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

Atlanta Constitution

Wednesday, May 14^th, 1913

Reporter of The Constitution Is Summoned by Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey for Conference.

OFFICIALS INVESTIGATE THEORY OF MYSTERY

Much Interest Is Created by the Report That a New Arrest May Be Made in the Near Future.

The handwriting of Mary Phagan is likely to play a prominent part in the investigation of her murder. Rumors came Tuesday from the solicitor general’s office that new clues had been discovered in the form of notes or letters, and that much energy was being concentrated in investigation along that line.

Handwriting experts have been summoned before Mr. Dorsey this morning. A reporter for The Constitution who has several specimens of the murdered girl’s handwriting has also been ordered to appear at the solicitor’s office this morning at 10 o’clock.

It is reported that mysterious notes have been found by a number of the solicitor’s staff, and that Mr. Dorsey’s object is to identify, by the specimens in the reporter’s possession, the Phagan girl’s script. It also has been advanced that the strange notes caused the new theory on which the solicitor is working.

Mr. Dorsey and his entire office staff is unusually reticent about the rumored clues. He will neither deny or affirm the report that notes or letters of any character pertaining to the mystery have been discovered.

“To talk at present,” he said, “would be disastrous. We must have time to verify our theory.”

Dorsey Interviews Mrs. Barrett.

Mrs. Mary Barrett, a woman who is said to have been in the pencil factory the Saturday afternoon that Mary Phagan disappeared, was summoned before Mr. Dorsey Tuesday afternoon. She came with her daughter, a pretty little girl, who was present during her mother’s examination.

Mrs. Barrett was in a disturbed state upon emerging from the interview. As she stepped upon the threshold of the ante-room, she exclaimed, dramatically:

“If anyone has told or tells any lies on me in connection with this murder, they’ll certainly suffer for it.”

The daughter was heard to tell Mr. Dorsey:

“I’ll talk with her tonight, and then maybe she’ll do what you ask.”

To avoid reporters, the woman and girl were rushed away in a cab by Detective Rosser, of police headquarters.

Relative to the new theory advanced by Solicitor Dorsey, and the rumored new suspect who may be arrested, Chief Lanford said to a Constitution reporter Tuesday afternoon that he was unaware of a new theory or probable arrest.

He and the solicitor general were closeted for two hours Tuesday morning in the former’s offices at headquarters. They only weighed the evidence now at hand and prospects for gaining new clues, the chief declared. Also, he said it was likely that he and Mr. Dorsey would hold another consultation in regard to the assistance the detective department is to give the solicitor in presenting the case before the grand jury.

Detective Chief Lanford said to a reporter for The Constitution:

“Police headquarters has as yet been unable to unearth evidence which would turn us from the theory to which we have adhered throughout the Phagan case. If another suspect has entered the mystery the city detective department is unaware of his existence. I don’t believe there is such a character.”

Solicitor Dorsey:

“I would rather not talk on the subject. It has been rumored over the entire city that another arrest will be made. Such might be the case. It is entirely probable. At present, however, I’m unprepared to talk. That new and plausible theories have been advanced is true. We are looking for anyone who can acquaint us with facts of the crime.”

Speculation was rife Tuesday over The Constitution’s report to the effect that another arrest was likely. The source of information from which the report was derived was responsible and a good deal of dependence, for that reason, was placed in the rumor.

Mystery as deep, however, as that which shrouds the murder itself, covers the identity of the strange suspect and the nature of his or her connection with the crime. Whether or not it is a man or woman is also a topic of wide speculation. Absolutely nothing can be gained from the solicitor’s office, from which the new theory is being worked out.

Several days ago a representative of The Constitution secured from J. W. Coleman, stepfather of Mary Phagan, the following poem, which Mr. Coleman said his daughter had written. In order to secure this poem and an affidavit concerning it, Solicitor General Dorsey has summoned the reporter before him today. He is of the opinion that it may aid him in his search for the murderer. It is the most complete specimen of Mary Phagan’s handwriting the solicitor has been able to obtain. The poem follows [above]:

Mr. Dorsey was asked Monday morning of his views on the part Detective William J. Burns will play in the Phagan investigation. He said:

“I will welcome Mr. Burns. His reputation inspires hope. I would welcome anyone or anything which might tend to clear up the mystery.”

Three New Affidavits Filed.

Three affidavits were filed with the solicitor Monday morning. The nature of one Mr. Dorsey would not disclose. The two others, however, were obtained from Miss Maggie Wyatt, of 44 Pickett avenue, and Miss Willie M. Ross, of 250 Crew street.

Miss Wyatt is said to have attested to her knowledge of certain conditions in the pencil plant, while Miss Ross made a statement of having heard screams from the basement of the factory at 4:30 o’clock on the Saturday afternoon the murder is supposed to have been committed.

It is probable that the grand jury will hold an extra session this week to clear away the routine matters before them so as to have nothing to interfere with the exhaustive investigation it proposes to make into the girl’s death. At just which time the case will be presented by the solicitor is not definitely known. Even Mr. Dorsey, himself, has stated that he is not determined in that respect.

Mr. Dorsey’s Theory.

The new theory of the solicitor general, which Tuesday created such widespread speculation, deals with the manner and the place of Mary Phagan’s death, it was reported last night.

The police theory, and that generally accepted by the public, is that the victim was rendered unconscious by being struck upon the back of the skull when her head hit the planing machine on the second floor, and that her unconscious form was lowered to the basement, where, upon regaining consciousness, her screams at 4:30 o’clock were heard by the woman pedestrian who passed the plant building. Afraid that her cries would attract attention, her assailant completed the deed by strangulation.

Mr. Dorsey will not comment upon the subject. He has said, though, that he does not believe the girl met death outside the building. It is rumored that he believes the crime was committed in the basement, and that she was conscious when carried there. He will not verify even this report. Also, it is said that the new clues supposed to have been unearthed Tuesday morning corroborate, to a large extent, the solicitor’s new theory.

Officers Are Summoned.

Corroborating, in a certain degree, the rumor that his new theory pertains to how and in what portion of the building the crime was committed, was the solicitor’s action Tuesday in summoning to his office a number of the police squad who answered the negro night watchman’s telephone call on the morning the body was discovered. His idea in this move, it is said, is to acquaint himself with the exact position of the corpse and the condition of the basement in which it was found.

Considerable interest is centered on the mysterious detective in his employ, whom Mr. Dorsey announces as one of America’s best. At present, he is out of the city, in New York, it is rumored, investigating police records of that city and Brooklyn. He will not return, according to the solicitor, in several days.

“Certainly detective ability is not lacking in this mystery,” said Chief Lanford last night. “First come the Pinkertons, the solicitor’s staff, his ‘America’s greatest’ sleuth, then Detective Burns—and the squad at headquarters are not inferior when it comes to efficiency. In fact, the city detectives have unearthed the larger portion of evidence now at hand.

“But a world of detectives, as good as any on earth though they be, has not solved the Phagan murder. It is one of the most mysterious mysteries of my knowledge.”

* * *

Atlanta Constitution, May 14th 1913, “Clue is Sought in Handwriting of Mary Phagan,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

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

Atlanta Constitution

Monday, May 12^th, 1913

The history of the baffling Phagan mystery, daily recorded, is briefly as follows:

Sunday April 26—Girl’s body found in basement of pencil factory. Newt Lee, negro night watchman, who made discovery, arrested. Arthur Mullinax, street car employee, also arrested. Both held on suspicion.

