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

Atlanta Constitution

Wednesday, May 7^th, 1913

For Second Time in Less Than Week Physicians to Make Examination at the Graveside of Mary Phagan.

REFUSE TO TELL WHY ACTION WILL BE TAKEN

Search for Finger Prints and New Wounds Is Reported Reason—Inquest Resumed Thursday—Strange Man Sought.

Mary Phagan’s body will be exhumed today for the second time. Bertillion and medical experts will make examinations for finger prints and wounds which may have been overlooked before. Coroner Donehoo and Dr. H. F. Harris, of the state board of health, will be in charge.

Between 9 and 10 o’clock is the scheduled time. The coroner and Dr. Harris and others of their staffs will leave at daybreak this morning in automobiles. They are expected to return about noon. The examination will be at the grave side.

This action is taken at the request of Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey. Neither he nor Dr. Harris would talk when questioned by a Constitution reporter last night. Although they admitted that a second exhumation was in view, they would not divulge their reason.

Dr. Harris is Non-Committal.

“I am not in a position to talk,” said Dr. Harris. “Under other circumstances, I would be glad to give any information at my command. In this case, though, I have been urged to secrecy, and cannot violate my trust.”

The solicitor said:

“I cannot talk. The body will be exhumed, it is true, at my request. To reveal further plans would be ruinous.”

It was learned by The Constitution, however, that the body was to be exhumed for an examination for possible finger prints and wounds. The information came from responsible source.

It also is rumored that a Bertillion expert, summoned by authorities, arrived in Atlanta last night, and will inspect the body for finger prints. In case such evidence is revealed, photographs will be made and placed in hands of the solicitor general.

The examination for wounds will be made by Dr. Harris. When he was asked if his analysis of the dead girl’s stomach had been finished, he said:

Examination Not Complete.

“The examination has not been completed. It is well under way, however, and within a few days, I will be prepared to submit the result before the coroner’s jury.”

He was asked if he could determine at this stage of the examination whether or not there were traces of drugs or dope.

He answered: “I am not prepared to talk on that subject. I will be unable to make a statement until I am called before the coroner’s inquest.”

The body was first exhumed last Sunday night under supervision of Dr. Harris, Coroner Donehoo and County Physician John W. Hurt. The stomach was removed and placed in the laboratory of Dr. Harris, who is analyzing it for traces of drugs or poison.

It came as a surprise. It was not made known until 2:50 o’clock Monday afternoon when the coroner and Dr. Hurt appeared at the inquest held at police headquarters. It was intended to keep the second exhumation a secret, in accordance with plans of the solicitor.

Seek Strange Man.

Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey is striving to learn the identity of the strange man who participated in a sensational scene at the Terminal station last Saturday week with a girl believed to have been Mary Phagan.

It was learned Tuesday that this man’s suit case, which was checked overnight in the parcel check room, was tagged with a label bearing the lettering:

“National Pencil Company; Atlanta.”

Also, it was disclosed that, following the scene created by him and the girl, he cancelled his Pullman ticket for Saturday night, returning Sunday afternoon to engage a berth for that night. He left the station Saturday in company with the girl.

Girl Makes Scene.

As he has already been revealed, a youthful, well-dressed man, wearing a straw hat and carrying a suit case, walked hurriedly from the waiting room of the Terminal Saturday afternoon of the 26^th, and made his way along the runway leading to the track stairways.

As he reached the gateway of tracks No. 5 and 6, a pretty girl, about 14 years old, clad in summer frock and wearing a dark blue straw hat, rushed from the waiting room and accosted him. She seemed angry. He dropped his case and led her away from the crowd, apparently to have a talk with her.

The attention of a gateman, who had noticed the arrival of both the man and girl, was again attracted to them by loud exclamations from the girl. She was furious and tearful, while he was obviously trying to explain something.

“You want to leave me; you want to leave,” she was heard to wail. “I won’t let you. You are doing wrong. You are, you know you are!”

Scene Attracts Attention.

The scene attracted [a] considerable crowd. The man drew himself away, picked up his suitcase, and catching the tearful girl by the arm, moved with her to the window of the parcel check room. There he deposited the case. [T]he operator of the check room states that he noticed the name of the pencil firm on a tag attached to the baggage, but thought nothing of it until several days later, when he read of the Phagan tragedy.

The man and girl walked into the waiting room, where he went to the ticket window and cancelled the Pullman ticket he had obtained for a trip that afternoon. The agent could not recollect his destination. Immediately, he and his companion left the station, and were last noticed as they walked across the plaza toward Mitchell street.

Sunday afternoon he returned alone to the Terminal and obtained a Pullman berth for a journey that night. The ticket agent, it is said, will be able to identify him in the event he is located, and so will the parcel check room man.

The description of the girl, as given by the gateman and man who checked the stranger’s suit case, fit aptly with that of the murdered girl. Neither saw her body, however, as it had been buried before news of the pencil plant tragedy refreshed their memory of the station incident.

Coroner’s Inquest Thursday.

