Tag Archives: Detective Lanford

Conley Kept on Grill 4 Hours

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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.

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Mincey’s Story Jolts Police to Activity

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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.

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Girl Tells Police Startling Story of Vice Ring

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The Atlanta Georgian

Friday, July 11, 1913

THREE NEW VICE WAR ARRESTS

Man Prisoner Declares He Will Bare the Whole System if Brought to Trial.

As a result of statements made to Chief Beavers Friday morning by Hattie Smith, the young girl who has been held for the Grand Jury in connection with the vice war, Detective Rosser at noon arrested three persons—two men and a woman—who were named by the Smith girl as contributing to her downfall and being involved in her white slavery charges.

The persons under arrest are Paul Estes, 52 Queen Street; Hoyt Monroe, Edgewood, and Mrs. Lola White, 768 Marietta Street.

The woman is a cousin of Hattie Smith and lives next door, while both Estes and Monroe are in the employ of the Collier Garage at Cone and James Streets, where the Smith girl says she met Lena Barnhardt, who later took her to the Cumberland Hotel.

Says She Went Joy Riding.

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Slaying Charge for Conley Is Expected

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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.

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Agent Claims Conley Confessed to Murder

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The Atlanta Journal

Friday, July 11, 1913

Detectives Deny That Mincey Told Them of Alleged Confession of Negro

In the possession of the attorneys for the defense of Leo M. Frank is an affidavit of William H. Mincey, formerly an insurance agent working in Atlanta, who declares that the negro, James Conley, while drunk on the afternoon of April 26, admitted and even boasted to him that he had killed a girl that day.

The admission is alleged by Mincey’s affidavit to have been made when he met Conley, whom he knew, in the negro quarter, and attempted to sell him insurance.

The negro became enraged, the affidavit recites, and told him (Mincey) that he (Conley) didn’t want to have to kill another person that day, as he had already killed a little girl.

The affidavit is said to further recite that Mincey offered, a day or two after the killing of Mary Phagan, his information to the city police, who refused to consider it. The affidavit is also said to recite that Mincey visited Conley at police headquarters and there again definitely identified him as the man who boasted on April 26 of having killed the girl.

N. A. Lanford, chief of the city detectives, and Harry Scott, of the Pinkertons, who has been working on the case, declare that they first heard of Mincey on the day of Conley’s second confession of complicity.

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Conley Not Right Man, Says Mincey

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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

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Application to Release Lee is Ready to File

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The Atlanta Georgian

Sunday, July 6, 1913

Negro’s Lawyer Says He Will Offer Habeas Corpus When Solicitor Dorsey Returns.

On account of the absence from the city of Prosecuting Attorney Hugh M. Dosey [sic], Bernard L. Chappell, attorney for Newt Lee, announced Saturday that he would not file a writ of habeas corpus until Monday. He claims in the petition for the release of the negro that Lee is being held unlawfully and without any charge against him.

Solicitor Dorsey left for his country place at Valdosta, Ga., Saturady [sic] morning. He will return Monday.

Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey will ask the courts to hold the negro as a material witness for the State, or may charge him with being an accessory. He was determined Friday to take no chances on so important a witness getting out of his control, as he feared the negro might get beyond the jurisdiction of the courts if given his liberty.

Attorney Chappell and Solicitor Dorsey had agreed, when the negro was committed to jail, to keep him there until the trial. Chappell notified Dorsey Wednesday that he wished to withdraw from the agreement and get his client freed.

Chief Discounts Conley Rumor.

The announcement Friday that the defense had secured an important and damaging affidavit that connected the State’s star witness, Jim Conley, more directly with the crime created a sensation in the ranks of the prosecution.

Chief of Detectives Newport A. Lanford announced that every movement of the negro on the day of the crime had been “checked up,” and that it was a matter of impossibility to find anything more damaging against him than his admission that he helped dispose of the body at the request of Frank.

In commenting on the affidavit secured at the office of Joseph H. Leavitt Thursday the attorney said that it would be almost impossible for the prosecution to break down any statement that was made in the affidavit when the witness was placed on the stand.

Calls Evidence Vital.

He said the witness was a citizen of high standing and would be one of the most important for the defense of Frank.