Monday—Leo M. Frank, factory superintendent, detained, but later released. J. M. Gantt, former bookkeeper of pencil concern and friend of dead girl, arrested in Marietta. Negro elevator boy also taken into custody. Pinkertons enter case.

Tuesday—Bloody shirt found at negro watchman’s home. Planted evidence theory advanced. Mary Phagan’s body buried. Sleuths announce they have evidence to convict. Frank confers with negro suspect.

Wednesday—Inquest begins. Newt Lee testifies. One hundred and fifty pencil factory employees summoned before coroner. George Epps, newsboy, tells of ride to uptown with Mary Phagan on her last trip.

Thursday—Frank and Lee ordered to Fulton tower on warrants issued by Coroner Donehoo. Trip made without incident.

Friday—Both prisoners tell reporter for The Constitution at 1 a. m. that they are not guilty and will prove their innocence.

Saturday—Evidence is unearthed that imposters, pretending to be Pinkerton detectives, are questioning leading witnesses. No arrests made.

Sunday, May 4—Detectives again announce their belief that they can convict murderer, whoever he is.

Monday—Paul P. Bowen, former Atlanta youth, arrested in Houston under suspicion of complicity in slaying. Is released at night.

Tuesday—Detectives obtain affidavit from woman who alleges she heard screams from basement of factory building at 4:30 p. m. on Memorial day.

Wednesday—Testimony is secured from Monteen Stover that she visited pencil plant at 12:05 noon on Memorial day and that offices were deserted.

Thursday—Inquest resumed. Character witnesses are examined. Frank and Lee ordered by jury to be held under suspicion of murder for grand jury investigation.

Friday—Mrs. Nancy Caldwell, of 10 Gray street, is examined by detectives under belief that she was the “mysterious girl in red” who was supposed to have visited factory with Mary Phagan. She establishes alibi.

Saturday—Three more Pinkerton detectives put to work on investigation. No developments at police headquarters. Solicitor general examines 100 witnesses.

Sunday May 11—Solicitor Dorsey announces that grand jury will probably not take action until early next week.

* * *

Atlanta Constitution, May 12th 1913, “The Phagan Case Day by Day,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Robert House

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

Atlanta Constitution

Sunday, May 11^th, 1913

Robert House, Now a Special Policeman, Tells the Atlanta Detectives of an Incident of Over a Year Ago.

SEES FRANK IN TOWER AND RECOGNIZES HIM

Three More Pinkertons Are Put on the Phagan Case, Under the Supervision of Harry Scott.

Detectives have procured in Robert P. House, a special policeman, a witness who has testified that he once apprehended Leo M. Frank, the suspect in the Mary Phagan mystery, and a young girl in a desolate spot of the woods in Druid Hills Park.

The policeman declares he obtained admission from Frank that he and his companion had come to the woods for immoral purpose.

House is a special officer in the employ of the Druid Hills Land company. Several days ago, he went to the tower in which the suspected superintendent was imprisoned to identify him. When he emerged from the jail, he declared he recognized the prisoner as the man he apprehended in Druid Hills.

Volunteers His Testimony.

He volunteered his testimony. Upon first reading of the Phagan murder, he recalled the incident in the woods. Recollecting that the man had told that he was superintendent of the National Pencil factory, he says he went immediately to the detective department, and an officer escorted him to Frank’s cell in the Tower.

The policeman says the incident occurred a year or more ago, some time after 2 o’clock one summer afternoon. He declares he had seen Frank enter the park frequently with a girl, and on that particular occasion decided to shadow him. As the superintendent and his girl companion stepped from the Ponce de Leon to Druid Hills trolley car at the end of the line, House says he followed them to a swampy section of the woodland, considerable distance from the roadway.

House asserts that the girl was apparently young, and wore a dress slightly above her shoe tops. Frank and she, he says, entered a spot concealed from view by trees and shrubbery.

House declares he watched them several minutes, then stepped into sight. Frank, he states, jumped up and came forward before the policeman could reach the girl. House quotes him as having said,

“I don’t want you to see the girl. I admit that we came here for immoral purpose. Please don’t make a case against us or arrest us. It would disgrace us both. We will leave instantly.”

Both Leave the Park.

The policeman says that he assured him that no case or arrest would be made, but ordered both the man and girl to leave the park. Frank, he avers, was profusely grateful.

House states further that he watched Frank and the girl leave the woodland and disappear over the hill as though they were going to catch the Clifton car for town. He did not see the girl’s features clearly he says, and would not be able to recognize her.

He was a county policeman for five years. For the two past years, he has been employed with the Druid Hills Land company, and lives on their property in Druid Hills. He says that Frank showed no sign of recognition when he went into the Tower to identify the prisoner, and that neither spoke, as it was the intention of the detectives for his mission in the jail not to be known.

House is married and has seven children. He has declared his willingness to testify before any jury or court at any time, and already has made a signed statement of the incident. The detectives say they will introduce House as a character witness against Frank.

All Evidence Known.

Pinkerton officials asserted Saturday that the public, through the newspapers, has been put in possession of all the essential evidence which has been unearthed in the baffling mystery. They declare satisfaction over the progress made, but are continuing the investigation with the same energy as heretofore.

Newt Lee, the negro suspect, has employed counsel in Bernard L. Chappelear, of 609 Temple Court building. He declared to Deputy Sheriff Plennie Miner Saturday that in the future he would speak with no one relative to his case unless his attorney was first consulted.

Chief Lanford told newspaper reporters last night that he believed that the world’s most famous detective whom Solicitor Dorsey declares he has employed, is none other but an efficient attaché to the solicitor’s staff.

Good Men on Staff.

“He has some mighty good men connected with this office,” said the chief, “and I see no need why he should employ any ‘world-beater’ detective to assist him. I don’t think he has.”

Mr. Dorsey would not talk of the new officer he has heralded as the nation’s best. He would not even divulge his residence.

“Nothing,” he said, “except he’s the best in the country.”

There were few developments Saturday. The solicitor and his men were busy throughout the day examining witnesses in his office in the Thrower building. Probably 300 or more witnesses will be summoned in the entire investigation. Among those questioned Saturday was J. M. Gantt, who was arrested early last week as a suspect.

Affidavit Is Denied.

The existence of an affidavit from a mysterious woman, to the effect that she passed the National Pencil factory on the Saturday afternoon before Mary Phagan was found murdered and heard a woman’s screams coming from the building, is practically denied by Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey.

“If Chief Lanford has such an affidavit I have not seen it,” he replied, when asked as to the authenticity of the report that detectives have secured such a sworn statement from a woman whose name they refuse to divulge.

“I have a number of affidavits made out and delivered to me by the detective force, and I have not had time to read all of them, but if this particular affidavit is among them I am not aware of it.”

Solicitor Dorsey further declares that neither he nor his special detective whom he has employed to work on the case, and whom he declares to be among the best in the country, had turned up any new evidence on Saturday.

“There is nothing that I can divulge at present, and to tell the truth,” he declared, “there have been no new clews secured within the past twenty-four hours.

