Category: TRANSCRIPTS: ATLANTA CONSTITUTION

The Atlanta Constitution Monday, April 28th, 1913 Page 1 Chum Identifies Victim as Mary Phagan, of 146 Lindsay Street, Then Swoons. Girl Had Just Resigned From National Pencil Company, in Which Plant Her Body Was Found. MOTHER AND FATHER STAY UP ALL NIGHT WAITING HER RETURN Negro Watchman Is Under Arrest on Suspicion—Police Believe That She Was Lured to Building by Three Young Companions, Assaulted Despite Her Vigorous Struggles, and Then Killed to Shut Her Lips. While mother and father anxiously waited her return home Saturday night, pretty 14-year-old Mary Phagan lay dead in a corner of the dark basement

National Pencil Co. Building at 37-39 S. Forsyth St. in which the Phagan girl was slain The Atlanta Constitution Monday, April 28th, 1913 Page 1 Former Street Car Conductor Arrested as He Leaves the Home of His Sweetheart on Bellwood Avenue. As he was leaving the home of his sweetheart, Miss Pearl Robertson , on Bellwood avenue, early last night, Arthur Mullinax, a strikingly handsome youth, was arrested by Detective Rosser and carried to police headquarters. He is being detained under suspicion of having been implicated in the slaying of Mary Phagan. E. R. Sentell, a resident of 82 Davis

The Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, April 29th, 1913 Page 4 The assault and murder of 14-year-old Mary Phagan comprise the most revolting crime in the history of Atlanta Homicide is bad enough. Criminal assault upon woman is worse. When a mere child, a little girl in knee dresses is the victim of both there are added elements of horror and degeneracy that defy the written word. This outrage with all its gruesome and pitiful settings occurred in the very heart of Atlanta. It was committed by some human beast with more than jungle cruelty and less than jungle mercy. The detective

The Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, April 29th, 1913 A middle-aged woman, with signs of care and sorrow stamped on her features, pushed through the mob of people which crowded around the entrance to the Bloomfield undertaking establishment in which lay the body of Mary Phagan. She made her way determinedly, shoving and pushing. Reaching the doorway she was stopped from entering by Policeman Tribble who stood on guard. "You can't go in, ma'am. Nobody's allowed to see the body." "What?" she exclaimed. "Not letting anybody see her?" She stepped back as if aghast. For a moment she hesitated, apparently undecided whether

The Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, April 29th, 1913 "I Was Not in Love With Mary and She Was Not With Me," Asserts Man Accused of Murder. "I did not kill Mary Phagan. I haven't seen her within a month. They accuse me falsely. I'm innocent and will swear it by heaven above." John M. Gantt, the youthful bookkeeper arrested on the charge of murdering Mary Phagan, sat in the detective chief's office at police headquarters last night, looked his questioners squarely in the eyes, and sweepingly denied all accusations. "I went to Marietta to take charge of a farm I have

John M. Gantt, former bookkeeper of the National Pencil company, and acquaintance of Mary Phagan, who is under arrest, and was put through a gruelling third degree last night at police station. He maintains his innocence.   The Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, April 29th, 1913 For Hours Detectives Labor With John M. Gantt, Former Employee of National Pencil Company and Alleged Admirer of Pretty Mary Phagan. SISTER OF PRISONER ADMITS SHE DECEIVED ATLANTA DETECTIVES Told Them Gantt Had Not Been Home When He Declared He Was in Bed. Now Admits Story Untrue. Gantt Caught in Marietta, With Suit Case Filled With

The Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, April 29th, 1913 Evidence obtained by Detectives Black and Rosser Monday afternoon has led the detective department to suspect that little Mary Phagan was lured away by her murderer Saturday afternoon by the pleasures of a joy ride during which she was drugged or made drunk with whisky. This new aspect of the case came from R. B. Pyron, telegraph operator at the signal tower on the Central of Georgia railroad at the Whitehall street crossing. Pyron told the detectives Monday afternoon that about 10 o'clock Saturday night he was standing at the entrance to the

The Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, April 29th, 1913 A remarkable fact in connection with the murder of Mary Phagan is that no one has thus far come forward stating they saw her after she drew her pay at the National Pencil factory shortly after 12 o'clock. Several persons have stated that they "believed" they saw her or that they "saw a girl answering her description," but positive statements are lacking. The Atlanta detective department is particularly anxious to trace every movement of the girl from the time she left the factory, and is particularly desirous of obtaining the names of all

  Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, April 30th, 1913 Mayor Woodward Declares the Stain of Blood Must Be Wiped Out. Atlanta, April 29, 1913 To the General Council, City of Atlanta: The general council of the city of Atlanta is hereby called to convene in special session tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock, April 30, 1913, to take cognizance, in an official way, of that most brutal crime that was committed in this city on last Saturday night. I think it proper that the city government should take some befitting action as regards this most deplorable matter, which, as it is, is liable

  Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, April 30th, 1913 Detectives Believe That They Intended to Burn Body of Little Mary Phagan in the Furnace of Factory. Did the murderers of Mary Phagan lower her body into the darkness of the pencil factory basement with the intention of cremating the corpse in the furnace of that plant? Such is the belief of detectives. The dead girl was discovered only a few feet from the furnace. Her body had been dragged first to the fire box, circled around its base, then abandoned in the desolate recess in which it was found. Investigation revealed that

  Scenes at the funeral services of victim of Sunday's brutal crime. In one picture is shown casket being borne from church; in another, her brother, Ben Phagan, who is in the navy; and in the bottom one, the beautiful floral offerings covering the newly-made grave.   Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, April 30th, 1913 Newt Lee, Negro Watchman, Had a Record for Punctuality in Registering Time Until Night of the Killing—Bloody Shirt Found in His Home by Detectives, but Negro Asserts That He Had Not Seen It for Two Years—Blood Was Fresh, Assert Officers. MORE ARRESTS WILL BE MADE TODAY, SAY

  Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, April 30th, 1913 After a hearing before Judge George L. Bell of the superior court in which his attorney George T. gave a scathing denouncement of the police and detective department for what he termed the grilling system. J. M. Gantt, held on a warrant charging the murder of Mary Phagan was taken from the police and turned over to the sheriff to be held in the Tower. Judge Gober stated that he would arrange for a hearing early today before Justice F. M. Powers before whom the original warrant was sworn out. The coroner's inquest

  Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, April 30th, 1913 Coroner Donehoo last night set the time for the inquest at this morning at 8:45 o'clock. It will be held in Bloomfield's undertaking establishment on South Pryor street. A thorough investigation will be made into the mystery. It will then be determined if the evidence at hand is sufficient to commit Frank and the negro watchman to higher courts. * * * Atlanta Constitution, April 30th 1913, "Inquest This Morning," Leo Frank case newspaper article series  

  Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, April 30th, 1913 After Talking With Him an Hour, Factory President Fails to Secure a Confession. Sitting alone in the detectives' office at headquarters, Frank, the factory president, and Lee, the negro night watchman, both suspects held in connection with the Phagan murder, conferred for an hour shortly before midnight. The conference was made at the request of detectives. It was believed Frank would be able to wring a confession from the negro. At midnight, he emerged from the room. "I can't get a thing out of him. He tells the same story over and over."

The Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, April 30th, 1913 "I don't want a disturbance on the street of Atlanta. The town has been stirred over the Phagan tragedy, and I fear that sensational and misleading extras may cause mischief. I have requested Chief Beavers to use great caution in giving out news." Mayor James G. Woodward made the above explanation of his visit to Chief James L. Beavers, at police headquarters, shortly after 8:30 o'clock last night. The mayor said that he made a tour of the city and found the people in all sections in a highly nervous state. He charged

  Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, April 30th, 1913 "If Children of Such Tender Years Were Not Forced to Work, Mary Phagan Might Be Living," He Says "If social conditions in Atlanta were of the best—if conditions in factories were of the best and lastly if children of such tender years were not forced to work little Mary Phagan would probably never have been murdered," declared Dr. A. J. McKelway, president pro tem of the Southern Sociological congress speaking at the final meeting held in Wesley Memorial church last night. "Let us take this murder and analyze it. A little child of

  Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, April 30th, 1913 Walter Graham Discharges a Derringer in His Cell at the Police Station. Will Newt Lee, the negro night watchman accused of the murder of Mary Phagan, be unnerved today as a result of the firing of a double-barreled derringer in a nearby cell last night. Will his nerves become so shattered at the thought of death that he will confess, admitting the crime, or implicating others? This is what the police will determine today in further third degree work with Lee. Walter Graham, a young white youth of 76 Marietta street, smuggled a

  Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, April 30th, 1913 While relatives hysterically wept, while hundreds of friends, with wet eyes and bowed heads, mourned, while little circles of grim visage men talked in hushed voices of all that remained of little 14-year-old Mary Phagan, victim of Saturday night's atrocious crime, was lowered into a grave at the city cemetery at Marietta yesterday morning. "The Lord hath given, the Lord hath taken, blessed be the name of the Lord," said Rev. T. T. G. Linkous, pastor of the Christian church at East Point, as tears streamed down his cheeks. And the grave-diggers grasped

  Atlanta Constitution Thursday, May 1st, 1913 Atlanta's city council met at 10 o'clock Wednesday morning, adopted a resolution appropriating $1,000 as a reward for information which may lead to the arrest and conviction of the party or parties responsible for the death of Mary Phagan, and immediately afterwards the aldermanic board met and approved the action of council. The resolution went to Mayor Woodward before noon and he immediately attached his signature to it giving it official approval. The money is now available. * * * Atlanta Constitution, May 1st 1913, "City Offers $1,000 Reward for Capture of Phagan

  Miss Ella Maud Eubanks, stenographer for Leo M. Frank   Atlanta Constitution Thursday May 1st, 1913 Following Mechanic Barrett's declaration that there were two men at work Saturday at noon on the top floor of the factory building, Coroner Donehoo ordered detectives to accompany the machinist to the plant and bring the two employees to police headquarters. They were brought immediately into the inquest. Their names were given as Harry Denham and J. Arthur White. Denham was first placed on the stand. His examination began immediately upon arrival. "Did you see the blood on the lathing machine?" "I saw

  At the left top is Detective Black, of the city, and at the right Detective Scott, of the Pinkertons. Below is a scene of the inquest. At the bottom is a sketch by Henderson of the negro, Newt Lee, whose straightforward story at the inquest has tended to lift suspicion from him.   Atlanta Constitution Thursday, May 1st 1913 Mary Phagan Was Growing Afraid of Advances Made to Her by Superintendent of the Factory, George W. Epps, 15 Years Old, Tells the Coroner's Jury. BOY HAD ENGAGEMENT TO MEET HER SATURDAY BUT SHE DID NOT COME Newt Lee, Night

    Atlanta Constitution Thursday, May 1st, 1913 Mary Phagan had been dead ten hours or more before her body was discovered in the basement darkness of the factory building. This is the opinion of expert embalmists of Bloomfield's undertaking establishment, who made a thorough examination of the corpse immediately after it had been removed to the shop, less than thirty minutes following the discovery. This disclosure may shift the investigation of detectives to new channels. * * * Atlanta Constitution, May 1st 1913, "Girl Was Dead Ten Hours Before Body Was Found," Leo Frank case newspaper article series  

  Atlanta Constitution Thursday, May 1st, 1913 A letter to the editor of the Atlanta Constitution Editor Constitution: I notice with interest the reward your most worthy paper, is offering for the brutal murderer of Mary Phagan. To say words of praise for you would only be adding to what many others have said, and it would only be another testimonial of your love for your city and state, which you have always shown, and which you show now in trying to avenge the death of this pure girl. I truly hope the murderer will be caught and convicted, and

  J. A. White Harry Denham. The two mechanics who were the last workmen to leave the National Pencil company on Saturday afternoon. Leo M. Frank was in the building when they went out. Photo by Francis B. Price, Staff Photographer.   Atlanta Constitution Thursday May 1st, 1913 Was the man who first assaulted and then brutally killed Mary Phagan last Saturday night hiding in the basement of the National Pencil company when the watchman, Newt Lee, came down and discovered the girl's mutilated body early Sunday morning? This is the question that rose to everyone's mind, following the testimony

    Atlanta Constitution Thursday May 1st, 1913 Pearl Robison, the pretty 16-year-old sweetheart of Arthur Mullinax, came nobly to his defense with testimony that corroborated that suspect's alibi. She was placed on the stand late in the afternoon. "Do you know Arthur Mullinax?" "I am well acquainted with him." "Do you go with him?" "Yes!" "Were you with him Saturday?" "Yes! At supper and to the theater." "What time did you get home?" "About 10:30 o'clock." "Was he with you at that time?" "He was." "Did he go in when you returned home?" "No. He left for his home."

  This snapshot was taken just as the factory superintendent got out of auto in which he was transferred Thursday afternoon from the police station to the county jail.   Atlanta Constitution Friday, May 2nd, 1913 Grand Jury May Take Up Phagan Investigation Following Conference Between Dorsey, Beavers and Lanford. MULLINAX AND GANTT ARE GIVEN FREEDOM Coroner's Jury Will Resume Hearing on Monday, Following the Subpoenaing of 200 Witnesses. Thomas B. Felder, member of the firm of Felder, Anderson, Dillon & Whitman, has been engaged to assist the solicitor general in the prosecution of the murderer of Mary Phagan. He

  Atlanta Constitution Saturday, May 3rd, 1913 Leo M. Frank and the Night Watchman, Newt Lee, Reiterate Declarations of Innocence in Phagan Crime. Leo M. Frank yesterday morning in his cell in the Tower reiterated his plea of innocence to a reporter for The Constitution. "I swear I'm not guilty," he declared. "I could not conceive of such a hideous murder, much less commit it. I am accused unjustly. The report that I have made a confession is totally and basely false. I have no confession to make." Newt Lee, the suspected night watchman, also repeats his statement that he

  Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 4th, 1913 Representing Themselves as Pinkertons, Two Men Are Interviewing Leading Witnesses in Mystery. DETECTIVES WORRIED BY PLANTED EVIDENCE Men Working on Case Believe That Some Interests May Be Trying to Fix the Crime on Suspects. What interests are promoting the planting of evidence in the Mary Phagan mystery? This question confronted police headquarters yesterday. Further evidence of mysterious forces underhandedly at work on the baffling case was revealed when it became known that imposters, representing themselves to be Pinkerton detectives had been questioning leading witnesses. This new disclosure, coupled with past discoveries of obviously

    Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 4th, 1913 At the top is a sketch made by Henderson from the last photograph taken of little Mary Phagan, the 14-year-old girl of tragedy. Below is a photograph of her mother and step-father, Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Coleman, and her sister, Miss Ollie Phagan. The other picture was taken at the funeral. Could you walk for hours in the heart of Atlanta without seeing a person you know? What did Atlanta detectives do to keep murderer from "planting" evidence against suspects? Are all the men who have been held as suspects marked

    Atlanta Constitution Monday, May 5th, 1913 Detectives Are of Opinion They Have in Their Possession All Evidence That Is Needed by the Jury. INFORMATION SECURED FROM MYSTERIOUS GIRL Coroner's Jury Will Resume Inquest at 2 O'Clock This Afternoon — Factory Girls Will Be Witnesses. Detectives working on the case of Mary Phagan, the 14-year-old murdered girl whose body was found in the basement of the National Pencil company at daybreak Sunday morning a week ago, believe that today they have in their possession evidence which will lead to the conviction of the girl's murderer, according to the statement

Atlanta Constitution Monday, May 5th, 1913 Dr. Holderby took occasion during his Sunday morning service at Moore Memorial church to refer to the recent horrible Phagan tragedy, which has shocked the entire community, and urged the people not to discuss the matter with their children. He said: "It is unaccountable to me why people should be so hysterical and become so frightened because one demon has perpetrated a crime. "This unspeakable crime is bad enough, and every effort should be made to find the guilty party—and every effort is being made by the detective departments—and this should satisfy the public.

    Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, May 6th, 1913 The instructions given the new Fulton county grand jury by Judge William D. Ellis in his charge at the empanelling of that body Monday morning placed especial stress upon the call of the Mary Phagan case for the "immediate and vigorous attention" of the grand jury. He also urged the jury to investigate the locker and social clubs of Atlanta and to "find true bills against all who conduct clubs which are run for the purpose of selling liquor." In this connection he also urged that the grand jury declare war upon

  Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, May 6th, 1913 Crime Calls for Your Immediate Attention, Declares Judge Ellis, in His Charge. "The Mary Phagan case calls for your immediate and vigorous attention. The power of the state is behind you. What appears to be an awful crime has been committed, and the welfare of the community, the good name of Atlanta, public justice and the majesty of the law demand at the hands of this grand jury and of all officers of the law the most searching investigation and the prompt bringing to trial of the guilty party." Such was the charge

    Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, May 6th, 1913 Lemmie Quinn, Foreman of the Department in Which the Little Girl Worked, Was in His Office Just a Few Minutes After She Received Her Pay on the Day of the Murder, He Tells the Coroner's Jury at Inquest on Monday Afternoon. LEO FRANK INNOCENT NEW WITNESS TELLS ATLANTA DETECTIVES Quinn Declares That Officers Accused Him of Being Bribed to Come to the Aid of Superintendent — Frank Is on Stand for Four Hours Answering Coroner's Questions—Body of Mary Phagan Exhumed and Stomach Will Be Examined. The Mary Phagan murder mystery assumed a

Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, May 7th, 1913 Former Atlantan, Who Was Taken Into Custody in Houston, Texas, Early on Monday Night, Released After an Investigation by Chief of Police Department, Who Says He Is Convinced of His Innocence. BOWEN WAS IN CHINERO ON DAY OF THE MURDER HE TELLS DETECTIVES His Father, Cal Bowen, of Newnan, Georgia, Received a Message Last Night From His Son, Declaring That He Had Been Fired — Bowen Is Well Connected in Georgia and His Friends Are Indignant Over His Arrest. Paul P. Bowen, former Atlantan, who was arrested in Houston, Texas, Monday night on suspicion

  Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, May 7th, 1913 For Second Time in Less Than Week Physicians to Make Examination at the Graveside of Mary Phagan. REFUSE TO TELL WHY ACTION WILL BE TAKEN Search for Finger Prints and New Wounds Is Reported Reason—Inquest Resumed Thursday—Strange Man Sought. Mary Phagan's body will be exhumed today for the second time. Bertillion and medical experts will make examinations for finger prints and wounds which may have been overlooked before. Coroner Donehoo and Dr. H. F. Harris, of the state board of health, will be in charge. Between 9 and 10 o'clock is the scheduled

  Atlanta Constitution Thursday, May 8th, 1913 Mrs. Mattie White Tells Detectives That on Afternoon of Killing She Saw Negro in Factory. Leo M. Frank will probably be the first witness to take the stand in the Mary Phagan murder inquest to be resumed this morning at 9:30 o'clock in police headquarters. He will be examined thoroughly along lines which neither the chief of detectives, coroner nor solicitor general will disclose. He was resting comfortably at midnight, and, according to reports from the Tower in which he is imprisoned, he is in fit condition to undergo the ordeal. In the

  Atlanta Constitution Thursday, May 8th, 1913 Object to Flaring Headlines Over Phagan Mystery. One hundred of the most prominent members of the Greek community in Atlanta gathered in their community hall on Whitehall street last night and protested vigorously against the use of the word Greek in an afternoon paper in connection with the Phagan mystery. The article in question stated that the Pinkertons had said that the murder of Mary Phagan was done in the Mediterranean style and that a certain Greek restaurant employee was being shadowed or words to that effect. "We protest must vigorously against such

    Atlanta Constitution Thursday, May 8th, 1913 City Bacteriologist Makes His Report After Examination of Garment of Negro Which Was Found in Trash Barrel. LEE'S CELLMATE MAY TESTIFY AT INQUEST Witness Spent 24 Hours in Same Cell With Phagan Prisoner — Body of Girl Exhumed for Second Time. DAY'S DEVELOPMENTS IN PHAGAN MYSTERY Dr. Claude Smith, city bacteriologist, completes examination of negro's blood-stained shirt, and finds that the blood stains are new. Body of Mary Phagan was exhumed shortly after noon on Wednesday for the purpose of making a second examination. Mrs. Mattie Smith, wife of one of the

Leo M. Frank, factory superintendent, who, with Newt Lee, the negro night watchman, was held for the grand jury. Atlanta Constitution Friday, May 9th, 1913 Sensational Statements Made at Inquest by Two Women, One of Whom Had Been an Employee, Who Declared That Frank Had Been Guilty of Improper Conduct Toward His Feminine Employees and Had Made Proposals to Them in the Factory. EVIDENCE IN BAFFLING MYSTERY THUS FAR, IS CIRCUMSTANTIAL, IS ADMISSION MADE BY DETECTIVES Frank and Lee Both Go on Stand Again and Are Closely Questioned in Regard to New Lines of Evidence and Forced to Reiterate Testimony

  Atlanta Constitution Friday, May 9th, 1913 The detectives are investigating today a clew in the Phagan case brought to Atlanta Thursday by W. A. Smith, of Jonesboro, an employee of the Central of Georgia railroad, which was to the effect that he had just completed a thirty-hour chase, covering a trip of more than 100 miles, after two men who talked and acted suspiciously in his presence at the Jonesboro station Tuesday afternoon. The men, he said, escaped and the only tangible evidence which Smith showed the detectives was a lady's blood-stained handkerchief with a hole—apparently chewed—in the middle

Monteen Stover. Little girl, former employee of National Pencil company, who swears Frank was not in office between 12:05 and 12:10 o'clock. Atlanta Constitution Saturday, May 10th, 1913 Testimony Considered Important by Officers Because Frank at the Inquest Stated on Stand That He Did Not Leave Between Noon on Saturday and 12:25. When Quinn Came to See Him. SHE WENT TO FACTORY TO GET PAY ENVELOPE - POSITIVE OF THE TIME New Evidence, Just Submitted to Detective Department, Leads Chief Lanford to Believe That Mary Phagan Was Murdered in the Basement — Woman Says She Heard Screams on Saturday Afternoon.

  Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 11th, 1913 BY GORDON NOEL HURTEL. The mystery surrounding the murder of Mary Phagan, the young factory girl who met a tragic and a terrible death in the heart of a city whose streets were thronged with holiday crowds, may add another chapter to Atlanta's record of unsolved and unpunished crimes. Can such things be? is asked. Can murder, red-handed, find a victim in the midst of a populous city when the sun is smiling in God's skies of blue and where the protecting power of the law and the vengeance of justice are near,

Robert House Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 11th, 1913 Robert House, Now a Special Policeman, Tells the Atlanta Detectives of an Incident of Over a Year Ago. SEES FRANK IN TOWER AND RECOGNIZES HIM Three More Pinkertons Are Put on the Phagan Case, Under the Supervision of Harry Scott. Detectives have procured in Robert P. House, a special policeman, a witness who has testified that he once apprehended Leo M. Frank, the suspect in the Mary Phagan mystery, and a young girl in a desolate spot of the woods in Druid Hills Park. The policeman declares he obtained admission from Frank

  Atlanta Constitution Monday, May 12th, 1913 "You Are Employed to Hunt Down Murderer, It Matters Not Who He Is," Luther Rosser Informs Detectives. GRAND JURY TO PROBE MYSTERY NEXT WEEK Solicitor Dorsey States That He Wants All the Evidence Ready to Submit to Jurors Before Opening Hearing. Officials of the Pinkerton National Detective agency, who were brought into the Phagan case through Leo M. Frank, recently went to authorities of the National Pencil company. It is stated, and in the presence of Leo M. Frank's counsel, Luther Z. Rosser, said: "We want to make our position clear. The Pinkertons

  Atlanta Constitution Monday, May 12th, 1913 The history of the baffling Phagan mystery, daily recorded, is briefly as follows: Sunday April 26—Girl's body found in basement of pencil factory. Newt Lee, negro night watchman, who made discovery, arrested. Arthur Mullinax, street car employee, also arrested. Both held on suspicion. Monday—Leo M. Frank, factory superintendent, detained, but later released. J. M. Gantt, former bookkeeper of pencil concern and friend of dead girl, arrested in Marietta. Negro elevator boy also taken into custody. Pinkertons enter case. Tuesday—Bloody shirt found at negro watchman's home. Planted evidence theory advanced. Mary Phagan's body buried.

    Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, May 13th, 1913 "I Am Confident That He Will Be Proven Not Guilty of This Terrible Crime," She Tells Reporter HAS NOT SEEN HER SON SINCE HE WAS MARRIED W. J. Burns Secured to Take Charge of Phagan Mystery Investigation—Engaged by Friends of Murdered Girl ANOTHER ARREST EXPECTED IN PHAGAN MYSTERY CASE It was reported on good authority this morning that officers working upon the Mary Phagan murder would make a new arrest today or tomorrow which is expected to throw an entirely new light upon the case. None of the officials have discussed this

    Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, May 13th, 1913 By Thomas Byrd Magath A veil of mystery so dense as to completely shut off the light from all newspaper men surrounds the identity of the detective who has been employed by Solicitor General Dorsey. So far nothing can be learned except that the mysterious detective has worked on the case only one week and is now not in Atlanta, but some distance away working on another case. "This detective, one of the best in the country," quotes Mr. Dorsey, "did not give up the case because of inefficiency for," says the

    Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, May 14th, 1913 Reporter of The Constitution Is Summoned by Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey for Conference. OFFICIALS INVESTIGATE THEORY OF MYSTERY Much Interest Is Created by the Report That a New Arrest May Be Made in the Near Future. The handwriting of Mary Phagan is likely to play a prominent part in the investigation of her murder. Rumors came Tuesday from the solicitor general's office that new clues had been discovered in the form of notes or letters, and that much energy was being concentrated in investigation along that line. Handwriting experts have been

    Atlanta Constitution Thursday, May 15th, 1913 Identification Slip Carried by Mary Phagan in Her Pocketbook Causes Theory That the Victim Had Been Threatened With Violence. Either threatened with death or warned by some dread premonition of an untimely end, Mary Phagan is believed by Solicitor Dorsey to have prepared for her tragic fate by writing the identification slip discovered hidden in a compartment of the metal pocketbook which she carried daily. The slip was given the solicitor Wednesday morning by a reporter for The Constitution. The reporter also made an authorized statement of the source from which it

    Atlanta Constitution Friday, May 16th, 1913 To Solve Phagan Murder, Joseph Hirsch, Capitalist, Starts Public Subscription to Assure Fund for Burns. SOCIETY WOMEN AID MOVEMENT FOR FUND Local Detectives in Conference and Are Believed to Have Secret Documents Bearing on Case. With The Constitution's donation of $100 as a nucleus, Atlanta today begins building a fund with which to employ to ferret the mystery of Mary Phagan's murder Detective William J. Burns, America's most successful detective. Assurance that subscriptions will be plentiful and generous came to Attorney Thomas E. Felder last night in telephone messages from numerous public-spirited

  Atlanta Constitution Friday, May 16th, 1913 By all means employ William J. Burns to solve the Mary Phagan murder mystery! It will cost several thousand dollars to get the world-famous detective to come to Atlanta, and The Constitution herewith starts the subscription with $100. As soon as Homer George, manager of the Atlanta theater, learned of the subscription he subscribed $10. Never in the history of Atlanta has there been such an insistent demand that a murderer or murderers be apprehended. For days and weeks the Phagan murder has been the sole topic of conversation. Now that the subscription

    Atlanta Constitution Saturday, May 17th, 1913 Noose Found Knotted Around Neck of Mary Phagan Being Carefully Examined by Officers. BURNS RIGHT-HAND MAN NOW PROBING MYSTERY Fund Started by The Constitution for Purpose of Bringing Noted Detective to Atlanta Has Reached $1,500. In the noose found knotted around the throat of Mary Phagan's lifeless body, Solicitor Dorsey and headquarters detectives aver they possess a valuable clue to the girl's murderer. It is being inspected by experts, who also are examining specimens of cord picked up here and there in the factory building in which the child was slain. Expecting

    Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 18th, 1913 Members of the Staff of the Solicitor General Are Now Keeping Trio Under Strict Surveillance. LANFORD HAS EVIDENCE TO CONVICT, HE SAYS Will Not Divulge Its Nature to Anyone, He Declares. Court Postponed to Allow More Time to Probe Case. SATURDAY'S DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PHAGAN MYSTERY Rumors from office of solicitor general say that three arrests will be made of attaches to pencil plant before case goes to grand jury. Trio will be jailed, it is said, within next few days. Chief Lanford, of police headquarters, announces he possesses documentary evidence which

Atlanta Constitution Monday, May 19th, 1913 Another Employee of the National Pencil Company Now Held at Police Headquarters. VALUABLE EVIDENCE FOUND BY BURNS MAN For Hours the New Detective, Col. Thomas B. Felder and Solicitor General Hugh Dorsey Discuss Case. In the first report of his investigation of the Mary Phagan tragedy, William J. Burns' agent informs Solicitor General Dorsey that he already has obtained a valuable clue, and that a new phase of the mystery, upon which he is basing his operations, will be productive of early and startling results. Sunday was a day of vigorous activity in all

Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, May 20th, 1913 "Freedom of Murderer Is a Menace to Honor and Life of Every Woman," Writes Mrs. James Carr. Optimistic over the prospects for solving the Mary Phagan mystery, C. W. Tobie, chief of the William J. Burns criminal department, told a reporter for The Constitution yesterday morning that he was confident the girl's murderer would be apprehended and convicted in a surprisingly short while. "What if Mary Phagan were your child?" is the subject of an eloquent plea made to the women of Atlanta by Mrs. Jane F. Carr for the apprehension of the slyer.

Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, May 21st, 1913 Burns Operative Finds New Theory in Detailed Study of Life of Girl Who Was Murdered. Investigation into the life of Mary Phagan from the time she was a child until the day upon which she was murdered has been the work for the past several days of C. W. Tobie, the investigator who is preceding William J. Burns in the attempt to find the perpetrator of the crime. The detective will not reveal his specific reasons for accumulating a record of the girl's life, but steadily he has been familiarizing himself with every detail

Atlanta Constitution Thursday, May 22nd, 1913 Two Investigators Are Added to Wm. J. Burns' Forces Already in Atlanta—P. A. Flak in City. The William J. Burns forces in the investigation of the Mary Phagan mystery have been reinforced by two expert investigators who recently arrived in the city and are assisting Chief C. W. Tobie in his work. Their identity is being withheld. Both began work Wednesday. One is a noted handwriting and finger print expert, and his first object was to examine the notes found beside the girl's body and to obtain finger prints at and around the scene

    Atlanta Constitution Friday, May 23rd, 1913 Mrs. Nina Formby Swears Suspected Man Wanted a Room for Himself and a Girl on Murder Night. TO PRESENT AFFIDAVIT TO GRAND JURY TODAY Mysterious Telephone Message Caused Detectives to Interview Woman Who Conducts Rooming House. Mrs. Nina Formby, who conducts a rooming house at 400 Piedmont Avenue, near Currier Street, Atlanta, has signed an affidavit to the effect that on April 26, 1913, Leo M. Frank called her up repeatedly by telephone and endeavored to secure a room for himself and a young girl. The affidavit was signed Monday, May 11,

    Atlanta Constitution Saturday, May 24th, 1913 A. S. Colyar, when seen last night by a representative of The Atlanta Constitution, gave out the following statement: "I have just read Colonel T. B. Felder's card in the bedtime edition of The Atlanta Georgian, in which he sees fit to call me, behind my back, a liar and a crook. Knowing the colonel as I do, and as his intimate friends know, he is a past grand master on explanations. The Atlanta Journal, in its Friday afternoon home edition, published every detail of the case, with the sworn statements of

  Atlanta Constitution Saturday, May 24th, 1913 Affidavits and Alleged Dictagraph Record Are Made Public, Accusing Prominent Lawyer, of Offering Bribe of $1,000 to Secretary Febuary, of Police Department, to Secure Affidavit Made for Police by J. W. Coleman, Stepfather of Mary Phagan, in Regard to Felder's Connection With Case. ALLEGATIONS ARE MADE TO FORESTALL A PROBE OF POLICE, SAYS FELDER Mayor Woodward Also Dictagraphed , According to Report—Admits He Was Called Into Conference by A. S. Colyar, Who Offered Him, He Says, Evidence That the Police Department Is Giving Protection to Disorderly Houses in Atlanta—"I've Done My Duty, It's

  Atlanta Constitution Saturday, May 24th, 1913 The criminal career of A. S. Colyar reads like a story from the Arabian Nights. Probably no man in Tennessee has imposed so successfully upon the public and has escaped so lightly. The son of Colonel A. S. Colyar, in his day one of the most prominent citizens of Nashville and a grandson of ex-Governor Albert S. Marks with a family connection that includes many of the aristocrats of this section, he has been exceptionally fortunate in escaping the law although on various occasions he has done time. He has probably been arrested

Atlanta Constitution Saturday, May 24th, 1913 "I am not surprised," said Chief Beavers when asked to give an expression on Colonel T. B. Felder's alleged statement regarding graft and immorality in the detective department. "I am not surprised in the least. "However, I don't think it would be very nice of him to have me ridden through the streets naked, as he is reported to have threatened. Besides being not nice, he might lay himself liable to prosecution for public idecency." Further than this, Chief Beavers maintained the sphinx-like attitude which has characterized him ever since a certain memorable occasion

