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

Atlanta Georgian

Sunday, June 8th, 1913

Average Atlantan Believes Frank is Guilty, but That Little Real Evidence Has Yet Pointed to Him as Slayer.

Stirring Defense by Wife and Attack on Solicitor Dorsey Are Two Striking Features of Week’s Progress in Case.

by AN OLD POLICE REPORTER.

I have thought a good deal during the past week about a fine young newspaper man I used to know some fifteen years ago, and particularly of the last thing he said to me before he died.

He was a Georgian, too. We had been college mates and fraternity mates, and all that sort of thing.

After we graduated, he plunged into newspaper work, and I studied law. I practiced—to a limited extent—that honorable profession for some four years, but abandoned it eventually for newspaper work, and when I plunged in also, I asked him how about it.

This is what he said: “There is only one thing about it. Work fast, get your facts straight, beat ‘em if you can—but don’t go off half-cocked. Don’t get yourself where you have to take back things—but don’t be afraid to take ‘em back, if necessary—and be fair. The Golden Rule is, ‘BE FAIR!’ Unless you are fair, you will not respect yourself, and nobody else will respect you!”

Phagan Case Shows People Are Fair.

I find that most people ARE fair. I believe there is in the hearts of nine people in every ten one meets a desire to see his fellow-man get “a square deal.” And I believe it more nowadays than I ever believed it before, for the progress of the Phagan investigation has reaffirmed my faith in my fellow-man.

The Atlanta Georgian was the first newspaper to give pause to the riot of passion, misunderstanding, misinformation and rank prejudice primarily set in motion by the slaying of little Mary Phagan.

Before the story had grown to large proportions, The Georgian, with all the emphasis at its command, begged for calm, and poise, and fairness. It invoked the SUPREMACY OF THE LAW—and I think it is entitled to have that said of it.

Governor’s Appeal Cooled Passion.

Quick to appreciate the significance and the timeliness of this, the Governor of Georgia, in a ringing interview given to The Sunday American, approved The Georgian’s attitude of fair play, and added his voice to that of The Georgian in its effort to hold fast to the LAW.

Since then the Phagan investigation has progressed with an ever-growing demand from the public for fair play—fair play for everybody, defense and prosecution.

And yet, to be strictly truthful, I must say that the man in the street believes Leo M. Frank guilty of the murder of Mary Phagan.

All that he has to base this belief upon are statements published in the newspapers, and some of these are worthless upon their face. Many of them are absurd. Many of them could not be introduced in court at all. Many of them are the mere opinions of unimportant people that would have no standing anyway.

The developments in the week just passed, while not distinctly favorable to Frank, were not unfavorable. Various affidavits made by Conley, affidavits and repudiation of affidavits made by Frank’s cook, Minola McKnight, will, I feel reasonably sure, have no weight before a jury, if indeed the court every permits them to go to a jury.

Must Weigh Words of Conley and Cook

And yet, if the statements of Conley and the cook could be corroborated, they would prove strong links in the chain of circumstantial evidence against Frank.

Let me say again, as I have so often said, that I am setting down here my own opinion only. I speak for no one but myself. I do not know the Franks or the Seligs. I do not know of any of the persons whose names are mentioned as investigators or any of the detectives working on the case. I do not know Dorsey; and I know only just what you know, rather—what is published in the newspapers.

I do know, and you know, that the prosecution must prove him guilty of the crime, while the defense does not have to prove him innocent.

Now, I do not say that Frank is innocent. I do not say he is guilty. I do not know. I do not know what evidence Mr. Dorsey has, or to what his witnesses will testify, but I do know that such of it that has appeared in the newspapers would not be convincing legal evidence to me. Nor would I consider it very seriously if I was a member of the jury.

Dorsey May Be Holding Evidence.

Dorsey may have a great deal of important evidence that has not yet been made public. I shall be greatly surprised if he has not. I look for a great many sensations between now and the time of the trial.

It ought not to be difficult for Frank to prove his innocence, if he is innocent, and it will be well to remember that he must be considered innocent until the jury returns a verdict of guilty against him.

Frank will undoubtedly take the stand and make a statement in his own defense. He will be his own best witness. What he says, and how he says it, will have more influence with the jury than anything that many be said against him.

One of the most interesting events of the past week’s developments, to my way of thinking, was the statement in defense of her husband given out by Mrs. Leo Frank.

It is not competent legal evidence of Frank’s innocence, of course, for the wife can testify neither FOR nor AGAINST the husband in Georgia, but it had a powerfully steadying effect upon public opinion, and has served to give it additional poise and calm.

In part, it was a fine utterance in part it was a mistaken utterance, but withal it was an intensely human document, full of appeal for justice and righteous judgment—and, in a way, it cleared the atmosphere considerably.

Mrs. Frank May Have Crossed Lawyers.

Mrs. Frank, of all people, was the one person who COULD say the necessary word at a moment of tenseness and deep significance. To have left it unsaid would have been unwomanly and unwifely—and I have an idea she may have said it not because of her husband’s legal advisers, but largely in spite of them.

They might have been willing for her to have given vent to her already too long repressed feelings, and to have vehemently protested her husband’s innocence and incapability of the crime laid at his door—but they hardly would have permitted her to go the length she did in attacking the Solicitor.

And yet it is the very fact that she DID go so far in that direction that stamps her utterance with the mark of sincerity and genuineness!

It will avail her much to take her stand unfalteringly and in full confidence there beside her husband—it will avail her nothing to complain that the Solicitor is prosecuting the case against her husband with all the resourcefulness at his command.

The one thing she should do—the other thing the Solicitor should do.

It was a tactical mistake to assail Dorsey. He represents all the people. He should be, and I believe he has tried to be, a prosecutor—not a persecutor!

Dorsey, representing all the people, has a perfect right to get his evidence in any way he sees fit.

Dorsey Represents All People in the Case.

Dorsey, I am sure, believes in fair play for the public and fair play for anyone accused of the murder of Mary Phagan!

Mrs. Frank, through weeks of intense trial and suffering has held her peace. She permitted things to be said of her husband that to her must have seemed cruel in the extreme—and she never murmured. Finally, in a passionate outburst, she DID break her silence, and pleaded, for what? For fair play—just for fair play, that’s all! For her statement amounts to only that, stripped of its naturally emotional construction.

Mother Asks Fairness For All Concerned.

There, on the other hand, is Mrs. Coleman—Mary Phagan’s mother. Through weeks of heart-breaking gloom and grief, she has held HER peace. Giving vent early in the case up to her unspeakable sorrow and horrified indignation, she soon recovered her equilibrium—and has asked since, for what? For fair play—just for fair play, that’s all!

Men who are not going to permit women to try this case in the court room, officials who will not have one woman on the jury that tries Leo Frank for his life, nevertheless have been bellowing from the house tops things they knew, things they didn’t know, things they never did, can or will know about the Phagan case—and a pretty nice mess they have made of it so far, too!

Facts, near-facts, nonsense and imagination—it has seemed to be a mater of every fellow talking for himself, and as much as possible, and the devil take the hindmost!

Happily, however, from out the mass of matter that has been printed during the past five weeks, the public has gathered abundant and abiding courage to suspend its judgment—to insist upon it that the Phagan case be settled eventually in COURT, in impartial and legal order.

In every article that I have written I have stated frankly my freedom from bias in discussing the matter. I do not wish to prejudice this case one way or the other—I am interested in it purely as an abstract proposition. What I say is just my own idea of things—it is binding upon nobody—it is not, in any degree, competent evidence in a court of law.

Average Atlantan Thinks Frank Guilty.

And yet the average man believes Frank guilty. It would be easy enough to make out a case proving Frank’s innocence by putting yourself, say, in Frank’s position, and reasoning thus:

“I, Leo Frank, shortly after 1 o’clock in the afternoon of April 26, killed a fifteen-year-old white girl, for some sinister purpose, not quite clear. I did it, notwithstanding my previous good character, my business reputation, my wife at home, my people, and my every sense of decency and humanity. Nevertheless, I did it, craftily and SECRETLY. After I had consummated my crime, I went forth deliberately, searched out an ignorant, drunken negro, acquainted him with many circumstances of my crime, and got him to write some cunning notes tending to turn away from me suspicion that likely never would have been directed toward me positively except for the negro’s knowledge of crime furnished by me.

Secret Deliberately Given To Negro.

“I hired this negro, with money I never gave him, to help me hide the dead body, already as effectively hidden as the immediate necessity of the occasion required, and when he had helped me carry the dead body downstairs that I might just as well have carried myself, I told him good-bye, and said I would see him Monday and fix things up—maybe. After a while, however, I decided that I had not been thoughtful enough in securing only ONE witness against myself, so I concluded, along about 7 o’clock, to get up a few more. It had dawned upon me that perhaps the State MIGHT need seven or eight witnesses in order to accomplish my conviction.

“So between 7 and 10 that night, I called up a notorious woman, by me suspected of being known well to the police, and upon whom I thought I might depend to put the police wise promptly, and I told said notorious woman that I desired, on a matter of life and death, to bring a girl to her house, notwithstanding the fact that I knew said girl was dead, and had been for many hours.

“Of course, my idea was to acquaint the notorious woman with my crime, and maybe a half dozen others who might see me bring in the dead body, including the hackman likely employed to haul us.

Woman’s Refusal Causes Chagrin.

“I tried three times to get this woman’s permission to bring the girl’s dead boy there, and naturally my chagrin was great when she refused. I have noticed with pride that the de-tec-i-tiffs have solemnly, from time to time, pronounced me guilty of doing all the foregoing things, as I hoped they would, and I would now confess the entire crime, except for the fact that I just naturally like to tease de-tec-i-tiffs, and am of a somewhat mean and contrary disposition, anyway. To further establish my devilish ingenuity, however, it seems that I did all the things Conley says I did when I WASN’T EVEN THERE—which is a fact that should not be overlooked!”

Now, if you believe this you must find the murderer of Mary Phagan. Who comes first to your thought? Conley, of course.

Here’s what MIGHT have happened on that fateful Saturday afternoon:

Negro Knew It Was Pay-Day.

The negro Conley was sitting at the foot of the stairs, near the open elevator shaft, when Mary Phagan came in to get her pay. He may have seen her go up the steps, and he did see her come down. He must have known that she had just been paid some amount of money, and probably had it in her little mesh bag, dangling from her wrist. As she came DOWN the steps, and passed toward the front door, her back was turned to the half drunken negro. The passageway was dark, for the gas was not burning and the front doors were closed, because of a holiday. The negro may have seized the girl from behind, choked her noiselessly into insensibility, snatched her purse—robbery probably being his primary impulse—and then chucked her body over into the open elevator shaft and down into the cellar below. He may then have passed down the ladder beside the elevator shaft, for it will be established that the elevator did not run the day Mary Phagan was killed, and into the cellar.

He may have dragged the body back to its last resting place in the factory, loosening the girl’s hat and one of her shoes as he went.

Noticed Shoe; Forgot Parasol.

Noticing the shoe and the hat along the way, he went back and got them, and threw them over on the trash pile by the furnace—but HE DID NOT NOTICE THAT THE GIRL’S PARASOL WAS LEFT AT THE FOOT OF THE ELEVATOR SHAFT, INTO WHICH HE TOPPLED HER FROM ABOVE, and there it subsequently was found. Mary Phagan, hat, shoe and parasol may have been chucked down the elevator shaft. The hat and the shoe might have come down from the second floor above, attached to the dead body, as the negro says, but the parasol could not have come down in the dead girl’s hand.

How, then DID the parasol get to the bottom of the elevator shaft, where it was found? If it didn’t get there when Mary Phagan was first thrown there, how did it get there? It looks as if Conley may have overlooked a telltale bet in the parasol. After the murder had been consummated, the negro may have looked around for a means of escape. He need not hurry, for the factory was practically empty, and he, with his victim alone, was in the cellar.

First: he picked up a piece of cord, of which there was plenty in the cellar, and put that around the dead girl’s throat, then he wrote those stupid, ignorant, negro-like notes, hoping to avert possible suspicion from himself—and, finally, he pulled the staple from the back door, only a few feet away from the dead body, and made his escape from the factory. The girl’s purse never has been found.

Guilty of Conley May Be Defense’s Task.

And thus analyzing and theorizing, my readers will see it would not be a very difficult matter for the Frank defense to take up this line of reasoning. It seems orderly and rational. It may prove to be worthless.

Mrs. Frank and her relatives must remember that they are placed in a very extraordinary position. Whatever the detectives do in trying to unravel the crime, whatever the newspapers do in publishing rumors and gossip and statements about the mystery, would naturally cause them much suffering. I do not believe that Mr. Dorsey or any of the police officials or detectives would add one particles to the terrible burden that Mrs. Frank and her family have to bear.

But I do know the officials would not be doing their duty if they did not do all in their power to solve this terrible mystery. And it must be remembered that poor little Mary Phagan is dead. Somebody killed her! She had a right to her life, just as much as you or I, dear reader, have a right to ours; and the duty of the officials is to find the murderer, and to punish him as the law directs.

Meanwhile, let me say another final word—for fair play and suspension of judgment until the trial of the case.

* * *

Atlanta Georgian, June 8th 1913, “Fair Play Alone Can Find Truth in Phagan Puzzle, Declares Old Reporter,” 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

Sunday, June 1^st, 1913

Parents Intended to Give Child Happy Surprise—Now They Will Strew Flowers on Her Grave in Marietta Churchyard.

By MIGNON HALL.