Doesn’t Want Delay.

“We are now working upon the case and before I present it to the grand jury I want to have the tangled ends caught up and have it in such shape that there will be no delay on their part. In other words, I want to have the evidence so arranged that the grand jury will not be delayed in securing evidence that I should have [several words illegible] when I put the case before them.”

[several words illegible] the Phagan mystery [several words illegible] before the grand jury the solicitor declared that he had no [several words illegible] his interrogator.

Things are in such a shape now,” he stated, “that I can not say just when the grand jury will take the matter up.”

The solicitor held two conferences on Saturday. In the early part of the days he and Dr. H. F. Harris, of the state board of health, were closeted for nearly an hour. If anything that might tend to clarify the situation was brought out at their conference, the solicitor refused to divulge it, and neither he nor Dr. Harris would do more than acknowledge what was already known, namely, that they had held a conference.

Late Saturday afternoon, Mrs. Arthur White came to the solicitor’s office for a talk and this also he covered with the same air of mystery that he has thrown around the state’s attempt to find the murderer of the Phagan girl since he gave over the duties of his office to the affair over a week ago.

Five Pinkertons on Case.

The forces of the Pinkerton men investigating the Phagan case were strengthened Saturday with the addition of three more men. This makes a total of five, all of whom are under command of Assistant Superintendent Harry Scott, formerly in charge of the Philadelphia Pinkerton branch.

There are probably more detectives at work on the mystery of Mary Phagan’s murder than have ever investigated a case in the annals of southern crime. Private sleuths, men from police headquarters—the entire staff—attaches to the solicitor’s office, the Pinkertons, amateur detectives and others.

Chief Lanford has said that his men have traveled approximately 1,800 miles since the body of the murdered girl was discovered two weeks ago. Their main energy has been expended in running down the countless rumors with which headquarters was flooded. More territory has been covered in investigating the Phagan mystery than has been covered in any three cases with which the Atlanta police have heretofore been confronted.

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Atlanta Constitution, May 11th 1913, “Officer Swears He Found Frank With Young Girl,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

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

Atlanta Journal

Sunday, May 11^th, 1913

The Journal Presents First Complete Statement of Case Solicitor and His Investigators Seek to Build

HOW DETECTIVES THINK CRIME WAS COMMITTED

They Maintain That Mary Phagan Was Left Unconscious in Factory Near Midday and Killed Later in Afternoon

For the first time since the lifeless body of pretty fourteen-year-old Mary Phagan was found in the basement of the National Pencil factory, this morning two weeks ago, The Journal is enabled to make public the theory of the city detectives and others investigating the murder mystery as to how the crime was committed.

HERE IS THE THEORY.

The theory in detail is:

That Mary Phagan arrived at the pencil factory between 12 and 12:10 o’clock on Saturday, April 26; that within a short time after she arrived there she was lured to the metal room on the second floor, where she worked; that the big doors of this room were closed, making it almost impossible for the two men working on the fourth floor to hear any outcries; that she was overpowered and assaulted.

That the assailant, realizing that he had committed a crime which would cost him his life if it became known, argued with her and entreated her to keep silent; that when she reiterated her intention to tell he struck her a terrific blow in the left eye, causing her to fall against the handle of the lathe; that the back of her head struck the lathe handle, rendering her unconscious and producing a wound from which the blood flowed freely; that the assailant then secured a cord and looped around her neck, after which he dragged her into one of the small dressing rooms nearby, placing papers or some old garment beneath her head to catch the flow of blood; that the door to the dressing room was closed, and the assailant went away, believing that the girl was dead or dying.

RETURNED LATER IN AFTERNOON.

That later in the afternoon, when there was no one in the factory, he returned and either carried or dragged the body to the elevator, which he ran to the basement; that the peculiar motion of the elevator or the slackening of the loop-knot in the cord about the girl’s neck resulted in her partially regaining consciousness; that when the assailant observed this he tightened the cord around her neck and dragged her by it over into the rear end of the semi-darkened basement; that he then tore the wide hem from the child’s underskirt and knotted it about her neck to make doubly sure that she would be effectively strangled; that he then pulled the staple from the fastening in the rear door, either with the intention of later removing the body from the premises to the alley in the rear of the factory, or for the purpose of making it appear that the murderer entered and left the building by this door.

The detectives have evidence to the effect that Mary Phagan went to the factory a few minutes after 12 o’clock; they hold to the opinion that she could have been attacked and left unconscious within a period of twenty minutes.

CORD FOUND IN ROOM.

Cord of the kind found around the girl’s neck, in the same lengths and tied with the same loop knots, is found, it is said, in large quantities in the metal room where they insist the crime was committed. Blood was found on the floor of this room and human hair was found on the lathe handle. Blood was also found on the elevator door.

By actual test they have demonstrated, it is claimed, that it would have been almost impossible for the girl’s screams to have been heard by the two men working on the fourth floor. This demonstration was made, it declared, when the factory was silent and a lusty-lunged man shouted at the top of his voice. He could barely be heard on the fourth floor, it is said, although persons there were listening intently for his cries.

It is the theory of the detectives that with papers or old clothes wrapped around the girl’s head no blood would have been found on the floor of the dressing room. The girl’s left eye was badly bruised, indicating the detectives think, that she had been struck a fist blow and there were one or two bruises on her chest which could have been produced in the same manner.

CRIES HEARD AT 4:30.

Only ten or fifteen minutes would have been required, say the detectives, for the murderer to have taken the girl down the elevator to the basement. They have, it is said, a witness, a woman, who swears she was passing the pencil factory about 4:30 o’clock on Saturday afternoon, April 26, and that she heard a woman’s piteous cries.

According to this witness, these cries seemed to come from the basement and were cut short, as if they were muffled in some way. The witness says, it is claimed, she did not report the matter at the time because she thought it must have been a negro man in a fuss with his wife and she didn’t care to become involved as a witness in such a case.

It is the testimony of this woman which leads the detectives to the theory that the girl was not taken to the basement until in the afternoon and that she regained consciousness while she was being taken from the elevator.

They explain their theory that the hem of the girl’s underskirt was tied about her neck after she was taken to the basement by calling attention to the fact that there was no cord or other strings down there and that the murderer, fearing that the cord about her neck would not be sufficient to strangle her, sought for a second noose and finding nothing handy tore the hem from her underskirt. This theory is also strengthened, the detectives think, by the testimony of Dr. J. W. Hurt, the county physician who performed the autopsy on the girl’s body. He declares that she came to her death from strangulation; that the blow on the head was sufficient to render her unconscious, but not to kill her.

MESH BAG MISSING.

The detectives hold firm to the theory that Mary Phagan never left the pencil factory after she went there for her money—$1.20—but they are puzzled to know what became of this money and also the silver mesh bag which she carried with her and which contained sixty cents when she left home to go direct to the factory. As far as is known all the other effects of the girl, including her parasol, were found in the basement. The silver mesh bag is missing, and the detectives have never been able to find the envelope in which the girl is said to have received her money.

The parasol was found at the foot of the elevator shaft, which leads them to the theory that when the girl was carried down to the basement the parasol was left on the second floor where she was attacked, and that the murderer, finding the parasol there when he returned, threw it into the elevator shaft.