A number of attaches to the pencil concern will probably be examined in the effort to learn the identity of the strange man at the Terminal, when the coroner’s jury meets Thursday. The pencil company tag on the suit case leads the solicitor and his staff to believe he was connected in some capacity with the plant.

Dorsey Makes Denial.

Solicitor General Hugh Dorsey declared yesterday that in speaking with Lemmie Quinn, foreman of the National Pencil factory, about the Phagan murder case, that he had not asked Quinn if counsel had bribed him for his testimony.

“It is the last thing that would come into my mind,” said the solicitor. “I did ask Quinn about whom he had been talking with and asked him if anybody was paying him for his testimony, but I certainly did not mention counsel or anyone else in particular in regard to the case.”

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Atlanta Constitution, May 7th 1913, “Officials Plan to Exhume Body of Victim Today,” 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

Wednesday, May 7^th, 1913

Third Time Unfortunate Victim’s Remains Have Been Exhumed—Dorsey Says Officials Are Not Looking for Finger Prints, but Other Clews.

The body of Mary Phagan was exhumed early Wednesday for the second time in two days.

The unofficial explanation is that the exhumation is made for the purpose of making a microscopic and minute examination of every wound on the body for finger prints and other clews as well.

Solicitor Dorsey let it be known that the police are not working on the idea that the finger prints would be helpful in solving the mystery, if indeed there are any finger prints to be found, as the body has been embalmed and has been handled by many persons since it was first discovered in the basement of the pencil factory.

Nevertheless, it may be safely said that a microscopital [sic] examination will be made of every mark on the body.

It was reported before the departure was made for Marietta that a Bertillon expert had been engaged and that if any finger prints were found, photographs would be taken and the most careful measurements made for the purpose of comparison.

Will Compare Finger Marks.

With these records in their possession, the authorities will be able to compare them with the finger prints of Frank and Lee, as well as with those of any suspects that are taken later.

Notwithstanding these speculations as to the purpose of the exhumation, Solicitor Dorsey declared Wednesday forenoon that it was not for the purpose of obtaining a record of the fingerprints. One of the principal reasons for the action, he said, was to get a strand of the girl’s hair in order to compare it with the hair found on the lathing machine in the tipping department at the factory. It was at this point that the detectives discovered blood spots on the floor and other evidences of a struggle.

Solicitor Dorsey, on whose order the body was exhumed on both occasions, refused to go further into the reasons for his action.

“I cannot talk in regard to the matter,” he said, “The body was exhumed, it is true, at my request. But to reveal further plans would be hurtful.”

Thinks She Didn’t Leave Factory.

The Solicitor is in entire accord with theory that Mary Phagan never left the factory after she received her pay Saturday noon. He declared that if any search was being made for the man seen with a girl Saturday, April 26, by attaches of the Terminal station, it was not being conducted under his direction.

Dr. Harris will make a more thorough examination of the wounds of the girl than has been made previously. It is believed that this examination is being made to confirm a new theory that has been advanced either by Dr. Harris or the Solicitor General.

The results of the chemical analysis in the laboratory of Dr. Harris in the State Capitol have not yet been made public. Dr. Harris would not admit Wednesday that traces of drugs had been found, bearing out the belief that the girl was drugged and rendered helpless before she was slain in the factory.

Bowen Released in Houston.

Accompanying mystifying new features of the hunt for the slayer was the news that Paul P. Bowen, held in Houston for the Atlanta authorities, had been released and relieved of all suspicion.

Bowen was employed with the Morrow Transfer Company in Atlanta, as stenographer and shipping clerk, and later with the Southern Railway. He had many friends here and with them bore a good reputation.

His father and other relatives live

Finger-Prints Clew Sought in Phagan Case

Continued From Page 1.

in Newnan, Ga., and are among the best people of that part of the State. Chief of Police Davison, of Houston, was angered that his detective chief should have exceeded his authority in arresting Bowen, and promptly discharged him from authority.

By letters Bowen wrote from Texas and statements of friends it was proved conclusively that he could not have been connected with the Atlanta mystery and he was accordingly freed.

At the same time a search was begun for the strange man who had a part in a sensational scene at the Terminal station the afternoon of the tragedy, when a girl strongly resembling Mary Phagan is said to have protested weepingly against the man carrying out his intention of boarding a train for the North.

The new evidence gathered by the Solicitor General and his aides Tuesday and Wednesday will be presented in the most part to the Coroner’s Jury when it resumes its sessions Thursday morning at 9:30 o’clock.

Newt Lee probably will be called back to the stand, and a number of employees of the pencil factory will be asked to tell of the conditions under which they work and of what they know of Mary Phagan.

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Atlanta Georgian, May 7th 1913, “Phagan Girl’s Body Again Exhumed for Finger-Print Clews,” 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

Wednesday, May 7^th, 1913

Inquest, To Be Resumed Thursday, Will Bring Out Important Facts Not Yet Made Public—Medical Experts To Be Called by Coroner.

New mystery was added to the Mary Phagan case on Wednesday, when the authorities for some reason not yet disclosed, did not follow out the order given by Solicitor Dorsey for the exhumation of the remains.

It was said by Solicitor Dorsey that he had given this order in the hope that new clews might be discovered.

