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

Atlanta Journal

Wednesday, April 30^th, 1913

Harry Denham’s Story Indicates Miss Annie Howell Wasn’t in Factory

The time clock at the National Pencil company’s factory, where Mary Phagan was murdered, shows that employe [sic] No. 141 registered off at 3:07 p. m. last Saturday.

This is the number of Miss Annie Howell, of 664 East Fair street, and at first the detectives thought she might be able to throw some light on the mystery.

It developed later, however, that this must have been a mistake. Harry Denham, one of the men employed in the factory, claims that he punched her by mistake, and then punched his own number, which is 143, as a correction.

The clock shows that No. 143 was punched at 3:09 p. m. on Saturday.

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Atlanta Journal, April 30th 1913, “Says He Punched Time Clock on Wrong Number,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Lemmie Quinn, foreman, who testified that he visited the factory and talked to Mr. Frank just after Mary Phagan is supposed to have left with her pay envelope. He was given a searching examination by the coroner Thursday, but stuck to his statement.

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

Atlanta Journal

Thursday, May 8^th, 1913

Lemmie Quinn, the Factory Foreman, Was Put Through a Grilling Examination, but He Steadily Maintained That He Visited the Factory Shortly After the Time Mary Phagan is Supposed to Have Left With Her Pay Envelope

FRANK’S TREATMENT OF GIRLS IN FACTORY DESCRIBED AS UNIMPEACHABLE BY ONE YOUNG LADY EMPLOYEE

Mr. Frank’s Manner at the Time He Was Informed of the Tragedy by Officers at His Home on Sunday Morning is Told of by Former Policeman — Both Frank and the Negro Night Watchman Are Expected to Testify During Afternoon, When Inquest Will Be Concluded

The coroner’s inquest into the mysterious murder of Mary Phagan adjourned at 12:55 o’clock Thursday to meet again at 2:30. At the hour of adjournment, six witnesses had testified. They were “Boots” Rogers, former county policeman; Lemmie Quinn, foreman of the pencil factory; Miss Corinthia Hall, an employee of the factory; Miss Hattie Hall, stenographer; J. L. Watkins and Miss Daisy Jones. L. M. Frank and Newt Lee, the negro night watchman, were both present at headquarters during the morning session, but neither had been recalled to the stand when recess was ordered. Both are expected to testify during the afternoon, when an effort will be made to conclude the inquest and return a verdict.

Though put through a searching examination by the coroner in an effort to break down his statement that he had visited the factory on the day of the tragedy shortly after noon just after Mary Phagan is supposed to have received her pay envelope and left, Quinn stuck to his story. He declared that he had recalled his visit to Mr. Frank, and that Mr. Frank told him he was going to communicate the fact to his lawyers.

“Boots” Rogers testified that Mr. Frank had changed the tape in the time clock while the officers were in the factory Sunday morning after the body of Mary Phagan had been found, and that he stated at the time that the sheet he took from the clock seemed to be correct. Rogers also described Mr. Frank’s manner when the officers went to his home in an automobile to take him to the factory Sunday morning.

Miss Daisy Jones, who was mistaken for Mary Phagan by J. L. Watkins. She was a witness before the coroner Thursday. G. W. Epps, the boy who came to town with Mary Phagan on the day of the tragedy and left her on her way to the factory [right].

Miss Corinthia Hall, an employee in the factory, testified that Mr. Frank’s treatment of the girls in the factory was unimpeachable. She also testified that she had met Lemmie Quinn at a restaurant near the factory near the noon hour Saturday, her statement being confirmatory of his visit to the factory on the fatal day. J. L. Watkins testified that he had mistaken Miss Daisy Jones for Mary Phagan when he thought he saw Mary on the street near her home on Saturday afternoon about 5 o’clock. Miss Jones testimony was also in this connection.

NEW WITNESSES CALLED.

Following a conference between Solicitor General Dorsey, Assistant Solicitor General Stephens and Chief of Detectives Lanford, just after the inquest recessed for lunch, it was learned that Leo M. Frank and Newt Lee would be recalled at the afternoon session and that there would be the following new witnesses: Miss Alice Wood, of 8 Corput street; Miss Nellie Pitts, of 9 Oliver street, and Mrs. C. D. Dunnegan [sic], of 165 West Fourteenth street.

Rogers Describes Mr. Frank’s Manner When Told of Tragedy

“Boots” Rogers, formerly a county policeman, was the first witness. Mr. Rogers said that he lived at 100 McDonough road. He was at the police station at 3 o’clock on the morning of April 27, he said, when a call came from the factory of the National Pencil company. The officers responded to the call in his automobile, he declared. Those who went with him were Police Sergeants Brown and Dobbs, Call Officer Anderson and Britt Craig, a newspaper reporter.

Mr. Craig was the first person to enter the basement, the witness said. He (Mr. Rogers) entered second; Dobbs and Newt Lee, the negro night watchman, bringing up the rear. All saw the body about the same time, Mr. Rogers said.

George W. Epps

The witness said that the girl’s body was lying face down, with the hands folded beneath the body. The body was turned over by Police Sergeant Dobbs, he said.

Rogers continued that they found two notes near the body. The first note, found by Sergeant Dobbs, was on white scratch paper and on a tablet lying face down. The sheet with the note on it was detached and fell off when the tablet was picked up. It was lying about a foot from the body’s right shoulder. Another note was found later, written on a yellow order blank of the factory, lying about a foot from the feet of the body. Rogers wasn’t sure whether he or Sergeant Dobbs noticed that first. He didn’t notice a sharpened pencil nearby. There were a number of stubs, but none sharpened that he saw.

Asked “Who telephoned Mr. Frank that the girl was dead?” he said no one did as nearly as he remembered—that Detective Starnes telephoned Mr. Frank later in the morning to come down to the factory.

About two or three minutes after the first officers arrived with him, said Rogers, they were admitted to the factory. They saw the negro night watchman, Newt Leet, through the glass door, coming down the stairs with his lantern.

“She’s down in the basement—she’s down in the basement,” Rogers aid the negro told them first. He showed them the way down, indicating the trap door and the ladder. Britt Craig, a newspaper man, went first, and was followed by the witness, then by Sergeant Dobbs of the police, and last by the negro.

Everything was in gloom, though a gas jet was burning dimly at the foot of the ladder.

NEGRO WASN’T EXCITED.

“Look out, white folks, you’ll step on her,” the witness said the negro exclaimed when they started toward the rear of the basement. The negro took the lead then, with his lantern, and led them to the body. The negro’s manner was as cool as that of a man would be under the circumstances, said the witness. The negro wasn’t excited. “He was being questioned by all of us,” said the witness. He answered questions promptly.

“How did you happen to find the body?” the witness said was one of the questions put to the negro. He repeated the negro’s answer—of how he was making his rounds, and entered the basement, and by the dim rays of his lantern noticed a suspicious looking object on the ground near the back. “Somebody’s put that there to try to scare me,” the negro said he remarked to himself, going over to see closer. The body was revealed and he hurried back upstairs to telephone the police.

BODY FOUND FACE DOWN.

The witness said that Sergeant Dobbs asked the negro how the body was lying when he found it. The negro’s answer was “on its face.” “Did you turn it over?” the negro was asked; and answered “no sir, I didn’t touch it.”

This point of the evidence was in conflict with previous testimony by the negro himself, who swore at the inquest that when he found the body it was lying on its back face up, with its head toward the back door—exactly the reverse of the position in which the officers found it.

Rogers, the witness, said that the body was lying on its face, hand folded beneath it, when he and the officers first saw it. The negro stuck to the same story while answering all the questions, said the witness. After about ten minutes Sergeant Dobbs ordered that the negro be held under arrest. The negro was taken upstairs by Call Officer Anderson. The rest of them looked around for the girl’s left shoe, which was missing from the body.

Officer Anderson and the negro went upstairs first alone. Twenty or thirty minutes later the witness went up and found the officer and the negro sitting in the office. Anderson was trying to telephone to some of “the factory folks,” said the witness. The negro was sitting nearby in silence. Some one suggested that the officer telephoned to Mr. Frank, the superintendent, at his home. Anderson tried to get Mr. Frank’s number. There was no answer. Anderson talked to the operator, and told her something very serious had happened and that the call was urgent; and Anderson said he heard the persistent ringing that followed.

IDENTIFIED AS MARY PHAGAN.

While he and Sergeant Dobbs had been moving about downstairs, looking for the girl’s shoes, said Rogers, they found the staple on the back door pulled, and pushed the door back and went out into the alley, searching it to Hunter street for some clue. Rogers then went away to find some one to identify the body, said he. The shoe was found by somebody else later. He went to 100 McDonough road, said he, to get Miss Grace Hix, a relative of his own, whom he knew to be employed in the factory. He brought Miss Hix back with him in the automobile, and she identified the body as that of Mary Phagan. Miss Hix sought first to telephone to Mary’s mother, Mrs. J. W. Coleman, but there was no phone in the Coleman home, so she telephoned instead to the home of another girl, Miss Ferguson, and got Mrs. Ferguson, and asked her to go over and break the news to Mrs. Coleman.

MR. FRANK NOTIFIED.

Mr. Rogers said that Detective Starnes, who had been summoned to the factory, called Mr. Frank over the telephone shortly after 6 o’clock. The witness said that he drove Detective Black to Mr. Frank’s home, and that Mrs. Frank, wearing a heavy bathrobe, came to the door. He said that Mr. Frank stood in the hall, fully dressed except his collar and tie.

The witness said that Mr. Frank appeared nervous and excited and asked whether the night watchman had reported to the police that something had happened at the factory. Mr. Rogers said that neither he nor Mr. Black answered.

The witness said that Mr. Frank remarked that a drink of whiskey would do him good and that Mrs. Frank said there was none in the house, but insisted that Mr. Frank get some breakfast before going out. However, they hurried to the undertaking establishment, the witness said.

Mr. Rogers said that on the way to the undertaker’s establishment, Mr. Frank remarked that he had dreamed he had heard his telephone ring about daybreak. Detective Black asked Mr. Frank whether he knew Mary Phagan, the witness said, Mr. Frank replying that he didn’t know whether he did or not.

The witness said that Mr. Frank did not go into the room in which the Phagan child’s body lay.

Mr. Frank remarked, the witness said, that he could refer to his payroll and see whether Mary Phagan worked at the pencil factory.

“Was Mr. Frank steady or trembling at the undertaking establishment?” was asked Mr. Rogers.

“I couldn’t say,” he answered.

Mr. Frank suggested that they go to the factory, the witness said. At the factory, the witness said, they found a number of detectives and policemen and Mr. Darley, an official of the factory, who had been summoned. They went upstairs, the witness aid, to the office and Mr. Frank referred to the payroll, saying that Mary Phagan worked there and that she had been paid $1.20 the day before, shortly after 12 o’clock.