Atlanta Constitution Saturday, May 24th, 1913 State of Georgia, Fulton County: The affiant, J. W. Coleman and wife, citizens of Atlanta, Georgia, who reside at 146 Lindsay street. The affiant is the stepfather of Mary Phagan, deceased, the child who was foully murdered by a hellish brute on April 26, 1913. The affiant is in the employ of the City of Atlanta in the Sanitary department. The affiant, while at the police station during the coroner's inquest, the exact day he does not remember, was approached by a man somewhat under the influence of liquor, and said to the affiant,

Atlanta Constitution Saturday, May 24th, 1913 City Detective Department Holds Statements Alleging Attorney Made Attempt to Secure Coleman Affidavit. SAY FELDER OFFERED $1,000 FOR THE PAPER Report of Conversation Between Col. Felder, Secretary Febuary and A. S. Colyar Taken Down by Gentry Colonel Thomas B. Felder—the man who brought the dictograph south and used it with such telling effect in the Blease investigation in South Carolina—has himself and a charge of against him and which the department declared . Charges are made that Colonel Felder offered a bribe of $1,000 in order to have affidavits Phagan murder case stolen from

Atlanta Constitution Saturday, May 24th, 1913 On Night of Murder Prisoner Was Not at Residence, as He Says He Was, States Head of Detective Dept WITNESSES WILL SWEAR TO THIS, HE ASSERTS Leo Frank Swore at Coroner's Inquest That He Reached Home at 7:30 O'Clock and Did Not Leave House "I can prove that Frank was not at home during the hours of Saturday night, the night of the murder that he claimed he was. I will have witnesses to swear to this." Such was the startling statement by Chief of Detectives Newport Lanford to a reporter for The Constitution

Atlanta Constitution Saturday, May 24th, 1913 Grand Jury is Now Engaged in Conducting Investigation of the Murder of Mary Phagan. That the state in its bills of indictment for the murder of Mary Phagan, brought separately against Leo M. Frank and Newt Lee, charges that the girl was strangled, was learned yesterday afternoon following the adjournment of the grand jury, which took up the case at 11 o'clock in the morning and went into its details until 1:45. Shortly after the adjournment of the grand jury Solicitor Hugh M. Dorsey expressed himself as well pleased with the results of the

Atlanta Constitution Saturday, May 24th, 1913 The little dictograph cunningly hidden in Detective Colyar's room in the Williams House No. 2 is said to have caught a conversation between Mayor James G. Woodward, Secretary G. C. Febuary of the detective department and Edward Miles, Wednesday afternoon, between 3 and 4 o'clock. Detective Colyar who drew Attorney Thomas B. Felder into the conspiracy was also present at the interview. Colyar sent Miles to the private office of Mayor Woodward in the Empire building, with an invitation that he examine affidavits which Colyar alleged to have in his possession charging police graft.

Atlanta Constitution Saturday, May 24th, 1913 A merry laugh was the first comment made by Solicitor General Hugh Dorsey when told of the reported dictograph evidence in which Colonel T. B. Felder is quoted as saying that he could control the mayor, the criminal court judge and Hugh Dorsey. Solicitor Dorsey was at his home at the time, endeavoring to find rest and recreation after the morning's work of placing the evidence in the Phagan case before the grand jury. Hugh Dorsey, Jr., was in his arms at the time and from the lad's continuous efforts to express his joy

Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 25th, 1913 System of Corruption as Poisonous as That of the Mafia Exists in Atlanta, According to Statement Made by Attorney Accused of Trying to Bribe Secretary G. C. Febuary to Steal Affidavit in the Phagan Case—Says Detectives Are Trying to Shield Murderer of Girl. COLONEL FELDER IS MAKING HIMSELF LAUGHING STOCK, SAYS LANFORD; HINTS AT NEW BRIBERY CHARGES A. S. Colyar, Leading Figure in Bribe Charges, Is Placed Under Arrest on Warrant From Knoxville, But Is Released on Bond—Connally , Negro Employee of the National Pencil Factory, Tells Officers He Wrote Notes at Dictation of

Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 25th, 1913 following affidavit concerning his connection with the Phagan case and with A. S. Colyar. Georgia, Fulton County—Personally appeared before the undersigned, an officer authorized by law to administer oaths, C. W. Tobie, who, first, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is a citizen of Chicago, with offices in the First National Bank building of that city, and that he is manager of the criminal department, west, of the William J. Burns National Detective agency; that he has occupied this position for the past ten months; that he has been connected with the

Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 25th, 1913 That's the Way Mayor James G. Woodward Made Answer Saturday to Published Dictagraph Record. After Mayor James G. Woodward and read the published dictagraph record of the conversation alleged to have been held between him, A. S. Colyar, G. C. Febuary and E. O. Miles, in room No. 31, Williams House, Wednesday afternoon, he declared that it was a "frame-up by a dirty gang." The mayor told The Constitution that he would be willing to start a fund to employ Burns detectives to trace the motive which inspired Colyar and his companions. "I haven't

Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 25th, 1913 Professed Conversion During Revival at Cartersville and Married Rich Widow Before the Meeting Was Over. Athens, Georgia, May 24.—(Special.)—A. S. Colyar, now in the public eye in the Felder matter, had a short, hot, meteoric career in Athens in 1905. He came here representing himself as a former law partner of Hon. Andrew Lipscomb, of Washington, ingratiated himself with the bar, passed a forged check on his father at the Georgia National bank, secured the indorsement of Colonel C. H. Brand, then prosecuting attorney for the state, on a fraudulent draft and disappeared. He

A. S. Colyar Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 25th, 1913 Four sworn statements concerning the career of A. S. Colyar, and declaring him a criminal and unworthy of belief, have been furnished The Constitution by Colonel Thomas B. Felder. They are as follows: Record in Nashville. State of Georgia, County of Fulton—Personally appeared before the undersigned, an officer authorized by law to administer oaths, C. R. Atchison, who, first being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he was born and reared in the city of Nashville, Tenn., and lived there until January 1, 1913, when he removed to the city of

George Gentry. Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 25th, 1913 Lanford Declares No Printable Words Can Be Found to Describe Lawyer's Attack. "As for Tom Felder's charges of graft in the police or detective departments," said Chief Lanford last night, "they are as rotten as we have shown his character to be. There is no printable words that might be used to describe them. All Atlanta knows they are untrue, unfounded and are but the explosions of a distorted brain—a brain deformed by years of treachery, and they call him ‘Colonel' Felder. "He directs most of his charges of corruption toward the

Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 25th, 1913 He Will Not Go to Trial Before the Latter Part of June, According to Solicitor General Dorsey. Leo M. Frank, indicted Saturday afternoon for the murder of Mary Phagan, the 14-year-old girl whose dead body was found at 3 o'clock on the morning of April 27 in the basement of the National Pencil factory, will not go to trial before the latter part of June, according to a statement which Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey made last night. Newt Lee, the negro night watchman, who called the police to the place, was left under

Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 25th, 1913 National Pencil Company Director Gives Written Statement of Confidence in Superintendent. Declaring that he cannot too strongly indorse Leo Frank's moral character or business capacity, John O. Parmele, president of the Parmele company, manufacturers and importers, and a member of the board of directors of the National Pencil factory, last night gave The Constitution a written statement: "I am a member of the board of directors of the National Pencil factory," he writes. "My duties require me to be at the factory and in the private office of our superintendent, Mr. Leo M. Frank,

Leo Frank, an undated family photograph Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 25th, 1913 "Frank will be convicted. He is the guilty man, and we will show it beyond a doubt. Evidence that we hold but will not reveal will startle those who believe his innocence into conviction of his guilt. It will not be disclosed until the trial. "I have been confident throughout the investigation of his guilt. I am satisfied now. Colonel Felder's charges that we have shielded Frank can find no substantiation. The evidence we have unearthed is proof to the contrary. "The detectives of police headquarters have solved

Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 25th, 1913 Going to A. S. Colyar's room in Williams House No. 2, on Forsyth street, Wednesday afternoon to make efforts to get information of alleged grafting on the part of Chief of Police Beavers and Chief Lanford, Mayor James G. Woodward walked into as neat a trap as was ever devised. The same dictagraph which was alleged to take down the statements of Colonel T. B. Felder, is said to have been working while the mayor of Atlanta was in conference with E. O. Miles, a private detective; Febuary, Chief of detectives Lanford's clerk, and

Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 25th, 1913 Columbia, S. C., May 24.—(Special.—Governor Cole Blease, on whom the dictagraph was first sprung in the south, and by a strange coincidence through the instrumentality of Colonel T. B. Felder, feels that his time has come, and recent events are pointed to by him as his complete vindication. "'He that putteth on the sword by the sword he shall perish'—or words to that effect—is my biblical authority for the paraphrase that ‘he who uses the dictagraph against another and fails to prove anything by it, by the dictagraph himself shall be crucified,'" said Governor

G. C. Febuary, Secretary to Chief Lanford. Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 25th, 1913 The probability of bribery charges to be made against others as well as Colonel Felder was intimated last night by Chief Lanford to a Constitution reporter. Documentary evidence involving one or more men is rumored to be in Lanford's possession. Also, his dictagraph is said to have reported secret conferences relating to the use of bribe money in the Mary Phagan case. This new phase of the bribery charges is said to pertain only to the bribing of witnesses in the Phagan investigation. Rumors to this effect

Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 25th, 1913 "Except to say that I have absolute confidence in the honesty and integrity of Chiefs James L. Beavers and Newport Lanford, I do not care to express myself," said Carlos Mason, chairman of the police commission, yesterday when asked for an official expression in regard to the charges made by Colonel T. B. Felder that the police and detective departments are full of graft and corruption. "All that I know of the case has been learned through the evidence and statements made public," he said added, "and as I have not been drawn into

Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 25th, 1913 Marion Jackson Has No Comment to Make on Beavers-Felder Controversy. Marion Jackson and John J. Eagan, leaders of the Men and Forward Religion Movement were seen strolling down Decatur street last night about 9:30 o'clock. With them was N. A. Best, editor of The Continent, a religious journal published in Chicago. That Mr. Jackson and Mr. Eagan should be seen going down Decatur street in the direction of the police headquarters, at this time, when a new attack on the chief has been made, naturally caused considerable comment. Mr. Jackson denied, however, that his

Atlanta Constitution Sunday, May 25th, 1913 Thomas B. Felder, the Atlanta lawyer who is accused of having offered a bribe for an affidavit of J. W. Coleman, stepfather of Mary Phagan, now in the possession of the police, yesterday issued the following statement: To the People of Atlanta: The publication of the sensational "story" in The Atlanta Journal on yesterday afternoon relating to myself and my connection with the Phagan case is but the symptom or manifestation of one of the most diabolical conspiracies ever hatched by a venal and corrupt "system" to protect crime in a civilized community. To

Atlanta Constitution Monday, May 26th, 1913 Sufficient Evidence Found to Convict Him, Declares Man Hired by the National Pencil Company. Announcing that he had secured evidence sufficient to convict his employer Harry Scott, assistant superintendent of the Pinkertons, who has been retained by the National Pencil company since the second day of the Phagan tragedy, said to a reporter for The Constitution Sunday night that it was his intention to help prosecute the suspected superintendent. Scott has been in command of the Pinkerton forces working on the investigation. His employment came about in answer to a telephone call from Frank

Atlanta Constitution Monday, May 26th, 1913 Reported Two Telephone Operators Will Swear to Conversations Held Over the Pencil Factory's Line. GAVE THEIR TESTIMONY BEFORE THE GRAND JURY A. S. Colyar Confers With Chief Beavers on Bribery Allegations—Case Now in Its Infancy, Says Chief. With the entire city aroused over the recent sensational Felder bribery charges and counter charges of graft and corruption in the police department, investigation of the Mary Phagan mystery continues. Police headquarters was elated Sunday over the progress and over new developments which have arisen. New testimony has been given by girl telephone operators relative to conversations

Atlanta Constitution Monday, May 26th, 1913 "Thousands of people in Atlanta are living the lives today that the murderer of Mary Phagan lived, and which culminated in the atrocious crime," declared Rev. W. W. Memminger, pastor of All Saints' Episcopal church. In a sermon yesterday morning which he devoted in great part to pleading for a better standard of morals in the daily life of man and woman. The woman who uses paint and powder, who dances the turkey trot and who dresses in a suggestive manner came in for scathing remarks from the rector, but the man who boasts

Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, May 27th, 1913 Dan P. Lehon Holds Conference With Solicitor General Hugh Dorsey and Other Officials and Then Makes Announcement of Severance of Connection With Case. FELDER TO CONTINUE PROBE, HE DECLARES; NO STATEMENT SOON "One of the Girls" in the Pencil Factory Brings Statement to The Constitution Defending the Character of Employees — Bribery Attempts Are Denied. As a startling climax to the sensational turn of affairs in the Mary Phagan murder investigation, it was announced yesterday by Dan P. Lehon, superintendent of the Burns southern offices, that his agency had retired from the investigation of

Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, May 27th, 1913 "If Beavers and Lanford permitted Febuary, ‘a trusted man,' to go out and circulate lies about corruption in the police department in an effort to trap someone, they have debauched their officers, and the sooner they are put out the better it will be for the men who work under them." Mayor James G. Woodward made the above reply to Chief James L. Beavers in a statement to The Constitution late Monday afternoon. They mayor declared that Febuary's part in the conspiracy has destroyed his usefulness with the department, and he is not fit

Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, May 28th, 1913 Negro Sweeper, It Is Stated, Acknowledges That He Erred in Former Statement to the Detectives. POLICE NOW SATISFIED WITH NEGRO'S EVIDENCE Conley Is Taken to Frank's Cell, But Prisoner Refused to See Him Except in the Presence of His Lawyer. In a gruelling three-hour third degree at police headquarters last night, James Conley, the negro pencil factory sweeper, is reported to have made the statement that he erred in the date of his original confession and that he wrote the murder notes at Leo Frank's dictation at 1 o'clock on the Saturday of Mary

Atlanta Constitution Thursday, May 29th, 1913 James Conley Makes New Affidavit, Swearing That He Wrote at the Dictation of Leo M. Frank. EVIDENCE CHAIN NOW COMPLETE, SAY POLICE Conley Declares Frank Gave Him $2.50 for Writing the Notes—He Writes "Night Witch" for Night Watchman. James Conley, the negro sweeper at the National Pencil factory, in which little Mary Phagan was murdered, made a new affidavit Wednesday morning in which he threw additional light on the case, incriminating Leo M. Frank, and which detectives think will solve the long-drawn-out mystery. "Write ‘night watchman,'" he is said to have been commanded by

Atlanta Constitution Friday, May 30th, 1913 Amid the warp of falsehood and the woof of conjecture, one thing stands out like a scarlet thread in the Mary Phagan murder mystery—for mystery it still is and still will be until a jury of twelve men fixes the guilt on some man or men. That one thing—startling in its vivid contrast to the murky maze of contradictions—is the fact that James Conley, the negro sweeper employed at the National Pencil factory, wrote the notes which were found beside the mutilated and lifeless body of Mary Phagan early in the morning of April

Atlanta Constitution Friday, May 30th, 1913 Helped Frank Dispose of Mary Phagan's Body Conley Now Confesses Negro Sweeper Who Swore to Detectives That He Wrote Murder Notes Found Near Dead Girl's Body Now Admits His Complicity in Case, According to Statements Which Have Stirred Police Headquarters as Nothing Since Murder. LANFORD AND BEAVERS PLEASED OVER RESULT OF GRILLING NEGRO, THEY ANNOUNCE TO REPORTERS. Police and Detective Heads Refuse to Go Into Details of Negro's Statement Or to Discuss What He Said, But Declare That It Will Prove a Big Factor in the Murder Case—Negro Will Be Subjected to Another Third

Atlanta Constitution Saturday, May 31st, 1913 Following is the complete signed confession of James Conley, the negro sweeper employed at the National Pencil factory, which was made to Chief of Detectives Lanford, Chief of Police Beavers, Harry Scott, of the Pinkertons, and others, late Friday afternoon: "On Saturday, April 26, 1913, when I came back to the pencil factory with Mr. Frank I waited for him downstairs, like he told me, and when he whistled for me I went upstairs and he asked me if I wanted to make some money right quick, and I told him, yes, sir, and