The above is a complete statement of the theory upon which the detectives, the solicitor general and other investigators for the state are working.

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Atlanta Journal, May 11th 1913, “City Detectives’ Theory of Phagan Murder Outlined,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

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

Atlanta Journal

Saturday, May 10^th, 1913

Pinkertons Declare the State Has No Evidence of Importance That Hasn’t Been Given to the Newspapers

IDENTITY OF SOLICITOR’S DETECTIVE A MYSTERY

Chief Lanford Believes He Is One of Sheriff’s Capable Deputies—Gantt Questioned, Newt Lee Has Lawyer

The probe into the mystery of little Mary Phagan’s death two weeks ago still goes on.

The small army of professional, amateur, city, state and private detectives which took up the chase of the murderer soon after the horrible details of the crime became known still pursues the investigation with unabated vigor.

Solicitor Dorsey’s detective, heralded as the best in the world and admitted by the solicitor to be an A-1man, remains a mystery. Mr. Dorsey refuses to divulge his identity, and even the attaches of his office profess not to know his name.

N. A. Lanford, chief of the city detectives, who has known not even a twelve-hour working day law since the crime was discovered, and who has been vigorously following every tangible “lead,” treats the entry of Mr. Dorsey’s sleuth into the limelight very lightly, and expresses an opinion that the mysterious man is no other than a very conscientious and efficient young deputy in the solicitor’s office.

PUBLIC KNOWS ALL.

Officials of the Pinkerton agency, which has been employed to ferret out the mystery by the National Pencil company, declare that they are well satisfied with the progress made, and add that the public is now in possession of practically all of the really important points in the state’s case. They regard as highly important the testimony of Miss Monteen Stover.

The Pinkertons state that the identity of the mysterious detective who has been brought into the case by Solicitor Dorsey, is not known to them.

“We welcome any assistance which the alleged detectives can give the state, for we are only interested in seeing the mystery cleared and the guilty party brought to trial. However, working with the city department, and giving it the benefit of everything we learn, we have done all that is humanly possible for detectives to do, and we are continuing the probe with the intention of leaving no stone unturned.”

Solicitor Dorsey on Saturday again gave practically his entire time to the Phagan investigation, and interviewed during the morning many of the city detectives, who are working on the case.

GANTT INTERVIEWED.

Among the witnesses whom he saw Saturday was J. M. Gantt, who for a few days was held by the detectives in connection with the case. Gantt, it is said, made a statement relative to the nervousness of Superintendent L. M. Frank when he met Gantt at the door of the factory Saturday afternoon two weeks ago.

Newt Lee, the negro ordered held by the coroner’s jury, stated to Deputy Plennie Minor Saturday that in future he would refuse to talk to anyone except his attorney. The negro didn’t remember his lawyer’s name, but it was later learned that he is being represented by Attorney Bernard L. Chappelear, of 609 Temple court building. Attorney Murray Donnell, who was first reported to be counsel for the incarcerated negro, states that the report is a mistake.

As the result of the Phagan investigation it is probable that the city council will be asked to allow the city detectives money for reasonable expenses incurred in their investigations.

The city detectives, who are working sixteen hours a day on the case and who have been at the grueling work steadily for two weeks, have incurred considerable expense, which must come from their own pockets since they are allowed nothing but car fare by the city.

IMPORTANT WITNESS.

Monteen Stover, a fourteen-year-old girl of 171 South Forsyth street, has made an affidavit declaring that she went to the office of Superintendent L. M. Frank, of the National Pencil factory, at 12:05 o’clock on last Memorial day, and remained there until 12:10 o’clock without seeing any person in the building.

The young girl, who is a former employee of the factory, is regarded as one of the state’s most important witnesses, and her testimony will be used to help strengthen the state’s case, when the Phagan murder mystery is investigated by the grand jury.

Mr. Frank testified at the inquest that he remained in his office from the time the stenographer, Miss Hall, left as the noon whistles blew until the arrival of Lemmie Quinn at 12:25 o’clock.

He also declared that Mary Phagan entered the office about 5 minutes after 12 o’clock, the time Miss Stover says that she came to the office and found it empty.

According to Miss Stover she walked up the steps at 12:05, and looked at the clock, which she was accustomed to punch, and went straight to the office. There was no one in the outer office, so she went to Mr. Frank’s private office and found it empty. She waited for five minutes, she says, and having heard no one in the building, left.

The detectives found this witness last Saturday when she returned to the factory to get the pay envelope, which she failed to get on her trip to the factory the week before.

She was with her mother on this second trip and they told of the former visit, when the officers, who were stationed at the door of the factory, stopped them.

Miss Stover is a daughter of Mrs. Homer Edmondson, a boarding house keeper, and she is now employed as salesgirl at a local store. She worked at the pencil factory for about a year, she says.

The solicitor has another unpublished affidavit in his office, which is of doubtful value in the case.

HEARD SCREAMS.

A woman pedestrian, whose name Mr. Dorsey has not made public, testifies that she passed the pencil factory about 4:30 o’clock on Saturday, April 26. Then she was attracted, it is said, by several shrill screams, which came apparently from the basement of the building. There were three screams in rapid succession, and then they suddenly stopped as if the crier had been choked.

This witness has been known to the police since Monday following the tragedy, for then she reported the occurrence to the officials. This is in conflict with the theory of the detectives that the girl met her death shortly afternoon Saturday.

COUNTY TO PAY BILL.

According to Shelby Smith, chairman of the Fulton county board of commissioners, that body and not Solicitor Dorsey, is going to pay the bill for the independent investigation of the Phagan murder mystery, which is being conducted by the solicitor general.

Mr. Smith states that more than a week ago the members of the commission agreed to stand the expense of an investigation “in order that Mr. Dorsey might not be hampered in getting to the truth of the matter.”

The commissioners, so Mr. Smith says, have nothing more to do with the case. They simply told Mr. Dorsey to go ahead, and don’t even know who he has employed, according to the chairman.

Mr. Smith will not discuss a pecuniary limit to the cost of the probe, but says that the board expects Mr. Dorsey to be “conservative.”

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Atlanta Journal, May 10th 1913, “Public Now Knows All Facts in Murder Case, Say Detectives,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

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

Atlanta Georgian

Saturday, May 10^th, 1913

Names of Witnesses Withheld by Dorsey to Prevent “Manufacturers of Public Opinion” Getting in Touch with Them—Satisfied with Progress.

Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey declared Saturday afternoon that he was very well satisfied with the progress made in the investigation of the Phagan murder mystery and made the significant remark that he would not reveal the names of new witnesses so that manufacturers of public opinion could not get to them.

The Solicitor held a conference with Dr. H. F. Harris, of the State Board of Health, who examined the girl’s body. Dr. Harris said he would rush his report in time for presentation to the Grand Jury when that body takes up the mystery next week. The Solicitor would not reveal just what the physician has learned so far.

The examination of the bloodstained shirt in the back yard of Newt Lee’s home was also continued, and the Solicitor was far from convinced that its significance had been rightly determined.

Mr. Dorsey worked all day Saturday on the case and announced that he would continue all of Sunday so that he could present his evidence to the Grand Jury as early as possible next week.

Confers With City Sleuths

A conference was held with the city detectives, who are working in co-operation with the State, but none of the details could be learned. Strict secrecy is being maintained regarding new developments.