Attorney Leavitt said that this particular affidavit was one of more than 50 that had been recently secured that dealt almost exclusively with the movements of the negro on the day of the murder. While he would not comment at any length, he intimated that the defense had been able to establish conclusively the exact time Conley entered and left the factory.

He also intimated that affidavits had been secured that would show what time Monteen Stover entered and left the factory and be able to prove she left before Mary Phagan’s car reached the vicinity of the pencil factory.

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The Atlanta Georgian, July 6th 1913, “Application to Release Lee is Ready to File,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Liberty for Newt Lee Sought

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The Atlanta Georgian

Saturday, July 5, 1913

Writ to Free Watchman From the Tower Will Be Filed—State to Oppose Liberation.

The prosecution will fight an entirely new angle in the Phagan case Saturday morning when Barnard [sic] L. Chappell, attorney for Newt Lee, the negro night watchman, files a writ of habeas corpus for the release of the negro from the Tower, where he is being held without any charge against him.

Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey will ask the courts to hold the negro as a material witness for the State, or may charge him with being an accessory. He was determined Friday to take no chances on so important a witness getting out of his control, as he feared the negro might get beyond the jurisdiction of the courts if given his liberty.

Attorney Chappell and Solicitor Dorsey had agreed, when the negro was committed to jail, to keep him there until the trial. Chappell notified Dorsey Wednesday that he wished to withdraw from the agreement and get his client freed.

Chief Discounts Conley Rumor.

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Application for Lee’s Release Delayed

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The Atlanta Georgian

Saturday, July 5, 1913

Watchman’s Lawyer Says He Will Await Return of Dorsey Before Filing Habeas Corpus.

On account of the absence form the city of Prosecuting Attorney Hugh M. Dorsey, Bernard L. Chappell, attorney for Newt Lee, announced Saturday that he would not file a writ of habeas corpus until Monday. He claims in the petition for the release of the negro that Lee is being held unlawfully and without any charge against him.

Solicitor Dorsey left for his country place at Valdosta, Ga., Saturday morning. He will return Monday.

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New Testimony Lays Crime to Conley

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The Atlanta Georgian

Friday, July 4, 1913

Frank Defense Locates Witness Who Points to the Negro Sweeper as Slayer.

A new witness, said to have the most damaging evidence yet produced against Jim Conley, the negro sweeper in the National Pencil factory, entered the Phagan case Thursday and made an affidavit, the contents fo [sic] which are carefully guarded by attorneys for Leo M. Frank, charged with causing the death of the factory girl.

The identity of the witness is as much a secret as the exact nature of his testimony. It was learned, though, that the affidavit was made in the law office of Joseph Leavitt in the Grant Building and was witnessed by Mr. Leavitt’s stenographer.

It is said the testimony of this man connects Conley more directly with the crime than any other statement or affidavit yet procured by the defense. The witness is understood to have seen Conley on the afternoon of the crime and to have heard him make remarks in his drunken condition which were extremely incriminating. Continue Reading →

Police Chief to Probe Vice Protection Charge

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The Atlanta Journal

Thursday, July 3, 1913

Beavers Stirred by Details Reported by Physician—Assigns Men to Report

Following the charges of a prominent Atlanta physician regarding vice conditions and alleged police protection in this city, Chief of Police Beavers despatched an officer to confer with this physician Thursday morning.

The officer will endeavor to obtain even more information than has been furnished the chief and will try to substantiate that already given. He will pay especial attention to the statement of the physician that he reported a disorderly house to the police and that the proprietors of it were “tipped off” by some officer.

Chief Beavers is concerned over this phase of the question. He admits that there must be something in the charges, as the source of his information is reputable.

“It is a grave charge,” he declared Thursday morning. “I am satisfied that Atlanta’s police department is as free of anything like giving protection to vice as any in the United States, yet it is entirely possible that there are some men in it who would ‘graft.’ If there are I want to know more than anyone else, for it is not fair for the department’s reputation as a whole to suffer for what can be traced to a few individuals.”

The alleged disorderly houses reported to the chief are being watched closely, but he said that no evidence against them had been obtained yet.

Sergeant L.S. Dobbs, who has been investigating the locker clubs to see if they had any members of the police departmet [sic] enrolled, has finished his work and reported to the chief that he was unable to find any police members. He said that there are a number of local fraternal organizations with police members, and that these orders have locker club attachments, but that so far as he could learn no policemen were in the habit of using them.