Atlanta Constitution Saturday, May 31st, 1913 "No Man With Common Sense Would Even Suspect That I Did It," Prisoner in Fulton Tower Tells Attache. "It's a Negro's Crime Through and Through." Asserts His Innocence to Turnkeys and to Fellow Prisoners. "IT'S UP TO MR. FRANK TO TELL THE TRUTH," ASSERTS JAMES CONLEY "I Believe He'd Let ‘Em Hang Me to Get Out of It Himself if He Had the Chance," Says Negro Sweeper—Chief Lanford Is Pleased With Work of Department and Ready for the Case to Come to Trial Immediately. "No white man killed Mary Phagan. It's a negro's crime,

Atlanta Constitution Sunday, June 1st, 1913 Friends of Leo Frank Have Tried to Intimidate Him, Negro Sweeper Tells Detective Chief as Reason for His Transfer to the Police Station. LANFORD RAPS SHERIFF DECLARING HE IS NOT ASSISTING THE POLICE "He Appears to Be Placing Obstacles in Our Way," Asserts Chief, in Speaking of Attempts to Interview the Suspected Superintendent. Mangum Denies Intimidation Attempts. Chief of Detectives Newport Lanford is authority for the statement that James Conley, the negro floor sweeper of the National Pencil factory, who, in his latest affidavit, has admitted his complicity in the Mary Phagan murder, after

Atlanta Constitution Monday, June 2nd, 1913 Detective Chief Forms New Theory as to Reason Why Prisoner Is Said to Have Phoned Mrs. Formby. HER DISAPPEARANCE PUZZLING TO OFFICERS Lanford Says He Will Find Her in Time for Trial, But Does Not Know Where She Is Now. That Leo M. Frank telephoned Mrs. Formby on the night of Mary Phagan's murder for a room to which he would be able to remove the victim's body and thereby lessen suspicion against himself, is the theory on which Chief Newport Lanford is basing a search for Mrs. Formby, which is extending over the

Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, June 3rd, 1913 Subpoenas Served Monday Night on the Principals in Dictagraph Case and in Charges of Corruption. GRAND JURY TO HOLD INVESTIGATION TODAY Mayor Woodward, Col. Felder, Chief Beavers, Chief Lanford, Carl Hutcheson and Jno. Black Subpoenaed That the Fulton county grand jury will undertake today an investigation of both sides of the Beavers-Felder controversy was made apparent by the formal summons issued last night to all the principals in the affair. An added element of mystery to the investigation comes in the attempt made to summon Mrs. Mima Formby, the woman who made affidavit that

Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, June 3rd, 1913 Reported That She Is Being Held as Witness—Defense of Prisoner in the Tower Outlined. Another arrest was made yesterday in the Phagan mystery. Minola McKnight, cook and servant in the Leo Frank household, was sent to police headquarters by Detectives Starnes and Campbell when she hysterically created a scene at Pryor and Mitchell streets, sobbing and moaning that "they were going to hang her for something she knew nothing about." She is being held under a charge of suspicion. Chief Lanford said last night, however, that she will likely be used as a witness

Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, June 4th, 1913 Despite Gruelling Third Degree, Woman Maintains Denial of Having Told Conflicting Stories. FACED BY HUSBAND, SHE CONTRADICTS HIM Her Release Came After Her Attorney Had Threatened to Take Out Habeas Corpus Proceedings. Minola McKnight, the servant girl held in the Mary Phagan case, was given her freedom early last night, and left police headquarters for her home on Pulliam street. She was not liberated, however, until the detectives had obtained her signature to an affidavit telling what she knew of Frank's actions the day of the murder. Her husband, who was also carried to

Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, June 4th, 1913 Head of Police Department Invites Carl Hutcheson to Furnish Him With List of Houses. MORE WITNESSES WILL GIVE TESTIMONY TODAY Grand Jury Determined to Go to Bottom of Vice Allegations, But Will Not Touch Bribery Charge at Present. Renewed activities on the part of the police "vice squad" have come with the taking up vice probe by the grand jury, which was started yesterday morning, when a number of principals in the Felder-Beavers controversy were summoned to tell what they know of alleged operation of vicious houses and hotels in Atlanta. The grand jury

Atlanta Constitution Thursday, June 5th, 1913 Sensational Affidavit Made for the Police by Minola McKnight, Servant in Leo Frank's Home. Fully as startling as the recent confession of James Conley, an affidavit purporting to have been sworn to by Minola McKnight, the servant girl of the Frank household, was given out to the newspapers yesterday afternoon by Chief Lanford. The detectives assert it is the "final straw" in the mass of evidence they boast of having accumulated. Attesting to a statement that Frank was nervous and excited on the tragedy night, the negress swears Mrs. Frank told of having to

Atlanta Constitution Thursday, June 5th, 1913 A. L. Colyar, Jr., George M. Gentry and G. C. Febuary Summoned at Request of Chief Lanford An investigation of the separate phases of the row resulting from the dictagraph traps laid by city detectives for Attorney Thomas B. Felder and Mayor James G. Woodward is believed to be forecast on the grand jury by the summoning before it of A. L. Colyar, Jr., George M. Gentry and G. C. Febuary. All these men played an important part of the performance and were summoned it is claimed at the request made by N. A.

Atlanta Constitution Friday, June 6th, 1913 Says the Wife of an Accused Man Would Be the Last to Learn of Her Husband's Guilt. MRS. FRANK BITTER IN HER CRITICISM Detective Department Not at All Disturbed Over Denial of the McKnight Woman That She Signed Affidavit. The wife of a man accused of crime would probably be the last person to learn all of the facts establishing her husband's guilt, and certainly would be the last person to admit his culpability, even though it be proved by overwhelming evidence. Perhaps the most unpleasant feature incident to the position of prosecuting attorney

Atlanta Constitution Friday, June 6th, 1913 Personal Encounter in Solicitor's Office Is Narrowly Averted by Bystanders. What threatened to be a serious personal encounter between Colonel Thomas B. Felder and Detective Chief Newport Lanford was narrowly averted Thursday morning in Solicitor Hugh Dorsey's office by the interferences of bystanders. The two men who for several weeks have been hurling ugly charges at each other were facing each other at the time after the passage of a few words when they were seized and hustled away from each other. Out of the seriousness of the near fight grew a laughable incident

  Atlanta Constitution Friday, June 6th, 1913 Foreman Beck Delines to Talk of Probable Action of Jury—Felder to Issue a Public Statement. "The grand jury has finished its questioning of witnesses with its adjournment, and unless members of the jury should desire that those of the several witnesses summoned, who have not been heard, should be brought before them, there is nothing more to do." This was the statement made yesterday by L. H. Beck, foreman of the grand jury, which adjourned at 2 o'clock after a three-day probe in vice conditions in Atlanta. Foreman Beck stated that the body

  Atlanta Constitution Friday, June 6th, 1913 Court Officials Worried Over News Growing Out of the Phagan Murder Mystery. It is understood on good authority that the grand jury has been called upon to make a searching investigation in the apparent "leakage" in the detective department, which has enabled the newspapers to publish every important development in the Phagan murder mystery before such development had, often times, been brought to the official attention of the solicitor general's office. It is said that certain court officials deemed the matter of such importance that they called the attention of the grand jury

  Atlanta Constitution Saturday, June 7th, 1913 Report That Elevator in Pencil Factory Was Not Running Proves Groundless. Following a widely-prevalent rumor that Leo Frank's defense will strive to prove that the current was shut off from the pencil factory plant on the day Mary Phagan was slain, and that, for this reason, James Conley could not have lowered the girl's body to the basement on the electrically-driven elevator as he claims in his confession, it was established conclusively last night that the Georgia Railway and Power company's electric service was in effect on the tragedy day. This statement was

  Atlanta Constitution Saturday, June 7th, 1913 All Information in Future Must Come Through Office of the Chief. Chief Newport Lanford yesterday morning issued a special order prohibiting the disclosing of information to newspaper reporters. It was stated in The Constitution in its story Friday morning the investigation in the Phagan case had been seriously hampered by the publication of developments, many of which were made public in premature form. Solicitor Dorsey wrote Chief Lanford requesting him to clap on the lid. Chief Lanford, in a talk with reporters, said that much of the publication of developments was not caused

Atlanta Constitution Sunday, June 8th, 1913 Well-Known Attorney Writes Four Cards Covering All the Phases of Situation and Answering All Charges. DICTAGRAPH TRAP JUST "FRAME-UP," HE SAYS Col. Felder Asserts George Gentry, Who Took Down the Stenographic Notes, Will Return and Expose the Deal. Colonel Thomas B. Felder has written four cards—to Chief of Detectives Newport Lanford, Chief of Police Beavers, James R. Gray, editor of The Journal, and Foster Coates, manager of The Georgian—all bearing on the late pictograph incident which was published in the three papers of Atlanta. He states the whole thing was a "frame-up" from beginning

Atlanta Constitution Sunday, June 8, 1913 Declares That He Has Never Seen Gentry But Once in His Life. "Tom Felder is a contemptible liar," blazed Chief Lanford last night when informed of the contents of Colonel Felder's letter directed to him through The Constitution. "I never saw this Gentry but once in my life, and that was before this dictagraph exposure ever happened. I have never seen him since. "Gentry telephoned police headquarters Saturday, a week ago, however, and asked for Febuary, my secretary. Febuary happened not to be in at the time. I answered the telephone. Gentry wanted to

  Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, June 10, 1913 Many Witnesses Are Being Examined Every Day by Attorneys for the Defense That counsel for Leo Frank is ready for trial was freely reported over the city Monday. Attorney Luther Z. Rosser, his lawyer, when asked regarding this report, gave the reply that has been characteristic of his attitude during the Phagan case. "I have nothing to say." He would in nowise commit himself. It is understood, however, that Mr. Rosser has informed friends that the defense is ready and that there will be no delay in putting it before the jury, which

The Atlanta Constitution June 11, 1913 NOTEBOOK WILL PROVE REPORTS WERE ‘PADDED,' HE SAYS IN AFFIDAVIT Young Stenographer, Who Made the Report of the Conversation in Room No. 31 Williams House, Voluntarily Makes Statement Before a Notary Public in the City of Washington D. C., Where He Is Employed. ASSERTS THAT HE LEFT ATLANTA WHEN INFORMED OVER TELEPHONE HE MIGHT BE PUT UNDER ARREST Swears That A. S. Colyar Has Made Effort to Purchase His Original Notes, Which Are Now in Possession of His Brotheró"Grand Jury Should Make an Investigation" Declares Mayor James G. Woodward. The sworn charge that the

  The Atlanta Constitution June 11, 1913 Detective Chief Says He Has No Reply to Make to the Charges of Counsel for Leo M. Frank. Following the public letter written yesterday by Luther Z. Rosser, counsel for Leo Frank, Detective Chief Newport Lanford said that he had no reply to make to the charges and that hereafter he intended to adopt a policy of silence. The chief smiled frequently while reading the attorney's statement, but be positively declined to comment on it. "Henceforth," he stated briefly, "It will be the attitude of the detective department to avoid publicity. It should

  The Atlanta Constitution June 12, 1913 Investigation of Charges and Counter Charges Will Begin at Early Date and Will Be Exhaustive One. LANFORD SAYS GENTRY WILL DENY AFFIDAVIT Affidavit Is Made Declaring Dictagraph Instrument Was Secured by Chief Lanford For Use in Phagan Case. Following close on the heels of the publication of the George M. Gentry affidavit, in which the young stenographer states that his typewritten report of the dictagraph conversation was padded, and says that he left town after he had discovered that he had fallen in with a "crowd of crooks," comes the assurance that the

  The Atlanta Constitution June 13, 1913 Felder Says He Will Be Produced at the Proper Time. Notary Declares Affidavit Is Genuine. Miss Jeannette Henning, the notary public whose official seal was attached to the affidavit made recently by George Gentry, has informed The Constitution that she took the document from him last Monday, and that although it is genuine, she does not know its contents. She states that she had never met Gentry prior to the time he made the affidavit. Chief Beavers, who has for the past several days been attending the convention of national police chiefs in

  The Atlanta Constitution June 13, 1913 Hearing Before Judge Roan Today Will Decide Whether Negro Will Be Sent to Tower. Whether James Conley, the negro sweeper, who swears that Leo Frank got his aid in disposing of Mary Phagan's body and made him write the notes found near her, will be held as a material witness in the county jail or turned free and re-arrested by detectives as a suspect and then kept at police station, is due to be decided at 10 o'clock on the hearing of the rule nisi before Judge L. S. Roan. The question of Conley's

  The Atlanta Constitution Saturday, June 14, 1913. Requests Investigation of the Gentry Affidavit—A. S. Colyar Is Not in Atlanta Now Colonel Thomas B. Felder yesterday requested that the grand jury make an early investigation of the affidavit submitted by George Gentry in which he declared that the dictagraph records were padded. On Friday afternoon he forwarded a letter to L. H. Beck, foreman of the jury, in which he asked that body to look into the matter as early as possible. Offering to appear before the jury at any time, Colonel Felder assured Mr. Beck that he could place

  The Atlanta Constitution Saturday, June 14, 1913 After a short hearing in his chambers yesterday Judge L. S. Roan, of the superior court, revoked his former order holding James Conley, the negro sweeper, as a material witness in the Phagan case, and ordered his release from the custody of the state. The negro was immediately rearrested and held by city detectives on a charge of suspicion. By this the detective department and Solicitor Hugh Dorsey won their first point, as had the negro been ordered held by the state, he would have been transferred to the Tower and placed

  The Atlanta Constitution Sunday, June 15, 1913 Questions Put to Lanford Indicate That Investigation of Police Methods Is Being Conducted. TORTURE ERA IS PAST, CHIEF INFORMS JURY Science and Skill Now Employed by Detectives in Securing Confessions From Criminals, He Says. The police "third degree," which has created such widespread discussion during the Mary Phagan murder investigation, has been thoroughly explained to the grand jury by Detective Chief Newport A. Lanford, who appeared before that body at its request. Detective John Black, of headquarters, who has been an active figure in the Phagan case, is also said to have

The Atlanta Constitution Sunday, June 15, 1913 Solicitor General Hugh Dorsey Announces His Associate in Big Case. Just before leaving yesterday afternoon for New York, Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey announced that Attorney Frank A. Hooper would be associated with him in the prosecution growing out of the murder of Mary Phagan. Saying that Mr. Hooper was his personal choice, Dorsey also stated that Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Coleman, parents of the victim, had been consulted and had directed him to employ such counsel as he desired and that his choice of Mr. Hooper satisfied the Colemans. Attorney Hooper

The Atlanta Constitution Sunday, June 15, 1913 Grand Jury Will Probably Take Up the Dictagraph Probe While He Is Away. With the departure of Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey for New York yesterday afternoon, whither he declares he is going for a week's rest, and the announcement of Foreman L. H. Beck, of the grand jury, that only routine criminal business will be taken up at the meeting on Tuesday, comes a peculiar situation, as hitherto the solicitor's pretense has been considered necessary for the indictment of the regular class of criminals, and only when investigating on their own accord

The Atlanta Constitution Monday, June 16, 1913 Says Trip Has Nothing to Do With That of Solicitor Dorsey Following the departure of Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey for Atlantic City Saturday afternoon, Col. Thomas B. Felder left Sunday afternoon at 5:10 o'clock for Cincinnati. He said that his trip had no connection whatever with that of the solicitor general. He would not disclose his object in going to Cincinnati, however, and said only that he would be in the Ohio city for several days. Business was his motive in leaving, he declared, although he would not tell what business he

The Atlanta Constitution Monday, June 16, 1913 Solicitor Wants Photograph of Spot Where Mary Phagan's Body Was Found A flashlight picture, made by The Constitution's staff photographer is to be used as evidence by the prosecution in the trial of Leo M. Frank. This was made evident Sunday afternoon when Detective John Starnes applied to a Constitution reporter for the photograph of the spot in the pencil factory basement, where Mary Phagan's body was discovered. Starnes would not state why he wanted the picture, saying only that it would be used by the prosecution. He was extremely desirous of getting

The Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, June 18, 1913 Former Girl Employee and a Machanic May Testify Against Frank. Two new witnesses may be used by the state in the prosecution of Leo Frank when his trial is held on June 30. Chief Lanford is investigating the reported statement of a young girl living near Roswell and of a mechanic who resides near East Point. The former, a lass of 17, is said to have been employed in the pencil factory two years ago. For the past year or more she has been living with her parents at their home just outside

The Atlanta Constitution Thursday, June 19, 1913 Woman Declares She Will Appear in Court and Will Corroborate Sensational Affidavit to Police. Mima Formby, the rooming housekeeper of 400 Piedmont avenue, who made the affidavit declaring that Leo Frank had telephoned her on the night of Mary Phagan's murder in an endeavor to rent a room to which he could bring a girl, has returned to Atlanta after a disappearance of several weeks. To a reporter for The Constitution she stated yesterday afternoon that she intended remaining in the city until time of the Phagan trial and that she would appear

The Atlanta Constitution Thursday, June 19, 1913 When questioned last night as to the truth of the rumor that he will be associated with the defense of Leo M. Frank, indicted for the Mary Phagan murder, Reuben R. Arnold, one of Georgia's most prominent attorneys, refused to either affirm or deny the rumor. "I am not associated with the defense yet," Mr. Arnold said. "I cannot make any statement at the present time in regard to this matter." When questioned closely as to whether he would be engaged by the defense later on, Mr. Arnold made the same statement. Luther

The Atlanta Constitution Friday, June 20, 1913 State Declares Its Case Against Frank Is Now Complete Dorsey Still Absent Because of the inconsistency of her statement with the state's outline of prosecution, Chief Lanford intimates that Mima Formby , the roominghouse keeper of 400 Piedmont avenue, will not be called to the stand in Leo Frank's trial. He does not state this positively, however, but it is the general opinion that such will be the prosecution's action. Mrs. Formby has stated to a Constitution reporter that she is ready to testify against the factory superintendent and that she will remain

The Atlanta Constitution Saturday, June 21, 1913 Doubt is expressed around the Fulton superior court that Leo M. Frank, superintendent of the National Pencil factory, now under indictment for the murder of Mary Phagan, an employee, on the afternoon or night of April 26, will go to trial during June. This date was the one upon which the solicitor had suggested that the trial might be held, but it is believed that if the state should prove to be ready at that time, that the defense would move to postpone the trial, pending further investigation and preparation on their part.