ELEVATOR AT SECOND FLOOR.

The witness said that Mr. Frank then asked if the pay envelope had been found, remarking that it must be around somewhere. They went to the basement in the elevator, which stood at the second floor, the witness said. Mr. Frank switched the current and there was some delay in getting the elevator to work. The fire doors of the elevator were open at this time, Mr. Rogers said, but he didn’t remember whether they were open or closed when he went to the factory the first time.

The elevator was run to the basement, the witness said and Mr. Frank was shown where the body had been found.

CHANGED TAPE IN CLOCK.

When he returned from the basement, said the witness, he sat in Mr. Frank’s inner office with the negro , Lee. Mr. Frank stayed in outer office, but came in twice where he and negro were, and, on the second trip, Mr. Frank looked at the negro and shook his head and said, “Too bad!”

Mr. Frank asked repeatedly if the officers were through with him, saying he wanted to go out and get a cup of coffee, but no opportunity to get the coffee arose. After a while, said the witness, after Mr. Frank had been through the building with Chief of Detectives Lanford, Mr. Frank suggested that they change the tape in the time clock. Mr. Frank took a key to the clock, which he wore on a ring at his belt, and opened the clock with it and removed the time slip and laid it down by the clock. He then went back into his office and got a blank slip. He asked one of the officers standing near to hold back a little lever while he inserted this slip. The lever knocked against a little pencil in the clock. Newt Lee, the negro, was standing near. Mr. Frank turned to the negro and asked, “What is this pencil doing in the hole?” Lee said he had put it there so his number would be sure to register every time he rang. Mr. Frank put the key back at his belt and dated the slip which he had taken from the clock with a pencil which he took from his pocket. The witness though Mr. Frank wrote the date “April 26, 1913,” on it, but he wouldn’t be sure about that, he said.

Mr. Frank, after examining the slip, stated that it was punched correctly, said the witness. He also looked at the slip. The first punch started at 6 p. m., and it was punched every half hour, the witness thought, up to 2:30 o’clock. At 2:30 was the last punch. Mr. Frank took the slip into his own office, said the witness, and the witness said he did not know what became of it after that. A little later they all got into his automobile, said Rogers, Mr. Frank sitting in Mr. Darley’s lap in front beside him (the witness) at the wheel, and some of the officers sitting with Frank in the back.

At this point the coroner asked where Mr. Darley was when the clock slip was being removed. He was standing near by, said the witness.

After delivering his passengers at police headquarters, said Rogers, he went with Miss Hix to take her back to her own home.

On the trip to headquarters, said he, Mr. Frank did not seem to be as nervous as he had been. When he returned to headquarters, said the witness, the detectives were getting Newt Lee, the negro, to write. Lee then seemed very nervous.

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Atlanta Journal, May 8th 1913, “Phagan Inquest in Session; Six Witnesses are Examined Before Adjournment to 2:30,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Solicitor General Hugh Dorsey, in a characteristic pose, examining a witness. On Solicitor Dorsey is placed dependence for the solving of the puzzling Phagan slaying case. He is making every effort to unravel the mystery.

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

NO REAL SOLUTION OF PHAGAN SLAYING MYSTERY

EVIDENCE AGAINST MEN NOW HELD IN BAFFLING CASE WEAK, SAYS OLD POLICE REPORTER

Atlanta Georgian

Sunday, May 11^th, 1913

Detectives in Coroner’s Jury Probe Admit They Have Nothing on Which to Convict Anyone in Mysterious Tragedy of Atlanta.

TESTIMONY BROUGHT OUT NO INCRIMINATING POINTS

BY AN OLD POLICE REPORTER.

The most sensational testimony offered at the Coroner’s inquest in the Phagan case was lost sight of entirely by the newspapers.

Juror Langford asked Detective Black, who was on the witness stand: “Have you discovered any positive information as to who committed this murder?”

Detective Black replied, “No, sir, I have not!”

Coroner Donehoo asked Detective Scott of the Pinkerton force on the witness stand:

“Have you any definite information which makes you suspect any party of this crime?”

Detective Scott replied, “I would not commit myself. I am working on a chain of circumstances. Detective Black has been with me all the time on the case and he knows about the circumstances I refer to.”

As you read this over and consider it carefully, you will be impressed by the fact that the two most important detectives engaged for a period of two weeks on the Phagan case testify under oath that they have no positive information as to who committed the crime—in fact really know nothing about it at all.

I am setting down here my own thoughts and ideas, without intending the slightest disrespect to any official, and further, I believe I am at liberty to do so because of Scott’s and Black’s testimony.

MYSTERY STILL WITHOUT SOLUTION.

In The Sunday American of last week I published an article saying that the developments of the preceding week had led nowhere, and that the mystery was then as dark and deep as any mystery that ever puzzled police and detectives.

I can only repeat this statement to-day. I am not in the confidence of any of the detectives, of Solicitor Dorsey, or of Coroner Donehoo, or any of the persons engaged in the attempt to unravel the crime.

I know what the average newspaper readers knows—no more, no less. I walk about the streets a great deal, I ride on the cars and met a great many people who talk about the terrible affair, and I believe I am right in saying that the consensus of opinion now is that the police and detectives are very far indeed from solving the mystery.

In making this statement I do not wish to be understood as casting reflections upon the police or detective force. The men engaged on the case are well-meaning, but of limited experience, and they may have made mistakes.

The infallible detective, like the indispensible man, does not exist.

All detectives are not “man catchers,” and many detectives employ very stupid methods in their work. They can see the obvious things, but they lack imagination. Their minds work like a circular saw, and a knotty problem sometimes stops their minds from working entirely, just as a tangle of knots in a plank being sawed puts the saw out of business.

I pay my respects here to Coroner Donehoo in the way he has handled the case. His examinations of witnesses showed unusual intelligence. His questions were searching and he exhibited a zeal in the public welfare that must not be overlooked. But Coroner Donehoo is not a Sherlock Holmes. He performed his function under the law in a creditable manner. He really wasted hours in asking questions that might have been spared except that there was always a hope that a blind question might catch a witness off-guard and there would be an ensuing revelation.

What did the Coroner’s inquiry develop?

Take first the case of Lee. The testimony against him is that he is the only person KNOWN to have been in the pencil factory, after 6:30 o’clock in the evening until the body was discovered.

Frank testified that he found three “skips” in the clock tape Lee should have punched.

Sergeant R. J. Brown testified that Lee could not have seen the body from the place the night watchman told him he first saw it.

Sergeant L. S. Dobbs testified that Lee, without suggestion from any one, said that the words “night witch” in one of the notes found near the body of the dead girl meant “night watchman.”

F. M. Berry, assistant cashier at the Fourth National Bank, testified that the notes found near the body were in his opinion written by Lee.

Detectives told of finding a shirt with blood stains near the right shoulder in a barrel at the rear of Lee’s house. The indications were that the shirt never had been worn, however.

TESTIMONY FAVORING LEE.

Testimony favoring Lee is that he was not alone in the building until after 6:30 o’clock, and that it can not reasonably be supposed that he would have been able to lure the girl to the factory by any means after this time, or even that the girl would have been alone in that vicinity at that time. There is no evidence to account for her whereabouts between 12:10 and 6:30 o’clock.

Lee’s own testimony was that he did not know the girl and that he never saw her until he came upon the body in the basement of the factory shortly before 3 o’clock Sunday morning.

W. W. Rogers testified that Lee did not appear excited. Other officers who went to the factory Sunday morning corroborated this testimony.

These circumstances conflict with what is known of Lee’s nature. The natural course for Lee, had he been the culprit, it is argued, would have been instant flight.

The framing of the notes to divert suspicion, according to the testimony of persons familiar with the negro nature, was too subtle a plan to suggest itself to Lee’s mind.

What was developed against Frank?

The principal points brought out connecting him with the crime were:

He was the last person known to have seen Mary Phagan. By his own testimony, he saw her at 12:10 Saturday afternoon, April 26, when she appeared at the factory to get her pay. No one was able to swear she was seen after that time.

G. W. Epps, Jr., a boy friend of the Phagan girl, testified that Mary had told him Frank had waited at the door when she left the factory one day and winked at her and tried to flirt. Epps rode to town with her the day she went to the factory to get her money, and was to meet her again at 4 o’clock at Five Points. She did not appear, lending strength to the theory that she never left the factory after once going to get her pay.

FRANK’S CONDUCT WITH GIRLS.

Thomas Blackstock, a former employee, testified that he had seen Frank attempt liberties with girls in the factory.

Nellie Pettis, 9 Oliver Street, testified that Frank had made improper advances to her when she went to get her sister-in-law’s pay at the factory. She said he pulled out a box of money from a drawer and looked at her and then the money and asked: “How about it?”

Mrs. C. D. Donegan, 165 West Fourteenth Street, said she had seen Frank smile and flirt with the girls in his employ.

Nellie Wood, 8 Corput Street, testified that Frank had attempted familiarities with her in his office, and had put his hands on her and had tried to persuade her to remain with him in his office.

Frank testified that he was at the factory Saturday afternoon from 12 to 1 o’clock and from 3 to 6:30 o’clock. Harry Denham, Arthur White and White’s wife were in the factory part of the afternoon, the two men until 3:10. From 3:10 until 3:45 Frank was alone in the factory. Then Newt Lee came and was told by Frank to take the remainder of the afternoon off until 6 o’clock. From about 4 o’clock until 6, Frank again was alone in the factory, so far as the testimony showed.

Lee testified that the crime could not have been committed in the night without his knowledge, as he had gone past the lathe machine on the second floor, where the struggle is believed to have taken place, twice every half hour on his regular rounds.

Lee testified that Frank appeared greatly agitated when he met him at the door of the factory office just before 4 o’clock. He said that Frank seemed nervous and was rubbing his hands in an excited fashion.

J. M. Gantt, a former employee who happened to be in the factory at 6 o’clock, testified that Frank appeared nervous and apprehensive at this time.

UNABLE TO REACH FRANK AT 3.

Call Officer Anderson testified that he tried to telephone Frank at his home after the police had viewed the body at 3 o’clock Sunday morning, but that he could not get him.

W. W. Rogers, former county policeman, who carried the officers in his automobile to the scene of the murder and later to get Frank, testified that Frank, when he saw the officers, began to ask them if “anything had happened at the factory?” and if the night watchman had “found anything” when nothing had been told him at that time as to the tragedy.

Rogers said he saw Frank remove the time slip from the time clock which Lee had punched. Rogers said that there were no “skips” on it, but that it was punched regularly every half hour from 6:30 in the evening until 2:30 the next morning. It was shortly after 2:30 o’clock that Lee told the officers he had found the body. The time slip which later was turned over to Chief Lanford by Frank had three “skips” in it.