This will be the saddest Sunday with Mary Phagan’s family since that fatal Sunday just five weeks ago when the little girl’s body was found hidden away in the basement of the National Pencil factory.

For to-day is Mary’s birthday, and it had been planned by her mother and stepfather, Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Coleman, that they would give her a party. If she had lived it would have been celebrated last night in her little home on Lindsay Street, where she had spent the past fifteen months of her life.

Instead of that, there is a shadow over the household, and she was spoken of with an ache in the throat and tears. Where last night would have been so happy for Mary, there was silence, and to-day the family expects to go to Marietta to weep above the little mound where she rests and lay flowers on the grave.

Was to Have Been a Surprise.

Mary’s birthday party, Mrs. Coleman said, was to have been a surprise, and as she told of it Saturday morning over the ironing-board—spoke of her other childish birthdays, the things Mary said and did, and all the tender little recollections of her a mother’s heart holds dear—her voice choked with sobs so that she could scarcely speak.

“It would have been the child’s first party,” she said simply. “The poor little thing never had had much in her life—she had to work so hard. It was Mr. Coleman’s idea. He thought it would be nice for her. He was like a father to her, anyway, and the only one she had ever known. Her own father died before she was born.

“We were going to have about twenty-five of the young folks and serve them ice cream and cake and fruit—and now—“

The mother’s lips twitched and her hands trembled as she straightened out the white waist and ran the iron across it.

Mother Broken-Hearted.

“Seems just like I can’t get over it,” she said. “I can hold up pretty well for a while, and then it seems I just have to cry it all out. I know that all the tears in the world won’t help things, but I just don’t seem able to do anything else.

“I just dread supper to-night. Poor little Mary—Mr. Coleman was going to give her a bracelet for her birthday—she had wanted one so lnog [sic]—as far back as I can remember.”

She said that Mary had always been so happy over her birthdays, and she never forgot one of them, even those when she was a little girl.

“I used to cook a little something extra for her,” Mrs. Coleman said, “and she would be satisfied, for she was always easy to please—the least little thing made her happy; and we’d have such a good time together.”

Most of her life Mary had lived in the country, her mother said, and she had always worked, for Mrs. Phagan was a widow and there were four children besides Mary. The family had first lived six miles from Marietta on a farm, and then later in Alabama, till they moved here a few months ago, when Mrs. Phagan married Mr. Coleman.

“I will never forget Mary’s birthday three years ago,” Mrs. Coleman said. “Her sister Ollie gave her a little locket with a little bit of a heart on it. It was pretty, and Mary took a spell over it and wore it all the time till she bought another one day just before she got killed. I think the child paid a dollar or two for it, but, just like she was about everything she had, she thought it was the nicest thing in the world. She never envied other girls.”

Longs for Slain Child.

Mrs. Coleman dropped down in the chair, her hands listless in her lap.

“You don’t know,” she cried to the reporter. “It seems to get lonesomer and lonesomer without Mary.”

It was a few minutes before she could speak again, and then it was to tell of how the days went without the child. It seemed, she said, like she just couldn’t remember that Mary was dead. Sometimes when she would be cooking in the kitchen she would be expecting her, and two or three mornings she had called her when it was time for her to get up.

“It’s so quiet in the house,” she said. “Mary was always laughing and talking, telling what she had done and what she was going to do and all that. Me and the children are just like we’re dead without her. Mary always used to carry my picture in her locket—she was a good child to me.

“I remember so well how she looked the day she was born. It was the first day of June she came. She had right black curly hair, and the same smile she grew up with. I never will forget that smile. I used to see it the last thing every morning when she went to work. I never could to see her going off to the car without I watched her. Especially cold mornings, when I thought she might have to wait. I used to stand out there in the street with my arms hugged up almost freezing till I saw her get on. I couldn’t be satisfied without I did that, seemed like.”

Slain Girl’s Last Week.

And then Mrs. Coleman told of the last week before Mary had been killed. The child had mentioned her birthday several times. She was not at work in the factory and had helped around the house. She had baked her first biscuit one day as a surprise to her mother.

“I was always so proud of the child—maybe I was too proud,” Mrs. Coleman. “I used to look at her when she was a little playful girl before she had to go to work out, and I used to think I was the happiest mother in the world. She wasn’t much more than a playful little girl when she got killed. I’ll show you just what size she was. Wait.”

And she went into the other room and brought back a short blue dress with white embroidered collar and cuffs.

“Mary always looked well, no matter what she had on,” she declared with moist eyes, as she held up the dress and took in its tender curves that would never again hold the little body. “The neighbors used to say if she put on a toe sack she’d look just like a morning glory.”

Mrs. Coleman said she hoped some day to erect a stone over Mary’s grave. They were too poor to do it now, though, and they would have to wait, she said. What they would get she did not know—but something simple and sweet—like Mary was.

* * *

Atlanta Georgian, June 1st 1913, “Today is Mary Phagan’s Birthday; Mother Tells of Party She Planned,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Originally published by the American Mercury on the 100th anniversary of the Leo Frank trial.

Take a journey through time with the American Mercury, and experience the trial of Leo Frank (pictured, in courtroom sketch) for the murder of Mary Phagan just as it happened as revealed in contemporary accounts. The Mercury will be covering this historic trial in capsule form from now until August 26, the 100th anniversary of the rendering of the verdict.

by Bradford L. Huie

THE JEWISH ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE (ADL) — in great contrast to the American Mercury and other independent media — has given hardly any publicity to the 100th anniversary of the murder of Mary Phagan and the arrest and trial of Leo Frank, despite the fact that these events eventually led to the foundation of the ADL. Probably the League is saving its PR blitz for 1915, not only because that is centenary of Leo Frank’s death by lynching (an event possibly of much greater interest to the League’s wealthy donors than the death of Mary Phagan, a mere Gentile factory girl), but also because encouraging the public to read about Frank’s trial might not be good for the ADL — it might well lead to doubts about the received narrative, which posits an obviously innocent Frank persecuted by anti-Semitic Southerners looking for a Jewish scapegoat.

For readers not familiar with the case, a good place to start is Scott Aaron’s summary of the crime, from his The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank, which states in part:

“ON SATURDAY morning at 11:30, April 26, 1913 Mary Phagan ate a poor girl’s lunch of bread and boiled cabbage and said goodbye to her mother for the last time. Dressed for parade-watching (for this was Confederate Memorial Day) in a lavender dress, ribbon-bedecked hat, and parasol, she left her home in hardscrabble working-class Bellwood at 11:45, and caught the streetcar for downtown Atlanta.

“Before the festivities, though, she stopped to see Superintendent Leo M. Frank at the National Pencil Company and pick up from him her $1.20 pay for the one day she had worked there during the previous week….

“Almost no one knew it at the time, but by one o’clock one young life was already over. For her there would never again be parades, or music, or kisses, or flowers, or children, or love. Mary Phagan never left the National Pencil Company alive. Abused, beaten, and strangled by a rough cord pulled so tightly that it had embedded itself deeply in her girlish neck and made her tongue protrude more than an inch from her mouth, Mary Phagan lay dead, dumped in the dirt and shavings of the pencil company basement, her once-bright eyes now sightless and still as she lay before the gaping maw of the furnace where the factory trash was burned.”

* * *

IN 1913 GEORGIA, it was customary in criminal cases for all of the prosecution and defense witnesses to be sworn before any of their testimony was taken. In the hot and crowded temporary Fulton County courtroom at 10AM on July 28, 1913, Solicitor Hugh Dorsey called his witnesses and they were duly sworn. But the Leo Frank defense team, in the persons of Luther Rosser and Reuben Arnold, surprised everyone by asking to have their witnesses sworn at a later time, claiming that — though they had just declared themselves fully ready to go to trial — their witness list was as yet “fragmentary” and would occasion severe delays if it were required to be completed that morning. But presiding Judge Leonard Roan ruled against them, and in all of five minutes the defense was ready to call their list. It turns out that the defense had wanted to conceal for a time their strategy of making Frank’s character a factor in his defense, and revealing the names of their witnesses — numbers of prominent Atlanta Jews, Frank’s former Cornell University classmates, and others — made that strategy obvious, and would give the prosecution time to find rebuttal witnesses on the subject of the character of Leo Frank.

The first witness was Mrs. Fannie Coleman, Mary Phagan’s mother. She described her last moments with her daughter on the morning of the previous April 26. When asked to identify the clothes that 13-year-old Mary had worn that day, she broke down.

Mary Phagan’s aunt, mother and sister.

The next witness called was 15-year-old George Epps, who said he’s ridden on the trolley car with little Mary from 11:50AM to 12:07PM, when she’d disembarked to go see Superintendent Leo Frank at the National Pencil Company and pick up her pay. The exact timing of Mary’s visit to Frank was to become very important later in the case.

The third prosecution witness — Newt Lee, the pencil company’s night watchman and the man who found Mary Phagan’s bruised body in the factory basement in the wee hours of April 27 — was very damaging to Frank.

Lee stated that he had arrived at work early — at 4PM — on the day of the murder at the explicit instructions of Frank, who had said he was planning to attend a baseball game with a relative. But when Lee came to the factory at 4, Frank appeared very nervous and agitated and said that Lee should leave immediately and come back at 6. When Lee said he’d rather rest for a while at the factory building than go out, Frank insisted that he must go out for two hours.

When Lee did come back, Frank was still acting strangely and became extremely agitated when, around the same time, a friend of Mary Phagan’s and a former worker at the plant, J.M. Gantt, showed up and asked to retrieve some shoes he’d left on the premises. Frank was so nervous that he fumbled the routine task of putting Lee’s slip into the time clock, taking twice as long as usual. After Frank went home, he telephoned Lee to ask him if everything was “all right” — something that Lee said he had never done before.

Lee told the court that, the day after the murder, Frank had told authorities in his presence that Lee’s time slip for the previous night had been punched correctly:

“When did you see Frank?”
“I saw Mr. Frank Sunday morning at about 7:00 or 8:00. He was coming
in the office.”
“How did he look at you?”
“He looked down on the floor and never spoke to me. He dropped his
head down this way.”
“Was any examination made of the time clock?”
“Boots Rogers, Chief Lanford, Darley, Mr. Frank and I were there when
they opened the clock. Mr. Frank opened the clock and said the punches
were all right.”
“What did he mean by all right?”
“Meant that I hadn’t missed any punches.”

This was ominous testimony from Leo Frank’s point of view: As part of an apparent attempt to incriminate Newt Lee, Frank had later told police that Lee had missed several punches — implying that he had had time to be involved in the murder. Around the same time a bloody shirt was planted on Lee’s property. It was detected as a fake when the pattern of stains showed it had not been worn when stained, but had been crumpled up and wiped in blood.

Rosser’s cross-examination of Lee that day could not shake him in any element of his story.

Rosser and Dorsey

* * *

The following is a direct transcription of part of the coverage of the first day of the trial in the Atlanta Constitution (July 29, 1913):

Watchman Tells of Finding Body of Mary Phagan

MOTHER AND THE WIFE
OF PRISONER CHEER HIM
BY PRESENCE AT TRIAL

___

Jury Is Quickly Secured and
Mrs. Coleman, Mother of
the Murdered Girl, Is First
Witness to Take Stand.

Dateline Atlanta, Georgia — July 28, 1913: With a swiftness which was gratifying to counsel for the defense, the solicitor general and a large crowd of interested spectators, the trial of Leo M. Frank, charged with the murder of Mary Phagan on April 26, in the building of the National Pencil factory, was gotten under way Monday.

When the hour of adjournment for the day had arrived, the jury had been selected and three witnesses had been examined. Newt Lee, the night watchman who discovered the dead body of Mary Phagan in the basement of the National Pencil factory, and who gave the first news of the crime to the police, was still on the stand, undergoing a rigid cross examination by Luther Z. Rosser, attorney for Frank.

Lee Sticks To First Story.

When the trial is resumed this morning, Newt Lee will again be placed on the stand. It Is not expected that anything new will be adduced from his testimony. Throughout the gruelling cross-examination of Mr. Rosser Monday afternoon Lee stuck to his original story in minutest detail.

Questions that would have confused or befuddled a man of education failed to budge him from the statement he originally made to the police, and has repeated from time to time to reporters and court officials.

The first day’s proceedings of the Frank trial proved singularly free of the dramatic element or the unexpected in testimony. There were touches of the pathetic, as, for example, when Mrs. J.W. Coleman, mother of the dead child, broke down and cried bitterly when she viewed the clothing of her little daughter; and there were touches of humor when the little Epps boy, who had ridden to town with Mary Phagan on the day of her murder, explained to Luther Rosser his method of telling the time of day by the sun, and of Newt Lee, who amused the courtroom by his quaint allusions and his negro descriptions of a tiny light in the basement of the pencil factory, which he likened to the gleam of a lightning bug, and of his quick retort when Mr. Rosser purposely spoke of this insect as a June bug.

“I didn’t say June bug—I said lightning bug,” contradicted Newt.

Careful Attention to Detail.

This brief excerpt Is given as significant of the careful attention to detail that Lee gave to his story.

When the hour of 9 o’clock arrived, Pryor Street in front of the temporary courthouse building was cluttered with the usual mob of the morbidly curious. They hugged the hot walls of the buildings like lethargic leeches, vainly trying to gain admission to the building, or buzzed about like bees, gossiping idly of the case.

Perfect order was maintained, however, and few not directly interested in the trial were allowed to enter the courtroom. All day long the crowd remained on the sidewalks gazing intently at the window to the courtroom, spewing tobacco juice on the street, eagerly questioning every person who left the building.