The Atlanta Constitution Sunday, June 22, 1913 Journey Had No Relation to the Phagan Mystery or Dictagraph Incident, He Says. Colonel T. B. Felder returned Saturday from a six-day trip to Cincinnati. Much speculation was created by his departure for Ohio last Sunday and it was hinted that he had made the journey in interest of his recent connection with the famous dictagraph plot. It was also reported that he had gone behalf of the Mary Phagan investigation, in which he has been an active figure. His departure within less than twenty-four hours after Solicitor General Hugh Dorsey had left

The Atlanta Constitution Sunday, June 22, 1913 Prominent Atlanta Lawyer Engaged to Aid in Defense of Pencil Factory Superintendent. NO WHITE MAN KILLED GIRL, ASSERTS LAWYER Formby and Conley Statements Should Not Be Given Credence So Far as They Tend to Incriminate Frank, He Says. Reuben R. Arnold, perhaps the best-known attorney in Georgia, has been engaged to aid the defense of Leo M. Frank, the suspected pencil factory superintendent, in the Mary Phagan mystery. This announcement was made from his office yesterday afternoon. In a statement that was furnished each of the newspapers, Mr. Arnold attacks the detectives for

The Atlanta Constitution Sunday, June 22, 1913 Of especial interest in legal circles is the announcement that two of the leading law firms of Atlanta have joined forces, under the firm name of Rosser, Brandon, Slaton & Phillips. They will begin operation with offices on the west end of the seventh floor of the Grant building on July 1. Associated with the firm will be Luther Z. Rosser, Morris Brandon, John M. Slaton, Benjamin Z. Phillips, J. H. Porter, I. S. Hopkins, L. Z. Rosser Jr., V. B. Moore, J. J. Ragan, and James J. Slaton. Governor elect Slaton has

    The Atlanta Constitution Monday, June 23, 1913 Solicitor General Hears Report That John Moore Will Assist in the Defense. "Unless something now turns up of which I have no knowledge at present, I will set Leo Frank's trial for June 30," said Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey yesterday on his return from a week's stay in New York city. While the solicitor's announcement has set at rest the rumors that the state would wait and set the trial for July 14 or 28, it does not necessarily mean that the trial will actually be held on that date,

The Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, June 24, 1913 Indications Are Case Will Begin on That Day—Jury Panel Not Yet Drawn by Judge Roan. The trial of Leo M Frank, superintendent of the National Pencil Factory, now under indictment for the murder of Mary Phagan on April 26 in the factory, has been definitely set for next Monday. This was the announcement of Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey last night after he had been working upon the court calendar for the coming week. Solicitor Dorsey announced Sunday upon his arrival from New York city where he had spent the past two weeks

The Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, June 25, 1913 Rumor He Will Appear for Defense Emphatically Denied, However, by Senator. By John Corrigan, Jr. Washington, June 24.—Reports that Senator Hoke Smith will be associated with Luther Rosser and other lawyers for the defense in the trial of Leo M. Frank for the murder of Mary Phagan were current here today. These reports followed the visit to Washington on last Saturday of Luther Rosser, leading counsel for Frank and Ike Haas, president of the National Pencil company, which employed Frank as superintendent of the factory. Investigate Early Life. Mr. Rosser and Mr. Haas

The Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, June 25, 1913 Date of Trial Changed From June 30 Until July 28 at Plea of Attorneys for Defense. The first appearance in open court of the indictment against Leo M. Frank for the murder of Mary Phagan came yesterday afternoon when Judge L. S. Roan, presiding over the criminal division of superior court, summoned attorneys for both sides, and after a hearing changed the date of trial from June 30, as set by Solicitor Hugh M. Dorsey, to July 28. This and the legal move by the defense in serving upon Solicitor Dorsey, Police Chief

The Atlanta Constitution Saturday, June 28, 1913 Indictments Grew Out of the Dictagraph Episode and the Letters Which Followed. Formal investigation into the invectives hurled between Colonel Thomas B. Felder and Detective Chief Newport Lanford resulted yesterday in indictments of criminal libel being returned by the grand jury against each of them for their cards and interviews in the daily papers in which they attacked each other's character, after the dictagraph row. Colonel Felder is held under two indictments on a bond of $500, while Chief Lanford has one indictment against him, and is free on the same bond. The

The Atlanta Constitution Friday, July 4, 1913 Attorney Chappell Declares Belief That Lee Has No Knowledge of Guilty Parties. An early effort is likely to be made to free Newt Lee, the negro night watchman who discovered the body of Mary Phagan, and who has since been held for suspected complicity in the crime. This is intimated in a statement issued by the negro's counsel, Bernard L. Chappell, who says he has arrived at the conclusion that his client knows absolutely nothing about the murder, except his grewsome discovery. Lee was not indicted, although his name was submitted before the

The Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, July 9, 1913 Three Officers Are Suspended for Ninety Days, and Two Exonerated and Their Pay for Lost Time Restored. WOOD, BORN, FOLDS DISCHARGED BY BOARD Mayor Intimated He Would Ask Charges Be Preferred Against Moon, Who Said He Drank to Secure Evidence. The scandal in the police department which grew out of revelations that eight policemen visited the resort of Ola Bradley, a negress, at No. 129 Auburn street resulted in the dismissal of three, exoneration of two, and suspension of three for ninety days, by the police board, at 1:30 o'clock this morning. The

The Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, July 9, 1913 Because the attorney of Lena Barnhart, who is accused by Hattie Smith of being a white slave procuress, pleaded for time in which to obtain witnesses to the effect that the Barnhart woman had been introduced to the girl and had been her benefactress, the recent hotel vice scandal which was to have been given an airing yesterday in police court was postponed until today at 2:30 o'clock. Chief Beavers ordered detectives Tuesday morning to summon C. V. Kistner, proprietor of the Hotel Cumberland, to appear in recorder's court and bring the guest

The Atlanta Constitution Thursday, July 10, 1913 Soda Water Stands, Chop Suey Joints and Automobile Rides Figure in Her Narrative. NAME OF BUSINESS MAN BROUGHT INTO SCANDAL Hattie Smith Says She Registered With Men in Cumberland and Brittain—Recorder Binds Over Three. A story of vice that is unprecedented even in the sorbid history of police court, was poured into the ears of Judge Broyles Wednesday afternoon, when Hattie Smith, the 17-year-old "Girl of the Streets," was called to the stand. She made no attempt to withhold anything. She gave names and addresses with startling willingness, and told of her own

The Atlanta Constitution Thursday, July 10, 1913 Discovery Made by Detectives Weeks Ago, But Is Just Announced The discovery of the pay envelope given Mary Phagan on the day of her murder is believed by detectives to furnish the missing link in the chain of circumstancial evidence they declare they have forged. The envelope was found by Detectives Harry Scott and John Black. It is now in possession of the solicitor general. It was discovered on the first floor of the plant building behind a radiator that is situated in immediate vicinity to the spot at which James Conye ,

The Atlanta Constitution Friday, July 11, 1913 Insurance Man Who Made Affidavit Says Conversation Was With Some Other Negro—Saw Conley at Station. It was disclosed Thursday afternoon that William H. Mincey, the insurance agent who has made an affidavit to the effect that Jim Conley on the date of the Phagan murder drunkenly admitted that he had slain a girl had appeared at police headquarters during Conley's grilling and had positively failed to identify the negro. This was told a Constitution reporter by Detective Harry Scott of the Pinkertons and Detective Chief Newport Lanford. The insurance agent, they declared, had

Caption reads: Detective Harry Scott (in Panama hat), of the Pinkertons, who played the hunch that Jim Conley, the negro, knew something of the girl's murder. The accompanying figure is Detective John Black, of police headquarters, whose work in co-operation with the Pinkerton man did much to solve the crime. Great dependence will be put in their testimony at the coming trial of Leo Frank, charged with the murder of Mary Phagan. The Atlanta Constitution Sunday, July 13, 1913 By Britt Craig. Have you ever had a hunch that there wasn't anybody around the table that held a higher hand

The Atlanta Constitution Sunday, July 13, 1913 Jim Conley Declares Positively That He Has Made No New Admissions. Jim Conley, the negro sweeper, who was reached for a moment by newspaper reporters last night, reiterated his former story and declared positively that he had made no new statement of admission. The police have taken special pains to keep Jim secluded from reporters. Early Saturday night they managed to find him in a cell in "Drunkard's Row." He answered a few questions put to him, and seemed very willing to talk. An early arrival of the turnkey, however, prevented the newspaper

The Atlanta Constitution Sunday, July 13, 1913 Solicitor Dorsey Does Not Believe the Negro Guilty of Any Part in Crime. That Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey does not believe that Newt Lee, negro night watchman at the National Pencil factory, who was bound over by the grand jury with Superintendent Leo M. Frank for the murder of Mary Phagan, is guilty, was the only matter of importance brought out yesterday at the hearing of the habeas corpus before Judge W.D. Ellis by which Lee's attorneys, Graham & Chappell, sought to free him. Judge Ellis denied the motion for habeas corpus

The Atlanta Constitution Sunday, July 13, 1913 Girls of Fourteen and Sixteen Tell Recorder Revolting Stories of Vice. After relating a revolting tale of a career of vice on the streets and in the suburbs of Atlanta, Dora Rothstein and Corinne Wilson, two girls aged 14 and 16 years, stood unabashed in the recorder's court Saturday afternoon. Recorder Pro Tem Preston, shocked by their testimony, called for the parents of the prisoners. Two aged men and a woman stepped forward and stood before the judge. They were Mr. and Mrs. A. Rothstein, parents of the younger girl, and W.B. Engesser,

The Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, July 16, 1913 State Has No Intention of Changing Plan of Action in Phagan Case. The declaration of W.D. Beattie, foreman of the grand jury, that the grand jury had no intention of taking steps to indict James Conley, and a statement from Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey that as far as he was concerned the state would continue its present plan of action in regard to the Mary Phagan murder, apparently put a block to the rumor that the grand jury would go over the solicitor's head and indict the negro sweeper for murder. The

The Atlanta Constitution Friday, July 18, 1913 Among These Is One That Effort Will Be Made to Indict Conley. That the grand jury would meet possibly today or tomorrow and take steps toward indicting James Conley, the negro sweeper of the National Pencil factory, was a persistent rumor in circulation Thursday. From Foreman W.D. Beattie came the statement that he had not called for a meeting of the grand jury and that as far as he knew there would be no such action taken. Solicitor Hugh M. Dorsey also declared that he had issued no call for the grand jury

The Atlanta Constitution Friday, July 18, 1913 In Final Fling at Broyles the Mayor Declares He Is Through With Controversies With City Officials. The word war raging between Mayor James G. Woodward and Judge Nash R. Broyles, police magistrate, which grew out of the mayor's use of the pardon prerogative, grew tense yesterday, when both sides hurled bitter excoriations at the other. Mayor Woodward took a final fling at Recorder Broyles in a statement last night. "I sympathize with Broyles," Mayor Woodward said. "He is, in my opinion, a political accident. No one takes him seriously. He is mad with

The Atlanta Constitution Saturday, July 19, 1913 Call Is Issued After Solicitor General Hugh Dorsey Had Flatly Refused Request of Foreman. A call for the Fulton grand jury to meet at 10 o'clock Monday to take steps leading to the indictment of James Conley, the negro sweeper of the National Pencil factory who accuses Leo M. Frank, its superintendent, of the Mary Phagan murder was issued yesterday by Foreman W.D. Beatie after Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey had flatly refused the foreman's request to call the meeting. The move to indict Conley is wrong and should not be made, the

The Atlanta Constitution Saturday, July 19, 1913 Chief's Statement Follows the Publication of Report That Pinkertons Are Now of the Opinion Sweeper Is Guilty. "OPEN TO CONVICTION," SCOTT TELLS REPORTER "Our Testimony in Case Will Be Fair and Impartial," He Says—Grand Jury Called to Consider Indicting Conley. DEVELOPMENTS OF DAY IN MARY PHAGAN CASE Meeting of grand jury called to take steps leading to indictment of James Conley on the charge of murder, over protest of Solicitor General Hugh Dorsey, who declares that indictment of Conley will be useless procedure. Reported on Friday that the Pinkertons have changed their opinion

The Atlanta Constitution Saturday, July 19, 1913 Asserting That He Considers Recorder Mentally Irresponsible, the Mayor Announces Controversy Closed. With the declaration that no utterance by Recorder Nash R. Broyles will induce him to resort to blackguardism or swerve him in the matter of exercising clemency, Mayor James G. Woodward yesterday reduced the sentence of George Poulas, a Greek retsaurant keeper, who was fined $100 or thirty days in the stockade for alleged violation of the near beer laws. The extent of the mayor's clemency was to reduce the fine assessed against Poulas to $49 or twenty-nine days in jail.