Three of the detectives working on the Phagan case, and some of the events in the gruesome slaying. The sleuths are (from left to right: J. N. Starnes, Harry Scott, Pinkerton operative, and John Black.

Lee testified that Frank had told him the Sunday the body was found that the clock was punched all right and later contradicted himself by saying there were three “skips” in it, and that it “looked queer.”

Lee testified that Frank had told him in a private conference that “they would both go to hell” if Lee maintained his present attitude.

Harry Scott, Pinkeron detective, bore out Lee on this point.

I am inclined to classify this as negative testimony.

Frank is reached and held through a process of elimination.

Testimony pointing toward the innocence of Frank was that of Frank himself.

He said that he had not known Mary Phagan by name before her murder; that he recalled paying her at 12:10 Saturday afternoon, but that she left his office at once and he heard her footsteps dying away as though she had left the building. He said he remained at the factory until 1 o’clock in the afternoon and then went to his home for luncheon, returning about 3 o’clock. He said that he was entirely alone from 4 o’clock until 6, and that he arrived home at 7 in the evening, where he remained. He declared he knew nothing of the tragedy until the following morning. He said that he dreamed during the night that some one was ringing the telephone, but that he did not fully awaken. In this manner he explained his failure to answer the telephone.

Harry Denham, one of the men in the factory Saturday afternoon until 3:10 o’clock, testified that Frank did not appear nervous or agitated when he saw him.

F. M. Berry, assistant cashier of the Fourth National Bank, testified that the notes found by the side of Mary Phagan did not appear to be in the handwriting of Frank.

Lemmie Quinn testified that he was in the office of Frank Saturday afternoon between 12:15 and 12:30, and that he did not see Mary Phagan in the office or anywhere else in the building.

Mr. and Mrs. Emil Selig, Frank’s parents-in-law, corroborated the story of Frank’s movements during the day.

Quinn and other men in the factory testified that they never had seen Frank many any improper advances toward the girls, but that on the contrary he had been most courteous when he had any personal dealings with them, which was not frequently.

Miss Corinthia Hall, one of the employees, said she never had observed Frank attempt any liberties with any of the girls.

Herbert Schiff, chief clerk in the factory, testified that the work which Frank accomplished Saturday afternoon on the financial sheet would have taken any expert five or six hours.

EVIDENCE IS NOT CONVINCING.

I ask would YOU consider this very convincing in the case of either man?

I do not.

But after the Coroner’s inquest the case assumes a new form. The whole matter now rests in the hands of Solicitor Dorsey. I have never met him. All that I heard about him is in his favor. But he has never shown any unusual skill as a detective. He knows criminal law, and he will proceed along the regular lines of bringing the whole matter to the attention of the Grand Jury, and indicting both Frank and Lee. Then will come the trial.

If Detectives Scott and Black are reported accurately in their testimony, as quoted at the beginning of this article, then the prosecution in my opinion has very little upon which to base a successful trial of either of the men now held for the crime. Lee came through the cross-questioning without any discredit at all. The points made against Frank are not of much importance. They may foreshadow something big. They were, of course, sufficient to warrant the Coroner’s Jury in holding him for the Grand Jury.

An indictment by the Grand Jury does not mean that a person is guilty. Far from it.

CRIME SHOULD BE UNRAVELED.

I hope Solicitor Dorsey will be able to unravel the great mystery, and that he will have evidence enough to convince—not only a jury of twelve men, but the entire community as well, of the guilt or innocence of whatever persons, Frank, Lee or others who may yet be caught in the net, of the murder of the innocent little girl.

An indictment by the Grand Jury is a very important legal document. It must be air tight, and held together by such a strong chain of evidence that it can not be broken anywhere. It has to run the whole gauntlet of the law. An imperfect indictment falls of its own weight.

For the battle really begins—not before a Coroner’s Jury, but in the court room, where the law and the facts have precedence over everything else.

When the prosecution in the Phagan case goes into court, it will be faced by one of the best lawyers in the South.

Luther Z. Rosser, big of frame, big of intellect, big in the knowledge of the law and schooled in all the intricacies of its machinery, will be at the opposing counsel’s table, making a battle for his client, turning evidence with his shield from the lance of Mr. Dorsey, sifting every piece of evidence for the jury, challenging every inch of the law to the judge.

And I am told, that he is skillful with the use of the broad sword as he is deft with the rapier.

I am writing thus freely, for the reason that the two detectives, quoted at the beginning of this article, in their testimony gave me the right to discuss the matter in the columns of the newspapers as I am doing.

PRECEDENT HAS NOT YET BEEN VIOLATED.

This is no violation of precedent. It is not for the purpose of establishing the guilt or innocence of any person. It is solely because I am trying to set down what I believe to be the thoughts running through the minds of the average man and woman.

Frank and Lee may be guilty, but it would require a great deal more evidence than has been published in the newspapers to convince me of it.

It may be that Mr. Dorsey has a mass of evidence to present to the jury when it confronts the accused in open court, and overwhelm the defense with sensation after sensation and buttressed fact after buttressed fact.

I do not know whether this is so or not. I give my own opinion for what it is worth. What the detectives and police now have against Frank and Lee at this moment is apparently worthless.

Any day or any hour may bring forth new suspects and the real criminals.

I can not help but sympathize with Frank in being held as he is on the very slight evidence presented against him. At the moment, it would seem as though he were a victim of circumstance and that he would have to take the consequences that follow being the superintendent of the factory and the last person who is said to have seen Mary Phagan alive. And consequences, as George Eliot said, are unpitying.

FRANK’S PAST IN HIS FAVOR.

I said in my article in last Sunday’s American that what is known of Frank’s past is in his favor. I reiterate that. He is a college graduate, a man of culture, has traveled considerably, and stands well among his friends.

Public Opinion that first condemned Lee, then Frank, then both of them, then was ready summarily to dispose of them without waiting for the process of the law, is calmer to-day and anxious for the facts.

I do not mean by this that I believe Public Opinion would acquit Frank without a trial, for the belief prevails that not all of the evidence has been made public. But Public Opinion is willing to “play fair” and hear the facts.

I hope Solicitor Dorsey will continue his investigation while he is weaving his web around Frank and Lee. It may be that they are not guilty. It may be that some other person or persons committed the ghastly deed. It is worth while for our alert prosecutor to watch in all directions for the criminals.

And it may be well for our citizens to keep their minds open and receptive, not acquitting or condemning anybody, no matter of what color, race or creed, until all the facts are known.

We can afford to be patient—even with THE LAW.

The great professor Drummond once asked a little girl to a Glasgow Sunday school for a definition of patience. She replied: “To wait a-wheel, an dinna get weary, to keep yer mouth shut and yer eyes open!”

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Atlanta Georgian, May 11th 1913, “Weak Evidence Against Men in Phagan Slaying,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

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

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

Atlanta Georgian

Friday, May 9^th, 1913

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

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

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

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

HIRE’S BEST DETECTIVE, HE SAYS.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dorsey Questions Newt Lee.

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

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

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

Have Strong Theory Already.

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

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

PHAGAN CASE TO BE RUSHED TO GRAND JURY BY DORSEY

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

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

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

New Witnesses Sought.

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

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

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

Frank Expected To Be Held.

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

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

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

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

Atlanta, Ga., May 8, 1913.

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

(Signed)

HOMER C. ASHFORD, Foreman.

DR. J. W. HURT, County Physician.

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

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

Case in State’s Hands.

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

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

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

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

Girls Testify Against Frank.

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

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

“No,” she answered.

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

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

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

Says He Winked at Her.

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

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

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

“Didn’t you say anything else?”

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

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

Tells of Frank’s Conduct.

Q. Do you know Leo M. Frank?—A. Yes.

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

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

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

Q. What was the conduct you noticed particularly?

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

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

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

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

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

“Girls Tried to Avoid Him.”

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

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

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

Her testimony follows:

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

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

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

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

Charges Familiarities.

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

In brief it was this:

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

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

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

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

Quit His Employ.

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

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

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

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

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

Testimony of Frank.

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

Q. How many?—A. One on each floor.

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

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

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

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

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

Didn’t File Time Tape.

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

Q. Did you put it on file?—A. No.

Q. Are you sure?—A. Yes, positive.

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

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

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

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

Says He Viewed Body.

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

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

Q. Did you view the body?—A. Yes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Often Does Not Remember.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Explains Locks and Doors.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tells of Callers at Office.

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

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

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

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

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

* * *

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

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

Atlanta Journal

Friday, May 9^th, 1913

Leo M. Frank general superintendent of the National Pencil factory, was recalled to the stand. He was questioned regarding the elevator. The coroner wanted to know what kind of a door there is to the shaft on the office floor. The witness replied that it is a heavy door solid, that slides up and down.

“Where was the elevator on Saturday, April 26?” he was asked.

“I didn’t notice.”

“Where was it on Friday night?”

“I didn’t notice.”

“Was the door open on Saturday?”

“I didn’t notice.”

Asked whether it would not be possible for some one to fall into the elevator shaft if the door was open, he replied that there is a bar across the door.

“Where was the elevator after the murder?”

“I can only say it was at the office floor on Sunday morning,” replied the witness.

The coroner reverted to the time-clock. “What time did you take the slip out of the clock?” he asked.

“I took it out, marked the time on it, and handed it to an officer,” replied the witness.

“What officers?”

“I don’t remember.”

Regarding the guests who, his mother-in-law and father-in-law testified, called at their home Saturday evening, the coroner asked him next.

“Do you remember a party at your home on the night of the murder?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell about it when you were on the stand before?”

“I wasn’t asked.”

“We asked you about whom you saw. Now can you tell us who was there?”

Mr. Frank named them, corroborating what his father-in-law and mother-in-law had testified as to their identity. He didn’t pay much attention to them, said Frank. He merely greeted them and continued his reading.

“Where were you sitting?”

“In the front room.”

“Didn’t the guests have to pass you when they went to the dining room from the front door?”

“Yes.”

“When the officers came out Sunday morning to bring you down to the factory, what was said about something to drink?”

“I told my wife I wanted something warm to drink. One of the officers said that something would do me good. The implication was ‘whiskey,’ but I didn’t mean that. What I wanted was a cup of coffee.”

He was asked regarding the telephone call during the night, and repeated that he thought when he got up that he had dreamed of the telephone ringing, and that later when he was told the officers had tried to get him he concluded that the dream was real.

“Did you see the girl’s body?”

“Yes. I walked in, and they turned on the light and I looked at the body, recognizing her as the girl I had paid the day before.”

