given. Dorsey emerged from the room and got a blotter from Chief Beavers’ office. It was taken to mean that a new statement was being obtained from the negro.

The questioning was resumed and the Solicitor from a distant vantage point could be seen turning sheet after sheet of the testimony already given by Conley and comparing it with the statements then being made.

Attorneys Keep Silence.

Dorsey, coatless and perspiring, leaned far over the table and asked the negro question after question, his finger following the answers which had been given when the negro was interrogated before.

Not until after dark did the sweating process cease. Conley was taken back to his cell and Dorsey and Hooper went to their homes. Not a word could be obtained from either.

* * *

The Atlanta Georgian, July 12th 1913, “Conley Kept on Grill 4 Hours,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

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

The Atlanta Georgian

Saturday, July 12, 1913

*Editor’s Note: This article also ran with the headlines “Says Women Overheard Conley Confess” and “Says Women Heard Conley Confess” in the Final and Home Editions, respectively. The headline used here is from the Night Edition.

AFFIDAVITS SUPPORT MINCEY STORY

Attorney Leavitt Declares Tale That Negro Admitted Killing Girl Will Stand Test.

That several negro women overheard Jim Conley when he ran the insurance agent, Mincey, away with the alleged statement that he had just killed a girl and didn’t want to kill any one else, and that the affidavits from the women are in the hands of the attorneys for the defense, was stated Saturday by Attorney J.H. Leavitt, who aided in obtaining the sensational affidavit from Mincey.

Attorney Leavitt defended the character of the man who made the affidavit and denied emphatically that Mincey even asked about the money he would receive as a witness, except whether his railroad fare would be paid if he were out of the city.

Explains Dukes’ Doubts.

“I am attorney for the American Insurance Company and know its manager, J.S. Dukes, very well,” said Leavitt. “He sought to discredit the affidavit very likely because Mincey left his employ to get a better position and he had to do some of the outside work. Mincey is a college graduate and is well known in Atlanta. It will be utterly impossible to shake his evidence.

“I am not employed to represent Frank and aided in getting this affidavit purely because I happened to stumble on to the information. Before I submitted it to Mr. Rosser, Frank’s attorney, I spent eleven days investigating the character of the man, questioning the women in the neighborhood and generally verifying the facts. When I turned it over to him I was convinced of its absolute truth and that it would stand the acid test.”

Habeas Corpus Fight Fails.

Habeas corpus proceedings to release Newt Lee collapsed in the court of Judge Ellis Saturday morning.

By agreement, Bernard L. Chappell, representing Lee, withdrew his application for a habeas corpus; Solicitor Dorsey promised to present a bill against Lee as a suspect in the Phagan murder case, with the expectation that a “no bill” would be returned. This appeared satisfactory to the attorneys, for Lee, as well as to the State.

Luther Z. Rosser, Reuben R. Arnold and Herbert J. Haas, of counsel for Frank, were in court to fight against the appearance of Frank as a witness. William M. Smith represented Conley, one of the witnesses subpenaed.

Conley Gets Third Degree.

Jim Conley underwent a racking third degree late Friday afternoon at the hands of Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey and Attorney Frank A. Hooper in an effort to verify or discredit the W.H. Mincey affidavit, in which the negro was charged with confessing to the murder of a girl on the afternoon that Mary Phagan met her death.

The grilling of nearly four hours followed The Georgian’s publication of the details of Mincey’s accusations and was undertaken with the utmost secrecy, an attempt being made to avoid knowledge of the “sweating” becoming public by taking Conley to the Commissioners’ room on the second floor of the police station by a circuitous route.

* * *

The Atlanta Georgian, July 12th 1913, “Says Women Heard Conley Confession,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

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

The Atlanta Georgian

Friday, July 11, 1913

*Editor’s Note: The following column ran in the final edition of the Georgian with the title “Georgian’s Story Stirs Officials to Action,” and contains the following bracketed text in lieu of the first two paragraphs and preceding sub-headline.

[Mincey Affidavit Leads to Another Cross-Examination of Phagan Case Suspect.

[As a result of the publication by The Georgian exclusively Thursday of the sensational affidavit of W.H. Mincey, the insurance agent, which declared that Jim Conley had confessed on the afternoon of the Phagan murder, that he had killed a little girl, the negro sweeper was again put on the grill late Friday afternoon. The cross-examination was conducted by Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey personally at the police station and was attended by utmost secrecy.