Evidence “exclusive and valuable” in the Mary Phagan case has been obtained. So much the Solicitor said to-day, and no more, declaring details of the evidence would be revealed at the proper time.

The evidence is the result of work by private detectives engaged by the Solicitor, among them one whom he termed “the best detective in America,” when speaking of him Friday.

He mentioned the important evidence when he discussed the statement by Monteen Stover, the 14-year-old employee of the National Pencil Company, that is in direct contradiction to the testimony by Leo M. Frank, the suspected factory superintendent.

Other Evidence More Important.

The Solicitor was interested in the girl’s statement, but declared that the other evidence in his hands was far more important and tangible.

In opposition to the testimony of Leo M. Frank in the Mary Phagan inquest was the statement of the Stover girl. The evidence that she will bear is to the effect that she was in Frank’s office at 12:05 o’clock and a little later on the Saturday afternoon preceding the discovery of the slain girl’s body, and that she found it deserted.

According to Frank’s testimony, he was in his office from 12 o’clock until 12:25, when Lemmie Quinn, his foreman, came in. During that time, he said, Mary Phagan came in, about 12:05 o’clock, to receive her pay.

Monteen Stover is certain that she reached Frank’s office at exactly 12:05 o’clock. She has been retained as an important witness.

Remembers the Time.

“The minute I got to the office floor when I went up to get my pay,” she said, “I looked at the clock. I wanted to know if it was time to draw my money. I would have looked at it, anyhow, I suppose, as it is always customary for me to punch it the first thing upon entering the place to go to work.

“It was five minutes after 12. I was sure Mr. Frank would be in his office, so I stepped in. He wasn’t in the outer office, and I went into the inner office. He wasn’t there, either. I thought he might have been somewhere around the building, so I waited.

“The whole place was awfully quiet. It was scary. When he didn’t show up in a few minutes, I went to the door and looked around the machinery. He wasn’t there. I stayed until the clock hand was pointing exactly to 12:10. Then I went down

Dorsey Veils New Clews in Phagan Affair

Continued from Page 1.

stairs. I could not see nor hear no one.”

The testimony of Monteen Stover was obtained by detectives when they quizzed her the Saturday following the killing of Mary Phagan. The girl and her mother, Mrs. Homer Edmondson, of 171 South Forsyth Street, came to the factory to get the pay which the girl did not get the week before.

Stopped by Detectives.

In the office were detectives, eager to seize every available bit of information. They stopped Mrs. Edmondson and the girl, and were rewarded by Monteen’s statement that she had been in Frank’s office on the afternoon of the fatal day.

Monteen Stover said she did not know Mary Phagan, and probably had never seen her. She commended Frank as being popular with his employees and kind.

Another development within the last 24 hours has been the elimination of another clew. The “woman in red,” a mysterious figure reported to have been seen with Mary Phagan at the pencil factory, has been located. She is Mrs. Nancy Caldwell, of 10 Gray Street, an acquaintance of the dead girl. Examination revealed the fact, however, that she had not been with Mary Phagan in a year. The rumor of her association with the Phagan girl on the afternoon of the killing started in the mistaken statement of a girl at Mapleton.

Developed also evidence from a young woman whose name will not be revealed that the girl probably came to her death in the basement of the factory, and not in the upstairs lathe room. The following affidavit, subscribed to by a young woman who passed the factory about 4:30 o’clock Saturday afternoon, April 26, is in the possession of Solicitor Dorsey, given him by Chief of Detectives Lanford.

The testimony is that as she passed the Forsyth Street entrance to the factory she was attracted by the shrill screams of a girl, coming, apparently, from the basement of the building. The cries were loud and piercing, and she stopped, hearing three sharp screams in rapid succession. Then the factory became quiet again.

Neither Chief Lanford nor Solicitor Dorsey would reveal the name of the young woman informant nor anything regarding her identity, except that she lives on Haynes Street.

* * *

Atlanta Georgian, May 10th 1913, “Guard of Secrecy is Thrown About Phagan Search by Solicitor,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Monteen Stover. Little girl, former employee of National Pencil company, who swears Frank was not in office between 12:05 and 12:10 o’clock.

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

Atlanta Constitution

Saturday, May 10^th, 1913

Testimony Considered Important by Officers Because Frank at the Inquest Stated on Stand That He Did Not Leave Between Noon on Saturday and 12:25. When Quinn Came to See Him.

SHE WENT TO FACTORY TO GET PAY ENVELOPE – POSITIVE OF THE TIME

New Evidence, Just Submitted to Detective Department, Leads Chief Lanford to Believe That Mary Phagan Was Murdered in the Basement — Woman Says She Heard Screams on Saturday Afternoon.

A new and important witness has been found in the Mary Phagan murder mystery.

She is Monteen Stover, a girl of 14 years, a former employee of the pencil factory.

After already having attested to an affidavit now in possession of the solicitor general, she will testify before the grand jury that on the day of Mary Phagan’s disappearance, she entered the pencil plant at 12:05 o’clock in the afternoon and found the office deserted.

Also, that she remained five minutes, during which time no one appeared. The building seemed empty of human occupants, she declares, and no sounds came from any part. Expecting to have found the superintendent, she says she went through both the outer and inner offices in search of Frank.

Testimony Important Declare Police.

The police say that this is valuable evidence because of the testimony of Frank at the inquest to the effect that he remained in his office throughout the time between 12 noon and the time at which Quinn arrived, 35 minutes after 12. Also, they recount his statement that Mary Phagan entered the building at 12:05, the time the Stover girl says she arrived.

The latter states she went to draw her pay envelope. She is positive of the time at which she appeared in the office, because she looked at the timeclock on the wall fronting the entrance to the outer office. She was anxious, she says, to ascertain if it was time to draw the pay for which she had come.

In telling of the value of the Stover girl’s testimony, the police refer to Frank’s testimony, which was recorded as follows:

“What time did Miss Hall, the stenographer, leave the office Saturday, April 26?”

“About 12 noon. I recollect the time because I heard the noon whistles blow.”

“What did you do when she departed?”

“Started work on my books.”

“Were you alone?”

“So far as I knew.”

“Did anyone come in later?”

“Yes. Shortly after 12 o’clock, the little girl who was killed entered my office.”

When Mary Phagan Reached Office.

“Can’t you estimate the time?”

“Yes, it was about five minutes after twelve.”

“How did you fix the time?”

“It seemed that late.”

“What time do you say Lemmie Quinn arrived?”

“About 12:25 o’clock.”

“Were you out of the office from the time the noon whistles blew until Quinn came?”

“No.”

Monteen Stover was seen by a Constitution reporter last night at her home, 171 South Forsyth street. She is a daughter by first marriage of Mrs. Homer Edmondson, a boarding house keeper of that address.

She is now employed with a Whitehall street department store as salesgirl. The detectives discovered her last Saturday, when she came again to the pencil factory to draw the pay she had missed on the previous weekend.

As she and her mother entered the office, they were questioned by two officers who were stationed in the plant to procure whatever evidence they might find. Monteen told them of her visit on Memorial day, and gave them her name and address. Monday morning she was taken to the office of the solicitor general, where an affidavit was attested to.