The Atlanta Constitution,Sunday, 20th July 1913,PAGE 1, COLUMN 1.Luther Rosser and ReubenArnold Declare He is Go-ing Out of His Way to Dic-tate to the Grand Jury.EXCEEDS PROVINCEOF SOLICITOR GENERALGrand Jury Will Meet at 10O'Clock Monday Morningto Take Up Conley Case.Call Is Sent Out.In reply to Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey's statements in regard to the proposed indictment by the grand jury of James Conley, the negro who has confessed complicity in the murder of Mary Phagan, Attorneys Reuben R. Arnold and Luther Z. Rosser issued a statement Saturday afternoon in which they openly attacked the stand taken by the solicitor

The Atlanta Constitution Sunday, July 20, 1913 (Page 1,. Column 1) Luther Rosser and Reuben Arnold Declare He Is Going Out of His Way to Dictate to the Grand Jury. EXCEEDS PROVINCE OF SOLICITOR GENERAL Grand Jury Will Meet at 10 O'Clock Monday Morning to Take Up Conley Case. Call Is Sent Out. In reply to Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey's statements in regard to the proposed indictment by the grand jury of James Conley, the negro who has confessed complicity in the murder of Mary Phagan, Attorneys Reuben R. Arnold and Luther Z. Rosser issued a statement Saturday afternoon

The Atlanta Constitution Sunday, July 20, 1913 (Page 7) As Famous Murder Case Nears Trial the Public Mind Again Reverts to the Discovery of the Crime; and Again the Great Question Comes Up: "What Happened in the Pencil Factory Between Noon Saturday and 3:15 Sunday Morning?" By Britt Craig. Automobile in which detectives and newspaper men went to the scene of the murder. In the machine are Detective Starnes, Harry Scott, W. W. (Boots) Rogers and John Black. There are things that happen right before our eyes that defy the pen of a god to describe. The mind of a

The Atlanta Constitution Sunday, July 20, 1913 (Page 2, Column 7) Woman Swore That Leo M. Frank Tried to Engage Room on Night of Murder Mrs. Nina Formby, who signed an affidavit in the Frank case in which she swore the superintendent has endeavored to engage a room at her house, 400 Piedmont avenue, during the Phagan murder night to which he might bring a girl has fled to Chattanooga and will not appear at the coming trial on July 28. This announcement was made to a Constitution reporter last night by the woman's legal representative, John Gossett. Gossett states

The Atlanta Constitution Sunday, July 20, 1913 (Page 7, Column 5) The Episcopalian diocese of Georgia, at its annual convention, appointed a social service commission, which has since met and formulated the following special report on prison and child labor conditions in this state. "Resolved, That the prison system of the state of Georgia, and the methods of punishment now in use and as commonly administered, are unworthy of an enlightened and progressive state. "Resolved, That we hereby indorse the splendid efforts of the Prison Reform association of this state, and offer to them our hearty co-operation in securing needed

The Atlanta Constitution,Tuesday, 22nd July 1913,PAGE 1, COLUMN 3.Will Be Called Monday, ButMay Be Postponed if as Hotas Last Saturday.Continued From Page One.That the trial of Leo M. Frank depends to a great extent upon the weather was the indication given last night by Judge L. S. Roan, who will preside when the case is called next Monday. When the temperature went over 99 degrees last Saturday Judge Roan stated that he would not like to hold court in such weather and should it prove that hot next Monday he would be willing to a postponement of the Frank case.Judge

  The Atlanta Constitution July 23rd, 1913 Defense of Leo Frank Attaches Importance to Find Made by Pinkerton Detectives. The discovery of a bloody bludgeon on the third floor of the National Pencil factory has added greater mystery to the Phagan case. It became known yesterday that Leo Frank's defense is in possession of the weapon and that it will be used as one of their strongest points in the coming trial. The club is a short, thick stick with small spots of blood at the end. It was found by Pinkerton detectives on May 10 after headquarters detectives had

The Atlanta Constitution July 23rd, 1913 Attorneys for Relatives in the Crawford Will Hearing Are Willing to Yield Their Claim of Priority. The conflict between the dates of hearing the litigation over the $250,000 estate of the late Joshua B. Crawford, and the trial of Leo M. Frank, charged with the Mary Phagan murder, may cause a postponement of the Frank trial, as Attorneys Reuben R. Arnold and Luther Z. Rosser are connected with both cases. The Crawford hearing will be renewed today and by right of priority takes precedence over the other trial. It is expected, however, than an

The Atlanta Constitution, Wednesday, 23rd July 1913, PAGE 5, COLUMN 2. Objects to Paying Expenses of Installing Instrument in Williams House. A. R. Colcord, chairman of the police committee, has been asked to approve a warrant for $19 which represents the expense to which the detective department was put to install the dictagraph in room 36, Williams house. Chairman Colcord said Monday that he did not approve of the use to which the dictagraph was put, but explained that he has been informed that it was never intended to entrap Mayor Woodward or any other city official. "I think that

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 24th, 1913 For First Time Since Mary Phagan Was Killed Two Negroes Are Brought Face to Face. James Conley, a sweeper at the National Pencil factory, and Newt Lee, night watchman, who carried the police to where Mary Phagan's body lay on the morning of April 27, were brought face to face yesterday afternoon in the tower by Solicitor Hugh M. Dorsey and Frank A. Hooper, an attorney who is aiding the solicitor. J. M. Gantt was taken there by the attorneys, as he knew Conley while both were working for the pencil factory. Attorney Hooper stated after

  The Atlanta Constitution, Thursday, 24th July 1913, PAGE 1, COLUMN 2. Is it proper, also is it legal, for a real ladylike man to further simulate femininity and appear on the streets dressed in women's garb, provided this man be a professional female impersonator? This is a question which is troubling Miss beg your pardon Mr. Auriema, who is nightly appearing at one of Atlanta's moving picture show houses. Also, it is troubling Chief Beavers. If it is proper and legal for a woman to cut her hair and don male costume as did Belva Lockwood and Dr. Mary

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 24th, 1913 Report Says That It Has Been Sent to Northern City to Be Put Under Microscope. That the bloody club found in the National Pencil factory after the murder of Mary Phagan is in some northern city undergoing microscopic examination after having been inspected by local experts, is a rumor that prevailed at police headquarters yesterday. Upon being examined by an Atlanta expert, who, it is said, declared that it would be impossible to determine whether or not the blood spots were from animal or human, the weapon was sent north for more minute examination. Frank's lawyers

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 25th, 1913 Negro Was Taken to Tower Without Knowledge of Beavers or Lanford. Action is likely to be taken against Detective John Starnes and Pat Campbell, who Wednesday afternoon carried Jim Conley, the negro in the Phagan case, from police headquarters to the Tower without permission of either Chief Beavers or Chief Lanford. When asked by a Constitution reporter Thursday afternoon what steps he would probably take against the detectives, Chief Beavers declined to talk. He inferred, however, that an investigation would likely result and that action would be taken. Conley was taken from the station house prison

  The Atlanta Constitution, July 25th, 1913 Negro Is Taken in Chief's Auto to Sections He Claims to Have Visited on Murder Night. Jim Conley, the negro sweeper and most important figure in the Phagan case, was taken from police headquarters in the automobile of Chief Beavers yesterday afternoon and carried over the ground on which he accounts for his whereabouts during the afternoon of the murder. He was in charge of Chief Beavers and Detectives Pat Campbell and John Starnes, headquarters men who have been attached to the solicitor's office throughout the investigation. He was driven through the Peters

    Atlanta Constitution July 25th, 1913, Friday. One Hundred and Forty-Four Names Drawn From Jury Box—No Effort So Far at Postponement. The veniremen from which it is expected to choose the jury for the trial Monday of Leo M. Frank, charged with the Mary Phagan murder, was drawn yesterday afternoon by Judge John T. Pendleton, at the request of Judge L. S. Roan, who returned from Covington, Georgia, slightly ill. The names of 144 men were drawn from the petit jury box, and as far as is known no actual attempt was made to have them drawn from the

    Atlanta Constitution July 25th, 1913, Friday. As a reward for his success in the Mary Phagan mystery, Detective Harry Scott, assistant superintendent of the Atlanta Pinkerton offices, has been promoted to the superintendency of the Houston, Texas branch, to which he goes immediately following the close of the Leo Frank trial. Scott's work has been declared to have been the most successful in the entire Phagan investigation. It was a result of his efforts that the famous Jim Conley confession was obtained, in which admission the negro acknowledged complicity and accused Leo Frank of the actual murder. The

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 26th, 1913 They Have Started Summoning Witnesses and Are Quoted as Having Agreed to Go to Trial. That Attorneys Reuben R. Arnold and Luther Z. Rosser, representing Leo M. Frank, charged with the Mary Phagan murder, have decided to go to trial Monday when the case is called was information made public Friday from an apparently reliable source. Coupled with this, and apparently making the trial doubly sure, is the news that the defense has started summoning its witnesses and making final preparations for the actual trial. Solicitor Hugh M. Dorsey reiterated Friday his statement in regard to

Atlanta Constitution July 27th, 1913 Greatest Legal Battle in the History of Dixie Is the Prediction of Atlanta Attorneys ATTORNEYS FOR STATE HOLD FINAL CONFERENCE Representatives of Leo Frank Still Non-Committal About Report That Postponement May Be Asked Practically every detail for the trial of Leo M. Frank has now been completed and with the state declaring its readiness and determination to go to trial and the defense maintaining its same silence in regard to the much mooted matter of postponement every thing awaits the calling of the case at 9 o'clock Monday morning in the criminal branch of superior

The Atlanta Constitution July 28th, 1913 Chief interest in the case of Leo M. Frank, which is scheduled to begin today, centers in the selection of a jury, the first 144 veniremen, having been drawn last Thursday and published in The Constitution on Sunday. It seems to be the general opinion that this panel will be exhausted and others summoned before a jury is secured. Attorneys for both sides are of the opinion that it will take about a day to select a jury, which would let the hearing of evidence begin on Tuesday, or on Wednesday, if it should

  The Atlanta Constitution July 28th, 1913 Judge L. S. Roan Announces That He Will Call Case at Nine O'Clock This Morning. LAWYERS BELIEVE JURY WILL BE NAMED IN DAY Legal Representatives Take Good Rest on Sunday in Preparation for Struggle That Begins Today. After weeks of preparation by some of the most skilled legal minds in the state and after every point in the affair that has been made public has been discussed and threshed out by thousands of citizens, the case of the state v. Leo M. Frank, charged with the murder of little Mary Phagan, will be

The Atlanta Constitution July 29th, 1913 Attorneys for Both Sides Had Good Line on All Men Examined. According to an unofficial account kept as the matter of striking the Frank jury was carried out, ninety-six men were called into the box and examined before the twelve men to try the case were finally selected. These men were divided into eight panels of twelve each, and came in a panel at a time. Every bit of information that could be got together in advance about the men whose names were on the venire list of 144 men drawn last week, had

The Atlanta Constitution, July 29th, 1913 But F. V. L. Smith's Wife Calls Police and Intruders Flee. Two big, burly, black negroes who evidently had taken a decided interest in the Frand murder trial, and knew that F. V. L. Smith, of 481 Cherokee avenue, had been chosen for the jury yesterday and would not be home last night, attempted to enter his home. No one was there but Mrs. Smith and her little 4-weeks' old child. Seeing the negroes on the porch, she made a step toward them, and they fled. Within a few minutes they returned, and instead

The Atlanta Constitution, July 29th, 1913 W. H. Mincey, who made the famous affidavit in which he declared that Jim Conley had told him on April 26 that he had killed a girl, arrived late last night for the Frank trial. In a statement made to The Constitution, Mr. Mincey reaffirmed his affidavit in its entirety and declared that he would tell this story on the witness stand. He was accompanied by Colonel Ben E. Neal, of Ringgold, Georgia, a lawyer who has known him for years and who states that he will testify as to Mincey's good character, should

The Atlanta Constitution, July 29th, 1913 List Indicates That Prisoner Is Prepared to Put Character in Evidence. Numbers of witnesses were summoned to court by both sides and when the names were called so that all could be sworn it developed that scores of Leo Frank's friends had been called upon. From the fact that there is not a possibility of one in this number knowing anything of the crime, it appears that the defense has made preparation, at least, to put Frank's character in evidence and has secured these of his friends to testify for him. Of the number

The Atlanta Constitution July 29th, 1913 Men Who May Be Called to Stand Report Trial by Attorney's Agreement. Just as the state was about to open formally its case against Leo M. Frank, Attorney Reuben R. Arnold interrupted by declaring to the court that he expected to have to call on a number of newspaper men to testify as the case went on. "They know a great deal about this case, and we have complete files of the papers here and will be able to tell to a certain extent from them whom we will want," he said. "I may

The Atlanta Constitution, July 29th, 1913 WATCHMAN TELLS OF FINDING BODY OF MARY PHAGAN Trial Adjourns for the Day While Lee Is on the Stand, and His Cross-Questioning Will Be Resumed Today. MOTHER AND THE WIFE OF PRISONER CHEER HIM BY PRESENCE AT TRIAL Jury Is Quickly Secured and Mrs. Coleman, Mother of the Murdered Girl, Is First Witness to Take Stand. With a swiftness which was gratifying to counsel for the defense, the solicitor general and a large crowd of interested spectators, the trial of Leo M. Frank, charged with the murder of Mary Phagan on April 26, in

The Atlanta Constitution, July 29th, 1913 Up to the hour of the trial, Mrs. Leo M. Frank, wife of the young man now on trial for his life, charged with the murder of Mary Phagan, had kept in the background of the case. Daily she visited her husband at the jail, and brought him delicacies. She came quietly, and when she departed she created no stir of excitement among the hangers-on around the jail. She was accorded the most chivalrous treatment, and her desire to avoid notoriety was respected. Only once did an expression from her appear in the public

The Atlanta Constitution,Tuesday, 29th July 1913,.Trial Adjourns for the DayWhile Lee Is on the Stand,and His Cross-QuestioningWill Be Resumed Today.MOTHER AND THE WIFEOF PRISONER CHEER HIMBY PRESENCE AT TRIALJury Is Quickly Secured andMrs. Coleman, Mother ofthe Murdered Girl, Is FirstWitness to Take Stand.With a swiftness which was gratifying to counsel for the defense, the solicitor general and a large crowd of interested spectators, the trial of Leo M. Frank, charged with the murder of Mary Phagan on April 26, in the building of the National Pencil factory, was gotten under way Monday.When the hour of adjournment for the day had

The Atlanta Constitution, July 29th, 1913 Will Frank's lawyers put any evidence before the court? That is a question that was much discussed on the opening day by a score or more of lawyers who secured seats in the courtroom in order to hear the trial and to watch the way in which the skilled attorneys on both sides handled the case. The fact that so many witnesses have been summoned by the defense does not mean to the legal mind that Attorneys Rosser and Arnold will put up any evidence any more than the summoning of scores of the

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 30th, 1913 When Sergeant Dobbs was called from the stand Detective J. M. Starnes, prosecutor of Frank and a detective attached to police headquarters was called in. He has been associated with the solicitor general throughout the Phagan investigation. The defense and prosecution clashed in perhaps their most spectacular battle over an attempt of Attorney Rosser to force the detective into recalling the exact words of a portion of his testimony at the coroner's inquest. An argument was advanced by both Attorneys Dorsey and Hooper and each member of Frank's counsel Attorneys Arnold and Rosser. The apparent motive

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 30th, 1913 During the two days' progress of the Frank trial public interest has centered around the case and all eyes seemed turned to it. To date, the interest has really been in watching the struggle between the skilled attorneys who are fighting for position and whose clashes over the preliminary witnesses are merely the skirmishes of the pickets before two mighty armies come together. Thus far the interest, while to a certain extent centered on the maneuvering, has been mostly of the future tense. Every one is looking forward to what is to come. A fierce skirmish

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 30th, 1913 Newt Lee, the negro night watchman of the pencil factory, who telephoned police headquarters of the finding of Mary Phagan's body at the pencil factory, was again placed upon the stand when court convened Tuesday for the second day's session. Attorney Luther Z. Rosser renewed his cross-fire of questions by which he sought to confuse the negro and secure new admissions or change valuable points in his testimony, and thus expose a vulnerable point for a concentrated attack upon his entire statement. Mr. Rosser took up practically where he had left off the afternoon before. "Newt,

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 30th, 1913 Solicitor Dorsey stood before Detective Starnes at the witness box yesterday afternoon and held to view a lavender frock with a bit of pink ribbon at each shoulder. In the hand that was lowered at his side he held a wee slipper. "Do you recognize this dress?" he put to the witness. "I do." "To whom did it belong?" "To Mary Phagan, the girl who was killed in the National Pencil factory." Mother and Daughter Sob. A moist-eyed woman, gray beginning to fleck her hair and betray her fifty years looked sadly upon the articles in

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 30th, 1913 Sergeant L. S. Dobbs, one of the policemen who answered Lee's call to the factory, was put on the stand, after Lee was dismissed. He told of the call at about 3:20 a. m. on April 27, and of how he and Officers Anderson and Brown, with "Boots" Rogers, an ex-county policeman, and Britt Craig, of The Constitution, went to the factory and found the body. The officer declared, among other things, that Lee was not frightened or trembling when they got there, that they had difficulty in telling at first whether the girl was white

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 30th, 1913 Sergeant L. S. Dobbs took the stand again at the afternoon session. "Did you help take the girl's body from the basement?" Attorney Rosser questioned. "I was there when the undertakers came," answered the sergeant. "Who cleaned the girl's face?" "Sergeant Brown, I believe." "How?" "With a piece of paper." "How was the body removed?" "In a corpse basket." Here the examination was taken up by the solicitor general. "What is the distance from the ladder to the spot where the body was found?" "About 150 feet." Found Slipper and Hat. "Did you discover anything on

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 30th, 1913 NEWT LEE STICKS TO ORIGINAL STORY DESPITE ATTEMPTS TO CONFUSE NEGRO Striking Feature of Day's Proceedings Was the Evident Effort on Part of Luther Rosser to Connect Watchman With Crime, or Show He Knew More Than He Has Told. DORSEY SAYS DEFENSE IS TRYING TO IMPEACH TESTIMONY OF STARNES Mr. Rosser Declared, However, That All He Was Trying to Do Was to Test the Memory of Detective Who Was Among First to Investigate the Murder of Mary Phagan in Factory. During the second day's proceedings of the Leo M. Frank trial the sensation for which the

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 31st, 1913 By Sidney Ormond Comparisons are odious, but to the close observer of events following the Mary Phagan murder and the trial now in progress one cannot help contrasting the impression made on the jury by Newt Lee, the negro night watchman of the National Pencil factory, and the testimony of John Black, detective, who worked up a large part of the evidence being used against Leo M. Frank by the state. It was only a short while ago that John Black, according to the statement of Lee, was ‘blunblamming' at him night and day in an

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 31st, 1913 Grace Hicks, a sister-in-law of ‘Boots' Rogers, whom he carried to the factory the morning of April 27 to tell if the dead girl was an employee of the factory was put upon the witness stand by the state after Rogers had been excused. She was a daintily dressed slender girl of 17, and declared that she had worked there for the past five years. To the solicitor's questions she answered that she had known Mary Phagan for about a year at the pencil factory and that the dead girl had worked on the second floor.