[Conley was taken into the Police Commissioners’ room on the second floor of the station house by a circuitous route to avoid being seen. In the room awaiting him were the Solicitor, his assistant, Frank J. Hooper, and Chief of Detectives Lanford. The negro was questioned for more than an hour. The result of the inquiry was not made known.

[That Mincey’s affidavit is of the utmost importance became obvious with this latest move by the prosecution. Undoubtedly its startling accusations, directing guilt at the negro, have shown themselves to the State to have foundation of more strength than Mr. Dorsey and his colleagues have so far cared to admit.]

Steps Taken Immediately to Discredit Affidavit Published Exclusively in The Georgian.

The Georgian’s exclusive publication of the sensational details of the W.H. Mincey affidavit, in which Jim Conley was alleged to have confessed to the killing of a girl the afternoon that Mary Phagan was slain, created a big stir Friday in police circles and immediate efforts were made to discredit the accusations against the negro.

Detectives set out at once on a still hunt for Mincey. Lines were thrown out to produce witnesses who would swear that Mincey’s word was not to be depended upon. The detective force, which virtually had been resting on its oars in the Phagan case for several weeks, was galvanized into action by the startling charges made in the affidavit of Mincey, which was first made public by The Georgian.

Police Deny Being Told.

Interviews with the detective heads brought denials that Mincey ever had told them the story that was printed in The Georgian. Attorneys for the defense, however, corroborated the published details of the affidavit.

“It is correct in every detail,” said one of the lawyers. “It was not the intention to make any of our important evidence public, but now that Mincey’s story has found its way into print, there is nothing to do but admit that we have the affidavit and that it makes the assertions which The Georgian printed yesterday.

“It is only natural that an attempt will be made to discredit Mincey’s story. But we are assured of its truth and are confident that it will stand the test of all the investigation that can be made.”

J.S. Dukes, manager of the American Insurance Company, by whom…

Continued on Page 2, Column 4.

SLAYING CHARGE FOR CONLEY IS EXPECTED

Speedy Indictment of Negro Is Likely Following Publication of Mincey Affidavit.

Continued From Page 1.

…Mincey was employed until two weeks ago, was seen Friday and was disposed to discredit Mincey’s affidavit.

He declared that Mincey was something of a braggart and that on the Monday following the crime had asserted his belief in the guilt of Newt Lee. When Conley was arrested, said Dukes, Mincey at once became just as certain that Conley had committed the crime.

“Mincey was wondering how much money he might make as a witness and seemed more concerned with this phase of the case than with the identity of the murderer,” said Dukes.

Conley Indictment Likely.

The speedy indictment of Jim Conley on the charge of murdering Mary Phagan was the strong possibility discussed in court circles Friday following the sensational turn given the strangling mystery.

For nearly two months a self-confessed accessory after the fact of the murder of the little factory girl, Conley has been allowed to go without an attempt at bringing an indictment against him. The startling new evidence which indicates most strongly, if the credibility of the defense’s witness can be established, that Conley was not the accessory after the fact, but the actual principal in the crime, is expected to result in a thorough investigation by the Grand Jury of all the rumors and stories which have been in circulation of the negro’s connection with the pencil factory tragedy.

Dorsey Makes No Comment.

Solicitor Dorsey Friday morning would make no comment on the new evidence.

The detectives openly declared their disbelief in the statements of Mincey. They said that he told a different story when he was at police headquarters, and that he asserted after confronting the negro that Conley was not the man with whom he talked the afternoon that Mary Phagan was murdered.

Chief Lanford, of the city detectives, and Harry Scott, of the Pinkertons, said that if Mincey had related to them the story told in his sensational affidavit they would have made an immediate investigation in an attempt to verify it and would have sworn out a warrant charging Conley with the murder if a basis for the story could have been found.

Denies Police Assertions.

Mincey’s statement, in so far as it provides an answer to the detectives, was that he did tell the same story to them; that he did identify Conley as the man he talked with on Saturday afternoon, and that the detectives told him they didn’t care to take his evidence.

“Conley told me Saturday afternoon that he had killed a girl, and didn’t want to kill anybody else,” Mincey swears he told the detectives.

“This man Mincey never made mention of having heard Conley say that he had killed a girl, and Mincey never even identified Conley,” is the reply of Detective Scott to this assertion.

Detective headquarters were thrown into excitement by the publication of the startling developments. Within a few minutes Scott was in conference with Chief Lanford and it was said that it had been decided to make a search for Mincey with a view of bringing him before Solicitor Dorsey for a grilling in regard to his story accusing the negro.

News Disturbs Dorsey.