Went to Factory To Get Her Pay.

“I went to the pencil factory that Saturday,” she told the reporter, “to draw my pay. The front door and the door leading to the second floor were unlocked. The whole place was awfully quiet, and kinder scary as I went up the steps.

“The minute I got to the office floor I looked at the clock to see if it was time to draw my pay. I would have looked at it, anyhow, I suppose, as it was always customary for me to punch it the first thing upon entering the place to go to work.

“It was five minutes after twelve. I was sure Mr. Frank would be in his office, so I stepped in. He wasn’t in the outer office, so I stepped into the inner one. He wasn’t there, either. I thought he might have been somewhere around the building, so I waited. When he didn’t show up in a few minutes, I went to the door and peered further down the floor among the machinery. I couldn’t see him there.

“I stayed until the clock hand was pointing exactly to ten minutes after twelve. Then I went downstairs. The building was quiet and I couldn’t hear a sound. I didn’t see anybody. As I walked from the building out to the street I saw four young boys standing close to the entrance. When I first came into the place they were standing on the corner of Forsyth and Hunter streets. They were only young boys.”

Detectives Wanted Testimony a Secret.

Mrs. Edmondson, Monteen’s mother, said to the reporter:

“I regret it exceedingly that Monteen will have to testify in this case, but if it will help clear up the mystery I will be mighty glad. Also, I’m grieved that it will get in the newspapers. The solicitor and detectives seemed extremely anxious that her testimony be kept secret.”

Monteen had worked at the pencil factory for a year. She spoke highly of the suspected superintendent, and said that he was as popular with his employees as any employer whom she had ever known. She did not know the Phagan girl, and said she had never even seen her.

After scouring the vicinity of Mapleton and Smyrna for miles around, the police have finally found the mysterious “girl in the red dress,” who was reported to have visited the pencil factory with Mary Phagan at the time of her disappearance. She is Mrs. Nancy Caldwell, of 10 Gray street, a former companion of the [new paragraph started; misprint]

How Report Started.

STARTED.

Lemmie Quinn, who told the coroner’s jury that he was in the factory and talked to Frank after Mary Phagan is supposed to have left the building. [Oddly enough, Detective John R. Black testified at the Coroner’s inquest that Quinn stated several times in his presence on Monday that he had not been to the factory on Saturday, April 26th. Leo M. Frank also seemed to totally forget the visit of Quinn until “reminded” of the incident. — Ed.]

The chief of police and two detectives, after an auto trip to Marietta, were informed she lived in Atlanta, and after examining her thoroughly, learned that she had not seen Mary Phagan since a year ago. The rumor of her association with Mary on Memorial day started in a store near Mapleton by a girl who is said to have asserted her knowledge of a girl who accompanied Mary to the pencil factory.

Before her marriage, Mrs. Caldwell was Miss Nancy Summerhill, who lived eight miles from Smyrna. She and the victim were intimate friends until 1912, when both moved to Atlanta. She was seen by a reporter for The Constitution late last night.

“No, I wasn’t with Mary that Saturday,” she said. “I wish I had been. I might be able to throw some light on the mystery. If I had gone with her to the factory building and had experienced all I am reported to have experienced, I’d have said so long ago.”

Says She Heard Screams.

Evidence that Mary Phagan was murdered in the pencil factory basement in which her lifeless form was found, was submitted by Chief Lanford to Solicitor Hugh Dorsey Friday in the shape of an affidavit attested by a young woman pedestrian who passed the building at 4:30 o’clock the Saturday of the crime.

She testifies to this effect:

That at 4:30 o’clock Saturday afternoon, April 26, as she passed the Forsyth street entrance to the National Pencil factory, she was attracted by shrill screams of a girl emanating, apparently, from the basement of the plant building. So tragic did the cries sound that she stopped. Three sharp, piercing screams came in succession, then died away as though having been stifled.

The deponent says that although her experience preyed depressingly on her mind, she did not consider it important enough to report to police authorities until she read of the Phagan murder. Her testimony has been in the hands of Chief Lanford since last Monday.

Believes Girl Was Alive.

This throws a new aspect on the mystery. The problem of the bloody hairs and stains found on the second floor confront the sleuths. It has heretofore been the accepted theory that the murder was committed in that part of the building. Chief Lanford, however, believes that the girl was still alive when her body was lowered to the cellar.

Neither Chief Lanford nor the solicitor would reveal the name of the woman. Her home is on Haynes street, but further than this they would tell nothing. This affidavit exists, though, the chief states positively, and will be delivered to the grand jury.

Many new developments arose Friday. With the case completely in its hands, the state busted itself throughout the day with examining 100 or more witnesses who were summoned to the office of Solicitor Dorsey.

Solicitor Dorsey announced Friday morning that he had obtained one of America’s best detectives to assist him. He would not disclose the name, saying that the new detective would work secretly on the case. It is rumored that Detective Burns has been employed to conduct the investigation.

Many Detectives on Trail.

The entire staff of detectives at police headquarters, numbering thirty, is still engaged in running down every available clue. The Pinkertons and other private agencies continue at work on the mystery. No pains or expense are being spared.

The grand jury, according to Solicitor Dorsey, is likely to begin its investigation any time after Friday. It is thought its action will be taken next Monday. Shelby Smith, chairman of the Fulton county commission, in speaking of the solicitor’s probe, said it would be through and exhaustive.

“No expense will be too great, no work too hard and exacting. We have instructed Solicitor Dorsey that he will be backed to the last ditch in the money to be spent. He has the sanction and support of the county board in every particular.”

Newt Lee was interviewed for the second time by Solicitor Dorsey Friday afternoon. Mr. Dorsey would not discuss the lines along which the negro was quizzed.

The grand jury which has been empanelled for the present term is composed of many prominent and influential residents and business men. It is as follows:

L. H. Beck, foreman; F. P. H. Akers, R. R. Nash, Charles Heinz, H. G. Hubbard, John D. Wing, R. A. Redding, V. H. Kriegshaber, R. F. Sams, A. D. Adair, S. C. Glass, J. G. Bell, Cephas M. Brown, George A. Gershon, A. L. Guthman, Walker Dunson, W. L. Peroy, C. A. Cowles, Sol Benjamin, R. P. Bell, H. M. Beutell, W. A. Bosser and Albert Roylson.

* * *

Atlanta Constitution, May 9th 1913, “Girl Will Swear Office of Frank Deserted Between 12:05 and 12:10,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Miss Nellie Pettis, at top, who testified against Frank at the inquest. At the bottom, Mrs. Lillie Pettis, her sister-in-law, former employee at the pencil factory.

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

Atlanta Georgian

Friday, May 9^th, 1913

Solicitor Dorsey Says He Has Secured Powerful Aid in Search for Slayer of Girl—Woman Says She Heard Screams in Pencil Factory.

Shelby Smith, chairman of the Fulton commission, declared Friday afternoon that the board would back Solicitor Dorsey in any and all expense he might incur in the state’s exhaustive investigation into the Phagan murder mystery. Smith said;

“We have instructed Dorsey to obtain the best possible detective skill for his probe and he would be backed by the county commission to the last ditch in the money the spent.

“The fact that he hired a good detective Friday is news to me, but he has the sanction and backing of the board in the matter.”