Interest naturally centered on the appearance in the court of Leo M. Frank, the accused. If Frank has chafed under his confinement, his physical appearance belies the fact. He looked as fit physically as he did the day he was first arrested. He was dressed with scrupulous neatness in a gray suit of pronounced pattern, which was all the more conspicuous on account of his diminutive form. As he entered the courtroom he smiled cordially at several friends. The first person to whom he spoke was a woman employee of the pencil factory.

Next in interest was Mrs. Leo M. Frank, wife of the accused, who, up to this time, has been seen little in public. Mrs. Frank is an extremely attractive-looking young woman. During progress of the trial she kept her eyes constantly fixed on Solicitor Dorsey. Her gaze was one of calm estimate. She seemed to be attempting to fathom his thoughts and to divine his purposes.

Mrs. Coleman Takes Stand.

Efforts to show Mary Phagan’s attitude toward Leo M. Frank by the state and efforts by the defense to show the dead girl’s attitude toward little George Epps, the 14-year-old newsie who testified to riding down town with her on the morning before she was found dead, were the first important things attempted yesterday when the trial of the state v. Leo M. Frank, charged with the Phagan girl’s murder on April 26, was formally opened.

Both efforts were promptly blocked for the present time by opposing counsel, and the testimony was started in regular form by the introduction of Mrs. J. W. Coleman, mother of Mary Phagan, as the first witness for the state.

During the preliminaries Attorneys Reuben R. Arnold and Luther Z. Rosser, for Frank, tried to conceal the names of their witnesses, but on Solicitor Hugh M. Dorsey’s objections, they were overruled by Trial Judge L.S.Roan, and they called and swore their witnesses as the state had done but a few moments previously.

In a come-back for this the defense asked the court to honor their duces tecum which they previously served upon the solicitor, requiring him to bring into court all statements and affidavits made by James Conley, the negro sweeper, who made an affidavit incriminating himself and declaring he had aided Frank in disposing of the girl’s body.

Solicitor Dorsey, after a conference with Frank A. Hooper, a brilliant criminal lawyer aiding him, dictated a statement to the court stenographer in which he agreed to produce these affidavits and statements at the proper time, should they be held material.

Defense Announces Ready.

The case started promptly at 9 o’clock, with the courtroom, thronged with veniremen and spectators, witnesses and lawyers and friends of the principal. Contrary to the persistent rumor that the defense would ask postponement and to their frequent objections to the trial in the heated term, the defense proved ready and willing to go to trial…

You can read the entire Atlanta Constitution for this day by downloading this PDF file. The complete Atlanta Georgian can be downloaded here, and the entire Atlanta Journal can be read by downloading this file.

* * *

Source: American Mercury

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

Atlanta Constitution

Tuesday, May 6^th, 1913

Lemmie Quinn, Foreman of the Department in Which the Little Girl Worked, Was in His Office Just a Few Minutes After She Received Her Pay on the Day of the Murder, He Tells the Coroner’s Jury at Inquest on Monday Afternoon.

LEO FRANK INNOCENT NEW WITNESS TELLS ATLANTA DETECTIVES

Quinn Declares That Officers Accused Him of Being Bribed to Come to the Aid of Superintendent — Frank Is on Stand for Four Hours Answering Coroner’s Questions—Body of Mary Phagan Exhumed and Stomach Will Be Examined.

The Mary Phagan murder mystery assumed a new aspect yesterday afternoon, when Leo M. Frank, the suspected factory superintendent, introduced a third man in the baffling mystery, who the witness stated, called to see him after the girl had drawn her pay and departed.

Frank was testifying before the coroner’s inquest when he startled his audience with the declaration that he was visited by Lemmie Quinn, a pencil plant foreman, less than 10 minutes after the girl of the tragedy had entered the building Saturday.

Quinn immediately was summoned before Chief Lanford and Harry Scott, of the Pinkertons. He corroborated Frank’s story in detail. After being quizzed for an hour or more, he was permitted to return to his home at 31-B Pulliam street.

Foreman of Girls’ Department.

Quinn was foreman of the department in which the victim worked. He had known her ever since she first was employed with the concern. A stormy scene is said to have ensued during the interrogation to which he was subjected at headquarters. To a reporter for The Constitution, he last night declared that Scott and Solicitor Dorsey charged him with having accepted a bribe from Frank’s counsel for the story he was telling of the visit to the factory.

He says he retorted to the charge:

“Show me the man that says I took a bribe, and I’ll whip him on the spot.”

Quinn was seen last night by a reporter for The Constitution when he returned to his home from police headquarters. When asked if Frank’s statement were true, he said:

“Yes. It’s true. I left my house Saturday morning about 11:45 o’clock. On the way uptown, I stopped into Wolfsheimer’s and bought an order of fancy groceries. I stopped at another place and bought a cigar.

“Then I went to the factory. I wanted to see Frank and tell him ‘Howdy do.’ I knew he would be in the place. He is always there on Saturdays. It was about 12:15 or 12:20 when I arrived at the building. I saw no one in front or as I went upstairs to the office.

“Frank was at his desk. He appeared very busy. I stepped in and said: ‘Well, I see your work even on holidays. You can’t keep me from coming around the building on Saturdays either. How do you feel?’

“He said he was feeling good. He didn’t appear agitated or nervous. I didn’t want to disturb him, so I left. I wasn’t in the plant for more than 2 minutes. As I came downstairs on the way out, I saw someone in the rear of the first floor—a person whom I would have no grounds whatever to suspect.”

Won’t Tell Name Now.

“No! I won’t divulge his name. I’ll tell the detectives in time. I’m glad Frank told the coroner of my visit. It was I who refreshed his memory of the incident. He apparently had forgotten it. I have not been keeping it secret. I told the detective Saturday of the visit.

“I have known Mr. Frank for years, and I know he is not guilty.”

Frank’s story on the stand was to the effect that within ten minutes after Mary Phagan had departed with her pay envelope, Quinn, who is foreman of the tipping department, dropped into the superintendent’s office to say “Howdy do.”

“I had not thought of it until reminded of the incident,” he told the jury. “My memory was refreshed. I recollected it clearly. This is the first time I have made it known.”

The foreman, Frank stated, came into the building about 12:30 noon during Memorial day. “How do you do?” he is quoted with having said. “I see you work even on holidays. Well, you can’t keep me away from the factory on off days either.” He remained less than two minutes, according to Frank. IN BUILDING ONLY 2 MINUTES ……

Quinn declared to The Constitution that he was in the building about two minutes. He said that he did not see Mary Phagan.

He is outraged at the treatment he alleges was accorded him by the detectives.

“They were insulting and seemed to doubt my statement,” he said. “In an insinuating manner Chief Lanford plied the question: ‘So you put yourself there about the time the Phagan girl left the factory, eh?’”

Quinn was an ardent admirer of the murdered child. He says she was one of his most industrious employees.

He is married and has one child. His connection with the National Pencil company dates back to several years. The reporter met him at his home just as he was returning from the visit to police headquarters. He was fatigued, and admitted that he was almost exhausted.

Called on Frank in Jail.

Declaring that he had made his visit to Frank on Memorial day known earlier than Monday, Quinn told the reporter that it was he who refreshed Frank’s memory of his presence in the building shortly after noon of the day on which the girl is supposed to have been slain.

“I called upon Frank at the jail,” he said. “The moment I reminded him of my visit, he recollected it. He apparently had forgotten it.”

The foreman’s wife expressed dislike for her husband to be connected in the mystery. She seemed to regret that Quinn’s name had been mentioned at the inquest, merely because of the sensation it would incur.

“Now our name will be mixed in it, too,” she lamented.

Mother Thanked Foreman.

A day or so after her daughter’s tragic end, Mrs. J. W. Coleman called Quinn to her home on Lindsay street. She expressed the gratitude felt over the kindness and favors extended the dead girl by her foreman. Mary, she said, had often told her of how she liked Quinn, and of how pleasant it was to work under him.

When Quinn saw Mary’s step-father and her mother, he told the reporter, he expressed his belief in the superintendent’s innocence.

“I told them,” he said, “that with all the sympathy I felt for Mary and her relatives, I could not believe Frank guilty. I have worked for nearly four years under him, and I do not believe he was trying to shift the burden of suspicion by dragging my name into the case.

“He has told the truth. It is impossible for him to go against facts. He is purely a victim of circumstantial evidence. Time will tell the story. They may do me an injustice by bringing me into the scandal, but I am doing it in the defense of a guiltless man.

I believe the detectives are bungling this case. Lanford told me Monday that, inasmuch as I had not talked before, he guessed he would have to hold me. I retorted that I would not be the only innocent man he would be holding in that event.”

Body of Girl Is Exhumed.

Police headquarters and everyone concerned in the mystery were surprised Monday afternoon when it was learned that the body was exhumed in Marietta. The stomach has been placed in the charge of the state board of health and an analysis for traces of drug or “dope,” which it is suspected to contain, will be made.

The reinterment was witnessed by only the corner, Dr. John W. Hurt, country physician, and Dr. H. F. Harris, of the state board. Dr. Harris will perform the examination.

The inquest began fifty minutes later several days, it is stated. However, it is also said that Dr. Harris’ report will be prepared in time to submit it before the Thursday afternoon session of the coroner’s inquest.

The inquest began fifty minutes later than the time for which it was scheduled. This was due to Coroner Donehoo’s lateness in returning from the grave at Marietta. Police headquarters was thronged with a crowd of merely curious men, women and boys. Extra squads of police were necessary to handle the immense crowd.

FRANK FIRST WITNESS

Frank was the first witness. He was followed by his father and mother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Emil Selig, with whom he lives at 68 East Georgia avenue.

Factory Employees Are Excused.

About midway of the inquest, Coroner Donehoo excused the pencil factory employees who were waiting to be examined. They were released, however, subject to summons, and will be called back next Thursday. More than 200 of these witnesses appeared at police headquarters. A large majority were women and girls.

Frank and the negro, Newt Lee, were brought together from the Tower in Chief Beavers’ automobile. When they were ushered into the inquest room, the coroner ordered Lee returned to the Tower until he was called. Frank took the stand at 2:30. He was released at 6:15. No one but the coroner plied questions.

Leo Frank On Stand.

The first questions to Frank were the customary formal queries relating to his occupation, age and address.

His statement and the questions he answered are as follows:

“What is your connection with the pencil company?”

“General superintendent.”

“How long have you occupied that position?”

“Since 1908.”

“In what business were you prior to that time?”

“I was abroad, buying machinery for the National Pencil company.”

“Have you lived in Atlanta all your life?”

“No.”

“Where did you reside before moving here?”

“In Brooklyn, N. Y.”

“Were you ever married before?”

“No—only once.”

“What was your Brooklyn address?”

“152 Underhill avenue.”

His Work In Brooklyn

“What business were you in there?”

“I was with the National Meter company.”

“When did you leave Brooklyn?”

“In 1907.”

“What are your duties with the National Pencil company?”

“Look after the production and filling of orders and the purchase of machinery. In short, I have general supervision of the plant.”

“What time of the morning did you get up on April 26?”

“About 7 o’clock.”

“Was anyone with you beside your wife?”

“My mother and father-in-law.”

“Have you any children?”

“No.”

“Does anyone else live on the place at which you reside?”

“A negro washerwoman and servant.”

“What time did you leave the house on the morning of April 26?”

“Eight o’clock.”

“Who did you see?”

“Minola, the servant girl, and my wife.”

“Did you see Mr. and Mrs. Selig, your parents-in-law?”

“I don’t remember.”

“How did you leave the house?”

“Caught a trolley car. Got to the factory about 8:20, I presume.”

When He Reached Factory.

“Did you talk to anyone on the car?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Who was at the factory upon your arrival?”

“Hollway, the day watchman, and the office boy, Alonzo Mann.”

“Was the door locked?”

“No.”

“Who was in your office?”

“The office boy.”

“Did you see anyone else?”

“No.”

“How long was it before anyone came into your office?”

“About thirty minutes.”

“Who was it?”

“Several men for their pay envelopes.”

“Was Saturday, April 26, a whole or half holiday?”

“Whole holiday.”

“Were there others calling for their pay envelopes?”

“Yes. A girl named Mattie Smith came in shortly afterward.”

Frank Waited On Girl.

“Did you personally wait on them?”

“Yes.”

“Was there anyone else in the office?”

“Not that I knew of.”

“Who occupies the office with you?”

“The chief clerk, Herbert Schiff.”

“Was Schiff in the office at the time you paid Mattie Smith and those who preceded her?”

“No.”

“Who occupies the outer office adjoining yours?”

“The stenographer and office boy.”

“Was anyone in this office at the time?”

“Not that I knew of.”

“Who is your stenographer?”

“Miss Eubanks.”

“How long was it before anyone else came in?”

“Anywhere from a half hour to forty minutes. M. B. Darley, Wade Campbell and a Mr. Fullerton. They arrived about 9 o’clock.”

How Frank Spent Morning.

“Tell what you did during that part of the morning which followed 9 o’clock.”

“I went over the mail, business papers and later to the offices of the manager, Mr. Selig.”

“What time did you go there?”

“About 10 o’clock.”

“Did anyone go with you?”

“No. I went alone.”

“What did you do prior to 10 o’clock..

(This question was a repeater.)

“Various office duties, as I have already told.”

“Did you talk to anyone?”

“Yes. To Mr. Darley and Mr. Campbell.”

“Anyone else?”