Solicitor Dorsey was evidently disturbed by the new turn in the mystery, but would make no announcement of his intentions in respect to quizzing Mincey, providing Mincey can be found. The witness is said to be in Chattanooga at present teaching school. Leo Frank’s lawyers, if they know Mincey’s whereabouts, are keeping it a profound secret. They had not intended even that the contents of his affidavit should be made public. They declared, however, that he would be on hand for the trial prepared to repeat everything he said in the affidavit.

The latest rumor in connection with the Phagan mystery is that the girl’s mesh bag pocketbook which she carried to the factory on the day she met her death has been found and has been examined for finger prints. This rumor could not be confirmed at police headquarters.

Lee Hearing Saturday.

The habeas corpus proceedings in behalf of Newt Lee, night watchman at the pencil factory, will be fought out Saturday forenoon at 10 o’clock before Judge Ellis. Bernard L. Chappell, representing the negro, said that he would issue subpenas for at least 50 witnesses whose testimony he would rely upon to obtain the freedom of his client.

Among them will be Leo M. Frank and Jim Conley. The appearance of both of these men, the first accused of murder, the second held as a material witness, will be bitterly contested. Reuben R. Arnold, of counsel for Frank, has declared that no law on earth can force Frank to appear as a witness at the hearing.

* * *

The Atlanta Georgian, July 11th 1913, “Mincey’s Story Jolts Police to Activity,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

The Atlanta Georgian

Friday, July 11, 1913

Speedy Indictment of Negro Is Likely Following Publication of Mincey Affidavit.

The speedy indictment of Jim Conley on the charge of murdering Mary Phagan was the strong possibility discussed in court circles Friday following the sensational turn given the strangling mystery by The Georgian’s publication Thursday of the accusation of William H. Mincey, an insurance solicitor, that he had heard the negro boast on the afternoon of the crime of killing a girl.

For nearly two months a self-confessed accessory after the fact of the murder of the little factory girl, Conley has been allowed to go without an attempt at bringing an indictment against him. The startling new evidence which indicates most strongly, if the credibility of the defense’s witness can be established, that Conley was not the accessory after the fact, but the actual principal in the crime, is expected to result in a thorough investigation by the Grand Jury of all the rumors and stories which have been in circulation of the negro’s connection with the pencil factory tragedy.

Counsel Relies on Mincey.

Attorneys for the defense have expressed themselves as satisfied that Mincey’s word is to be relied upon, and that his remarkable affidavit published in The Georgian is true in every particular.

Solicitor Dorsey Friday morning would make no comment on the new evidence.

The detectives openly declared their disbelief in the statements of Mincey. They said that he told a different story when he was at police headquarters and that he asserted after confronting the negro that Conley was not the man with whom he talked the afternoon that Mary Phagan was murdered.

Chief Lanford, of the city detectives, and Harry Scott, of the Pinkertons, said that if Mincey had related to them the story told in his sensational affidavit they would have made an immediate investigation in an attempt to verify it and would have sworn out a warrant charging Conley with the murder if a basis for the story could have been found.

Denies Police Assertions.

Mincey’s statement, in so far as it provides an answer to the detectives, was that he did tell the same story to them; that he did identify Conley as the man he talked with on Saturday afternoon, and that the detectives told him they didn’t care to take his evidence.

“Conley told me Saturday afternoon that he had killed a girl, and didn’t want to kill anybody else,” Mincey swears he told the detectives.

“This man Mincey never made mention of having heard Conley say that he had killed a girl, and Mincey never even identified Conley,” is the reply of Detective Scott to this assertion.

Detective headquarters were thrown into excitement by the publication of the startling developments. Within a few minutes Scott was in conference with Chief Lanford and it was said that it had been decided to make a search for Mincey with a view of bringing him before Solicitor Dorsey for a grilling in regard to his story accusing the negro.

News Disturbs Dorsey.

Solicitor Dorsey was evidently disturbed by the new turn in the mystery, but would make no announcement of his intentions in respect to quizzing Mincey, providing Mincey can be found. The witness is said to be in Chattanooga at present teaching school. Leo Frank’s lawyers, if they know Mincey’s whereabouts, are keeping it a profound secret. They had not intended even that the contents of his affidavit should be made public. They declared, however, that he would be on hand for the trial prepared to repeat everything he said in the affidavit.

The latest rumor in connection with the Phagan mystery is that the girl’s mesh bag pocketbook which she carried to the factory on the day she met her death has been found and has been examined for finger prints. This rumor could not be confirmed at police headquarters.