“When did you hear the name first?”

“I don’t recollect.”

“What time did you get home on Sunday?”

“I don’t remember, but I think it was about 1 o’clock.”

When he telephoned home to his wife Sunday morning he did not give her any of the details of what had happened, said he. “When you went home, did you go into details?”

“No, I merely told them what the detectives found. We didn’t discuss it very much.”

“What topic did you discuss?”

“I don’t remember.”

TELLS OF QUINN’S VISIT.

The witness said that Lemmie Quinn, a foreman in the factory, first told him about the visit to the factory on one of the two days that he spent at police headquarters. He said Quinn remarked: “I was there at the office Saturday.” The witness said he recalled it when Quinn mentioned about the time.

Mr. Frank could not recollect having told Quinn anything about withholding information about that point until his lawyers could pass on it. He had so many visitors, he couldn’t remember a detail like that, he said. He couldn’t remember who made the suggestion about consulting attorneys. He didn’t know whether Quinn knew (when he recalled the visit to mind) whether he had a lawyer. He didn’t remember how long he had counsel at that time.

“When did Quinn mention this visit on Saturday?”

“I don’t remember.”

“How can you lock the door into the dressing room where the blood was found?”

“I don’t know. I suppose with keys. There is a door with a lock, in the partition. A spring in the lock keeps it closed.”

“Is there any way to lock the doors and stop passage on the back stairs?”

“There are doors to the stairs, but I never heard of them being locked recently.”

TELLS OF TELEPHONE CONVERSATION.

The witness was asked other questions, whose purport was not evident, about these two doors and how they stood that day, and the locks on them, etc. The fact was brought out that there was only one lavatory on that floor, and Mr. Frank, answering a direct question, said he did not enter it all day to the best of his recollection.

Regarding his telephone conversation with a detective who called him early Sunday morning, Mr. Frank said he didn’t know who it was, but learned later that it was a detective. “I would like to have you come down at once,” he said he was told. He asked what had happened, and was told there had been a tragedy, and they wanted him to identify some one.

“He asked me over the phone if I knew Mary Phagan. I told him I did not. Then he asked me if I hadn’t paid off a little girl who worked in the tipping department Saturday afternoon. I said yes, and he said, ‘We’ll send out after you right away.’”

“Didn’t you say the other day that the first time you heard Mary Phagan’s name was in the automobile going down town?”

“No.”

“Do you remember whether or not Harry Denham and Arthur White had any lunch with them on the fourth floor?”

“I don’t remember.”

“When you came downstairs to go out to lunch, did you lock the doors leading into the office?”

The witness did not remember. He was asked as to the disposition of the papers he had been working on. He could remember putting them under a paperweight, but could not remember whether or not he closed his desk. The only people in the building when he left there for lunch, said he, were Henry Denham and Arthur White and Mrs. White.

HIS WORK SATURDAY AFTERNOON.

One of the jurors asked him if he had had any trouble that day about the “time” (pay) of one of the girls working in the factory. He said no, but that Darley had noticed a discrepancy in the time of Miss Mattie Smith and had deducted some cash from the envelope.

Another juror asked, “Did you work on the financial sheet only in the afternoon?”

“Yes.”

He got together a few papers pertaining to it, said the witness, before he went to lunch. The last thing he did there that afternoon was to balance his cash. “Did Miss Hall (the stenographer) assist you?” “No.” He named again all the people whom he saw about the factory that day. “Do you know Mae Barrett?” asked a juror. Mr. Frank had not called that name. “I never heard of her,” answered the witness. He said she could be employed somewhere in the factory, however, without his knowing it.

* * *

Atlanta Journal, May 9th 1913, “Superintendent Frank is Once More Put on Witness Stand,” 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

Thursday, May 8^th, 1913

Newt Lee Called to Stand for Further Examination—Coroner Will Put Case in Hands of Jury by 7 o’clock, It is Predicted.

Leo M. Frank, superintendent of the National Pencil Factory, and Newt Lee, night watchman, both of whom are being held in connection with inquiry into the death of Mary Phagan, were recalled to the witness stand late Thursday afternoon at the inquest.

Frank was given a more searching examination as to movements on the day of the tragedy than he underwent his first day on the stand and an apparent endeavor was made to show that he was not at home at the times he had stated in his previous testimony.

Frank, however, answered the questions readily and Coroner Donehoo was not able to trip him.

In Frank’s previous testimony he failed to mention several persons who were at his home when he said he was there Saturday night. But when he was questioned in regard to this point Thursday afternoon he gave their names at once.

NEWT LEE PRECEDED FRANK ON THE STAND.

Lee’s testimony was in regard to the private conversation he had with Frank when Lee was first arrested. He declared that Frank had told him that they would “both go to hell” if they were not careful, but the effect of this testimony was largely nullified by Frank’s earlier statement that the remark or a remark to the same effect was suggested by one of the detectives in the hope of getting some information from the night watchman.

The morning session was not prolific. Nothing of consequence was developed.

Miss Hattie Hall and Herbert Schiff, chief clerk in the pencil factory, were the first witnesses at the afternoon session.

Coroner Donehoo called for Lee immediately after Detective John Black had testified, supplementing the important testimony given by Harry Scott, of the Pinkertons.

W. W. (“Boots”) Rogers, former county policeman, and Lemmie Quinn, foreman in the tipping department at the National Pencil Factory, were the principal witnesses this morning. Neither gave testimony that was materially damaging to either Leo M. Frank or Newt Lee, who are being held in connection with the crime.

Rogers was questioned closely of the events of the morning the crime was discovered, and told of taking the officers to the scene in his automobile. Beyond his belief that Frank appeared nervous when he was visited at his home by the detectives, Rogers had no information that appeared to point suspicion in one direction more than another.

He was sure, however, that the time clock tape on which Newt Lee, the night watchman, registered his half-hour rounds of the factory had no “misses” when it was taken from the clock by Frank that morning. Three misses were found on a tape subsequently brought to Police Headquarters.

Quinn’s Story Unchanged.

An effort was made without avail to break down the story of Lemmie Quinn that he was at the factory and talked to Frank between 12:10 and 12:20 the Saturday afternoon of the tragedy. Coroner Donehoo tried to get Quinn to admit that he previously had told officers who interviewed him that he was not at the factory between Friday and the following Sunday.

Quinn steadfastly refused to admit that he had made a statement of the sort. He supported Frank’s testimony of last Monday by insisting that he visited the factory for a few minutes and went into Frank’s office.

Miss Hattie Hall, the stenographer who was at the factory office Saturday until noon, was another of the witnesses called to the stand during the forenoon. She testified as to Frank’s movements while she was there.

Frank Pale, but Calm.

Frank was brought into the Commissioner’s Room in the police station before the inquest began, but later was excused and Rogers called.

The factory superintendent was pale, but calm and collected. He whispered a few words to his counsel, Luther Z. Rosser, and smiled faintly at a remark that was made to him. He appeared to show the strain of the days since he has been in a cell.

Lee was not admitted to the room at the beginning of the hearing, but was detained in a nearby office. The night watchman seemed almost indifferent.

* * *

Night Edition

[The following few paragraphs were added to the above article in the night edition of the Atlanta Georgian—Ed.]

PHAGAN INQUEST IS NEAR END; LIKELY TO GO TO JURY BY 7 P.M.

Witnesses Are Quizzed in Detail, but Nothing Important Brought Out. Officials Say They Are Satisfied With Case as It Is Being Developed.

Leo Mr. Frank was ready to take the witness stand in the Phagan case when the Coroner continued the afternoon session on Thursday.

The morning session was not prolific. Nothing of consequence was developed.

Miss Hattie Hall and Herbert Schiff, chief clerk in the pencil factory, were the first witnesses at the afternoon session.

Newt Lee, the night watchman, was to follow Frank on the stand, and officials asserted that Lee would doubtless begin his concluding testimony by 4 o’clock.

It was expected that not more than six witnesses would be put up, the authorities declared, and that the inquest would be concluded before night.

The case will probably be placed in the hands of the Coroner’s jury for a verdict by 7 o’clock.

Testimony along a new line will be given, it is understood by Miss Nellie Wood, 8 Corput Street; Miss Nellie Pettis, 9 Oliver Street, and Mrs. Lilie Pettis, 9 Oliver Street. All three young women will assert that Frank sought to treat them in a familiar manner.

Another witness, a young woman, whose name the authorities refuse to divulge, will conclude the testimony. She is sick, it is asserted, but will be present with her physician.

Newt Lee, the negro night watchman, took the stand at 4:10 o’ clock.

Coroner Donehoo called for Lee immediately after Detective John Black had testified, supplementing the important testimony given by Harry Scott, of the Pinkertons.

* * *

Atlanta Georgian, May 8th 1913, “Leo Frank is Again Quizzed by Coroner,” 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

Thursday, May 8^th, 1913

Harry Scott, the Pinkerton detective who has been working on the case since the day of the crime, took the stand when Schiff concluded his testimony.

Scott testified that Frank called him up Sunday afternoon before there was any talk of his arrest and asked the Pinkertons to begin work on the case and find the slayer.

Scott testified as follows:

Q. How are you interested in the Phagan case?—A. I was retained by the National Pencil Company to find the guilty man.

Q. Who retained you?—A. I received a call from Mr. Frank and he told me what he knew about the case.

Q. Where did Frank talk to you?—A. Mr. Frank, Mr. Dalley, Mr. Schiff and I went into the private office.

Q. What did Frank say?—A. He said: “I guess you have read of the crime. We feel an interest in the matter and desire to retain the Pinkertons and try to locate the murderer.”

Tells He Is Suspected.

Q. What else did he say?—A. He said he had been down to the police headquarters, and that Mr. Black seemed to suspect him of the crime. He told me of his movements on the day of the crime. He told me that about 12:10 Mary Phagan came into the office and drew her money, $1.20. At 12:50, he said, he went up to the fourth floor and saw Mr. White talking to Harry Denham and Arthur White. He said he left at 1:10 and went home, and returned at 3. White and Denham, Frank told me, left about 3:10, leaving him alone in the building. Newt Lee reported at 4, but was sent away. Frank left the building about 6:15, and on the way out saw Newt Lee talking to James Gantt. Mr. Frank allowed Gantt to go inside of the factory to get some shoes and told Lee to go with him. Frank said he became worried over the presence of Gantt in the building and called Lee at 7:30. Frank asked Lee if Gantt had left the building and Lee said yes. Then Frank asked Lee if everything else was all right, and Lee said yes.

Q. Did you ask Frank any questions?—A. No.

Frank Showed Him Building.

Q. What did Frank show you?—A. He showed me the elevator, the room where the blood and hair were found, the basement where the body was found, and also the door.