“Not that I remember.”

“Did you touch the financial sheet of your concern?”

“No.”

“Can you recall anything else you did?”

“No.”

“Where did you say you went at 10 o’clock?”

“To the office of Sig Montag, the manager, at 20 Nelson street.”

“Do you remember the particular papers you handled?”

“Not exactly. A note, though, I recollect, was one ‘Rush Panama assortment boxes.’”

“What do you usually do in the morning?”

“Get up various papers over the desk and straighten out the work of my stenographer.”

“Did you speak to Hollway, the watchman?”

“Yes. But I only said ‘Good morning.’”

“Do you wear the same clothes at the factory which you wear at home?”

“Yes.”

“Did you remove your clothes when you reached the factory?”

“Only my coat. I exchanged it for one I wear at the office.”

No Personal Mail.

“Did you have any personal mail?”

“No.”

“Do you keep papers of value in the safe?”

“Yes.”

“Where is the safe?”

“In the outer office—the one adjoining my private office.”

“Can you recall the first paper you looked over?”

“No.”

“Who is your shipping clerk?”

“A Mr. Irby.”

“How long did you sit at your desk after your arrival in the morning?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did you intend going to the ball game?”

“Yes; until Saturday morning.”

“Did you work on the house order book?”

“Yes, but not until I got back from the office of the manager—No, I forgot. I did not work on it at all. Montag’s stenographer did it.”

“Who was in the office when you left for Montag’s?”

“Several persons—about six or eight in all.”

“How long were you at Montag’s?”

“Until 11 o’clock, I believe.”

“Did you telephone Miss Hall, Montag’s stenographer, that you wouldn’t need her at the pencil factory, and that she needn’t come?”

No, She Phoned Me.

“No. She telephoned me. I told her she need not come, as I did not need her.”

“When you departed for Montag’s, you’re sure you went alone?”

“Positive.”

“Didn’t Mr. Darley walk to Cruickshank’s at Alabama and Forsyth, to get a drink with you?”

“No. He did not.”

“Who was at the office when you returned?”

“Miss Hall, Montag’s stenographer, and the office boy.”

“How old is the office boy?”

“About 15 years, I presume.”

“Does he wear long or short trousers?”

“Short trousers.”

“What did you do upon returning?”

“Assorted papers and letters for about ten minutes.”

“What did you do while Miss Hall entered the orders you had given her, as you say?”

“I don’t remember, except that I was working at my desk.”

“Is your office work systematized?”

“Yes, excepting on times during which I have no special plans. Then, I take up the most important and pressing business.”

“What else did you do?”

“I don’t remember precisely. I was at work all morning and afternoon.”

“Were you out of the office at all while Miss Hall was in the building?”

“No.”

“How long was she occupied with the orders?”

“About thirty minutes.”

“When she finished the orders, what did you do with them?”

“I put them on my desk.”

“What time did she finish and leave?”

Miss Hall Leaves Factory.

“About 12 o’clock. I recollect the time, because I heard the noon whistle blowing. She and the office boy left together.”

“Did you see any outsider in the building when you got back from Montag’s?”

“No, I think not.”

“What did you do when the stenographer and office boy left?”

“Started to work on the orders.”

“Were you entirely alone?”

“So far as I knew.”

“Do you know of anyone else who came in?”

“Yes. A little after 12 o’clock the little girl that was killed came into my office.”

“Where were you?”

“At my desk in the inner office.”

“How did she announce herself?”

“I looked up when I heard her footsteps. I think she said she wanted her pay envelope. I asked her number, and she gave it to me. I gave her the envelope with her number stamped on it.”

“What was her number?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Have you ever looked up that number?”

“Yes, but I don’t recollect it.”

“When you gave her the pay envelope what did she do?”

Has the Metal Come Yet?

“Walked out into the outer office, stopped and called back: ‘Mr. Frank, has the metal come yet?’”

“Did you make entry of her payment?”

“No.”

“Did she call back about the metal as though in after thought?”

“Yes. It was natural. She hadn’t worked since Monday because of the lack of metal.”

“What was the amount in her envelope?”

“One dollar and twenty cents.”

“Do you remember in what denomination it was given her?”

“No. I don’t.”

“She disturbed you in your work, did she not?”

“Yes.”

“How did you know she was gone?”

“As she went down stairs I heard her footfalls dying away. I also heard another voice. It was vague, but like a girl’s or woman’s. It seemed as though it came from the Forsyth street entrance.”

“Did you know her name?”

“No.”

“Do you remember how she was dressed?”

“No. I only looked at her from over the side of my desk.”

“Was her dress dark or light?”

“What little I saw appeared light.”

“How was her hair arranged?”

“I don’t remember.”

Did Not See Them.

“How about the color of her shoes and stockings?”

“I didn’t see them.”

“Did you see a parasol, purse or handkerchief?”

“No. I didn’t notice.”

“How long did it take for you to give her the envelope?”

“About two minutes. Not longer.”

“How did you identify the number on her envelope?”

“She called it out.”

“Is that the only means of identification you employ?”

“Yes, except the name is written on the envelope, I think, I’m not sure.”

“Did you hear anyone else in the building at the time Mary Phagan was present?”

“Nothing but the voice downstairs as she went down the steps.”

“How long were you at the office after she had departed?”

“I stayed there.”

“Did anything else happen?”

“Yes; within five to ten minutes after the Phagan girl had left an employee named Lemmie Quinn, foreman of the tipping department, came into my office. He said: ‘I see you’re busy, but you can’t keep me away even on holidays.’ He stayed only a short time. This is the first time I recollected the incident.”

“What were you doing then?”

Where Did Quinn Go?

“Copying orders. It was about 12:35 o’clock, ten minutes after Mary Phagan had left.”

“Where did Quinn go?”

“I don’t know.”
“Had the metal come when Mary Phagan was in your office?”

“No. I don’t think it has come even yet.”

“How does it come to the plant?”

“By drayman.”

“Would you know if it had arrived?”

“Yes; I certainly would.”

“Where is it put—in what part of the building?”

“In the rear of the office floor.”

“Did you send Mary Phagan back to see if the metal had come?”

“No, I did not.”

“Now, tell the jury once more of Mary Phagan’s visit.”

(The witness was required to repeat the story of the girl’s appearance in his office at 12 o’clock to procure her pay envelope. The recital was without variance from the original statement.)

“How did you fix the time? You say it was about 5 minutes after 12?”

“It seemed that late.”

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

“No.”

“How long had Mary Phagan worked at the pencil factory?”

“I don’t know; I really don’t.”

“Was she in Quinn’s department?”

“Yes.”

“Was she under him—was he her boss?”

“Yes.”

Was Not in Overalls.

“How was Quinn dressed?”

“I think he wore a straw hat?”

“Does he wear different clothes in the factory to what he wears at home and on the street?”

“I presume so. He was not in his overalls Saturday.”

“Has he access to the entire factory building?”

“Yes.”

“How old is he?”

“About twenty-five years, I would judge.”

“Is he married?”

“Yes.”

“How long has he been with the pencil company?”

“About four years, I understand.”

“What time did you finish work Saturday afternoon?”

“About 1 o’clock.”

“You are sure, now that you had not left the office from the time Miss Hall, the stenographer, had departed until you started away for lunch?”

Only Time I Left.

“I am positive. The only time I left was when I went upstairs to tell the two mechanics and the wife of one who were on the top floor, that I was ready to go and would have to lock up the building. I came back downstairs and picked up my coat.”

“How did you know they were upstairs?”

“The day watchman had told me.”

“How long did you stay there?”

“No longer than two minutes.”

“What time did you leave the place?”

“A trifle after 1 o’clock.”

“Doesn’t the day watchman usually stay at the plant until the arrival of the night watchman?”

“Yes, except on Saturday afternoons, when we close down for half holiday.”

“Do you know Walter Fry?”

“Yes. He’s a negro, the oldest employee in the factory.”

“Who pays him off?”

“The chief clerk, Mr. Schiff.”

“What did he do there Saturday?”

“I didn’t see him.”

Duties of Fry.

“Was Fry away from work upon your authority?”

“No.”

“What are his duties?”

“He sweeps and cleans glue from the floors on the glue room.”

“What time is he supposed to do this?”

“In the afternoons.”

“When you left the building, where did you go?”

“I went up Forsyth street to Alabama, up Alabama to Broad, where I caught a street car home.”

“Where did you get off?”

“At Georgia avenue on Washington street. I went directly home, arriving there about 1:20 o’clock.”

“How long were you at home?”

“Well, I ate dinner in about twenty minutes.”

“Was there any interruption to the meal?”

“No.”

“What did you do upon finishing?”

“I think I smoked a cigarette and lay down for a short nap.”

“What time did you wake?”

“I didn’t go good to sleep.”

“Have you been working strenuously?”

“I had been concentrating my mind on the work at the office. It was rather fatiguing, I’ll admit.”

“What time did you leave your home?”

“About 1:50 o’clock.”

“Where did you go?”

“To Washington street and Georgia avenue. I met a cousin, Jerome Michael, and talked with him until the 2 o’clock hour came.”

“Did you meet anyone whom you knew on the car?”

“Yes, another cousin, Cohen Loeb.”

“Where did you get off?”

“At the corner of Washington and Hunter street. The cars were blocked by the memorial parade.”

“Did you see anyone you knew?”

Watched Part of Parade.

“No. I walked to Hunter and Whitehall streets and watched part of the parade. Then, I walked to Rich’s store where I passed Miss Rebecca Carson, one of our foreladies. Then, I went to Brown and Allen’s, at the corner of Whitehall and Alabama streets and across to Jacob’s, where I bought four cigars and a pack of cigarettes.”

“Do you customarily smoke cigars or cigarettes?”

“Cigars, usually.”

“What did you do upon leaving Jacob’s?”

“Went straight to the pencil factory.”

“What time was it that you arrived there?”

“About 2:50 o’clock.”

“Did you unlock the door?”

“Yes. I unlocked the outer and inner doors, relocked the outer door and left the inner door open.”

“When you passed the clock in front of your office, what time was it?”

“I didn’t notice. It must have been about 3 o’clock. I pulled off my coat and went upstairs to tell the mechanics that I had returned. They already were preparing to leave.”

Then Mechanics Leave.

“How long was it before they came downstairs?”

“Only a few minutes. They entered my office about five minutes after 3 o’clock.”

“How long before you went downstairs?”

“Three minutes, or four—maybe five. I went down to lock the door.”

“You were left alone in the building?”

“So far as I knew.”

“What did you do?”

“Worked on the books.”

“When you went to lock the door, did you see the girl?”

“No.”

“How long did you work on the books?”

“Until about 4 o’clock, or 4:15. I had gone to wash my hands when the night watchman came.”

“Why were you washing your hands?”

“It’s awfully dirty in the building.”

“You went out and washed your hands upon beginning work, too, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

Negro Has a Pass Key.

“How did the negro watchman get in?”

“He has a pass key.”

“How frequently do you wash your hands?”

“Whenever they get dirty.”

“What did you say to the watchman?”

“I said: ‘Howdy, Lee. I didn’t go to the baseball game. I’m sorry I put you to this trouble. You may go out on the street and enjoy yourself for an hour and a half. Be sure and be back within that time, though.”

“Had you told him to come at 4 o’clock?”

“Yes. Friday I told him I wanted to go to the ball game.”

“When did you actually finish working on your books?”

“About 5:30 o’clock.”

“Your work occupied your whole time.”

“It did.”

“You saw no one but Lee?”

“No one else.”

“Heard no noises in the building?”

“None.”

Couldn’t Go to Game.

“Who were you intending going to the ball game with?”

“My brother-in-law, Mr. Hirzenbach.”

“When did you tell him you could not go?”

“I tried to get him at noon Saturday, but failed.”

“Did you notify him at all?”

“No.”

“Did you go downstairs after 4 o’clock?”

“No.”

“What were you doing when Lee came in?”

“Fixing the time-clock slips.”

“Were you at the factory Monday?”

“No.”

“When Lee came in, was it light or dark?”

“It wasn’t light. Two lights were burning near the time clock.”

“Did you wash your hands then?”

“I think so.”

“Did you and Lee go out together?”

“No. He went first.”

Factory Employees Excused.

At this juncture of the examination the 200 or more factory employees who were summoned to the inquest by Coroner Donehoo were notified that they were excused for the day, but were subject to further summons. They had been sitting in the assembly hall. It was later than 4 o’clock when they left police headquarters.

“What time did he get downstairs?”

“Shortly after 6 o’clock.”

“Did you follow him?”

“Yes; I went downstairs to lock the door.”

“What did you see, if anything?”

“I saw Newt Lee talking to J. M. Gantt, a former employee of the pencil factory. Lee said: ‘Mr. Gantt wants to get his shoes.’ I asked him what shoes. Gantt said either black or tan, I forget which color. He saw that I didn’t like the idea of letting him in the building. He said, ‘You can go with me, or let the watchman go.’ ‘Lee can go,’ I told him. They went in together, Lee locking the door behind him.”

“What did you then do?”

“I went down Alabama street to Whitehall to Jacobs’ where I bought a drink and  box of candy.”

“Did you talk with anyone there?”

“Yes. I held a short conversation with the young lady at the candy counter. Following that, I went directly home, arriving there about 6:35 o’clock.”

Went to His Home.

“Who was at home?”

“My father-in-law and Minola, the negro servant.”

“How long before your wife arrived?”

“She came about 6:30 o’clock.”

“Were you inside your home at the time she returned?”