Chief Beavers declared that there was nothing wrong with an officer belonging to a fraternal order, provided he did not use his membership for anything other than fraternal purposes.

Chief of Detectives Lanford declared Thursday morning that he had taken steps to investigate the charges made by the physician that several of his men had been seen drinking in two downtown locker clubs.

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The Atlanta Journal, July 3rd 1913, “Police Chief to Probe Vice Protection Charge,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Findings in Probe are Guarded

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The Atlanta Georgian

Wednesday, July 2, 1913

No Indication Given of Results of Investigation of Reports of Disorderly Houses.

The result of the Grand Jury’s sensational vice probe of a few weeks ago will be made known Wednesday when the presentments are returned to Superior Judge W. D. Ellis, who two months ago charged that an extensive investigation be made.

Save when an indictment was returned against Police Commissioner W. P. Fain, which charged him with keeping a disorderly house and beating one of the women inmates, no inkling of the general trend of the probe got beyond the closed doors of the jury room.

When the probe first started the jury expected it to be completed in a day. It took a sensational turn when Colonel Thomas B. Felder charged Chief of Detectives Newport Lanford and his detectives with openly protecting vice, and the attorney stated he could submit to the jury a “vice list” that would “stand Atlanta on its head.”

List Given to Jury.

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Colyar Indicted as Libeler of Col. Felder

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The Atlanta Georgian

Tuesday, July 1, 1913

Grand Jury Develops Sensational Sequel to Famous Dictograph Scandal.

A. S. Colyar, Jr., dictographer of Colonel Thomas B. Felder, Mayor Woodward and C. C. Jones, was indicted by the Grand Jury on the charge of criminal libel Tuesday forenoon.

Colyar is the man who sought to trap Colonel Felder by means of the dictograph into offering a bribe of $1,000 for certain affidavits in the Phagan case in the possession of the police. The dictograph records as furnished an afternoon newspaper by Colyar contained the offer.

Colonel Felder swore the records were padded. Largely on Colonel Felder’s representations, the indictment was procured. John Pascal, of The Journal, was the only witness called by the Grand Jury in considering Colyar’s case.

Chief of Detectives Lanford and Colonel Felder, indicted last week by the Grand Jury, obtained their freedom by making a $500 bond. It was expected that the same bond would be imposed upon Colyar.

Much of the time Tuesday was occupied by members of the Grand Jury in probing into police affairs. Without calling any witnesses, the scandal which has shaken the department was given serious consideration for nearly two hours. The result of the discussion was not made public.

* * *

The Atlanta Georgian, July 1st 1913, “Colyar Indicted as Libeler of Col. Felder,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Lanford and Felder Are Held for Libel

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The Atlanta Georgian

Friday, June 27, 1913

Grand Jury Indicts Lawyer and Head of Detectives for Attacks on Each Other.

Three indictments charging criminal libel were returned Friday by the Grand Jury against Colonel Thomas B. Felder, the Atlanta attorney, and Newport Lanford, Chief of Detectives, who accused each other of most everything in the category after the famous dictograph episode. There are two bills against Felder and one against Lanford.

The two men will be placed under bond and will be tried in the Fulton County courts under the misdemeanor act for unlawfully and maliciously accusing each other, according to the true bills.

The penalty for conviction of a misdemeanor is six months in the county jail, twelve months in the penitentiary, a fine not exceeding $1,000, either or all three.

Colonel Felder appeared at the Solicitor’s office about 2 o’clock and furnished the $500 bond required. Chief Lanford had not been located at that time, but was expected to do likewise.

The accusation against both men is based on recriminations issued against each other and published in the Sunday newspapers of May 25 and June 8.

In those statements Colonel Felder attacked Lanford bitterly, hurling a line of invectives that the greatest of the Roman orators might have envied. He attacked Lanford’s private and public character, accusing him of “hideous crimes.”

Lanford in Full Denial.