Q. Have you talked to him since?—A. I talked to him one night, with Detective Black, at headquarters, but did not try to get a statement.

Q. Did he resent any of your questions? Did any one ask you to withhold evidence?—A. Mr. Hubert Haas asked me to keep the police from getting our evidence, and I told him we’d withdraw from the case before we’d do that.

Q. Tell of the interview between Lee and Frank.—A. Mr. Black suggested that Frank talk to Lee, since he employed him, and to try to get Lee to tell all the truth of the matter.

Q. What did Frank say to Lee?—A. I don’t know. They were together privately.

Q. What did Lee say?—A. Lee says that Frank didn’t want to talk about the murder. Lee says he told Frank he knew the murder was committed in daytime, and Frank hung his head and said “Let’s don’t talk about that.”

Q. Did Frank tell you what happened at his conference with Lee?—A. No. He said he tried to get something out of Lee, but couldn’t.

Asked Lee About Clock.

Q. Do you remember Frank ever asking Lee anything about the clock slip?—A. Yes, it was in Chief Lanford’s office. Frank asked Lee about a skip on the record from 9:30 to 10:25. Lee said that he punched the clock regularly and Frank remarked that [1 word illegible] looked mighty peculiar.

Q. Tell us if this shirt was found [2 words illegible] back yard?—A. Yes.

Q. When you first saw the shirt was it very bloody?—A. Yes, it was very bloody on the right shoulder. The shirt looked as though it had been freshly washed, but not ironed. The blood spots looked fresh. Fred Bullard and Black said they found the shirt in a rag barrel in Lee’s back yard. The shirt looked as though it might not have been worn since being washed.

Couldn’t Explain Spots.

Q. Was the shirt torn?—A. We tore a piece out of the shirt and showed it to Lee and he said he had a shirt with a flower design on it like this piece. We showed him the shirt then and he said at first that he thought it might be his shirt, although he had not seen it for two years. He said he did not know how the blood spots got on it. After looking at the shirt again he said he did not believe it was his shirt.

Q. What size shirt was it?—A. We could not tell.

Q. Have you any definite clew as to who committed this murder?—A. I would not care to commit myself that far.

* * *

Atlanta Georgian, May 8th 1913, “Pinkerton Detective Tells of Call From Factory Head,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Luther Z. Rosser, attorney for Leo M. Frank, who was one of the interested listeners to the testimony presented Thursday at the Coroner’s inquest into the death of Mary Phagan.

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

Atlanta Georgian

Thursday, May 8^th, 1913

Witnesses Are Quizzed in Detail, but Nothing Important Brought Out. Officials Say They Are Satisfied With Case as It Is Being Developed.

Whatever evidence the police officials may have directly to connect any of the suspects with the killing of Mary Phagan, it was not produced at the early session of the Coroner’s inquest Thursday.

What this evidence is the officials refuse to say—except that they are satisfied with the progress that is being made in unraveling the mystery.

Leo Frank, superintendent of the National Pencil Factory, is expected to be the most important witness of the day.

It is said that an entirely new line of questioning will be taken up.

W. W. (“Boots”) Rogers, former county policeman, and Lemmie Quinn, foreman in the tipping department at the National Pencil Factory, were the principal witnesses. Neither gave testimony that was materially damaging to either Leo M. Frank or Newt Lee, who are being held in connection with the crime.

Rogers was questioned closely of the events of the morning the crime was discovered, and told of taking the officers to the scene in his automobile. Beyond his belief that Frank appeared nervous when he was visited at his home by the detectives, Rogers had no information that appeared to point suspicion in one direction more than another.

He was sure, however, that the time clock tape on which Newt Lee, the night watchman, registered his half-hour rounds of the factory had no “misses” when it was taken from the clock by Frank that morning. Three misses were found on a tape subsequently brought to Police Headquarters.

Quinn’s Story Unchanged.

An effort was made without avail to break down the story of Lemmie Quinn that he was at the factory and talked to Frank between 12:10 and 12:20 the Saturday afternoon of the tragedy. Coroner Donehoo tried to get Quinn to admit that he previously had told officers who interviewed him that he was not at the factory between Friday and the following Sunday.

Quinn steadfastly refused to admit that he had made a statement of the sort. He supported Frank’s testimony of last Monday by insisting that he visited the factory for a few minutes and went into Frank’s office.

Miss Hattie Hall, the stenographer who was at the factory office Saturday until noon, was another of the witnesses called to the stand during the forenoon. She testified as to Frank’s movements while she was there.

Frank Pale, but Calm.

Frank was brought into the Commissioner’s Room in the police station before the inquest began, but later was excused and Rogers called.

The factory superintendent was pale, but calm and collected. He whispered a few words to his counsel, Luther Z. Rosser, and smiled faintly at a remark that was made to him. He appeared to show the strain of the days since he has been in a cell.

Lee was not admitted to the room at the beginning of the hearing, but was detained in a nearby office. The night watchman seemed almost indifferent.

* * *

Atlanta Georgian, May 8th 1913, “Police Still Withhold Evidence; Frank To Be Examined on New Lines,” 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

Thursday, May 8^th, 1913

Newt Lee followed Black on the stand.

Q. Tell the jury of your conversation with Frank in private—A. I was in the room and he came in. I said, Mr. Frank, it is mighty hard to be sitting here handcuffed. He said he thought I was innocent, and I said I didn’t know anything except finding the body. “Yes,” Mr. Frank said, “and you keep that up we will both go to hell!” I told him that if she had been killed in the basement I would have known it, and he said, “Don’t let’s talk about that—let that go!”

Frank has declared that he was instructed by the detectives just what to say to Lee in the effort to open his mouth, and said it.

Q. Was the furnace running Saturday night?—A. It was fired up.

Q. Did you say anything about sleeping?—A. Yes, sir. I came to the factory and Mr. Frank came out of his door and rubbed his hands and said he was sorry he had me come so early, when I might have been sleeping. I said I needed sleep.

Never Met Him Before.

Q. Did Frank ever come out to meet you before?—A. No, sir. He usually says “All right,” when I say, “All right, Mr. Frank.”

Q. Is the trap door usually open?—A. Yes, sir; it’s open every evening when I come.

Q. When you went into the machinery room, did you notice anything on the floor?—A. No, sir.

Q. When you came there at 6 o’clock, what happened?—A. Mr. Frank came out and asked me what time it was. He told me not to punch the clock, as he wanted to put on a new tape. I held the lever and he put on the tape.

Sure He Punched Clock.

Q. Did he unlock the door of the clock?—A. No, he just opened the door.

Q. Are you sure you punched the clock every half hour that night?—A. Yes, sir.

Q. Whose shirt was that they found at your house?—A. It looked like one of mine. I used to have one like that.

Q. Whose clothes were in that barrel?—A. I had mine in there, and the lady might have had some of hers there.

Q. Was your shirt store bought?—A. No, sir, Mrs. John Bowen made it.

* * *

Atlanta Georgian, May 8th 1913, “Lee Repeats His Private Conversation With Frank,” 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

Tuesday, May 6^th, 1913

For Three Hours and a Half Mr. Frank Was on the Stand, Answering Questions About His Movements Every Hour and Minute of the Day—He Was Calm and Unruffled When Excused From Stand and Returned to the Tower

HE TELLS OF VISIT OF LEMMIE QUINN TO HIS OFFICE TEN MINUTES AFTER MARY PHAGAN RECEIVED WAGES

Introduction of Quinn Gives the Factory Superintendent an Important Witness, in Confirmation of His Statements. Only Three Witnesses Examined by Coroner at Session Monday Afternoon

For three hours and a half Leo M. Frank, general superintendent of the National Pencil factory in which Mary Phagan was murdered, faced the coroner’s jury Monday afternoon and told minutely, detail by detail, in precise sequence, where he was and what he did during practically every minute of Saturday, April 26, Saturday night, and Sunday, April 27. When he had finished, his father-in-law, Emil Selig, was put upon the stand and questioned closely regarding what he knew of Frank’s whereabouts and acts on those days. And after Mr. Selig had been excused, Mrs. Josephine Selig, his wife, was called to testify along the same line. These three witnesses occupied the entire session Monday, which was at work for almost five hours.

That Lemmie Quinn, foreman of tipping department, visited the Naitonal Pencil factory shortly after Mary Phagan is supposed to have received her pay envelope and departed, was an absolutely new feature in the murder mystery brought out by Mr. Frank’s testimony.

While Quinn has never been on the stand he has corroborated Mr. Frank’s statement in interviews with the detectives, and goes further by saying that he recalled his visit to the factory for the incarcerated superintendent.

Mr. and Mrs. Emil Selig, father and mother-in-law of Mr. Frank, with whom the latter lives, were the only other witnesses examined Monday afternoon before the inquest was adjourned until Thursday morning at 9:30 o’clock.

When Mr. Frank left the witness stand at 6:20 o’clock, after three hours anda half of examination, he stated to a Journal reporter that he was not tired. He seemed none the worse for the ordeal he had just gone through. He was at once transferred to the tower.

Leo. M. Frank, superintendent of the National Pencil factory, was the first witness when the inquest was resumed. Mr. Frank entered the commissioner’s room where the inquest was being held at 2:45 o’clock. He was accompanied by Chief of Detectives Newport A. Lanford, Chief of Police James L. Beavers, Detective J. N. Starnes and Deputy Plennie Miner.

He was sworn at 2:50 o’clock and a systematic questioning was begun by Coroner Donehoo, who was occasionally prompted by Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey and Chief of Detectives Lanford.

“What is your name?” the coroner asked.

“Leo M. Frank,” was the answer.

“Where do you live?”

“At 68 East Georgia avenue.”

“What is your connection with the National Pencil factory?”

“I am general superintendent.”

“How long have you been with the National Pencil factory?”

“Since August, 1908,” was the answer.

“How long have you held the office of general superintendent?”

“Since September 1, 1908.”

“Where were you prior to that date?”

“Just prior to that time I was buying machinery for the factory.”

“Have you lived in Atlanta all your life?”

“No, sir.”

“Where did you live before coming to Atlanta?”

“In Brooklyn, New York.”

“Are you married or single?”

“I am married.”

“Is your wife living?”

“Yes, sir.”

“How many times have you been married?”

“Once only.”

“Where did you live in Brooklyn, N. Y.?”

“My last address there was 152 Underhill avenue.”

“In what business were you engaged in Brooklyn?”

“I was with the National Meter company.”

“When did you leave Brooklyn?”

“About the middle of October, 1907.”

“Where did you go?”

“To Atlanta to confer with the National Pencil company.”

“When did you go abroad?”

“The first week in November, 1907.”

“When did you return to Atlanta?”

“August 1, 1908.”

HIS DUTIES AT FACTORY.