HIRE’S BEST DETECTIVE, HE SAYS.

Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey said Friday afternoon that he had the best detective in America working on the mystery of the Mary Phagan strangling.

Important developments had ensued already, he declared, and he was confident that an early solution of the case would be reached by the new expert of national reputation who had been placed at work on the clews.

The solicitor is understood  to have the affidavit of a woman who swears that she heard a girl’s screams as she was passing the factory at 4:30 o’clock the afternoon of the tragedy. The cries were shrill and piercing, she says, and died away as she stopped an instant to listen.

The woman was sure they came from inside the factory, but she gave little attention to her startling experience until she read of the strangling of Mary Phagan. Then it occurred to her that she very likely had heard the dying cries of the little girl and she reported the matter to the authorities.

Solicitor Dorsey, as his first action after the holding of Leo M. Frank and Newt Lee to the Grand Jury for the murder of Mary Phagan, put out the dragnet for witnesses.

A batch of subpoenas were issued for the witnesses to appear in his office to give testimony in the case of “The State vs. John Doe.”

After a long conference with Detective Starnes and Campbell, Solicitor Dorsey asserted that action on the part of the Grand Jury might be expected any time after Friday. He plainly intimated that a special session of the jury might be convened Saturday to consider the Phagan murder.

The Solicitor declared as he left the court house with a private detective whose name he refused to divulge that he anticipated the development of startling evidence before night, which, he said, would clear matters materially.

Dorsey Questions Newt Lee.

With the private detective the Solicitor went to the Tower and was closeted with Newt Lee, the night watchman, for more than an hour.

The form of the subpoena is taken to mean that many of the witnesses will submit their sworn testimony before the Solicitor General, who will thus have it in documentary form, instead of going before the Grand Jury to give oral testimony. However, it will be necessary for the material or indicting witnesses to go before the Grand Jurors in person.

“The investigation has just begun,” said Chief of Detectives Lanford Friday, in discussing the action of the Coroner’s jury. “We were confident we had presented sufficient evidence to warrant the holding of the two suspects in the case, but we will have much more when the case gets into the courts.

Have Strong Theory Already.

“We are going to continue right on with the investigation and try to dig down to the full truth of the mystery. We have a strongly supported theory as to who committed the crime, but we are ready at any time to change our opinions as soon as the evidence points in another direction.

“It will be possible, with the rush and hurry of the Coroner’s jury

PHAGAN CASE TO BE RUSHED TO GRAND JURY BY DORSEY

passed, for my men to work with more deliberation and care and to sift with a greater thoroughness every bit of evidence that comes into their possession. Even if nothing new should develop, we have enough leads to keep half a dozen detectives busy for a week.”

Detectives Rosser, Campbell, Black, Starnes and Bullard are still working with the chief on the case and probably will continue until the mystery is cleared.

Lemmie Quinn, foreman in the tipping department at the National Pencil factory, was the first of the witnesses to be examined by the Solicitor. He was in Mr. Dorsey’s office a considerable part of the forenoon and underwent a rigorous examination.

New Witnesses Sought.

Detectives Starnes and Campbell also were with the Solicitor, and two of the Solicitor’s assistants. Newton Garner and Dan Goodlin were dispatched the first thing in the morning to hunt up new witnesses of whom Mr. Dorsey had information.

Foreman Quinn was called, it is understood, to clear up the discrepancies in his testimony and the statement he is said to have made to the detectives and to several of his acquaintances. In his testimony before the Coroner’s jury he declared that he visited the factory between 12:10 and 12:30 o’clock, the afternoon of the killing of Mary Phagan. He said he talked with Frank for two minutes in the superintendent’s office.

Detectives declared that Quinn had told them and other persons that he did not visit the factory at all Saturday and that he was not there from the time he left Friday until the following Monday.

Frank Expected To Be Held.

“That’s about what I expected at this time,” was the comment with which Leo M. Frank, with little trace of emotion, received the news of the action of the Coroner’s jury Thursday night.

Deputy Sheriff Plennie Minor was the officer who informed both Frank and Newt Lee that the jury had recommended that they be held under charges of murder for further investigation by the Fulton County Grand Jury.

The night watchman received the news indifferently and had nothing to say.

Frank and Lee are held under charges of murder, as the following verdict of the Coroner’s jury will show:

Atlanta, Ga., May 8, 1913.

We, the Coroner’s jury, impaneled and sworn by Paul Donehoo, Coroner of Fulton County, to inquire into the cause of the death of Mary Phagan, whose dead body now lies before us, after having heard the evidence of sworn witnesses, and the statement of Dr. J. W. Hurt, County Physician, find that the deceased came to her death from strangulation. We recommend that Leo M. Frank and Newt Lee be held under charges of murder for further investigation by the Fulton County Grand Jury.

(Signed)

HOMER C. ASHFORD, Foreman.

DR. J. W. HURT, County Physician.

Solicitor Dorsey said Friday he would give the Phagan case all of his attention and present his evidence to the Grand Jury as quickly as possible.

The solicitor has shown an anxiety to avoid delays of any nature in hunting down the slayer of the Phagan girl, and now that the Coroner’s jury has turned the case over to the Solicitor and the Grand Jury it may be taken for granted that the investigation will be hurried along with all possible speed.

Case in State’s Hands.

“The case now is fully in the hands of the State,” said the Solicitor Friday morning. “It will not be presented to the Grand Jury Friday, but I shall endeavor to present it at the earliest possible moment. The instant that I have a complete case I shall bring it to the attention of the Grand Jury. It is my desire to bring the slayer of Mary Phagan to justice with the greatest dispatch. A great crime has been done and I am no less eager to see the guilt determined than the general public.”

It required the Coroner’s jury about twenty minutes to frame its formal verdict Thursday night. The jurors received a brief charge from Coroner Donehoo and filed from the Commissioners’ room in the police station at 6:08 o’clock. At 6:28 they were back with their verdict.

Coroner Donehoo admonished the jurors to be as ready to hold a person who they thought might be withholding information of the crime as to hold a person they regarded as the possible culprit. A person possessing knowledge of the crime and withholding it, he said, was an accessory after the fact.

An immediate hush fell on the packed room when the jurors returned. There was a dead silence except for the voice of Homer C. Ashford, foreman of the jury, when the verdict was read.

Girls Testify Against Frank.

The most damaging testimony against Frank in regard to his treatment of employees at his factory was saved until the last hours of the hearing. Girls and women were called to the stand to testify that they had been employed at the factory or had had occasion to go there, and that Frank had attempted familiarities with them.

Nellie Pettis, of 9 Oliver Street, declared that Frank had made improper advances on her. She was asked if she ever had been employed at the pencil factory.

“No,” she answered.

Q. Do you know Leo Frank?—A. I have seen him once or twice.

Q. When and where did you see him?—A. In his office at the factory whenever I went to draw my sister-in-law’s pay.

Q. What did he say to you that might have been improper on any of these visits?—A. He didn’t exactly say—he made gestures. I went to get sister’s pay about four weeks ago and when I went into the office of Mr. Frank I asked for her. He told me I couldn’t see her unless “I saw him first.”

Says He Winked at Her.

“I told him I didn’t want to ‘see him.’ He pulled a box from his desk. It had a lot of money in it. He looked at it significantly and then looked at me. When he looked at me, he winked. As he winked he said: ‘How about it?’