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Brilliant Legal Battle Is Sure as Hooper And Arnold Clash in Trial of Leo Frank

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The Atlanta Georgian

Sunday, June 29, 1913

[BRILLIANT BATTLE SURE IN FRANK TRIAL IN CLASH OF HOOPER AND ARNOLD]*

[Order Has at Last Been Rested and Indications Are That Struggle of Attorneys Will Be Waged in the Most Ethical Manner.]

* Alternate headline from another page is shown in brackets above.

By An Old Police Reporter.

As deplorable as the Phagan case is in all its melancholy details, it already is evident enough that there will come of it eventually much that the community may be thankful for.

In the first place, Atlanta and Georgia, and incidentally the entire South will have learned a good lesson in law and order, justice and fair play, and to that extent may be the better prepared for the next case of the kind that comes to their attention.

In the second place, there will be in the future no such wretched bungling and frenzied appeal in and from police headquarters, as for a time marked the Phagan case unique among its kind.

It looks now as if the decks have been pretty well cleared for action and that Leo Frank’s trial may be expected to proceed in dignity and order, and that in its final analysis the truth of Mary Phagan’s murder may be established, at least to the extent of Frank’s real or suspected participation therein.

If Frank should be convicted, that would mean the subsequent indictment and conviction of the negro Conley, as an accessory after the fact.

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Lanford and Felder Indicted for Libel

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The Atlanta Constitution

Saturday, June 28, 1913

Indictments Grew Out of the Dictagraph Episode and the Letters Which Followed.

Formal investigation into the invectives hurled between Colonel Thomas B. Felder and Detective Chief Newport Lanford resulted yesterday in indictments of criminal libel being returned by the grand jury against each of them for their cards and interviews in the daily papers in which they attacked each other’s character, after the dictagraph row.

Colonel Felder is held under two indictments on a bond of $500, while Chief Lanford has one indictment against him, and is free on the same bond.

The offenses charged against each are misdemeanors, and the punishment, in case of conviction, is six months in the county jail, twelve months in the penitentiary or a fine of not more than $1,000. It is in the discretion of the judge to impose any or all of these penalties after conviction.

In order to come clear at the trial it will be necessary for the man indicted for criminal libel to prove that the charges he made were true, and it is expected that the cases will develop into the most bitterly fought in the history of the Fulton courts.

Felder Will Not Talk.

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Col. Felder and Chief Lanford Indicted

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The Atlanta Journal

Friday, June 27, 1913

GRAND JURY RETURNS BILLS AGAINST EACH; THE CHARGE IS LIBEL

Cards Written by Chief of Detectives and Attorney and Published in the Atlanta Newspapers Form the Basis

TWO BILLS FOUND AGAINST FELDER, ONE ON LANFORD

Both Men Who Have Criticised Each Through Atlanta Press Must Face Jury on Criminal Libel Charge

The Fulton county grand jury on Friday returned two true bills against Colonel Thomas B. Felder, lawyer, and one bill against Chief Newport A. Lanford, of the city detective department, all bills charging libel.

The action of the grand jury insures the airing of Colonel Felder’s charges against Chief Lanford and of Chief Lanford’s charges against Colonel Felder in open court, and in effect it puts it up to each man to prove his charges against the other or to stand convicted of criminal libel.

The two famous cards of Colonel Felder, printed in the Atlanta newspapers of May 26 and June 8, in which the attorney flayed the detective, form the basis for the indictments against the lawyer.

The bills charge that each man “unlawfully, wantonly, maliciously and with malice aforethought caused to be published the articles in question, with the intent to falsely villify and blacken the character of the other and to prejudice before the public the honesty, the integrity, the virtue and the reputation of the other.”

The indictments charge that the statements made by each man against the other were disgraceful, false and malicious.

The grand jury consider the three bills for less than an hour, and returned the true bills on the testimony of three newspaper men who testified simply that the articles in question were signed and given out for publication by the two men against whom the indictments were returned. The three witnesses were M. D. Colfine, Sidney Ormond and W. P. Flythe.

WHAT FELDER SAID.

In his open letter to Chief Lanford, bearing date of June 7 and published in the Sunday morning papers of June 8. Colonel Felder begins by saying: “I shall now proceed to redeem the pledge heretofore made to lay bear through the columns of the papers your infamous career in the maladministration of the affairs of the official position which you disgrace and dishonor.” Continue Reading →

Seeking For a Phagan Suspect in Macon?