“What are your duties at the pencil factory?”

“I look after the purchasing of material, inspect factory costs; see that orders are properly entered and filled, and look after the production in general.”

“What time did you get up Saturday morning, April 26?” was the next question.

“About 7 o’clock.”

“Do you and your wife live alone?”

“No, sir.”

“With whom do you live?”

“My mother and father-in-law.”

“Who are they?”

“Mr. and Mrs. Emile Selig.”

“Have you any children?”

“No, sir.”

“Does any one else live with you?”

“No, sir.”

“How many servants have you?”

“There is only one on the place.”

“What is this servant named?”

“I don’t know her last name. Her first name is Minola. She is colored.”

“What time does she get there?”

“About 6:30 o’clock.”

“Was she on time Saturday, April 26?”

“Yes, sir.”

LEFT HOME AT 8 A. M.

Mr. Frank said that he left his home about 8 o’clock that morning, Saturday, April 26. He remembered seeing his servant, Minola, and his wife, as he was leaving. He didn’t remember seeing any one else. He was sure he did not see Mrs. Selig. He might have seen Mr. Selig, but he did not remember.

At his corner he can catch either the Washington street or the Georgia avenue car, said he. He did not remember which he boarded that morning. He did not remember talking to any one on the car. He arrived at the factory about 8:20 o’clock. He does not punch the time clock. Mr. Holloway, the day watchman, and Alonzo Mann, the office boy, both were there. Holloway was near the time clock as he went by. Alonzo, the office boy, was in the office. He did not remember whether any one was in the machine room. He didn’t look back there. He didn’t remember how long it was, perhaps an hour until several other people came in to get their pay envelopes. One man came to get his envelope for his son, and another for his stepson. One of the men was the father of a boy named Jimmie Grant, he remembered. Saturday being Memorial day, was a holiday in the factory, but he had instructed the office force to report and Coroner Donehoo fired question after question, related or without context, at Mr. Frank, the queries being rapid and precise. It was evident that the witness was to be examined most minutely.

Continuing, Mr. Frank remembered that during the morning of that Saturday Miss Mattie Smith came in to get the pay envelopes of herself and her sister. He didn’t remember whether there was anybody in the outer office at that moment. The office boy should have been there. His chief clerk was Herbert Schiff, a salesman, who had been acting in that capacity since the discharge of J. M. Gantt, the former incumbent. Schiff was not in the office. The stenographer should have been in the outer office. She is a Miss Eubanks. He didn’t remember her first name.

He had been in the office about thirty or forty minutes when M. B. Darley, Wade Campbell and “Mr. Fullerton” came in. The first thing he did was look over his mail and the papers.

WENT TO MANAGER’S OFFICE.

“What sort of papers?” he was asked.

“Notes and orders,” he replied, adding that the notes are memoranda for his attention about work around the factory. He put them in a folder, to get ready for Monday.

“What did you do after you went through the mail?” he was asked.

He replied that he went over to the manager’s office about 10 o’clock. Before going there he talked several minutes with Darley and Campbell. He did not attend to the financial sheet then. He couldn’t recall doing anything else. The manager’s office is in the establishment of Montag Bros., 10 to 20 Nelson street, he said. Sig Montag is the manager. The coroner questioned him closely about what papers he handled that morning. He asked the witness, “What do you usually do after you get to the office when the factory is at work?”

Mr. Frank replied that usually he opened his desk, got out the orders, arranged the work for his stenographer, and at a few minutes after 7 o’clock he would go up into the factory and distribute the orders among the proper departments.

He said that he did not get the factory mail at this office. Sometimes he got personal mail there, he said. He went to the safe that morning and got out the papers, but couldn’t recall what the first one was. He answered numerous specific questions about where he was when the others came in, and how to make out a financial sheet, etc.

Frank said that he prepared a financial sheet Saturday afternoon. It bore the date of Thursday, the twenty-fourth, he said, in response, to the coroner’s question. Their week ended on Thursday, he said.

“Why didn’t you make out the sheet on Thursday?” he was asked.

“I didn’t know the payroll then. We generally get the payroll on Friday.”

INTENDED TO GO TO GAME.

“Did you intend to go to the ball game on Saturday?” the coroner asked.

“Yes,” replied Mr. Frank, “until I got up and saw it was a cloudy day.”

He was asked why he didn’t make out the final sheet in the morning, and replied that he had other matters—invoices, orders, etc.—to look after.

“When did you work on the house books?” he was asked.

“Not on Saturday,” he said.

Mr. Frank said that his stenographer was not at the office Saturday, so he called a Miss Hall from Montag Brothers to help him. He went to Montag Brothers to see an official of the National Pencil company, who has his office there, he said, and shortly before 11 o’clock Miss Hall telephoned him there to return to the pencil factory and took over some important papers. When he got back to the pencil factory Miss Hall, his office boy and some others were in his office, he said.

At this point the coroner abruptly changed his line of questioning to ask  “Is the house order book of April 30 in your handwriting?”

“No,” replied the witness.

“How many others were there on April 30?”

“Eleven, I think,” said Mr. Frank.

“Who entered those?”

“Miss Hall,” said the witness.

The coroner then came back to the visit to Montag brothers, and Mr. Frank said that he remained there until about 11 o’clock. He said that he talked to several persons there on business.

[Part of a paragraph is missing here—Ed.]

look over the mail for matters needing immediate attention.

MANY QUESTIONS ASKED.

“Did you stop on your way there?” he was asked.

“I don’t remember.”

“Did you stop on your way back?”

“I don’t remember,” he again answered.

The coroner asked him to try to refresh his memory. He still insisted that he did not remember stopping at any place, either on his way to or from Montag Brothers.

The coroner kept up his systematic fire of questions, asking “How old is your office boy?”

“About fifteen or sixteen,” he replied.

“Does he wear long or short trousers?”

“Short.”

“What did you do when you got back to the pencil factory?”

“I sorted orders for about ten minutes.”

“What was in those orders?”

“I don’t remember.”

He didn’t remember whether the orders or invoices were from in Atlanta or out of the city, he said.

“Do you usually get orders or invoices on the twenty-sixth?” was the next question.

“We get invoices when the goods are shipped,” the witness answered.

“Do you remember any specific order or invoices on that date?” he was asked.

“No, sir, I do not,” said Mr. Frank.

He had no specific times for taking up routine work, said Mr. Frank. Usually he took up what appeared to be most important at the time.

HE WAS ALONE, HE SAID.

He dictated letters a while to Miss Hall. She entered the orders that he had received that morning. He didn’t remember just what she was doing while he did that. It took him about five or ten minutes to assort the orders. It took Miss Hall about fifteen or twenty minutes to enter them. When she had entered them she wrote postcard receipts for them. Then she copied on the typewriter the letters that he had dictated to her.

That didn’t take her long. About 12 o’clock he started copying the orders in the shipping requests. About that time Miss Hall and the office boy left. He didn’t remember whether they went together. He remembered it was about noon, for he heard the whistle blow at the time. So far as he knew, there was no one else in the office after Miss Hall left. He said it was customary to copy orders on the day of their receipt. They were seldom more than a day late copying them. It took him probably forty minutes to copy the orders. He didn’t begin work more than a minute or two before 12 o’clock. Again he was asked whether he was alone, and answered, “Yes, as far as I know.”

MARY CAME FOR WAGES.

“About 12:10 or 12:05 o’clock,” said Mr. Frank, “this little girl who was killed came up and got her envelope. I didn’t see or hear any one with her. I didn’t hear her speak to any one who might have been outside. I was in my inside office working at the orders when she came up.

“I don’t remember exactly what she said.

“I looked up, and when she told me she wanted her envelope, I handed it to her. Knowing that the employees would be coming in for their pay envelopes, I had them all in the cash basket beside me, to save walking to the safe each time.”

Mr. Frank said he didn’t know Mary Phagan’s number. He said each envelope had the employee’s number stamped on it. He admitted that he had looked up Mary Phagan’s number since the murder, but he had forgotten it again, said he. He did not see her pay envelope after he handed it to her. He made no entry of the payment, on the payroll or any other record, because none was required, said he.

“The girl left. She got to the outer door and asked if the metal had come. I told her no.”

(The girl had been “laid off” from work at the factory the preceding Tuesday, it has been understood, because of a shortage in some metal which her work required.)

“Where was Mary Phagan when she asked about this metal?” he was asked.

“In the outer office, I think, or in the main hall.”

He explained that the Phagan child hadn’t been working since Monday because of the shortage in the metal supply.

There was $1.20 in the child’s pay envelope, he said, part of it being for work on Friday and Saturday of the previous week. He didn’t know at what rate she was paid, he said, as he didn’t open the sealed pay envelope.

HEARD FOOTSTEPS DIE AWAY.

When she left he heard her footsteps die away in the hall, he said, and returned to his work, thinking no more about her.

Mr. Frank said he knew the Phagan child’s face, but didn’t know her name. She stood partly behind his desk, he said, and he didn’t notice the details of her dress, but thought the color was light. He didn’t recall whether she wore a hat, or carried a parasol or purse, he said, and didn’t see her shoes or stockings, which, he said, were hidden by the desk.

The girl reached his office between 12:10 and 12:15, he said and stayed there about two minutes. He thought her name was on the outside of the pay envelope, he said, but had identified her by her number.

No one else came into the office while she was there, the witness said. In response to a question from the coroner, he said that he had told her she had come almost too late. When she left he thought he heard her voice in the outer office, he said. He made no entry on the pay roll after giving the girl her envelope, he said.

About five or ten minutes after Miss Phagan left a man named Lemmy [sic] Quinn, foreman in the tip department, came in, he said.

Quinn remarked, “Well, I see you’re busy,” Mr. Frank said, and left about 12:25. Mr. Frank then copied orders, he said. He didn’t know where Quinn went, he said.

Mr. Frank said that the metal hadn’t come at that time, and he didn’t think it had arrived yet. The acting chief clerk, whose name was Schiff, would receive it when it came, he said.

He didn’t go to see whether it had come when the Phagan child called, he said, nor did he ask Schiff about it. He would probably know it had come before Schiff did, he said.

HEARD WHISTLES.

Mr. Frank said that he fixed the time Mary Phagan came for her money by the factory whistles which blew about noon. He didn’t leave his office between the time the girl left and Quinn called, he said. He didn’t recall how Quinn was dressed, he said, but thinks he wore a straw hat.

Mr. Frank said he didn’t know how long Mary Phagan had worked at the pencil factory.

He said that Quinn knew Mary because he was foreman of the tip department in which she was employed. Quinn worked last week, Mr. Frank said, on tools and machinery.