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 31st, 1913 SLEUTH CONFUSED UNDER MERCILESS CROSS-QUESTIONS OF LUTHER ROSSER Just Before He Left the Stand He Confessed That He Was "Mixed Up" and That He Could Not Recall What He Had Testified a Moment Before—Tangled on Finding Bloody Shirt. FRIENDS OF PRISONER HAVE HIGH HOPES NOW OF FAVORABLE VERDICT "Boots" Rogers, Grace Hicks, Mrs. J. W. Coleman and J. M. Gantt on Stand During Day—Mobs of Curiosity Seekers Besieging Doors to Gain Admission to Frank Trial. When Wednesday's session of the Leo M. Frank trial had come to a close, the friends of the accused were filled

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 31st, 1913 Detective John R. Black, the officer who went in Rogers' machine from the factory to Frank's residence on the Sunday morning that Mary Phagan's body was discovered, was next put up by the state. He took the stand at 11:45 o'clock, and was still there when court adjourned for lunch. In answers to Solicitor Dorsey's questions he said he had been on the police force for six years and previous to that had worked as n cooper for the Atlanta Brewing and Ice company. "Do you know any of the directors of this company?" began the

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 31st, 1913 J. W. Gantt, who once was a suspect in the famous case, followed Mrs. Coleman to the stand at the afternoon session. "Have you ever been connected with the pencil company?" "From January 1st, 1918, until April 7, I was employed with that concern as shipping clerk. I was discharged by Mr. Frank for an alleged shortage." "Did you know Mary Phagan?" "Yes—I knew her as a little girl." "Did Leo Frank know her?" "Yes." "How do you know this?" Knew Mary Pretty Well. "On Saturday she came into the office for a time record. Frank

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 31st, 1913 In spite of the largest force of deputies that has ever been brought together in Fulton county for a similar purpose, the greatest difficulty is being experienced in keeping out the idle and morbidly curious at the Leo M. Frank trial. A glance around the room is sufficient to show that the deputies have been imposed on. Scores of professional loafers—men who have had no visible means of support for years, and who could have possible interest in the trial—throng the room. Many women, who are in no way connected with the case either through friendship

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 31st, 1913 Mrs. J. W. Coleman was recalled to the stand for only a moment's interrogation regarding the mesh handbag which she carried with her upon leaving home on the day of the tragedy. Attorney Rosser asked, "What kind of bag did Mary carry with her that day?" "A mesh bag." The solicitor asked that she describe its size and shape. Her description was that of an ordinary mesh bag, unornamented and manufactured of silver. She also identified the handkerchief and parasol as having belonged to the slain child.

The Atlanta Constitution,Thursday, 31st July 1913,PAGE 1, COLUMN 3.Miss Grace Hicks, an employee of the National Pencil factory, and a friend of Mary Phagan, who testified on Wednesday morning; Detective John Black (Wearing derby), who was put through severe cross-examination Wednesday afternoon by the defense, and Harry Scott, of the Pinkertons, who has had charge of this agency's investigation of the Phagan mystery. He will go on the stand today.PAGE 1, COLUMN 5NEW WITNESS SOUGHTBY SOLICITOR DORSEYCharles M. Wilt, Former Pris-Oner in Fulton Tower, MayTestify in Frank Case.Solicitor Hugh M. Dorsey, it is understood, has wired to North Carolina for

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 31st, 1913 When court convened and before the jury had been brought in Attorney Luther Rosser entered an objection to the drawing of the pencil factory which Solicitor Hugh M. Dorsey had rehung upon the wall after removing the descriptive lines. Objection had previously been made to the lines and the solicitor had caused these to be erased. Attorney Rosser and his colleague Reuben Arnold declared that the dotted lines which shows the state's theory of how the girl's body was carried from the second floor to the basement were not part of the building and hence were

Atlanta ConstitutionJuly 31st, 1913 Harry Scott, Pinkerton Detective Will Also Be Called to Stand During Day William Gheesling, the P. J. Bloomfield undertaking attachee who made the first examination and emblamed the body of Mary Phagan will probably be the first witness called to the stand in the Frank trial this morning. He will be followed by Harry Scott, the Pinkerton detectives who worked with Detective John Black in the murder investigation and who engineered the third degree which resulted in Jim Conley's confession. Dr. Hurt, county physician who made the medical examination upon the corpse and who it is

  The Atlanta Constitution, Friday, 1st August 1913, PAGE 1, COLUMN 7. Photo by Francis E. Price. Staff Photographer. Mrs. Callie Scott Appelbaum, who was tried before Judge Roan for the murder of her husband, Jerome Appelbaum, and declared "not guilty," and Leo M. Frank, who is now on trial charged with the murder of Mary Phagan. Mrs. Appelbaum was an interested spectator at Frank's trial Thursday afternoon. PAGE 3, COLUMN 1 REPRESENTING STATE IN FRANK TRIAL Left to right: Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey, Assistant Solicitor E. A. Stephens, and Attorney Frank A. Hooper. PAGE 4, COLUMN 1 Spots

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 1st, 1913 When court convened on Thursday morning, J. M. Gantt, formerly employed in the bookkeeping department of the National Pencil factory, was placed on the stand for two questions, and he was followed by Harry Scott, Pinkerton detective, who worked as a partner of John R. Black, of the city detectives, in searching for the murder of Mary Phagan. Solicitor Hugh Dorsey had Gantt swear that he was arrested on April 28 and hold until the following Thursday. During Scott's testimony, there were lively tilts of all sorts. At one time Scott became angry with the solicitor

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 1st, 1913 Dr. Claude A. Smith, the medical expert who made microscopic examinations of the blood-spotted chips chiseled from the floor of the pencil factory and of the bloody shirt discovered in Newt Lee's home, was next called in. He was asked by Solicitor Dorsey: "What is your business?" "I am city bacteriologist and chemist." He was handed the chips from the pencil factory flooring. "Did you test these chips?" "Yes. Some detectives brought me these specimens and asked me to examine them. They were considerably dirty and stained. On one of them I found blood corpuscles." "Was

The article below is just a piece of the printed testimony of E. F. Holloway from the Atlanta Constitution. Unfortunately, most of the beginning part of this article is missing from our archives. Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 1st, 1913 "Who was the next man?" "Mr. Darley." "Who was the next man or woman?" "Mattie Smith." "Did you turn the building over to Newt Lee?" "Yes." "How many negroes worked in the building?" "Seven or eight." Always Sweeping. "Did you ever hear of a man named Stanford who had a mania for sweeping out and couldn't stop until he had swept the whole

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 1st, 1913 R. B. Barrett, a machinist at the National Pencil factory, who declares that he found strands of hair similar to Mary Phagan's on his machine after the murder, and who also told of finding a torn piece of pay envelope in the same room and under the machine where the hair was found, followed Monteen Stover on the stand. He was asked if he had testified before the coroner's and the grand jury, and replied that he had. "What did you see near Mary Phagan's machine?" "A peculiar spot on the floor," he replied. "Was the

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 1st, 1913 Following the Pinkerton detective testimony the state introduced Miss Monteen Stover, who worked in the factory when Mary Phagan did. The girl was rather abashed when she first appeared, but turned out to be a witness who could relate exactly what she started out to tell and who did not seem to get confused. "Where do you work?" asked the solicitor of the girl. "Nowhere." "Were you work on April 26?" "No." "When did you last work before the murder?" "On the Monday before the murder," she answered. "Were you in the factory on April 26?"

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 1st, 1913 Detective B. B. Haslett, who went with Detective John Black on Monday morning, April 27, to Leo Frank's home to summon him to police headquarters for a statement Chief Lanford wished him to give, was next called to the stand. "Did you go to Leo Frank's home at any time?" the solicitor asked. "Yes. At 7 o'clock Monday morning we were sent to see Frank and have him come to the detective bureau." "What did you tell him?" "That Lanford wanted to see him." "Do you know whether he was liberated or not?" "Yes." "When you

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 1st, 1913 NEW TESTIMONY GIVEN AT TRIAL OF LEO M. FRANK BY R. B. BARRETT Machinist at Pencil Factory Tells Jury of Discovery of Murdered Girl's Pay Envelope and of Strands of Hair Near Her Machine in Metal Room on Second Floor. HENRY SCOTT PUZZLES BOTH SIDES OF CASE BY EVIDENCE THURSDAY E. L. Holloway, Who Swore in Affidavit That Elevator Was Closed on Saturday, the Day of the Murder, Admits on Stand That He Was Mistaken—"I've Been Trapped," Cries Dorsey. The first piece of new testimony of any importance which has developed since the beginning of the

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 1st, 1913 Acquitted in Same Courtroom, She Is Now Eager Spectator at Big Trial. A little woman, neatly dressed and wearing a dark hat crowned with a flowing aigrette, slipped quietly into the rear of the courtroom at the afternoon session of the Frank trial yesterday afternoon, and sat down near the press table unnoticed. Presently, a reporter looked up from his notes, caught sight of her and instantly walked to where she sat. Soon reporters swarmed around her. The press table and trial proceedings were almost deserted for the moment by the Fourth Estate. She was Mrs.

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 1st, 1913 Will Testify She Saw Negro Idling in Shadows of Stairway. Mrs. Arthur White, wife of Arthur White, the witness who will testify that on Saturday morning when she appeared at the pencil factory to see her husband, she saw a negro idling in the shadows of the stairway on the first floor, will be the first called to the stand this morning. A moment before adjournment yesterday afternoon she was summoned to testify, but Judge Roan ordered the session closed before she could reach the witness stand. Mrs. White, it is stated, has already declared that

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 1st, 1913 Mel Stanford, a sweeper and plater at the factory, was put on the stand at 12:20. He testified that he had worked there for about two years and was there on Friday, April 25, on the second floor. "What did you do on Friday?" asked the solicitor. "I swept up the entire floor in the metal room." "Were you there Monday, April 28?" "Yes." "See anything at water cooler near girls' dressing room?" "Yes; a spot which had a white substance over it." "Was it there Friday?" "It was not there when I swept the floor

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 1st, 1913 William Gheesling, the undertaker who embalmed Mary Phagan's body, was next called in. "What is your business?" queried Solicitor Dorsey. "I am an embalmer." "How long have you been in that advice?" "Fifteen years, or more." "Did you see the body of Mary Phagan?" "Yes, I first saw it at 15 minutes to 4 on the morning of April 27." "Where was it?" "In the basement of the National Pencil factory." "Describe it." How Body Was Lying. "It was lying on the face, arms crossed, and with a piece of wrapping twine and part of her

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 2nd, 1913 N. V. Darley, mechanical head of the National Pencil factory and directly in charge of the Georgia Cedar company, an adjunct concern, was put on the stand by the state, after Mrs. White had finished. "How long have you been with the company, and are you still employed here?" asked Solicitor Dorsey. "I've been there about five years, and am still employed there." "Who is your immediate superior?" "I consider Sig Montag my immediate superior," he replied. "What is your relation to Frank?" "We are co-laborers, on an equal basis." "With whom do you more often

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 2nd, 1913 Gay C. Febuary, secretary to Chief Newport A. Lanford, of the detective bureau, and recent figure in the sensational dictagraph episode, was called to the stand to testify to a statement made by Leo Frank on April 26 in Chief Lanford's office. It was during Febuary's testimony that Frank's statement was permitted to be produced before the jury. It was read by Attorney Stephens, an associate of Solicitor Dorsey. Mr. Dorsey questioned Febuary: "You were present at Lanford's office when Frank and Luther Z. Rosser were there?""Yes.""Do you remember having made stenographic report of a statement

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 2nd, 1913 Albert McKnight, colored, the husband of Minola McKnight, who made a startling affidavit for the police in regard to circumstances at the Frank home on the night of the murder, followed Febuary to the stand. "What is your wife's name?" the solicitor asked. "Minola McKnight." "What does she do?""Cooks at Mrs. Selig's home.""How long has she held that place?" "For two years.""Where were you about 1 o'clock on the afternoon of April 26?" Saw Frank April 26. "I was at Mr. Frank's home."(The Franks have been living with the Seligs, Mrs. Frank's parents.) "Did you see

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 2nd, 1913 DR. H. F. HARRIS GIVES STARTLING EVIDENCE ABOUT TIME OF MURDER Wound on Eye of Girl Victim of Pencil Factory Crime Looked as if It Came From Blow of Fist, Secretary of State Board of Health Tells the Jurymen. WHILE ON THE STAND DR. HARRIS COLLAPSES FROM RECENT ILLNESS Frequent Clashes Take Place During Testimony of N. V. Darley, Assistant Superintendent of National Pencil Factory, Over the Alleged Nervousness of Frank. Within three-quarters of an hour after she had eaten her frugal breakfast of cabbage and bread, Mary Phagan was dead. This startling fact was brought

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 2nd, 1913 Mrs. Maggie White, wife of John Arthur White, who was at work on the fourth floor of the National Pencil factory part of the day upon which Mary Phagan was killed, was the first witness the state called to the stand Thursday morning in the Frank trial. The witness told of going to the factory twice on that day to see her husband, and of seeing Frank on both occasions, and also of seeing a negro lurking behind some boxes on the first floor. "How long has your husband been working for the National Pencil factory?"

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 2nd, 1913 W. F. Anderson, the policeman who answered the telephone when Newt Lee called police headquarters on the morning of the discovery and who went with the police squad to the scene, was next called to the stand. "About 3 o'clock on the morning of April 26 where were you?" he was asked by the solicitor. "At police headquarters." "Did you have a telephone call about that time?" "A man called from the National Pencil factory and said a woman had been killed. I asked was it a white woman or negro, and he answered that she

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 2nd, 1913 Making the startling declaration that Mary Phagan had been killed within thirty or forty-five minutes after she had eaten dinner, Dr. Roy F. Harris, state chemist, took the stand during the afternoon session yesterday. It was Dr. Harris who made the autopsy upon the body when it was disinterred in Marietta on May 5. He brought with him into court specimens of predigested cabbage which had been removed from the slain girl's stomach. He also testified to the effect that the girl had suffered violence before death and recited the condition in which he had found

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 2nd, 1913 Stenographer Parry, the official court stenographer, was next called to the stand to identify a number of notes he took at the coroner's inquest held in police headquarters shortly after Frank's arrest. He was asked by Solicitor Dorsey: "Did you report the coroner's inquest over the body of Mary Phagan?" "Yes." "Did you take a statement from Leo Frank?""Yes." The solicitor showed the stenographer's notes. "Is that your report?""Yes." "Is it correct?""It is correct to the best of my ability.""You are an expert?""I am a man of twenty-five years' experience."Attorney Rosser took the examination: "Look at

The Atlanta Constitution, Saturday, 2nd August 1913, PAGE 1, COLUMN 3. Phone by Francis E. Price. Staff Photographer. From left to right: Mrs. George W. Jefferson, who was a witness on Thursday morning; R. P. Barrett, who testified to finding Mary Phagan's pay envelope and strands of her hair, and Mrs. Maggie White, who told of seeing strange negro in pencil factory on afternoon of crime. PAGE 2, COLUMN 4 Two Members of Jury Photo by Francis E. Price. Staff Photographer. On the left F. V. L. Smith, and on the right Beder Townsend. PAGE 3, COLUMN 4 HE IS

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 2nd, 1913 Fully one-fourth of the big audience at yesterday afternoon's session of the Frank trial was composed of women and girls. It was the largest crowd of the entire case, and, to the credit of Deputy Sheriff Miner and his force, was handled more effectively than at any preceding session. There were many strange faces. The women sat in conspicuous seats, fighting many times to obtain a location in view of the witness stand and the tables at which sat the state's lawyers and counsel for the defense. Many were small girls, especially one, who did not

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 3rd, 1913 By Britt Craig. Jim Conley isn't a cornfield negro—he's more of the present day type of city darkey—and that's the only difference between him and Newt Lee. Outside of that there is but little variance. However, Jim's ancestors hewd cotton and plowed bottom lands long before Jim had an idea of existing. He's got the good old country strain in him and he's as black as tar. Some folks say he'll make a witness as good as Newt, and others say he won't. That all remains to be seen. One thing is sure: There'll be plenty