Lee Hearing Saturday.

The habeas corpus proceedings in behalf of Newt Lee, night watchman at the pencil factory, will be fought out Saturday forenoon at 10 o’clock before Judge Ellis. Bernard L. Chappell, representing the negro, said that he would issue subpenas for at least 50 witnesses whose testimony he would rely upon to obtain the freedom of his client.

Among them will be Leo M. Frank and Jim Conley. The appearance of both of these men, the first accused of murder, the second held as a material witness, will be bitterly contested. Reuben R. Arnold, of counsel for Frank, has declared that no law on earth can force Frank to appear as a witness at the hearing.

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The Atlanta Georgian, July 11th 1913, “Slaying Charge for Conley Is Expected,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

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

The Atlanta Constitution

Friday, July 11, 1913

Insurance Man Who Made Affidavit Says Conversation Was With Some Other Negro—Saw Conley at Station.

It was disclosed Thursday afternoon that William H. Mincey, the insurance agent who has made an affidavit to the effect that Jim Conley on the date of the Phagan murder drunkenly admitted that he had slain a girl had appeared at police headquarters during Conley’s grilling and had positively failed to identify the negro.

This was told a Constitution reporter by Detective Harry Scott of the Pinkertons and Detective Chief Newport Lanford. The insurance agent, they declared, had come to the police station while Conley was being cross-examined and had asked to see the prisoner.

He wanted to see if he could identify Conley as the negro whom he had seen drunk at the corner of Electric and Carter streets on the afternoon of Saturday, April 26. He was admitted to Conley’s presence. After asking the negro a number of questions pertaining to a conversation he had held with the black encountered at Electric and Carter streets, Mincey, the detectives assert, declared he could not identify the suspect.

He’s not the man I saw, Lanford and Scott say the insurance man declared.

Conley was asked by Mincey on that date if he had not talked with him about the issuance of a life insurance policy. Conley denied having ever seen the man. Mincey, the detectives say, was positive in his declaration that Conley was not the negro with whom he had held the conversation.

Did Not Approach Detectives

Scott said to the reporter last night:

This man Mincey never made mention of Chief Lanford and me of having heard the negro say he had killed a girl that afternoon. He never offered us any such story. He was so absolutely sure of his failure to identify Conley that we paid no more attention to him or his story.

If we had heard any such story against Conley and could have verified it like the report says it is now verified we would have immediately sworn out a warrant charging him iwth [sic] Mary Phagan’s murder. Neither Lanford nor I put credence in the report of Mincey’s affidavit. It looks flimsy from every standpoint.

Mincey is said to have put into the hands of Frank’s counsel a sworn statement declaring that on the afternoon of the Phagan muder [sic] he had encountered Jim Conley at the corner of Electric and Carter streets and had approached the negro on the subject of issuing life insurance.

Conley, his statement is said to state, was drinking and refused the insurance offer. I killed a girl this afternoon, he is reported with having answered, and I’m likely to be in jail tonight. He grew threatening the insurance man states and to avoid trouble Mincey walked away.

Investigating Possible “Plant”

It was announced from the Pinkerton offices last night that an investigation is being baed [sic] ons [sic] the theory that the Mary Phagan pay envelope which Detectives Harry Scott and John Black located on the first floor of the pencil factory was planted evidence.

The envelope was found crumpled behind a radiator near the spot at which Conley is alleged to have sat on the first floor in waiting for his employer’s summons to the second story. The nature of its evidence, it is said, is in direction of gluit [sic] toward the negro.

Fight to Free Lee

Attorney Bernard L. Chappell of Graham & Chappell, representing Newt Lee, the negro night watchman of the National Pencil facotry [sic], stated last night that he had secured subpoena for fifty witnesses to appear at the hearing of the habeas corpus at 10 o’clock Saturday morning and that on that occasion he would ask of the court an instanter order to bring Leo M. Frank and James Conley into court to testify about Lee.

A subpoena duces tecum has also been issued requiring Solictior [sic] General Hugh M. Dorsey to bring into court the grand jury docket and all papers referring to the case of Lee who was bound over be the coroner’s jury at the same time that Frank afterwards indicted for the murder of Mary Phagan was ordered held.

Solicitor Dorsey, his assistant E. A. Stephens, Detective Chief Newport Lanford, Pinkerton Detective Harry Scott and City Detectives John Black and Starnes and Campbell are also named in subpoenas.