“I instantly told him I was a nice girl.”

Here the witness stopped her statement. Coroner Donehoo asked her sharply:

“Didn’t you say anything else?”

“Yes, I did! I told him to go to h—l! and walked out of his office.”

Thomas Blackstock, who said that he was employed at the factory about a year ago testified as follows:

Tells of Frank’s Conduct.

Q. Do you know Leo M. Frank?—A. Yes.

Q. How long have you known him?—A. About six weeks.

Q. Did you ever observe his conduct toward female employees of the pencil factory?—A. Yes. I’ve often seen him picking on different girls.

Q. Name some.—A. I can’t exactly recollect names.

Q. What was the conduct you noticed particularly?

The witness answered to the effect that he had seen him place his hands with undue familiarity upon the person of girls.

Q. See it often?—A. A half dozen times, maybe. He generally was seen to become that familiar while he was touring the building.

Q. Can’t you name just one girl?—A. Yes. Magnolia Kennedy.

Q. Did you see him act with undue familiarity toward her?—A. No. I heard talk about it.

Q. Before or after the murder?—A. Afterward.

“Girls Tried to Avoid Him.”

Q. When did you observe this misconduct of which you have told?—A. A year ago.

Q. Did you hear complaints around the plant?—A. No. The girls tried to avoid him.

Mrs. C. D. Donegan said she was connected with the pencil plant for three weeks. Her capacity was that of forelady. She resides at 165 West Fourteenth Street with her husband.

Her testimony follows:

“State your observations of Frank’s conduct toward the girls and women of the plant.”

“I have noticed him smile and wink at the girls in the place. That was two years ago.”

“Did you make a statement to the detectives of undue familiarity you had witnessed?”

“I told them that I had seen Frank flirt with the girls and women—that was all I said.”

Charges Familiarities.

The testimony of Nellie Wood, a young girl of 8 Corput Street, came next.

In brief it was this:

Q. Do you know Leo Frank?—A. I worked for him two days.

Q. Did you observe any misconduct on his part?—A. Well, his actions didn’t suit me. He’d come around and put his hands on me when such conduct was entirely uncalled for.

Q. Is that all he did?—A. No. He asked me one day to come into his office, saying that he wanted to talk to me. He tried to close the door, but I wouldn’t let him. He got too familiar by getting so close to me. He also put his hands on me.

Q. Where did he put his hands?—A. He barely touched my breast. He was subtle with his approaches, and tried to pretend that he was joking but I was too wary for such as that.

Quit His Employ.

Q. Did he try further familiarities?—A. Yes.

Q. When did this happen?—A. Two years ago.

Q. What did you tell him when you left his employ?—A. I just quit, telling him that it didn’t suit me.

Frank’s testimony was looked forward to with keen interest, but when he was called to the stand in the afternoon, he merely answered additional questions as to his movements on the day of the crime and failed to add materially to the evidence in hand.

He appeared pale and haggard from his imprisonment, but he replied to all of the questions clearly and showed no hesitation or apparent fear. He was asked:

Testimony of Frank.

Q. What kind of elevator door is there to the shaft in the pencil factory?—A. Sliding doors.

Q. How many?—A. One on each floor.

Q. Are they latticed or solid?—A. Solid.

Q. Where was the elevator at 12 o’clock Saturday?—A. I did not notice.

Q. Were the doors open or closed?—A. I don’t remember.

Q. What protection would a person have from falling down the shaft if the doors were left open?—A. A bar which projects across the opening.

Q. After the crime was committed, where did the elevator stand?—A. I only know where it stood Sunday morning. It then was on the second floor.

Didn’t File Time Tape.

Q. When you last removed the tape from the time clock, what did you do with it?—A. Handed it to an officer in the building.

Q. Did you put it on file?—A. No.

Q. Are you sure?—A. Yes, positive.

Q. Do you remember a party at your house on the night of April 26?—A. Yes.

Q. Can you name the guests?—A. I don’t remember them all.

Q. When the police came to bring you down to the factory that Sunday morning, what was said about whisky?—A. I said I wanted something warm to drink. One of the detectives suggested whisky.

Q. What time was it?—A. Between 7:30 and 8 o’clock.

Says He Viewed Body.

Q. What did you say about dreaming?—A. I said to someone that I thought I had dreamed of hearing the telephone ring in the dead of night.

Q. When you went to the undertakers’, did you go in the water closet instead of the room in which the body lay?—A. No.

Q. Did you view the body?—A. Yes.

Q. Did you recognize the girl?—A. Yes.

Q. When did you first hear her name?—A. I don’t remember.

Q. What time did you return home that Sunday afternoon?—A. I don’t recollect.

Q. Did you telephone your wife before your return?—A. Yes.

Q. Was the murder discussed at home that afternoon?—A. Not much.

Q. What topic was discussed?—A. I don’t remember.

Often Does Not Remember.

Q. When did Quinn first mention to you his visit to the factory on the 26^th?—A. I don’t remember.

Q. What did he say?—A. He said, “Don’t you recollect that I was at the factory Saturday about noon?”

Q. What did you tell him about withholding that information until your attorney had been consulted?—A. I don’t remember. I had so many visitors that I couldn’t recollect the exact words.

Q. Who suggested the conference with your attorney relative to Quinn’s visit?—A. I don’t remember.

Q. How long have you known you had counsel?—A. Since Monday.

Q. Why was it mentioned that Quinn’s visit he kept quiet until consultation with your lawyer?—A. I don’t remember.

Explains Locks and Doors.

Q. How can you lock the door between your office and the dressing room where the blood spots were found?—A. I have never seen it locked.

Q. Is it usually open or locked?—A. Closed.

Q. Is there any way of closing the doors on the back stairway?—A. Yes. They are locked.

Q. Describe your telephone conversation with Detective Starnes at the time you were informed of the tragedy?—A. He asked me if I was superintendent of the National Pencil Factory. “I’d like to have you come down here at once,” he said when I informed him that I was Leo Frank. He said he wanted me to identify a girl, and asked me if I knew Mary Phagan.

Q. Didn’t you say that the first time you had heard her name was while you were traveling in the auto on the way to the factory Sunday morning?—A. I don’t recollect that I did.

Q. Did you have any trouble with a girl in your office Saturday morning?—A. No. There was one incident where a mistake had been made in the pay envelope of Mattie Smith, but it was corrected without any trouble.

Tells of Callers at Office.

Q. What time was Mattie Smith in your office?—A. Between 9 and 10 a. m.

Q. Did any one enter while she was there?—A. I don’t remember.

Q. Give the name of every one in the office throughout the day Saturday?—A. Mr. Darley, Mr. Holloway, the office boy, Miss Hall, the stenographer; Mr. Campbell, Mr. Fullerton, Mrs. White, Lemmie Quinn, Mr. Gantt, Emma Clark, another girl employee, Arthur White, Harry Denham, Newt Lee and Mary Phagan.

Q. Did you see May Barrett?—A. I don’t know her.

Q. What did you say to Emma Clark?—A. I don’t remember saying anything to her.

* * *

Atlanta Georgian, May 9th 1913, “Best Detective in America Now is on Case, Says Dorsey,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)