“Yes.”

“What were you doing?”

“Telephoning.”

“Telephoning who?”

“The night watchman at the factory.”

“What time was that?”

“Six-thirty o’clock.”

“What was your conversation with the watchman?”

“I couldn’t get him.”

“Why did you call?”

“To see if Mr. Gantt had left the plant.”

“Have you and Mr. Gantt ever suffered personal differences?”

“No. I discharged him for gross carelessness. I had heard that he said I had not treated him right.”

“How long before you called again?”

“Seven-thirty o’clock—I mean 7.”

“What did you do in the meantime?”

“Ate supper.”

“What did you say over the phone to Lee?”

“I asked if Gantt had gone and if everything was all right at the factory. He said, ‘yes.’”

“Did you fear physical violence from Gantt?”

Looked Big and Dangerous.

“I can’t say, exactly. He looked mighty big and dangerous when I saw him. He impresses me as a kind I’d like to have somebody with whenever I run up against him.”

“What did you do after supper?”

“We discussed the opera which my wife had attended Saturday afternoon, and I smoked and read until 9:30 o’clock. Later, about 10:30 to be explicit, I went up and took a bath.”

“Did you leave the house?”

“No.”

“How long were you in the bath?”

“Until 11:30 o’clock.”

“When did you go to bed?”

“Immediately after taking the bath.”

“When did you wake the next morning?”

“About 7:30 o’clock.”

“What did you do?”

“Answered the telephone. It wakened me.”

“How were you dressed?”

“In my nightgown and bathrobe.”

“Was anyone else up at that time?”

“No.”

“What was the message you received over the telephone?”

“It was from Detective Starnes. He said he wanted me to identify someone at the pencil factory—that there had been a tragedy. I started to dress.”

“How long did it take you to dress?”

Then Detectives Come.

“I don’t know. I went at it hurriedly, though. I told my wife to meet Starnes at the door when he arrived—No! I went down myself. He came in an automobile with Detective Black and a man named Rogers—Boots Rogers. I had no more than got into my top shirt and sox when they arrived.”

“Who spoke first—you or they?”

“I don’t remember. I dressed and jumped into the machine. We went to Bloomfield’s, the undertaker, and I went in and saw the ‘poor little thing.’ I said: ‘That is the girl I paid off yesterday afternoon.”

“Describe her, will you?”

“She was bruised and cut about the face—a horrible sight. I saw a piece of wrapping cord around her throat and a strip of cloth.”

“In what department in the pencil factory is used the cord that was around her throat?”

“On the second floor for bundling pencils.”

“Is any used on the office floor?”

“Yes. Some.”

“How long were you at the undertakers?”

“Only a few minutes.”

“What did you do upon leaving?”

“Went immediately to the factory building.”

Went to the Basement.

“To which part of the building did you first go?”

“The basement with Mr. Darley, who arrived at the same time I did, and the detectives.”

“What time did you remove the tape from the watchman’s clock?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Did you examine the back door?”

“Yes, upon being told that it had been open.”

“Was it a part of the night watchman’s duty to go into the basement?”

“Yes.”

“How far was he supposed to go?”

“To the dust pan, which is situated only a few feet from the back door.”

“Were you aware that the building—or some parts of it—had been used for assignation?”

“No.”

“How often have you been in the basement since your connection with the plant?”

“Not more than a dozen times.”

“How was the clock tape when you removed it?”

Clock Was in Error.

“I thought at the time that it was correct but, upon further thought, I have concluded that it was punched inaccurately during Saturday night and Sunday morning.”

“How many misses did it contain?”

“Three, I think.”

“Why was one tape stamped and the other penciled?”

“It was a mere coincidence, I penciled one because it would have been impossible to apply the stamp.”

“Did you go over the factory premises on an inspection tour with the detectives?”

“Yes.”

“Did you go to the dressing room used by Mary Phagan?”

“Yes.”

“Did you see anything unusual in it?”

“No, not that I noticed.”

“How long were you in the building at that time?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Where did you go upon leaving?”

Went to Police Station.

“I went with the detectives in the automobile that carried the watchman to police headquarters. I talked with Chief Lanford and offered him all the assistance I could possibly give in running down the murderer. I told him I was naturally interested in the case, and that I would give most anything to find the girl’s slayer. Then, I walked uptown with Mr. Darley.”

“What suit did you wear Sunday?”

“A blue one.”

“What kind of suit on Saturday?”

“A brown one—the one I am wearing at present.”

“Can you run the elevator in the plant?”

“Yes, but I don’t make a practice of operating it.”

“Have you ever called up the office at night before you telephoned last Saturday night?”

“Yes, several times.”

“Had you ever let Lee go away before as you let him go last Saturday?”

“No. That happened to be the first whole holiday during the time he has been at work.”

“Were you nervous and agitated when you saw Gantt Saturday afternoon?”

“No.”

“When did you first see the notes found beside the dead girl’s body?”

About the Two Letters.

“In Chief Lanford’s office Tuesday, when Detective Starnes dictated them for me to copy.”

“When you began them, was the first letter a capital or small letter?”

“I don’t recollect.”

“Did you recognize the handwriting on the notes?”

“No.”

“Could you make out their composition?”

“No. Both were incoherent and illegible.”

“What was it in the dead girl’s appearance which caused you to recognize her body?”

“Her face.”

“How did you identify her as the girl to whom you gave the pay envelope last Saturday week?”

“I saw her plainly that day.”

“Wasn’t she badly bruised and cut about the face?”

“She was, badly.”

“How long have you had this blue suit which you wore Sunday?”

“Three or four months.”

“Did you ever wear it at the factory?”

“No.”

“Didn’t you tell Mr. Darley Sunday that you had on a new suit?”

“No. I merely remarked of the freshness of the suit I wore.”

“Did you change clothes Sunday morning?”

“Yes. I always change on Sundays.”

Conversation With Lee.

“How about the private conversation you had with Lee in the cell at police headquarters?”

“It was this way: The detectives asked me to talk to Lee. They said they wanted to find if he had ever let couples go in the factory building at night. Detective Black asked me to get all I could out of him. ‘Get all you can,’ he told me, ‘for we think he knows more than he’s told us or will tell. Tell him that the police have got you both and that you’ll go to hell if he doesn’t talk.’ I didn’t use those exact words, although I did say something similar. Lee said to me: ‘Fore God, Mr. Frank, I’m telling the truth.’ I told him, ‘Lee, they’ve got us both, and we’ll swing if you don’t tell the straight of it.’ I did not say anything about going to hell—I positively did not.”

“Are you accustomed to going to ball games?”

“No.”

“What did you do with the underclothes you took off Saturday?”

“I threw them into the washbag. Detective Black saw them.”

“Who notified the employees that Friday would be pay day?”

“It was posted in the plant.”

“Did Newt Lee accuse you of murdering Mary Phagan?”

“No.”

“When you and Lee were talking in the cell at police station, didn’t he describe the body and didn’t you ask him not to talk about it?”

“No.”

Nobody Notified Her.

“Who notified Mary Phagan to come and draw her pay envelope Saturday at noon?”

“No one of whom I know.”

“Do you ever tie bundles with the kind of cord with which she was strangled?”

“No.”

“Do you ever use that kind of twine?”

“Yes, occasionally.”

“Are you right or left-handed?”

“Right-handed.”

“Were you the first to hear the telephone ring when Detective Starnes called you early Sunday morning?”

“Yes. I thought at first that I was dreaming.”

“When was the first time that you were told the dead girl’s name was Mary Phagan?”

“When Mr. Starnes called me and asked me if I had paid Mary Phagan, a girl who worked in the tip plant.”

Following this question Frank was excused. He probably will be put on the stand again before the inquest ends. He did not appear fatigued or agitated when the ordeal was finished. He was carried to the Tower in custody of Deputy Sheriff Plennie Minerquest in the neighborhood of $100.-

Father-in-Law Goes on Stand.

Emil Selig, of 68 East Georgia avenue, father-in-law of the suspected superintendent, took the stand when it was deserted by Frank.

“How long has Leo Frank, your son-in-law, been married?”

“Three years.”

“Do you live with him?”

“No; he lives with me.”

“When did you first see him Saturday?”

“At dinner.”

“How long did he stay at dinner?”

“Quite a while.”

“When did you next see him?”

“At supper.”

“What did he first do upon arriving for supper?”

“Sat down at the table.”

“What did he do afterward?”

“Read in the hallway.”

“How long did you see him?”

“Until about 10 o’clock. Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Goldstein, my wife, Mrs. Ike Strauss, Mrs. Wolfsheimer and my daughter, Mrs. A. Marcus, were playing cards until 11 o’clock. Leo returned about 10 o’clock, I think.”

“Did Frank see these people?”

“I suppose he did.”

“How was he dressed?”

“In a brownish suit.”

“What time did you wake Sunday morning?”

“At 8 o’clock.”

Frank Called Up Factory.

“Did he often call up the factory upon coming home at night?”

“Yes.”

“Did Mrs. Frank tell you anything Sunday morning?”

“Yes. She said something terrible had happened.”

“Didn’t she say that a girl who worked at the factory named Mary Phagan had been murdered?”

“No, sir.”

“Did you talk to Frank that day?”

“Yes.”

“Did you find out anything about the murder?”

“No.”

“Didn’t you get any information from him about it?”

“No.”

“Did Mr. Frank say anything about it when he came back from the factory?”

“No; not that I recollect.”

“All you knew was what your daughter had told you?”

“Yes. She said, ‘Papa, something terrible has happened at the pencil factory.”

Mrs. Selig On Stand.

Mrs. Josephine Selig, wife of Emil Selig, and mother-in-law of Frank, was next called for examination.

“Did you see Frank on Memorial day—at supper?”

“Yes. He was in the hall, reading a paper.”

“Did Frank know you were in the house when he went to bed Saturday night?”

“Yes—he must have.”

“Did he talk to the guests in your home?”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember any of the conversation?”

“No.”

“How long did he talk with any of them?”

“About twenty minutes, I suppose.”

“When did you go in to see Mrs. Frank Sunday morning?”

“About 9 o’clock.”

“Did she tell you anything about Mr. Frank?”

“No.”

“Did you ask her about him?”

“Yes. She said he had gone to town.”

“When did she speak about the murder?”

“When Mr. Frank came home that afternoon.”

“Did he speak of it?”

“Yes. He said a little girl had been murdered at the plant.”

“Did you ask him anything about it?”

“No. I didn’t think it had any bearing on us.”

“How did he seem to take it?”

“He seemed unconcerned.”

“He didn’t express any anxiety or curiosity about it?”

“No.”

“Did he read the paper that afternoon?”

“Yes.”

“Did he read it just as studiously as he read it the preceding night?”

“Apparently so.”

“Did he seem to feel apprehensive?”

“No.”

“When did Frank first mention the name of the slain girl?”

“I don’t think I remember.”

The inquest was adjourned at 7:18 o’clock. It will be resumed at 9:30 Thursday morning. The two-days’ postponement is to permit detectives to garner evidence they announce available.

Following up a new theory advanced last night, detectives are said to have searched the roof of the National Pencil factory building in search of the victim’s missing pocketbook and pay-envelope, neither of which have ever been found.

Police headquarters could not verify the report at midnight. Two men with lanterns, however, were seen walking over the roof about 10 o’clock. They were noticed from The Constitution reportorial rooms. After remaining on the building for thirty minutes or longer, they disappeared through a scuttle hole.

* * *

Atlanta Constitution, May 6th 1913, “Third Man Brought into Phagan Mystery by Frank’s Evidence,” 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

Sunday, May 4^th, 1913

Representing Themselves as Pinkertons, Two Men Are Interviewing Leading Witnesses in Mystery.

DETECTIVES WORRIED BY PLANTED EVIDENCE

Men Working on Case Believe That Some Interests May Be Trying to Fix the Crime on Suspects.

What interests are promoting the planting of evidence in the Mary Phagan mystery?

This question confronted police headquarters yesterday. Further evidence of mysterious forces underhandedly at work on the baffling case was revealed when it became known that imposters, representing themselves to be Pinkerton detectives had been questioning leading witnesses.

This new disclosure, coupled with past discoveries of obviously “framed-up” evidence, has stirred the police and solicitor’s staff to action. Arrests are expected at any moment. If the bogus detectives are caught, Chief Lanford declared they will be thrown into prison, held without bond or communication, and put through a gruelling [sic] third degree.

Why Such Methods?

Although many theories have been advanced, the police are at a loss to fathom the cause of such methods. It has even been suggested that the real murderer is at liberty, and, in the effort to avert suspicion which might be cast upon himself, is endeavoring to weave the web tighter around the suspects already under arrest.

Friday morning a suave well-dressed man appeared at the home of Mrs. J. W. Coleman, mother of the murdered girl, and, introducing himself as a detective from the Pinkerton agency, put her through an hours exhaustive examination relative to Mary’s character and habits.

She told her husband of the incident. He later questioned Harry Scott, of the Pinkertons, regarding the man who had appeared at the Coleman home. Scott was astounded at the revelation. Aware that he was the only man from the Pinkertons at work on the mystery, he knew that the man who had questioned the dead girl’s mother was an impostor.

Later, George W. Epps, a leading witness at the coroner’s inquest, was visited by a man answering an entirely different description from Mrs. Coleman’s visitor. George is the youthful companion of the Phagan girl, with whom he rode uptown on the morning of her disappearance. He was quizzed thoroughly of the girl’s habits and character.

Evidence Is Being Planted.