In addition to these, Lee’s attorneys have had subpoenas issued for E. F. Holloway, day watchman at the factory, and for L. H. Beck, foreman of the grand jury, and for the foreman of the present grand jury and for a number of others to be present.

The fight will be made to free Lee on the grounds that he has not been indicted by two grand juries and that there is no legal reason for holding him further.

Fingerprints May Fix Guilt

Mary Phagan’s mesh bag pocket book, the one she carried to the pencil factory on the day of her tragic disappearance has been found on the scene of her murder and finger prints that are said to be lodged on its surface are expected to reveal the murderer, it was rumored around police headquarters Thursday afternoon.

Secrecy as impenetrable as that thrown around any phase of the investigation has been woven about this latest discovery. No one connected with the case will talk. Few deny, however, that the bag has been found.

The report prevalent around headquarters is that the bag was found about the same time of the envelope discovery. It has been kept secret, it is said, because of the reported success of Bertillon experts in discerning finger prints on its surface. Bertillon Expert L. M. Fletcher, of the United States government service, it is reported, made the finger print examination.

Chief Lanford would not commit himself and neither would Solicitor Dorsey. Chief Beavers maintained the same attitude of silence that has been characteristic of him during the entire Phagan investigation. Other than the rumor which came from responsible source, reporters could gain no further proof of the reported discovery.

Bertillon experts who examined the pay envelope, it is stated, have been unable to find finger prints thereon. Only one side  of the envelope was discovered. The lower side had been torn away. This condition of the clue has added mystery to its connection with the case.

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The Atlanta Constitution, July 11th 1913, “Conley Not Right Man, Says Mincey,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

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

The Atlanta Journal

Thursday, July 10, 1913

Examination of Portion of Slain Girl’s Pay Envelope Fails to Throw Any Light on the Murder Mystery

FLETCHER, AT FEDERAL PEN MAKES EXAMINATION

Fight for Release of Newt Lee on Habeas Corpus Resumed and Hearing Will Be Given Saturday Morning

That the murderer of Mary Phagan can never be identified by finger prints on the pay envelope found in the factory, and the “re-setting” of Newt Lee’s habeas corpus for 10 o’clock. Saturday morning, were two important developments of the sensational murder mystery Thursday.

According to Attorney Bernard L. Chappell, of Graham & Chappell, counsel for the negro night watchman, fifty witnesses among them the negro James Conley, confessed accomplice, and Leo M. Frank, accused of the crime, will be subpenaed for the habeas corpus hearing.

It is known that the solicitor general, Hugh M. Dorsey, will oppose the release from the Tower of Lee on the ground that he is a material witness.

Counsel for Frank will take no part in the fight to secure the release of Lee, but Attorney Reuben R. Arnold stated when the case was postponed that he would oppose any effort to bring Frank into the court for the habeas corpus hearing.

It is said that the counsel for Frank will oppose bringing him to the court on the ground that it is not lawful to force a defendant to give any testimony which relates to or bears on the crime for which he is to be tried.

This, as a result, will prevent the much talked of meeting of Frank and Conley.

According to the attorney for Lee, subpenas will be issued to the many detectives who have worked on the case, to the solicitor general and to the foreman of the grand jury that failed to indict Lee.

EXAMINED BY EXPERTS.

The part of a pay envelope, bearing across it the name of Mary Phagan, which was found in the pencil factory seevral [sic] weeks after she was murdered, is in the possession of Pinkerton detectives, who on Thursday took it to the federal prison in order that L. J. Fletcher, the government finger print expert, might examine it.

The paper was curled, as if some one had rolled it in his hands, when it was found in the factory, and has been carefully preserved and handled only when resting on another sheet of paper.

For that reason it was thought that a finger print might aid in identifying the girl’s slayer.

Every known method of raising or developing finger prints on paper was used by the prison expert, however, without any trace of a finger print showing.

While it was thought Wednesday that both the state and the defense knew of the finding of the slip of paper, prosecuting officials all denied Thursday that they had heard anything about the find until they read The Journal’s exclusive story.

Attorneys for the defense, however, admitted that they have known for a week that the slip of paper was found in the factory.

WHAT PROSECUTION SAYS.

Prosecuting officials doubt that the part of a pay envelope found so long after the tragedy was really the envelope which Mary Phagan received as the factory on the day she met her death.

It could have been an old envelope (it bore no date), or some factory employe [sic] might have carelessly written the girl’s name on a part of an envelope and dropped it on the floor long after the crime, they say.

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The Atlanta Journal, July 10th 1913, “No Finger Prints Found by Expert on Phagan Envelope,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)