A difference of opinion as to the advisability of the exhumation evidently has arisen, but the officials concerned were reticent. Coroner Donehoo admitted that Dorsey’s order had been given, but said it had not been carried out. He would make no further statement.

The report published in an early edition of The Georgian that the body had been exhumed was made on statements by officials, and that it was for the purpose of making a microscopic examination of every wound on the body for finger prints and other clews.

It is undoubtedly the intention of the authorities to exhume the body again.

Dorsey Maintains Silence.

Very properly Solicitor Dorsey is not making public every move that the prosecution is engaged in, nor is he giving to the public such evidence as he is enabled to obtain.

It would seem probably that the exhumation will be made, if not on Wednesday, at least some other day soon; for the belief is growing that there still may be some clews that are worthy of further examination.

It was reported that the finger prints on the body were to be photographed and compared with the finger prints of persons under suspicion; which may, or may not have any basis in facts and might, or might not be of value. After the remains were discovered in the factory basement they were handled by several persons—embalmers and others—and whether there are any finger prints now on the body is problematic.

Chart May Be Made.

It is said, that a complete chart will be prepared by medical experts to be used at the trial, showing every wound and mark.

Notwithstanding these speculations as to the purpose of the exhumation, Solicitor Dorsey declared Wednesday forenoon that it was not for the purpose of obtaining a record of the fingerprints. One of the principal reasons for the action, he said, was to get a strand of the girl’s hair in order to compare it with the hair found on the lathing machine in the tipping department at the factory. It was at this point that the detectives discovered blood spots on the floor and other evidence of a struggle.

“I cannot talk in regard to the matter,” he said. “The body was exhumed, it is true, at my request. But to reveal further plans would be hurtful.”

Thinks She Didn’t Leave Factory.

The Solicitor is in entire accord with the theory that Mary Phagan never left the factory after she received her pay Saturday noon. He declared that if any search was being made for the man seen with a girl Saturday, April 26, by attaches of the Terminal Station, it was not being conducted under his direction.

The results of the chemical analysis in the laboratory of Dr. Harris in the State Capitol have not yet been made public. Dr. Harris would not admit Wednesday that traces of drugs had been found, bearing out the belief that the girl was drugged and rendered helpless before she was slain in the factory.

All of the remaining evidence in the case will be presented when the Coroner’s inquest resumes Thursday morning at 9:30 o’clock.

It is the purpose of Coroner Donehoo to limit testimony to the points that are regarded as essential, so that

DORSEY ORDERS BODY EXHUMED IN PHAGAN CASE

the hearing may be concluded by Thursday night.

Have Two Hundred Names.

The Coroner and the Solicitor General have the names of about 200 persons on whom they may call for testimony. These include girls and women employed at the pencil factory. It is unlikely, however, that more than a few of the girls will be placed on the witness stand, but will be held in readiness to testify as was the case last Monday afternoon when the roll call room was filled with witnesses.

So far as the line of testimony can be anticipated from the information given out by the authorities, the most important will come from the physicians and chemists who have been at work on the mystery under the direction of Coroner Donehoo and Solicitor Dorsey.

Dr. H. F. Harris, director of the State Board of Health, will submit a report on his chemical analysis of the contents of Mary Phagan’s stomach. Dr. Harris also made a careful examination of the wounds and bruises on the body and will report on this to the jury.

Dr. J. W. Hurt, county physician, made the first examination of the girl’s body after it was found in the basement of the factory. He also was present when it was exhumed from its little grave in the Marietta cemetery and another examination made at the order of Solicitor General Dorsey. He will present the results of his observations to the jury some time during the hearing Thursday.

Dr. Smith to Be Quizzed.

Dr. Claude A. Smith, City Bacteriologist, has made a chemical examination of the bloodstains on a shirt found at Newt Lee’s home and of the pieces of wood chipped from the factory floor where the stains of blood were discovered, and will be questioned by Coroner Donehoo.

The recalling of Newt Lee also is regarded as an indication that the authorities expect the night watchman to tell something which he forgot or concealed in his previous examination.

The factory girls will tell of their acquaintance with Mary Phagan, of her companions and habits and of the conditions under which they have to work at the factory, so far as they have any relation to the mystery.

Bowen Released in Houston.

Accompanying mystifying new features of the hunt for the slayer was the news that Paul P. Bowen, held in Houston for the Atlanta authorities, had been released and relieved of all suspicion.

Bowen was employed with the Morrow Transfer Company in Atlanta as stenographer and shipping clerk, and later with the Southern Railway. He had many friends here and with them a good reputation.

His father and other relatives live in Newman, Ga., and are among the best people of that part of the State. Chief of Police Davison, of Houston, was angered that his detective chief should have exceeded his authority in arresting Bowen, and promptly discharged him from authority.

By letters Bowen wrote from Texas and statements of friends it was proved conclusively that he could not have been connected with the Atlanta mystery and he was accordingly freed.

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Atlanta Georgian, May 7th 1913, “Solicitor Dorsey Orders Body Exhumed in the Hope of Getting New Evidence,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)