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 3rd, 1913 Police Chief James L. Beavers followed Dr. Hurt upon the witness stand. Mr. Rosser immediately asked him if he had been in the courtroom, as he had not been named by the state when other witnesses were named, sworn and put under the rule. He replied that he had for a short time and Mr. Dorsey explained that in the beginning of the case he had no intention of using him. "Were you present at the National Pencil factory on the Monday following the finding of the dead girl?" asked Mr. Dorsey. "I was there not

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 3rd, 1913 Dr. J. W. Hurt, county physician, who examined the body of Mary Phagan, took the stand following Detective Waggoner. Dr. Hurt not only made an examination on the Sunday morning that the body was found, but he was present several days later when the girl's body was disinterred at Marietta by Dr. Roy Harris. "How long have you been a physician?" asked Solicitor Dorsey after he had put the formal questions to establish the physician's connection with the case. "Since 1884." "What are your duties as county physician?""To attend all inquests and examine the bodies of

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 3rd, 1913 City Detective D. L. Waggoner was called to the stand following Miss Ferguson Attorney Rosser immediately raised the objection that he had been in the court room and the solicitor declared that he did not know whether or not the detective had Waggoner stated that he was present for about 20 minutes Wednesday. "He was not sworn and put under the rule," explained Solicitor Dorsey, "because I did not know that I would need him." The defense made no further objection and the examination began. "How long have you been on the force, Mr. Waggoner?" the

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 3rd, 1913 Solicitor Will Put Dr. Roy Harris on the Stand Again on Next Tuesday Afternoon. While Solicitor Hugh M. Dorsey declined to make an expression of what he believed would be the outcome of the case against Leo M. Frank, which he has been prosecuting all the week, he expressed himself yesterday afternoon as thoroughly satisfied with the present progress. The solicitor held an extended conference immediately after court adjourned with his assistant, E. A. Stephens, and with Attorney Frank A. Hooper, who is aiding him, and together with the lawyers went over what had been done

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 3rd, 1913 Following Chief Beavers the name of Detective Bass Rosser was then called, but he was not present and Policeman R. F. Lasseter was put on the stand. "Did you go to the National Pencil factory on Sunday morning, April 27?""Yes." "Did you ever see this parasol before?" asked the solicitor, holding up the which was found in the elevator shaft and identified as Mary Phagan's. "Yes, I found it that morning at the bottom of the shaft." "What else did you find? Any other wearing apparel?" "No." "Well, did you find anything else?""Yes, some twine.""You saw

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 3rd, 1913 By Britt Craig. When Mrs. J. W. Coleman, mother of Mary Phagan, related a simple story on the witness stand the first day of the Frank trial of the slain child's frugal meal of cabbage and biscuit which she ate upon leaving home that fateful day, she paved the way for the most thrilling development thus far in the entire case. Her story was as devoid of thrills as any yet told. It was an ordinary recitation of a common meal and told in the mother's plain, simple manner. Had she not broke into tears her

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 3rd, 1913 Miss Helen Ferguson, formerly employed at the National Pencil factory, but now working for Marcus Loeb and company, was the first state witness put on the stand Saturday morning. She proved to be a litle girl in short dresses with her hair hanging in two braids down her back. Her age she gave as sixteen. On the stand she was rather timid and answered questions in an almost inaudible voice, but replied positively to each one. She was only kept on the stand about fifteen minutes. For two years previous to the murder she declared that

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 3rd, 1913 Despite the throng that has gathered each day around the courthouse where a man is on trial for his life, and despite the number of people who have crowded in to fill every seat, there has been on the whole good order in the courtroom, due to the vigilance of the deputies in charge. Sheriff C. W. Mangum sits daily in the room and with him are practically every deputy and bailiff that the courtrooms afford. To handle the large crowd and to take care of the entrance all of them are needed. In charge of

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 3rd, 1913 Inadvertent Action of Judge Roan Caused Quick Conference Between Attorneys for the Defense in Frank Case. PRACTICALLY NOTHING NEW WAS INTRODUCED IN SATURDAY TESTIMONY Dr. J. W. Hurt, County Physician, Takes Stand to Tell of Examination of the Dead Body of Girl—Testimony Conflicts With Harris' at Times. Practically nothing new was adduced from the testimony at Saturday's session of the Leo M. Frank trial. But by far the session—which lasted from 9 o'clock until 1 o'clock, adjournment being had until Monday—was fought with the keenest interest of any thus far held. This was due to the

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 3rd, 1913 Place and Time of the Murder Only Big Facts Brought Out in the Mass of Evidence. One week of the battle Leo M. Frank, accused of the murder of Mary Phagan in the factory of the National Pencil company, for his life has elapsed, and his fate is yet a question for future developments to decide. The first week of the trial has been markedly free from sensations. The two big facts that the week's evidence would seem to show are that Mary Phagan was murdered in the second floor of the pencil factory, and that

    Atlanta Constitution August 4th, 1913 Secretary of State Board of Health Will Resume Testimony Interrupted by His Collapse on Last Friday. STATE TO USE PHOTO OF SPOT WHERE BODY WAS FOUND BY NEGRO Friends and Relatives Besiege Prisoner in Cell on Sunday. Shows Little Evidence of Strain of Trial, Say Jail Officials. The state will open this afternoon's session of the Frank trial with Dr. Roy Harris on the stand, it is stated, if the physician's health is as much improved as it was on Sunday. The solicitor had not finished his examination of Dr. Harris on Friday

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 4th, 1913 Quiet Sunday for Twelve Jurors By Vernon Stiles. As completely cut off from knowledge of the happenings of the outside world as though they were marooned in an island of the South seas, and yet tantalized by the swirling life around them, twelve men have lived for the past week in the heart of Atlanta. Their days has been spent in a crowded courtroom, where they listened to the wrangle of lawyers and the more or less conflicting statements of the witnesses, and their nights have passed in three crowded rooms behind locked doors, where the

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 4th, 1913 Defense Intimates Trial Will Run Into Middle of Third Week With Defendant Final Witness. It will probably be Wednesday or Thursday of next week before Leo Frank takes the stand to explain his actions on the day Mary Phagan was slain. This was intimated last night by attorneys associated with the defense, who stated that the trial very likely would run into the middle of the third week, and that, from present plans, the defendant would be the final witness. It is understood that the defense will introduce much expert testimony, and that it will be

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 4th, 1913 By Britt Craig. There has never been a trial in Georgia's records rivaling the Frank case in general interest throughout the state even the Grace case being a poor second. The Myers trial—the famous Will Myers murder case which is yet to receive its final chapter—created considerable interest both locally and throughout the state but was a mere shadow beside the present case. The Appelbaum case was a short one, was put through the courts more as a matter of routine than anything else. Mrs. Appelbaum is still in Atlanta and attending the Frank trial. Will

The Atlanta Constitution,Monday, 4th August 1913,PAGE 1, COLUMN 5.EMIL SELIG.DETECTIVE D. L. WAGONER.DR. H. F. (ROY) HARRIS.CHIEF NEWPORT LANFORD.Photo by Francis E. Price. Staff Photographer.Chief interest in the Frank case today centers int eh appearance at this afternoon's session of court of Dr. H. F. Harris, who collapsed on Friday afternoon while giving testimony fixing the murder hour of Mary Phagan. Detective D. L. Waggoner was on the stand Saturday morning. Emil Selig, father-in-law of Frank, will probably be called by the defense. Chief Lanford has been an interested spectator since the trial began. It was under his direction the

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 5th, 1913 The crucial point of the entire case of the state versus Leo M. Frank, charged with the murder of little Mary Phagan, an employee in the National Pencil factory, of which he was superintendent, came Monday morning when after putting one or two witnesses back on the stand to bring out minor points, Solicitor Hugh Dorsey called out, "Bring in Jim Conley." The state had been gradually paving the way for the testimony of the negro sweeper who declares that Frank called on him to hide the body of the dead girl and told him that

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 5th, 1913 REMARKABLE STORY IS TOLD BY NEGRO IN ACCUSING FRANK OF PHAGAN MURDER Chief Witness for State Admits, Under Cross-Examination, That He Has Been Under Arrest Seven or Eight Times, and That Many Statements Made in His Three Affidavits Are False. Hangs His Head and "Fools With His Fingers" When He Lies, He Says. LOOPS MURDER NOOSE AROUND HIS OWN NECK TO ILLUSTRATE STORY By Order of Judge the Court Is Cleared of Women and Children at Afternoon Session Owing to Revolting Testimony Given by Conley—Dr. Roy Harris, It Is Understood, Will Be Closing Witness Summoned by

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 5th, 1913 ARRESTED 7 TIMES, HE ADMITS Jim Conley remained on the stand throughout the afternoon session. Attorney Rosser continuting his cross-examination after the noon recess. "Who saw you, Jim, at police headquarters?" "Chief Beavers." "Who else?""Mr. Smith, my lawyer." "Was anybody else present?""Yes, Tawney." "Did he hear what was said?""I guess so. He could have heard." "You talked to no one else?""No, sir." Conley Doesn't Remember. "Did you watch for Mr. Frank since the time in January?""I think not." "What did you do the Saturday afternoon you watched for him?""I don't remember." "What did you do the

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 5th, 1913 Police Sergeant L. S. Dobbs was the witness who followed Grice. The officer had already testified on the first day of the trial and was brought back for only a few minutes. "Did you find a handkerchief that Sunday morning in the factory?" "Yes, sir, in the basement near a trash pile." "That's all," said the solicitor. Mr. Rosser then asked the officer several questions in regard to the detail of the basement and said he was through. Mr. Dorsey then showed the officer a flashlight photograph of the spot in the basement where the girl's

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 5th, 1913 Witness Had Gone to the Pencil Factory After Reading The Constitution Extra L. O. Grice was the first witness put on the stand when court convened Monday morning. He was kept there but a few minutes. He stated that he is employed by W. H. Smith, auditor of the Atlanta and West Point railroad, and that he lives at 270 Houston street. "Where were you on Sunday, April 27, about 8 o'clock?" Mr. Dorsey started out. "I was in front of The Constitution building and I saw one of their extras and went on down to

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 5th, 1913 Shortly after the courtroom had been cleared of women during the trial of Leo M. Frank Monday, Detective Harper entered the room with a handsome woman and the two took a leisurely survey of those in the courtroom. It was learned that the woman is a waitress at a well-known restaurant, and that shortly after the murder she is supposed to have overheard a conversation with two men who were discussing the killing. It is said they were friends of Frank and that they made admissions which would prove important to the state. The two men

The Atlanta Constitution,Tuesday, 5th August 1913,PAGE 1, COLUMN 3."JIM. CAN YOU PUT THIS CORD AROUDN YOUR NECK LIKE YOU FOUND IT ON MARY PHAGAN'S BODY?"SOLICITOR DORSEY.WOMEN SPECTATORS.JIM CONLEYOn the STAND.Tuesday, 5th August 1913 Scenes In Courtroom Monday While Conley Was On Stand

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 5th, 1913 Declares There Were Bars Across Door on Second Floor on Day Before Murder. Following Sergeant Dobbs, Mell Stanford, a factory employee, who had previously testified, was recalled for a few minutes. "Was the door on the second floor back locked or unlocked on Friday, April 25?" asked Mr. Dorsey. "There were bars across it," said Stanford. "Was there any way to get down back there?" "Only by the fire escape.""Was the area of the metal room cleaned up after the murder?" "Yes, sir, during the following week." "Did you clean it up?" asked Mr. Rosser, who

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 5th, 1913 While T. Y. Brent, notary public and ex-officio justice of the peace, was waiting in the witness room of the Frank murder trial yesterday, the "big and little of it" came to him to pronounce the magic words which would make them forever man and wife, one and inseparable. Cleve Ware, weighing at the most 120 pounds, and Mattie Turner, who could easily muster 250 pounds, if required, were the parties, being from the swell section of Darktown. The judge performed the ceremony in the most approved style, and Frank murder trial witnesses acting as the

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 5th, 1913 By Britt Craig. There was a chorus girl who sat next to an aged and withered woman who is undoubtedly a grandmother—a great-grandmother, maybe; there was a painted-cheeked girl with hollow eyes who bore the unmistakable stain of crimson, who sat between a mother who held in her lap an eager 13-year-old. There was a wrinkled and worn old woman with the lines of care stamped indelibly, who hobbled into the room on a crutch and sat beside a man who chewed tobacco and whispered profanity. Over in a corner there was a graceful young woman

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 6th, 1913 ROSSER ADOPTS NEW TONE MONDAY Jim Conley, upon whose story practically the entire result of the Frank case is believed to rest, went on the stand at 9:03 o'clock and when court adjourned for lunch at 12:30 he was still being cross-examined by Luther Rosser for the defense. The lawyer had reached that point in his cross-fire of questions where he had begun to hector the witness and to take him up whenever he made a mistake, but it appeared that he was only about half through with his work. When the adjournment was taken Conley

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 6th, 1913 GRILLED 12 HOURS BY LUTHER ROSSER JIM CONLEY INSISTS FRANK GUILTY MAN Declaring That "I Don't Remember," or, "No, Sir; I Didn't Say That," or Simply Affirming Blandly That He Had Lied on a Previous Occasion, Negro Sweeper Sticks to Story Told on the Witness Stand on Monday Morning Despite Most Rigid Cross-Examination of Trial. AFFIDAVIT BY MINCEY OF CONLEY CONFESSION IS DENIED BY WITNESS Apparently Despairing of Breaking the Negro, Attorneys for Defense Appeal to Judge Roan to Strike All Evidence Relating to Alleged Previous Conduct of Frank Before Day of Murder on Ground of

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 6th, 1913 At the opening of the afternoon session, Attorney Reuben Arnold arose, asking that the jury be sent from the room. When the twelve men had passed into their rom, he made a motion asking the court to exclude from Conley's statement that testimony pertaining to Conley having watched previously for Frank and to an unprintable scene the negro said he had witnessed between the superintendent and a young girl in Frank's office. The motion was made on grounds of irrelevancy. "First," said Mr. Arnold, "I desire to ask the court to rule out that testimony of

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 6th, 1913 By Britt Craig. Sometimes it is lucky to be ignorant. Most people don't believe this, but it has been proven true in the cases of Newt Lee and Jim Conley in facing the nerve-racking cross-examination of Luther Rosser. The average white man in Jim's fix would last just several minutes it is likely - perhaps even less. And if he were a cigarette fiend– There have been many interesting features to the Frank trial but chief of them all is the manner in which these two negroes have stood grilling of attorneys for the defense proving

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 6th, 1913 SMITH ALLOWED ACCESS TO CLIENT After Judge Roan had ruled out the Conley testimony relating to alleged previous actions of Frank, the jury was returned to the courtroom, and Attorney Rosser resumed his cross-examination of Conley. "Jim, you took the body of that girl, you say, and wrapped her in a cloth, didn't you?""Yes, sir." "Was the cloth all around her?""No, sir, it didn't go over her whole body." "Did it cover her head?""No, sir." "Her feet?""No, sir." "How much of her body was projecting out of the cloth?""I don't know, sir." "You tied the cloth

The Atlanta Constitution,Wednesday, 6th August 1913,PAGE 1, COLUMN 2.From left to right: Striking photograph of Mrs. Leo Frank as she entered the courtroom Tuesday afternoon; grandmother of Mary Phagan. Two women spectators, who were excluded from the trial during Jim Conley's testimony.Photos by Francis E Price, Staff Photographer.PAGE 3, COLUMN 2Conley Leaving Courtroom After TestimonyPhoto by Francis E Price, Staff Photographer.Left to right: Chief of Detectives Newport Lanford, Jim Conley and Chief of Police James L. Beavers.PAGE 4, COLUMN 4Mayor Opposes Women Police.Mayor Woodward regards as doubtful the plan of Chief Beavers to appoint women on the police department. His

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 7th, 1913 Following Conley's departure from the stand the jury was allowed a five minute recess and on their return Solicitor Dorsey tendered in evidence a picture of the pencil factory basement which was taken by Francis B. Price, The Constitution staff photographer on the morning that the body was found a of which appeared in The Constitution. He also tendered a scratch pad sample of one of those around the factory the murder notes and the pad found near the body. There were no objections from the defense. "Bring in C. B. Dalton," called out the solicitor.

Atlanta ConstitutionAugust 7th, 1913 W. H. Mincey, witness for the defense in the Leo M. Frank trial whose substantial affidavit that Jim Conley had told him of killing a white girl on the day Mary Phagan was murdered was published some weeks ago was a conspicuous figure in front of the courthouse Wednesday. Mincey is a country school teacher and has been for twenty years. He is not used to city ways, he says, and the excitement of the crowd around the courthouse seemed to worry him. "I have great patriotism," said Mr. Mincey, "and that is the sole reason