Mr. Frank said that Quinn usually wore the same clothing around the factory that he wore on the streets. Quinn came into his office about 12:25 and spoke to him. He was wearing street clothes. Quinn was about twenty-five or thirty years old, said he. Probably half an hour after Quinn spoke to him he left the factory—about 1 o’clock, or three or four minutes after that hour. He did not lock all of the papers in the safe, he said, because he anticipated returning to work with them that afternoon.

“Do you remember which ones you got together before you left?”

Mr. Frank answered that he got the production sheet and looked it over, and a few other papers. After the time Miss Hall left the office until he himself left to go home he was in the office all of the time, he said. Before he left he went up to the fourth floor, where he found Harry Denham and Arthur White and Mrs. White, and told them he was going out and would lock the door. Mrs. White, he thought, said she would go on out, and he thought she went away. He went up by the stairway to that floor, he said.

The day watchman was there shortly after 11 o’clock, said he. He didn’t remember exactly what time he left. Except on Saturdays, the day watchman usually worked until the night watchman came on duty. On Saturdays, said he, he himself worked, except on rare occasions; and when he did work he let the day watchman go. He couldn’t remember more than three or four occasions, said he, when the day watchman had worked. He let the watchman off as a usual thing that Saturday, said he.

HADN’T SEEN FRY.

He was asked about Walter Fry, a negro employed at the factory. Fry, said he, is one of the oldest negro employees there. He had to clean the third floor of a lot of glue once each week, and usually he did it on Saturdays. Mr. Frank did not know whether Fry was in the building that day. The watchman said nothing of it, as he should have done had the negro been there. He had not excused Fry from work, said he. He hadn’t seen Fry in two weeks, he added.

He caught a Washington street car and got off at Georgia avenue. He got home about 1:20 o’clock. He found his mother-in-law and his wife dressed and ready to go to the opera. He told them good-bye and went in and had lunch with his father-in-law. The servant, Minola, waited upon them. They spent about twenty minutes eating. Afterward he lit a cigarette and lay down upon the sofa, his father-in-law, a chicken fancier, going out in the back yard to look at some chickens. His father-in-law had not come back when he got up and left the house. He did not sleep while he lay on the sofa. He dozed, for he was tired from the morning’s work.

He left home about 2 o’clock. On the street he saw a cousin of his, from Athens, and the cousin’s mother. He crossed the street and talked with them. They said they had come down for grand opera. He walked on up to Glenn street, not having missed a car, and there caught a Washington street car. On the street car he met another cousin, J. C. Loeb, and talked with Mr. Loeb as they rode to town. At the corner of Washington and Hunter streets the car stopped, on account of the parade, and he got out and walked west on Hunter to Whitehall. When he reached that corner the parade came around into Hunter street from Whitehall.

WATCHED THE PARADE.

He stopped there and watched the parade a while, then walked on up Whitehall toward Alabama. In front of Rich’s he met Miss Rebecca Carson, one of the forewomen in the factory. He spoke to her, but did not stop. That must have been about 2:40 o’clock. Just a few minutes later, when there was a lapse in the parade, he crossed Whitehall and entered Jacobs’ drug store on the corner, buying three or four cigars of a brand that he named, and perhaps a package of cigarettes. From Jacobs’ he went on up Alabama street to Forsyth, and turned down Forsyth to the factory. He opened the street door with his key, and locked it behind him with a latch manipulated from the inside. He unlocked the inner door and left it open behind him. That was about 3 o’clock. He took off his coat and went upstairs to the third floor, where he found Denham and White in the back of the room. They told him they would be through work and ready to leave in a few minutes. He came directly downstairs to his office. He opened the safe and took out some papers and started work on the financial sheet. A few minutes later he heard Denham and White come down from their work and ring the clock. White came into his office and borrowed $2. He joked with White a minute or so about the loan, and then got his signature upon an advanced wage sheet and gave him the $2. He put the slip in an envelope, where he kept other slips like it.

About 3:09 or 3:10 o’clock White and Denham went downstairs. Shortly afterward he followed them and latched the street door again behind them. That was about 3:20 o’clock, he said.

The day watchman left about 3 o’clock, Mr. Frank said, and White and Denham left about 3:15. He went downstairs and locked the door after them, he said, and returned to his work on the financial sheet. The witness said that, so far as he knew, he was alone in the factory. He had seen no one while on his way up or down the steps.

Mr. Frank said that he worked on the financial sheet until about 5:30 o’clock. At about fifteen minutes before 4, he said, he went to the lavatory to wash his hands, and on his way back to his office saw the night watchman coming up the stairs.

NIGHT WATCHMAN COMES.

Mr. Frank said that on Friday he had told the watchman to report for duty at 4 o’clock Saturday afternoon, and that he remembers the time because he looked at his watch to see if the watchman was on time. The watchman had pass keys to the doors, he said.

Asked about his conversation with the night watchman, Mr. Frank said that he said, “Howdy, Lee,” and told him he was sorry he had to come to work so early, and that he could go out and enjoy himself for an hour or an hour and a half. Lee offered him some bananas, he said, but he took none.

The only other interruption during the afternoon, Mr. Frank said, was a telephone call for Mr. Schiff.

Mr. Frank said that he had planned to go to the ball game with his brother-in-law, Mr. Ersenbach. He had tried to telephone Mr. Ersenbach that he couldn’t go, but had been unable to get him, the witness said.

Mr. Frank said that after 5:30 he balanced the cash. This took until about 6 o’clock, he said.

Mr. Frank was not downstairs between 4 and 4:30, he said, in response to a question.

The witness said that when Lee returned about 6 o’clock he was putting in the clock slips. There were two clocks, he said, one that registered between one and 100 and the other between 100 and 200. The watchman punched the latter. Mr. Frank took out the Friday slips, he said, which were dated April 26, and put them on the clerk’s desk.

He was asked when Fullerton was to start to work.

“On Monday, the 28^th,” he said. He didn’t know, he said, whether Fullerton started to work on Monday or not.

It was not very light, Mr. Frank said, when Lee returned to work. He had no conversation with him. Lee did not seem in the least agitated, Mr. Frank said.

GANTT WAS THERE.

Mr. Frank said that about 6 o’clock he washed his hands and put on his coat preparatory to leaving the building. Lee had punched the clock and was at the bottom of the steps, Mr. Frank said, to lock the door after him. Lee was talking to J. M. Gantt, former employee of the factory, on the sidewalk just outside the door, the witness said.

Mr. Frank said that Lee told him Gantt wanted to get a pair of shoes he had left in the factory. The witness said he sent Lee in with Gantt, and left the building himself.

Mr. Frank said he then went to Jacobs’ pharmacy at the corner of Alabama and Whitehall streets and bought a box of candy. It was a special kind of candy that was not kept boxed and he had to wait a few minutes, he said, while the girl put it in a box for him. He chatted with the girl, he said, but spoke to no one else before he got home.

He reached home about 6:25 o’clock, he said. His father-in-law and the servant were there, the witness said and his wife and his mother came in a few minutes later.

They came in about 6:30, Mr. Frank said, just as he was telephoning to the factory. He telephoned at 6:30, he said, because at that time the night watchman was due to be punching the clock and would ordinarily be where he could easily hear the telephone.

Mr. Frank said that he failed to get Leet at 6:30, so telephoned him again at 7 o’clock, when the watchman answered.

The witness said he asked whether Gantt had gone and if everything was all right, then ate his dinner.

Mr. Frank said he had never heard Gantta make any direct threats against him. Gantt had been discharged, the witness said, because of negligence in his accounts.

Mr. Frank said that he telephone the factory, because Gantt “was a man I wanted to keep up with when he was in the factory.”

The witness said that after supper he smoked and read until about 9:30 o’clock, when he went upstairs and lit the gas heater. He then went back downstairs, he said, and read until about 10:30, when he went back upstairs, took a bath and went to bed about 11.

Mr. Frank said he was awakened about 7:30 o’clock Sunday morning by the ringing of the telephone. He answered it in his bath robe, he said. It was Detective J. M. Starnes, who said he wanted Mr. Frank to identify some one at the factory, the witness said.

Mr. Frank said he asked the detective if there had been a fire, and the reply was, “No; a tragedy.”

The witness said Mr. Starnes told him an automobile would be right up for him. Detective Black and Boot Rogers arrived before he had finished dressing, Mr. Frank said. He went with them, he said, to Bloomfield’s undertaking establishment to see the body of Mary Phagan.

Mr. Frank said that he immediately recognized the “poor little thing.” He looked at her, he said, and remarked, “That is the child I paid off Saturday.”

Mr. Frank then described the appearance of the corpse, and said that the cord about her neck was of the type used on the third and fourth floors of the pencil factory in binding “units.”

GOES TO FACTORY.

He stayed at the undertaker’s shop but a few minutes. Then he drove down to the factory and saw Darley going in just ahead of him and called to him. He went upstairs, where he saw the negro and a number of detectives. There he was told the details of the tragedy. He took them down to the basement in the elevator. He couldn’t get the elevator to work at first, and Darley started it for him. He didn’t see any blood in the basement. He told Darley to nail up the back door, which they showed him to be standing open. He said it was part of the watchman’s duty to come down in the basement and see that that door was fastened, and also to look in the dust bin. The fire insurance people consider that dust bin somewhat of a hazard, said he. He hadn’t been in the cellar a dozen times before during his connection with the company, said he.

He answered a number of questions relative to the method of operating the elevator. It is run by electricity. There is a switch on the left of the elevator at the second floor landing where the power is turned off. The switch never is locked up. Formerly it was, but the insurance people objected, and later it was left unlocked where the firemen could get to it immediately and shut off the power in the building.

THE PART OF THE TIME CLOCK.

He was questioned as to the tape on the time clock. When he looked at it first after the tragedy, he thought it was all right because the lines had not been broken. Later, said he, he studied it more closely and saw that the negro night watchman had skipped in two or three places, punching hours only instead of hours and half hours. He said he had put the date, 28, on the tape in advance because he knew when the employees came to work Monday morning they would start to punching that date.

While he was in the factory on the Sunday morning after the tragedy was discovered, the detectives used most of the time going over the factory, looking for some one who might have been hidden. He did not know what machine Mary Phagan used in the factory, said he. He didn’t know of any stuff similar to whitewash used around the plant. There was a yellowish substance, like soap, used for a lubricant.

SAID HE HELPED DETECTIVES.

Leaving the factory that Sunday morning, he went to police headquarters with some of the detectives and Mr. Darley. There he answered a number of questions. He did not remember what they were, but he remembered that he wanted to give the detectives every possible help in getting at the bottom of the thing. He told them everything that they wanted to know, said he.

He and Darley left headquarters together and walked toward town. He asked Darley if he wanted to see Mary Phagan’s body, and Darley, saying yes, they walked over to the undertaker’s, but they could not see the corpse, because the embalmers were busy at the moment.