The Pinkertons were informed of this. Descriptions of both men have been furnished a squad of headquarters detectives who have been detailed to the special assignment of searching for the impostors. A Pinkerton official said Saturday night.

“I am satisfied that evidence is being planted. The object of such operations is mystifying. The clock record is plainly a “framed-up” clue. The shirt appears to be, and there are numerous other indications. Also, we are convinced that there are mysterious forces antagonizing our investigation. Sad will be the day that these men are caught.”

Solicitor Dorsey Active.

Solicitor Hugh M. Dorsey has taken a decidedly active hand in the investigation. His entire staff has been loosed upon the mystery, together with a number of private detectives in his employ. Coroner Donehoo is also giving his entire time and energy in assisting the detectives and police.

Saturday morning the coroner, solicitor, detective chief and a number of detectives revisited the scene of the murder. A minute examination was made of the pencil factory premises, and measurements were taken of the basement. From 1 o’clock in the afternoon until 6:30, the investigators were closeted in Chief Lanford’s office, conferring over the evidence.

Headquarters was flooded with wild and groundless rumors throughout the day, a majority of which were to the effect that Mary Phagan had been seen on the afternoon of her murder. These stories were all found to be groundless. Chief Lanford declared last night that he had confined himself to the theory that the murdered girl never emerged from the pencil plant after entering it to draw her pay.

A number of new witnesses were subpoenaed from the coroner’s office. Although their names would be divulged, nor the character of the testimony which they will be expected to render, it is the general belief that they are former women employees of the pencil concern. New witnesses are being summoned daily. The total list, when the coroner’s inquest is re-opened Monday afternoon, will probably reach 300 or more.

Will Examine Bloody Shirt.

Detective Scott Saturday turned over to City Bacteriologist Claude W. Smith the bloody shirt found at the home of the negro Newt Lee. It will be put through a thorough microscopic inspection to ascertain if the blood spots compare with those on the clothing of the murdered girl. Dr. Smith stated, however, that the examination could not be made until early next week.

Action by Grand Jury.

“I am not in a position to state when the grand jury will take up the investigation of the Phagan murder,” Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey stated last night. “The new grand jury will be impanelled on Monday and it is certain that the matter can not be taken up that day. The coroner’s inquest is to be continued on that day, but whether or not the grand jury will wait until this is completed or not. I can not now say.

“The only reason for my personal investigation of the case and my conferences with police and detective heads,” added the solicitor, “is because of the exceptional nature of the case. The duties of the solicitor’s office prevent me from attending every inquest and police examination, but I feel that this affair demands that I should familiarize myself with every detail while it is fresh, for by that means I can better handle it when it becomes my business to prosecute the murderer, whoever he should appear to be.”

From the manner in which the solicitor spoke of his conferences and with the police officials and the coroner it is inferred that there is yet as deep a cloud as ever over the murder and that nothing has been found out which has not already been published in the daily papers.

The grand jury when once sworn in, has the authority to take up its own examination at any time a majority of its members see fit and until it is impanelled and takes formal action, there is no way of determining what will be done, unless the solicitor should announce his intention of placing the matter before that body.

The usual procedure is for the jurymen to wait until the coroner’s jury completes its action and then take up an investigation for indictment of any parties bound over to it. In case its members see fit, though, the investigation may be begun at any time.

Scream Frightens Girls.

The employees in the National Pencil plant were badly frightened early Saturday morning, when a blood-curdling scream came from the basement. Girls stopped their work and thought of Mary Phagan and her tragic fate flashed through their minds.

An investigation was started immediately. Twenty officials of the plant, swinging lanterns, climbed into the basement. It was then found that a member of the solicitor general’s staff was testing the range of sound from the spot in the basement in which the murdered girl was found. The cry penetrated the first floor and was just heard upon the second.

Believe Girl Was Gagged.

Did the murderer use the strips of his victim’s underclothing to suppress her screams—convert them into a gag which he never removed?

Chief Lanford expresses his opinion that the strips were not the garrote with which she was strangled to death, as at first believed, but were bound over the mouth to stifle her cries for help.

The detective chief also believes that the girl was alive when she was carried into the basement, but unconscious, and that upon regaining consciousness, a struggle ensued. Signs of scuffling were evident in the sawdust neighboring the spot in which the corpse was discovered.

* * *

Atlanta Constitution, May 4th 1913, “Impostors Busy in Sleuth Roles in Phagan Case,” Leo Frank case newspaper series (Original PDF)

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

Atlanta Georgian

Thursday, May 1^st, 1913

Watchman and Frank Go on Witness Stand This Afternoon—Dorsey, Dissatisfied, May Call Special Session of Grand Jury To-morrow.

Coroner Donohuoo [sic] late to-day issued a commitment against Leo M. Frank, superintendent at the National Pencil Company, and Newt Lee, night watchman, charging them with being suspected in connection with the death of Mary Phagan and remanding them to the custody of the sheriff. They were later taken to the Tower.

Arthur Mullinaux [sic], held since Sunday, was released.

Frank’s commitment read as follows:

To Jailor:

You are hereby required to take into custody the person of Leo M. Frank, suspected of the crime of murdering Mary Phagan, and to retain the said Leo M. Frank in your custody pending the further investigation of the death of the said Mary Phagan, to be held by the Coroner of said county.

Coroner Donohoo [sic] adjourned the inquest into the death of Mary Phagan this afternoon until 2 o’clock Monday, without the taking of any testimony. The Coroner said the adjournment was taken for the purpose of obtaining more clearly defined evidence.

The delay is believed to be the result of a request from the police department and is interpreted to mean that the detectives are on the trail of new and important evidence not previously brought to light.

The State made its first move in the Mary Phagan case to-day when Solicitor General Dorsey called into conference Chief of Detectives Lanford and Chief of Police Beavers.

Mr. Dorsey wanted to know just what the police have done in the case, and it was for this reason he questioned Lanford and Beavers.

A new arrest was made in the Phagan case this afternoon. Detectives arrested James Conolley [sic], a negro employed at the National Pencil Company factory.

Connolly [sic] is a sweeper in the factory. The arrest was made on private information given over the telephone to the police that Connolly [sic] had been seen washing some clothing in the factory. He is about 30 years old.

Connolly [sic], at the police station, told the detectives that he was washing his shirt because he was summoned to the inquest this afternoon. The police were inclined to attach little importance to his arrest.

Newt Lee, the night watchman at the National Pencil Company’s factory, will again go on the witness stand to supplement his testimony. Lee is said to have given important information to the detectives after a two – hours cross-examination this morning.

Leo M. Frank, superintendent of the factory, also will be a witness this afternoon.

Calls Inquiry Hesitating.

“The investigation has been hesitating,” said Mr. Dorsey, before his conference with the police officials. “All leads given the police have not been followed closely and there is much more to this thing that has not been brought out. Unless some decisive action is taken quickly the mystery will remain unsolved.”

At the end of the conference, Solicitor Dorsey and he had not fully made up his mind about taking over the case, but it was probable he would reach a decision in time to present the matter to the Grand Jury to-morrow if necessary. He told Chief Beavers and Chief Lanford that the handwriting evidence, what he considered the best possible clue, had been very badly handled by the police, particularly so in permitting Lee to copy the note instead of dictating it to him. He said the handwriting tests had been far from thorough. He criticized two police officials for laxity in one or two other features of the case.

Chief of Detectives Lanford, following the examination of Lee, declared that the watchman had made no confession, or part of one, implicating himself, but that he had divulged facts which will tend to lift the veil of mystery from the murder.

The police say that Lee’s new testimony will relate directly to a conversation that the watchman and Frank held in Lee’s cell on Monday.

Talk With Frank Is Basis.

According to the detectives, Lee will testify that Frank commanded him to stick to his story or “they would both go to —-.”

A conversation Lee had with a fellow prisoner last night in his cell, Chief Lanford said, resulted in the questioning of Lee to-day.

This conversation was reported to the detectives and, working on the new lead, Lee was brought to the detectives’ room at 9:30 o’clock this morning.

Chief Beavers, Chief Lanford, Harry Scott, of the Pinkertons, and Detective John Black questioned him for an hour, with the result that it was agreed to again put him on the witness stand.

Lee, accompanied by John Black and Scott, was brought out of the conference shortly after 11 o’clock and removed to a cell.

Police Spurred to Action.

“Now, Lee,” said Black and Scott, as they locked him up, “don’t you talk about this case to anybody but us hereafter, do you hear?”

Orders were given to allow no one but the two detectives to see or talk with the watchman, and visitors, lawyers and persons of all description were barred from the corridors leading to his cell.

The announcement that the State, through Solicitor Dorsey, might intervene and take charge of the investigation unless the mystery was cleared at once spurred the police to further effort late to-day.

“Weed Out” False Clews.

Detective Starnes and Campbell continued throughout the day breaking down the stories of the persons who have testified that they saw Mary Phagan on the street Saturday after she had drawn her pay at the pencil factory at noon.

Chief Lanford said positively that the hunt was near its conclusion and with the completion of the inquest the truth would be established.

Mr. Dorsey was vehement in his denunciation of the manner in which the case had been handled.

Dorsey Voices His Protest.

“The burden of convicting the perpetrator of this horrible crime whoever he may be, will fall directly upon my shoulders,” said Dorsey, “and I don’t propose, for that reason, if not for the many others, to let it drift along.

“No effort has been made to establish if the shirt said to have been found in the ash barrel back of Lee’s home was Lee’s.

“The handwriting tests on the notes have not been exhausted by the police—in fact, hardly touched upon.

“The marks on the [3 words, illegible]

Frank to Testify To-day at Phagan Case Inquest

[Continued from Page One]

lead to an extensive investigation that has never been made.

“People have been let go and come at will in various places who should have been locked up and guarded until the investigation was completed.

“The matter must be sifted to the bottom, and if it isn’t not done soon the State will assume charge and the Grand Jury will be put to work on it.”

Features of Testimony.

The principal features of the testimony that have been brought out so far are as follows:

J. G. SPIER, of Cartersville, Ga., testified—

That he saw a girl and a man standing in front of the pencil factory at 4:10 Saturday afternoon; that the girl was the one whose body he had viewed Monday morning at Bloomfield’s undertaking establishment.

F. M. BERRY, assistant cashier of the Fourth National Bank, testified—

That the handwriting of the notes found by Mary Phagan’s body and that of test written by Lee indicated that they were written by the same person.

J. M. GANTT, in the factory about twenty minutes on Saturday night, testified—

That Frank appeared nervous and apprehensive when he saw him at the factory at about 6 o’clock.

NEWT LEE,  the night watchman, testified—

That Frank showed signs of nervousness by rubbing his hands, something he had never seen him do before. That Frank called him on the phone about 7 o’clock in the evening to see if everything was “all right,” something he never had done before.

HARRY DENHAM, one of the two men in the office Saturday afternoon, testified—

That Frank did NOT seem nervous when he saw him at 3 o’clock; that Frank had a habit of rubbing his hands.

GEORGE W. EPPS, JR., 246 Fox Street, boy friend of Mary Phagan, testified—

That Mary Phagan had told him once that Leo M. Frank had stood at the factory door when she left and had winked at her and tried to flirt. That he rode uptown with Mary last Saturday; that she left him to get her money at the factory, with an engagement to meet him at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, but never appeared.

E. S. SKIPPER, 224 1-2 Peters Street, testified—

That Frank was NOT one of the three men he saw with a girl resembling Mary Phagan about midnight Saturday; that the girl he saw Saturday night he was almost certain was the same one whose dead body he saw in the morgue Monday morning.

EDGAR L. SENTELL, an employee of Kamper’s grocery firm, testified—

That he saw, without a possibility of a mistake, none other than Mary Phagan walking on Forsyth Street, near Hunter, between 11:30 and 12:30 Saturday night, with a man. The man was Mullinax, he was almost positive. That he said, “Hello, Mary,” and that she responded, “Hello, Ed.”

R. M. LASSITER, policeman, testified—

That he had inspected the basement and had found plain signs of a body being dragged from the elevator to the place where the body of Mary was found. That a parasol was at the bottom of the elevator shaft.

SERGEANT R. J. BROWN, of the police department, testified—

That it would have been almost impossible to see the body from the point the negro told him he first saw it.

SERGEANT L. S. DOBBS, of the police department, testified—

That Lee, without anyone else making any comment, said that the words “night witch” meant “night watchman,” in the notes that were found by the side of the dead girl.

CALL OFFICER ANDERSON testified—

That he attempted to get Frank at his residence by phone right after the body was found, but was unable to get him.

Gantt Says Frank Was Nervous.

Gantt’s testimony was in the main corroboration of what he told The Georgian when he was arrested. His most striking testimony came when he declared that Frank was nervous when he called at the factory for his shoes. He said when Coroner Donehoo asked him to tell of his movements Saturday night:

“I went to the factory to get my shoes and met Mr. Frank at the door and got permission to come in. When he saw me he appeared very nervous and started back into his office; then he came out again. He told the night watchman to go with me to get the shoes and to stay with me.”

Gantt testified that while in the factory he telephone his sister, Mrs. F. C. Terrell, of 284 East Linden Street, that he would be home about 9 o’clock, and then he left the factory, the negro accompanying him to the door. He said he, together with Arthur White and C. G. Bagley, went to the Globe pool room, where they remained until 10:30 o’clock. Then, he said, he went home and stayed there till 2 o’clock Sunday afternoon, when he left and came downtown. He called on a girl friend Sunday night, he testified, and stayed at her home till 11 o’clock. He said he didn’t know the officers came to his home Sunday night; that he was not told of their visit by his sister. He said he left his sister’s home at 8 o’clock Monday morning and started to Marietta to visit his mother, who lives on a farm six miles east of the town.