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The Atlanta Journal

Friday, June 27, 1913

(Special Dispatch to The Journal.)

MACON, Ga., June 27.—Two members of the Atlanta detective department left Macon last night after searching all the week her for a negro who is thought to be connected with the Phaga [sic] murder in Atlanta last April. A white woman was arrested here and put through an examination, but she could give no evidence against parties now under arrest for the crime.

When acquainted with the contents of the above dispatch Detective Chief N. A. Lanford stated that none of his men had been to Macon and that he had no knowledge whatever of any investigation being made there relative to the Phagan murder.

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The Atlanta Journal, June 27th 1913, “Seeking For a Phagan Suspect in Macon?,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Trial of Leo Frank Postponed by Judge

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The Atlanta Constitution

Wednesday, June 25, 1913

Date of Trial Changed From June 30 Until July 28 at Plea of Attorneys for Defense.

The first appearance in open court of the indictment against Leo M. Frank for the murder of Mary Phagan came yesterday afternoon when Judge L. S. Roan, presiding over the criminal division of superior court, summoned attorneys for both sides, and after a hearing changed the date of trial from June 30, as set by Solicitor Hugh M. Dorsey, to July 28.

This and the legal move by the defense in serving upon Solicitor Dorsey, Police Chief James L. Beavers, Detective Chief Newport Lanford and other detectives and officials for the state, with formal subpoenas duces tecum, commanding them to bring to court all affidavits they may have which bear upon the state’s case against Frank, were the only changes in the present situation.

Judge Roan also decided that the trial of Frank would be held not in the regular room in which he holds his division of court, but in one of the rooms in which the civil division of the superior court sits.

Where Trial Will be Held.

This was done, the judge explained, because the ceiling is very low in the courtroom in the Thrower building, where his court regularly sits, and the room is ventilated by windows only on one side. The trial will be held, according to present plans, in one of the courtrooms in the old city hall, corner South Pryor and East Hunter streets, where the ceilings are higher and windows can be thrown open on both sides of the room to allow ventilation. Continue Reading →

Both Sides Called in Conference by Judge; Trial Set for July 28

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The Atlanta Georgian

Tuesday, June 24, 1913

Dorsey, Beavers and Lanford Summoned to Appear June 30 With All Affidavits They Have Secured Relative to the Phagan Slaying Case.

Just before the conference with both sides in the Frank case started Judge Roan intimated strongly that he would set the case for July 14 or July 28 and hold it in some more commodious court room than the one in which he sits on the fourth floor of the Thrower building. Judge Roan’s personal inclination leans to a date in July, and it is not likely that the State or defense will object to acceding to his wishes.

The date was definitely fixed for July 28 at the conference.

The first important legal move by the defense in the battle for the life and freedom of Leo Frank, accused of the strangling of Mary Phagan, was made Tuesday in the issuance of subpenas duces tecum for the prime movers in the prosecution of the factory superintendent.

The following have been subpenaed to appear:

Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey, who will prosecute the prisoner.

Chief of Police James L. Beavers, who was the leader in obtaining incriminating affidavits.

Pinkerton Detective Harry Scott, to whom is generally given credit for the admissions gained from Conley.

All other city detectives who have worked on the case.

All of them are ordered to produce any affidavits they may have bearing on the case in court June 30, indicating that the defense will be prepared to go on with the trial at that time.

Judge Roan, however, had called a conference of the attorneys on both sides of the case for 2 o’clock in the afternoon, when he announced that he would set the date definitely after the attorneys had been given an opportunity to say whether or not their cases would be in shape to present if the trial were called the last of this month.

Plan to Use Same Evidence.

The startling move on the part of the defense was taken to mean that Frank’s lawyers propose to use to free their client the very evidence the detectives and Solicitor General have collected to send him to the gallows.

The most significant demand is made upon Chief Beavers, who is commanded to bring into court the famed series of affidavits made by the negro sweeper, Jim Conley. It is evident that Attorneys Rosser and Arnold, who are conducting the defense, intend to tear the contradictory stories of the negro to tatters and make his statements so utterly ridiculous and improbable that the jury not only will refuse to accept them, but will interpret them as an effort of Conley to get from under the blame for a crime that he committed himself. Continue Reading →