WORE THE SAME SUIT.

Questioned as to the clothes he wore on the day preceding the murder’s discovery, he declared that he wore the same suit that he wore then, as he testified. He had put it on the next Monday again, and had worn it constantly since. On the Sunday when the murder was discovered he wore a blue suit.

He answered a number of questions relative to the time clock. No person unfamiliar with it could manufacture a time record upon it, he said. He experienced some difficulty himself when he changed the dates, said he. There is a key to the time clock, said he, but he didn’t even know who had it. It would be possible, by moving the hands of the clock, to make it register at regular intervals, he thought.

RUNNING THE ELEVATOR.

The coroner reverted to Friday afternoon. He stayed somewhat late that afternoon, he said.

The elevator boy is a negro called “Snowball,” he said. He explained again the operation of the elevator. He (Frank) could run the elevator, but he had not done so on any certain occasion that he remembered. On Saturday morning the motor was running, he knew, because it was being used to operate a circular saw in the department where Denham and White were at work.

He said he had never telephoned before Saturday night to the negro night watchman, Newt Lee, because the negro had been there only a couple of weeks. The negro had been employed formerly by Mr. [1 word illegible], said he.

Frank said that he identified the girl’s corpse by her hair and her features. He didn’t know the girl’s name, he said, but recognized her corpse as that of the girl he had paid Saturday. Mr. Frank said that he hadn’t noticed that the girl appeared nervous when he saw her Saturday afternoon. He wasn’t sure he had heard her voice after she left him, he said, but thought he had heard some girl’s voice in the outer office.

Mr. Frank said that when he went to the undertaker’s establishment Sunday morning, he wore a blue suit he was accustomed to wear on Sundays, having changed from the brown one he had worn the day before. He had never worn this blue suit to the pencil factory that he remembered, the witness said.

He said that he mentioned to Darley on Sunday that he had on another suit. He changed things from the pocket of the brown suit to the blue one, he said; changed his underwear and his shirt, as he was accustomed to do. He had never given the night watchman any clothes, he said.

Mr. Frank was asked about his talk with Lee at the police station. He said that previous to his talk with Lee he had been asked by Detective Black and Scott to try to find out whether Lee had been letting couples into the pencil factory at night.

“Black said, ‘Put it strong to him,’” the witness said, “’Try to get out of him all you can. We think he knows more than he is willing to tell. Tell him they’ve got you and me and they’ll send us both to hell if you don’t tell what you know.’”

Mr. Frank said that he said to Lee something similar to the words Black has used. “I talked to him kindly,” Mr. Frank said. The witness said that he urged Lee to tell the truth about the couples; that he told Lee in substance, “They know you something,” and said, “They can swing us both if you don’t tell.”

Mr. Frank said that the negro said in substance, “’Fore God, Mr. Frank, I don’t know anything about it.’”

Lee declared that he had admitted no couples, Mr. Frank said, and “kept up a good tale.”

The witness said that he didn’t use the words the detectives told him in which he used the word “hell.”

Going back to the talk of the ball games, Mr. Frank said that he didn’t know what time the games started.

The witness was then quizzed as to how many suits of underwear he had worn, and how often he was accustomed to change.

He had worn one suit last week, he thought, he said. When he took them off he put them in the wash bag, he said. Detective Black saw them, he declared—a suit of winter underwear.

He generally wore two suits of underwear a week during the winter, he said, and four or five a week in the summer.

Going back to the references to the ball game, the witness was asked if he had intended going to the ball game after 4 o’clock. He said that he had expected to leave the factory at 1 o’clock.

Mr. Frank said that he had notified the factory employees by posting notices about Monday or Tuesday that they would be paid Friday afternoon, since Saturday was a holiday on account of being Memorial day. They were paid about 5 o’clock Friday afternoon, he said.

Mr. Frank said that during his conversation with Lee the watchman did not accuse him of the crime, or describe the girl’s body, and declared that he did not tell Lee not to talk about the tragedy.

Mr. Frank then said that the usual pay time was about noon Saturday.

He replied in answer to a question that he didn’t remember ever having used any cord like that found about the girl’s neck to tie a bundle.

“Are you right-handed or left-handed?” he was asked.

“Right-handed,” he replied.

Mr. Frank said that he had been in the habit of carrying a pocket knife, but this was taken from him when he was arrested.

The witness repeated his statement that he first heard the telephone on Sunday morning at about 7:30. Later Sunday morning, he said, he thought he recalled dreaming that he heard the telephone in the night.

MR. SELIG ON STAND.

Emil Selig, father-in-law of Mr. Frank, succeeded him on the witness stand. He lives at 68 Georgia avenue, said Mr. Selig. About three years ago Frank married his daughter. He had never heard of Frank being married before. He had known Frank about a year before Frank married Miss Selig.

In answer to the question, “Do you live with Mr. Frank?” the old gentleman replied, “No; he lives with me.”

He didn’t remember seeing Frank leave on the morning of the tragedy, said he. He did see him at dinner time and ate dinner with him. His wife and daughter both were going to grand opera, and, as well as he remembered, they left before the end of dinner.

After dinner, said Mr. Selig, he (Selig) lay down and took a nap. He didn’t know what Mr. Frank did. Maybe he lay down, too. Mr. Selig said he got up about 3 o’clock, and Frank was gone. He saw him again at supper. That was between 7 and 8 o’clock, he thought. He didn’t remember the exact hour. His wife and daughter and the servants all were there with them, he thought. After supper that Saturday night, Mr. Frank went out into the hall and sat there reading. “We played cards,” said he. Asked who “we” was, he replied that they had a little company in that evening.

Asked for the names of the company, he remembered that Mr. and Mrs. Morris Goldstein, Mrs. I. Strauss, who lives on Pryor street, and Mrs. Wolfsheimer, from Washington street, and maybe another married daughter, Mrs. A. E. Marcus, were there.

Mr. Frank didn’t play cards, said he. Mr. Frank must have known that the guests were there. He didn’t remember especially about that. They played cards there until about 11 o’clock. Mr. Frank, he presumed, went on up to bed about 9 o’clock. He didn’t see anything of him after that. Mrs. Frank didn’t play cards, but was out with her husband for a while.

“Who played partners?” the coroner asked him.

“We didn’t have any partners,” answered the witness. “We were playing for blood.”

On Saturday Mr. Frank had on a brown every-day suit, said the witness. He thought Mr. Frank had on the same suit Sunday. It was the same suit he had worn to the inquest, said Mr. Selig.

DIDN’T TALK ABOUT TRAGEDY.

Mr. Selig said that he didn’t hear the telephone ring during the night Saturday or Sunday morning. He didn’t remember Mr. Frank having telephoned the factory Saturday night, but that Mr. Frank might have done so without his having known it.

Mr. Selig said that he awoke about 8 o’clock Sunday morning, after Mr. Frank had left the house. Mrs. Frank told him that “something terrible had happened in the factory,” he said, but that he didn’t press the question as to what had transpired; that all day Sunday he made no efforts to find out what had occurred.

Mr. Frank returned home about 10 o’clock, the witness said. Mr. Selig said that he didn’t remember Mr. Frank having mentioned the affair during the day.

He said that Mr. Frank had frequently called the factory at night to ask if everything was all right.

MRS. SELIG TESTIFIES.

Mrs. Josephine Selig, wife of Emil Selig and mother-in-law of Mr. Frank, was the witness who succeeded her husband on the stand. She saw Mr. Frank Saturday at dinner, she said. She had not seen him at breakfast. She rarely saw him at breakfast. He came home to dinner about 1:15 o’clock. She and her husband, Frank and his wife and the cook were there in the house at that time. She and Mrs. Frank left about 1:20 o’clock to go to the opera matinee. She was not sure whether her husband was present when they left. She saw Mr. Frank again at supper about 6:15 o’clock. He was sitting in the hall, reading a paper, when they came in. They had supper between 6:30 and 6:45 o’clock. Mr. Frank had continued his reading since they came in. She didn’t see Mr. Frank use the telephone, but was pretty sure that he did. It was possible that she might have been upstairs when he used the phone in the dining room. It would not have been unusual for him to telephone, said she. She could not swear, she said, that Mr. Frank used the telephone that evening.

After supper, she said Mr. Frank stayed in the hall and read. She stayed there in the hall until about 8:20 o’clock. Then they had company and their company was entertained in the dining room just off the hall. Asked to name those who were there, she said the two Mrs. Marcus, Mr. and Mrs. Goldstein, and Mrs. Ike Strauss were there. Ike Strauss came over about 10:30 o’clock for his wife, he said. She remembered that Mrs. Wolfsheimer was there, too.

KNEW GUESTS WERE THERE.

Mr. Frank knew these guests were in the house, she said. He was in the hall and conversed casually with them when they arrived. He must have talked with the guests about twenty minutes, she said. She couldn’t remember any of his conversation, she said.

“Now, this was the last night of the opera,” her questioners cautioned her. “Are you sure these guests were there that night?”

Mrs. Selig was positive. They played cards, she said. Mrs. Frank was there, too. She was in the dining room and out in the hall with Mr. Frank constantly during the evening. Mrs. Frank sat out there with him a good deal, but came in occasionally. He stopped reading some time between 9:30 o’clock and 10, she said. He went to bed then, stopping at the door as he went and telling them all good night.

Mrs. Frank went upstairs with him, she said.

Mrs. Selig said that when she got up the next morning the first person she saw was her daughter, Mrs. Frank.

Mrs. Frank said Mr. Frank had gone to town, but didn’t say why.

About 10 o’clock Mr. Frank came in and told her that some girl had been found dead in the factory. She didn’t remember anything else about the conversation.

She didn’t attach much importance to it, she said.

Mr. Frank didn’t go into details. He mentioned it casually. After a while he sat down and read a paper, she said. She denied that he seemed to be apprehensive.

Questioned again about that part of her testimony, she reiterated that the matter of the girl having been found dead was treated casually. Mr. Frank seemed not greatly concerned about it, she said.

All of these statements were made in direct answer to direct questions. Mrs. Selig seemed not to remember very much except that which she answered positively.

Mr. Frank wore a brown suit of clothes all three of the very days, she said—Saturday, Sunday and Monday. She was positive about this, she said.

Mr. Frank did not mention to her the name of the girl who had been found dead, said she. He owned another suit, of blue, she said. She went into detail about who their laundrymen are, etc.

At 7:20 o’clock the inquest adjourned until 9:30 o’clock Thursday morning.

* * *

Atlanta Journal, May 6th 1913, “L. M. Frank’s Complete Story of Where He Was and What He Did on Day of Mary Phagan Murder,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)