Was Discharged by Frank.

Gantt testified that he had known Mary Phagan since she was 3 years old, and that he knew her when he was timekeeper at the pencil factory. He said Frank discharged him from the factory because of a personal difference. Asked as to the nature of this difference, he said that there was a shortage of $2 in his payroll and that Frank told him he must either make the amount good or be discharged.

Gantt testified that he had never heard Mary Phagan complain of her treatment at the factory and that he had never heard her say she could not trust Frank.

While he was on the stand Gantt also threw new light on the wages paid the girls who work at the pencil factory. He said he paid off the girls, and had paid Mary Phagan every Saturday, while he handled the payroll. He said her weekly salary was $4.05. Asked how this was computed, he declared she received 7 1-11 cents an hour for 55 hours’ work. Coroner Donehoo called attention to the fact that this did not figure up $4.05, but nothing more was said about the matter by either the witness or the jurymen.

E. G. Skipper 224 1-2 Peters Street, declared positively that Leo Frank was not one of the men he had seen on Trinity Avenue, near Forsyth Street, pushing a reeling girl along Saturday night about 11 o’clock. Skipper described the dress worn by the girl he had seen and declared it looked very much like the one that Mary Phagan wore when she was murdered. He was then asked to give a description of the three men who were with the girl. Frank was then brought in and Skipper was asked if Frank was one of the men. He said that Frank did not resemble any of them.

Tells of Mother’s Worry.

Skipper testified that he had seen the body of Mary Phagan at Bloomfield’s morgue, and said she looked like the girl he had seen on Trinity Avenue. He said he recognized her by her dress, parasol and the hair hanging down her back. He said he didn’t follow the girl and the three men Saturday night because it is a common occurrence to see things like that in Atlanta on Saturday night.

J. W. Coleman, the stepfather of the dead child, told a pathetic story of her mother’s worry over her continued absence from home Saturday night. He said he left home Saturday morning before Mary awoke, and that he had not seen her alive since last Friday night.

“I got home Saturday afternoon at 4 o’clock,” testified Mr. Coleman, “and Mary had not come home; but we paid little attention to her absence then, as she often went to a moving picture show after work. I went downtown and came back about 7:20 o’clock and Mrs. Coleman met me at the door. She said Mary had not come home yet, and we were shocked and began to worry. My wife said for me to eat supper and then we’d see if we could not find her. I went downtown and tried to find Mary. I went to all the picture shows, and everywhere I could think of, but could not find her.

“I went back home about 10 o’clock, and Mrs. Coleman was nearly crazy with worry and anxiety. I thought maybe Mary had gone to Marietta with her aunt, Mattie Phagan, and that she had telephone to a neighbor that she would not be home. I went to all the neighbors who had telephones, but none of them had heard from her. We sat up nearly all night trying to figure out what had become of the girl, and decided to get up early and try to find her.

Child Brings News of Crime.

“As we were getting up the next morning little Ellen Ferguson came running up the steps. My wife was excited and exclaimed that something had happened to Mary. The Ferguson girl ran into the house and cried that Mary had been murdered. Then she began screaming and my wife fainted. I caught a car and went downtown. I was with a friend. We passed detectives leading a handcuffed negro, and we followed them to the pencil factory. The man there was not going to let me in until I told him who I was. Then I went in and did all I could to help in the investigation which the detectives had started.”

Mr. Coleman testified that he had several times heard Mary speak of her employers, but had paid little attention to her statements. He didn’t remember whether she had ever said anything about Frank. He said she had often said that things went on at the factory that were not nice, and that some of the people there tried to get fresh. “She told most of those stories to her mother,” said Mr. Coleman.

The examination of J. A. White, 58 Bonnie Brae Avenue, one of the two men who worked at the pencil factory Saturday afternoon, brought out for the first time the fact that in Frank’s private office there is a wardrobe or closet large enough for a person to hide in. He testified that the closet was about 9 feet high and 4 feet wide, and was directly behind the door in Frank’s office. He said he went into Frank’s office when he left the factory Saturday to borrow $2, but didn’t notice the closet. The office door, he testified, was opened and resting against it. He said he didn’t notice whether Mr. Frank was excited.

Didn’t Know of Basement Room.

White testified that he had no knowledge of the small room which was found in the basement. He said the employees of the plant sometimes drank cans of beer in the basement, but said he had never heard of any women being brought in there.

Other witnesses called during the afternoon session of the jury included Detective J. R. Black, who is in charge of the police who are working on the case, and Guy Kennedy, 203 Bellwood Avenue. Black testified that Skipper had made a statement to him about seeing three men and a girl on Trinity Avenue late Saturday night. He said Skipper told him the girl he saw wore white shoes and stockings.

Kennedy, who is a street car conductor on the English Avenue line, had previously told detectives and reporters that he had seen Mary Phagan Saturday afternoon. He told the Coroner’s jury that he was mistaken; that the girl he saw was not Mary Phagan. He said he thought she was until he had seen the body of the murdered girl at the morgue.

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Atlanta Georgian, May 1st 1913, “State Enters Phagan Case; Frank and Lee are Taken to Tower,” 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

Wednesday, April 30^th, 1913

Mrs. W. J. Coleman, mother of Mary Phagan, says that the girl was at home during Friday and Friday night, and could not possibly have been the one seen at the Terminal station Friday morning by H. P. Sibley, gateman, and T. R. Malone, special officer.

Just as a young man with a ticket for Washington reached one of the gates to the tracks at the Terminal station, he was stopped Friday morning by a pretty girl, who pleaded with him not to leave her. The girl finally reached such a state of hysteria that the man turned away from the gate, and they left the station together.

Both the gateman and the special officer identified Mary Phagan was this girl. But Mrs. Coleman says that their identification is a complete mistake. Mary Phagan, she insists, was at home during the day and the night on Friday and could not possibly have been at the Terminal station.

DETECTIVES VISIT FACTORY.

City Detectives Black and Rosser and Harry Scott, of the Pinkertons, visited the pencil factory Wednesday afternoon following the morning session of the coroner’s inquest. They stated in response to questions that they wanted to question some one in the factory, but what the line of their inquiry was could not be learned.

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Atlanta Journal, April 30th 1913, “Mary Phagan at Home Last Friday, Says Mother,” 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

Wednesday, April 30^th, 1913

While relatives hysterically wept, while hundreds of friends, with wet eyes and bowed heads, mourned, while little circles of grim visage men talked in hushed voices of all that remained of little 14-year-old Mary Phagan, victim of Saturday night’s atrocious crime, was lowered into a grave at the city cemetery at Marietta yesterday morning.

“The Lord hath given, the Lord hath taken, blessed be the name of the Lord,” said Rev. T. T. G. Linkous, pastor of the Christian church at East Point, as tears streamed down his cheeks. And the grave-diggers grasped their spades and filled the grave.

When the sad little funeral party arrived in Marietta with the casket shortly before 10 o’clock, there was a great crowd at the station to meet them. With solemn mien, hundreds of men and women, girls and boys, followed the train of carriages to the Second Baptist church.

Pallbearers Selected at Church Yard.

So unstrung was everyone connected with the tragedy that no details had been looked after. It was upon the church grounds that the pallbearers, L. M. Spruell, B. Awtrey, Ralph Butler and W. T. Potts, were selected.

With the little white casket on their shoulders, they walked into the tiny country church. Then the crowd poured in.  Within five minutes every pew had been taken, every available inch of standing room was occupied and hundreds, who could not get in, were standing on their tiptoes on the steps, trying to catch a word of the services.

With voices that cracked because of choked back tears, yet were sacred because of the feeling behind them, the choir sang “Rock of Ages.” A dozen times during every stanza they were interrupted by the wailings of the bereaved mother.

Not a Dry Eye in Church.

Before the hymn had been sung through, there was scarcely a dry eye in the whole church. And from that time on the incessant sound of muffled sobbing seemed to sanctify the services, like some rich old chant of the days gone by.

Dr. Linkous rose to the pulpit.

“Let us pray,” he said.

In a voice that, though hushed, seemed to reverberate through the hole [sic] edifice, he asked for power that he might pray as he should. “The occasion is so sad to me—when she was but a baby, I taught her to fear God and love Him—that I don’t know what to do,” he said.

As he continued, a new eloquence seemed to creep into his voice. Tears gushed from his eyes, and he let them course down his face without attempting to brush them off, yet every moment seemed to bring new power, new strength to him.

“We pray for the police and the detectives of the city of Atlanta,” he said. “We pray that they may perform their duty and bring the wretch that committed this act to justice. We pray that we may not hold too much rancor in our hearts—we do not want vengeance—yet we pray that the authorities apprehend the guilty party or parties and punish them to the full extent of the law. Even that is too good for the imp of satan that did this. Oh, God, I cannot see how even the devil himself could do such such [sic] a thing.”

“Amen!” Cries Aged Grandfather.

When he made the allusion to the criminal, the faces of those on the front pews, where the family sat, seemed to tighten. The mother stopped crying for a moment, and the aged grandfather exclaimed, “Amen.”

“I believe in the law of forgiveness,” continued the clergymen. “Yet I do not see how it can be applied in this case. I pray that this wretch, this devil, be caught and punished according to the man-made, God-sanctioned laws of Georgia. And I pray, oh, God, that the innocent ones may be freed and cleared of suspicion.”

It was at this point that Miss Lizzie Phagan, aunt of the victim of the crime, shrieked wildly, and, as the result of her overwrought emotions, dropped fainting from her seat. She was carried out to a carriage and taken home.

Dr. Linkous alluded in his sermon to the crime as possibly an agent of God in a grotesque guise.

“Mothers,” he declared vehemently, “I would speak a word to you. Let this warn you. You cannot watch your children too closely. Even though their hearts be clean and pure as that of not be forced into dishonor and into the grave by some heartless wretch, like the guilty man in this case.

Only Consolation I Can Offer.

“Little Mary’s purity and the hope of the world above the sky is the only consolation that I can offer you,” he said, speaking directly to the members of the bereaved family. “Had she been snatched from our midst in a natural way, by disease, we could bear up more easily. Now, we can only thank God that though she was dishonored, she fought back the fiend with all the strength of her fine young body, even unto death.

“All that I can say is God bless you. You have my heartfelt sympathy. That is all that I can do, for my heart, too, is full to overflowing.”

When Dr. Linkous concluded, the casket was opened, and the crowd was allowed to pass up and see, for the last time, the face of the girl that was so beloved in the little country village that she once called home.

Although almost everyone passed the coffin, it was not the morbid crowd that thronged the undertaking parlors while the body was there. Real feeling, real sorrow, was exhibited as the mournful procession wended its way around the bier.

Many tears, silent tributes to the dead girl, dropped down on the flowers that surrounded her mutilated face.

Her Playmate Breaks Down.

Annie Castile, a 19-year-old girl who worked with Mary at the knitting mills at Marietta three years ago, broke down completely when she saw the body.

Hysterically sobbing, she was led out of the church by friends. Caring nothing for her neat, tailored dress, not seeming to notice the hundreds of eyes that were focussed [sic] on her, she sank down on the church steps and wept as if her heart would break.

“And she was so good and kind and gentle,” she wailed, apparently to herself. “Oh, the vile wretch that killed her—I could kill him with my hands if I saw him.”

Her sentiments were echoed in a crowd of dry-eyed men with lowering brows that pityingly watched her.

“The nigger knows all about it,” growled a sunburnt farmer, a wry, humorless smile disfiguring his face. “And I could make him talk. Oh yes. If we had that scoundrel in Marietta, we’d know how to get him to talk. We’d make him be polite. He’d talk just as pretty as you please for us. Either that—or something else.”

And his knotted fingers twined lovingly around each other.

They were strong, powerful fingers, ones that can squeeze the life from one with one grasp, and his motion would have boded evil had the negro been within reach of the public.

Casket Carried to Grave.

Finally the crowd in the church thinned out, and the casket was brought out. Mrs. Phagan was half carried out, her husband, J. W. Coleman on one side of her, and Dr. Linkous on the other. Behind them walked the sorrowing sister, with her brother Ben, a sailor from the United States ship Franklin, who arrived in Atlanta Monday night. The smaller brothers, Joshua and Charlie, brought up the rear.

While the hearse and carriages went around the road to the cemetery, the great crowd poured over the railroad tracks to the cemetery.

Dr. Linkous spoke briefly at the grave. The old comforting lines, “Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” did not seem to comfort even him, and he broke off his prayer, as if he thought that time alone, and no words on earth, could heal the wounds that had been made in the hearts of the family.

When the first shovelful of earth was thrown down into the grave Mrs. Phagan broke down completely. Half deliriously, she raved of her daughter.

Taken Away When Spring Was Coming.

“She was taken away when the spring was coming—the spring that was so like her. Oh, and she wanted to see the spring. She loved it—it loved her. She played with it—it was a sister to her almost.”

On she wailed. Her husband tried to quiet her, but he failed. She crept up to the edge of the grave, and taking from the clergyman’s hand the handkerchief that he had been using to wipe away her tears, she waved it.

“Goodby [sic], Mary,” she sobbed. “Goodby. It’s too big a hole to put you in though. It’s so big—b-i-g, and you were so little—my own little Mary!”

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Atlanta Constitution, April 30th 1913, “While Hundreds Sob Body of Mary Phagan Lowered into Grave,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

John M. Gantt, former bookkeeper of the National Pencil company, and acquaintance of Mary Phagan, who is under arrest, and was put through a gruelling [sic] third degree last night at police station. He maintains his innocence.

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

Atlanta Constitution

Tuesday, April 29^th, 1913

For Hours Detectives Labor With John M. Gant [sic], Former Employee of National Pencil Company and Alleged Admirer of Pretty Mary Phagan.

SISTER OF PRISONER ADMITS SHE DECEIVED ATLANTA DETECTIVES

Told Them Gant Had Not Been Home When He Declared He Was in Bed. Now Admits Story Untrue. Gant Caught in Marietta, With Suit Case Filled With His Clothes.

Despite the fact that four suspects in the Mary Phagan case are held at police station, two white men and two negroes, the detective department is not satisfied, and the city is being scoured for evidence that will lead to the arrest of the guilty party.

Last night the Pinkerton detective department was engaged by Leo M. Frank, president of the National Pencil company, to aid the local officers in the search for the man responsible for the brutal murder, committed Sunday morning in the plant of his company on Forsyth street.

All day Monday detectives worked diligently for evidence which would throw light upon the mysterious killing, and when night came they were baffled. The most careful investigation failed to show that any one had seen the girl since she left the factory, where she drew her pay Saturday afternoon. Several people said they thought they had seen her, but none were positive. All the evidence too, proved the good character of the victim. Members of her family, neighbors and her fellow workers united in paying tribute to her good qualities.

Gant Given Third Degree.

Desperately striving to force the confession that he is the murderer of Mary Phagan, third degree experts of police headquarters labored until midnight Monday with John M. Gant, the young bookkeeper arrested in Marietta yesterday afternoon on the direct charge of murder.

He stoutly protests innocence:

“I was at home Saturday night by 10 o’clock—in bed and asleep.”

His sister, Mrs. F. C. Terrell, of 248 East Linden street, with whom he lived, told detectives Sunday night:

“Mr. Gant left here a month ago for California. I haven’t seen him since. He has not been here at any time within the past four weeks.”

Sister Admits Deceiving Detectives.

Monday afternoon, however, she told a reporter for The Constitution that Gant had ben at her home Saturday and Sunday nights. She also admitted having told the detectives a story to the contrary.

“I knew they were detectives—I lied. John was here Saturday night.  He was here Sunday night, too. I didn’t want the detectives to know it, though.”

Gant left Atlanta early Monday morning. Police headquarters learned he had caught a Marietta trolley car. The police of that place was notified. He was arrested the moment he stepped from the car.

Detective Haslett rushed him to police headquarters at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. Immediately, he was closeted with Chief Lanford. A squad of detectives and criminal experts pulled off their coats, rolled their sleeves and prepared for a determined siege, which they vowed would not end until they had been convinced that Gant was either guilty or innocent.

They were still locked with the suspect at midnight. Evidently, he was undergoing the ordeal with fortitude. Had an admission been made, he undoubtedly would have emerged from the office. The charge against him is murder. He will not be allowed [1 word illegible] or communication with the outside world.

Developments in the [1 word illegible] mystery came thick and fast Monday, arrest followed arrest. Five were made in all. Three were made Monday. The first of them was the taking into custody of Leo M. Frank, president of the pencil factory.

His detainment was made in the nature of an [1 word illegible]. After an hour’s interrogation, he was released. Upon his appearance at [1 word illegible], he was accompanied [2 words illegible] and refused to talk [10 words illegible].

It was [several paragraphs illegible].

They were being assisted by P. Y. Brent, of the W. E. Treadwell company. The negro [1 word illegible] was an employee of Mr. Brent’s, who had volunteered to assist in the investigation.

After three hours of grueling third degree, Mr. Brent said to the prisoner:

“I know what’s the trouble. Someone you are faithful to killed that girl. You know all about it. I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t have a hand in it yourself. You don’t want to tell because you want to shield whoever murdered her.

“Your Loyalty Or Neck.”

“I’m going to tell you this—it’s just a question of loyalty or your neck. You can’t keep but one.”

“Yessir, Mr. Brent; that’s a fact. I know that.”

His lips were trembling and he shifted nervously. It was apparent that he was collapsing. His questioners waited eagerly for an expected confession. The negro checked himself, moistened his lips, realized the import of his words, and recovered.

“But I don’t know nothing. I don’t know a thing.”

His replies to the thousands of questions hurled at him was an incessant reiteration of his first story—the story of the body’s discovery. When this failed to check the onslaught of queries, he fell to answering them with the stereotyped reply:

“I don’t know. I don’t know a thing.”

He was sent back to prison. Hereafter, he will be confined to the dungeon. The police are confident of their suspicion. The negro either was implicated in the murder, they say, or was acquainted with the slayer.

After an all-night hunt for Gant, police headquarters was notified early Monday morning that the hunted man was seen at an early hour, departing hurriedly from a saloon directly across the street from the building in which the murder occurred. Herbert Schiff, assistant superintendent of the plant, was sitting in his office when he spied the ex-bookkeeper hurrying from the saloon.

In the upper picture is shown the victim’s mother, Mrs. Fannie Coleman; stepfather, J. W. Coleman, and sister and two brothers; next an artist’s sketch of Mary Phagan; and in the bottom picture the curious crowd that thronged in front of Bloomfield’s undertaking establishment, to which the body had been taken.

Schiff Calls Police Station.

Schiff called police station. The trail was lost, though, before sleuths could reach Forsyth street. Detectives were sent to every street and railway station, equipped with a description of Gant. An acquaintance notified the police that the wanted man had boarded a Marietta car at the Transportation building on Walton street.

Marietta was wired and ordered to arrest Gant by all means. He was caught and detained in the Cobb county jail until the arrival of Detective Haslett. He was equipped for a long journey, carrying a well-filled suitcase. He used it to shield his face from the battery of newspaper cameras that attacked him upon his arrival at police headquarters.

Mary Pirk, a girl employee of the pencil factory, said Monday that she had often heard gossip concerning Gant’s infatuation for the Phagan girl.

The negro watchman told detectives that Gant had remained in the factory building twenty or thirty minutes Saturday night. While searching for the shoes, Lee said, he had gone to the office on the second floor, and talked over the telephone in low tones with a girl or woman. The conversation was a lengthy one, the watchman declared.

Mrs. Terrell told Detectives Luther Brooks and Y. T. Allen Sunday night that Gant had been to California for a month, and that she had not heard from him any whatever during that time.

Worried Over Failure to Write.

She expressed worry over his failure to write. Usually, she declared, he had always sent her weekly letters or postcards whenever leaving the city. The story she told The Constitution reporter Monday, though, is contradictory to the statement she made to the detectives.

Telling the reporter that she intentionally had misled the detectives, she said it was done because she did not want them to arrest her brother.

Another phase was added to the tragedy when a sleeping couch was discovered in the basement in which the girl’s mutilated body was found. It is an improvised couch, constructed of boxes and covered with a number of cracker and tow sacks. Recent tracks of a woman’s shoe were found nearby in the sawdust flooring.

The murder evidently occurred upon the first or second floors. Strands of bloody hair of a shade comparing with the hair of the dead girl, were found on a lathe machine on the second floor. The instrument was also splotched with crimson.

Because of the intense feeling and excitement, naturally prevailing among the hundreds of female employees of the plant, the management Monday morning deemed it prudent to shut down for the day. The doors were closed and a policeman stationed at both the Forsyth and Hunter street entrances. Until dusk, large crowds of the morbidly curious flocked around the place, discussing the murder and seeking entrance to the basement in which the corpse was discovered.

Inquest Set For Wednesday.

The only persons allowed in the basement, however, were those who accompanied the coroner’s jury on its tour of investigation early Monday morning. Coroner Donehoo, after empaneling a jury, postponed the hearing until detectives were able to gather more definite evidence. The inquest will be held Wednesday morning at 10 o’clock in the Bloomfield undertaking establishment.

Mrs. Coleman Better.

Mrs. Coleman, mother of the slain girl, although not entirely recovered from the shock of Sunday, was much improved Monday. She was feeble and had to be confined to her home. Pleading with her husband to escort her to the undertaking establishment to view her daughter’s corpse, she insisted that she be carried there.

Her physician would not permit it. It is thought, however, that she will be able to attend the funeral today. Throughout Sunday and Monday neighborhood friends of the bereaved family flocked to the modest little home on Lindsay street, consoling the parents and brothers and sisters of the dead girl.

For a time Sunday afternoon and early that night fears were felt for the safety of the negro watchman suspected of complicity in the crime. Reports that a mob of white men was being formed, caused Chief Beavers to hold a reserve of a half hundred mounted policemen in headquarters until late at night.

The only trouble encountered, however, was by Chief Lanford, Detectives Starnes and Black, Boots Rogers, driver of the automobile in which the sleuths visited the factory, and a reporter for The Constitution who accompanied the party. It occurred shortly after daybreak.

The Constitution’s exclusive extra had drawn a huge crowd of men and boys to the pencil factory. The negro was being taken from headquarters to the scene of the crime. When he came from the building and was placed in the automobile, threatening remarks came from the crowd that thronged around the machine.

“He ought to be lynched,” said a heavy-set man who edged close to the rear seat, in which sat the detective chief and his prisoner.

“Yes,” said another, “and I’d help do it.”

The engines were running. Starnes and Black had not climbed into the machine. Lanford called to Rogers to hurry away. Without waiting for the two detectives or the reporter, the machine rushed down Forsyth street.

White Slavery Theory Advanced.

Equipped with evidence indicating that Mary Phagan was the victim of a white slavery plot that was foiled only by her brutal murder, detectives have turned their investigation to an entirely new phase of the baffling mystery.

Police headquarters has been informed of a garishly attired woman seen shortly before midnight Saturday in company with two youths and a reeling, weeping girl answering the dead girl’s description convincingly.

They were seen at Alabama and Forsyth streets, only a short distance from the building in which she was murdered. The girl was sobbing and was being led by the mysterious woman. The two youths followed close behind, murmuring coaxing words in her ear.

The woman was saying:

“Come along, now, dearie. Don’t create a scene.  You’ll attract the cops.”

“The girl was sobbing:

“I don’t care! I don’t care!”

The strange quartette turned down Forsyth street in direction of the pencil factory. They disappeared in the darkness of the plant building.

W. I. Gray, a conductor on the Buckhead trolley line, however, notified the detective department Monday afternoon of the mysterious quartette. Detectives were sent immediately to question him. Energy is being concentrated to investigation along this line.

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Atlanta Constitution, April 29th 1913, “Pinkertons Hired to Assist Police Probe the Murder 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 Georgian

Tuesday, April 29^th, 1913

The little town of Marietta, Ga., where her baby eyes first opened upon the light of day scarcely fourteen years ago, will to-day witness the sorrowful funeral of Mary Phagan, the sweet young girl who was mysteriously murdered in the National Pencil Factory Saturday night and whose body was later found in the basement where it had been dragged by unknown hands.

The casket, accompanied by the girl’s stricken family—her mother and stepfather, her sister Ollie, 18 years old, and her three brothers, Ben, Charley and Josh, all young boys, left the Union Depot at 8:15 o’clock this morning. Reaching Marietta, it was met by throngs of Mary’s former playmates and friends bearing flowers to lay upon the young girl’s grave after they have looked for the last time upon her face.

Simple Service.

She will be laid to rest in a little old-fashioned cemetery where numerous relatives have preceded her, and her body lowered into the earth after a simple funeral service. It will be preached in the Second Baptist Church, which stands on the cemetery grounds, the officiating minister being Rev. Dr. Lincus, pastor of the East Point Christian Church, of which the dead girl’s mother is a member. Dr. Lincus will go direct from East Point to hold the service.

Besides the family, there were probably a dozen or more relatives and friends from Atlanta who will also go up to the funeral. In Marietta they were to meet relatives, gathered from several counties, where the news of the child’s tragic death has been wired.

The body will be taken to the station in a hearse by the undertakers in whose shop it has lain for the past two days, while thousands of people came to look upon it. The coffin will be of pure white, befitting the innocent of the young girl lying within it, and only a simple plate with the child’s name will appear on the top.

Throughout the day at the dead girl’s home callers have gone to express their sorrow over the tragedy and their willingness to be of whatever service they might to the family. The same word met them:

“There is nothing that anybody can do—we must only bear it!”

Mrs. Coleman Ill.

From the moment she received the news of her child’s death, Mrs. Coleman has been unable to leave the house. She has not even visited the undertaking pariors to see the body. It was not considered best for her in her weakened and nervous condition, caused by the shock of the murder. As it is, it is feared that she will break down at the funeral, and every care will be taken with her on the way to Marietta that she may be strong to face the ordeal. Although Mr. Coleman, the child’s stepfather, had only known Mary since his marriage to her mother a year ago, he seemed stricken with sorrow over her death, and in speaking of her to a Georgian reporter almost broke down in telling the simple arrangements that had been made for her burial.

Great bouquets of beautiful flowers have been sent to the home by friends all over Atlanta, and the dead girl’s bier at the undertaking shop was fragrant with masses of carnations and roses throughout Sunday and Monday. Hundreds of her boy and girl associates at the factory and friends of her neighborhood have gone to see her body. For, although she was such a young girl, she had made many acquaintances, and was widely loved.

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Atlanta Georgian, April 29th 1913, “Former Playmates Meet Girl’s Body at Marietta,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)