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Findings in Probe are Guarded
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Wednesday, July 2, 1913
No Indication Given of Results of Investigation of Reports of Disorderly Houses.
The result of the Grand Jury’s sensational vice probe of a few weeks ago will be made known Wednesday when the presentments are returned to Superior Judge W. D. Ellis, who two months ago charged that an extensive investigation be made.
Save when an indictment was returned against Police Commissioner W. P. Fain, which charged him with keeping a disorderly house and beating one of the women inmates, no inkling of the general trend of the probe got beyond the closed doors of the jury room.
When the probe first started the jury expected it to be completed in a day. It took a sensational turn when Colonel Thomas B. Felder charged Chief of Detectives Newport Lanford and his detectives with openly protecting vice, and the attorney stated he could submit to the jury a “vice list” that would “stand Atlanta on its head.”
List Given to Jury.
May Indict Conley in Phagan Case
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Tuesday, July 1, 1913
JURY LIKELY TO GO OVER DORSEY’S HEAD
Indictment of Negro Sweeper Would Be Severe Blow to Prosecution of Frank.
That the Fulton County Grand Jury will go over the head of Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey and indict Jim Conley, the negro sweeper, for the murder of Mary Phagan, in connection with Leo M. Frank, was a probability which came to light Tuesday.
While the report was not verified, its origin was such as to throw a bomb into the camp of the prosecution, as it will mean the indictment of the star witness in the State’s case against Frank.
In the event that Conley is indicted it will mean also that he will be taken from the custody of the police, where he has been carefully guarded from the defense, and will be placed in the county jail, where Frank is being held.
Rumors that Newt Lee, negro night watchman at the National Pencil factory, had made sensational disclosures to his attorney, Bernard L. Chappell, and would be one of the State’s most important witnesses in the trial of Leo M. Frank, were set at rest Tuesday by Mr. Chappell.
The negro’s attorney said after the inquest that he would make no effort to procure the release of Lee, as he believed his client was a vital witness and it would be the wisest plan for him to remain in the protection of the State.
His statements at this time and up to the date of the indictment found against Frank led to the impression that Lee had confided in his lawyer significant circumstances which he had told neither to the detectives nor to the members of the Coroner’s jury.
Denies Confession Reports.
May Indict Conley as Slayer
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Tuesday, July 1, 1913
Grand Jury Reported as Seriously Considering Connection of Negro With the Crime.
A well founded rumor Tuesday was to the effect that the Grand Jury had Jim Conley’s connection with the Mary Phagan murder mystery under serious consideration with a view of finding an indictment against the negro on the charge of causing the death of the little factory girl.
Announcement was made after the close of Tuesday’s session that the present Grand Jury would hold its last session Wednesday, and it was reported that if action were not taken on Conley’s case before adjournment, recommendations would be left with the next Grand Jury suggesting that the negro’s connection with the crime be rigidly investigated.
If the indictment is returned against the negro it will mean that he will be taken from the custody of the detectives and placed in the Tower. He also will bear a different relation to the case in the future, being a defendant instead of a material witness. Attorneys interested in the case said they had heard nothing of the proposed action by the Grand Jury.
Rumors that Newt Lee, negro night watchman at the National Pencil factory, had made sensational disclosures to his attorney, Bernard L. Chappell, and would be one of the State’s most important witnesses in the trial of Leo M. Frank, were set at rest Tuesday by Mr. Chappell.
The negro’s attorney said after the inquest that he would make no effort to procure the release of Lee, as he believed his client was a vital witness and it would be the wisest plan for him to remain in the protection of the State.
His statements at this time and up to the date of the indictment found against Frank led to the impression that Lee had confided in his lawyer significant circumstances, which he has told neither to the detectives nor to the members of the Coroner’s jury.
Denies Confession Reports.
“No” Bill Is Returned Against A. S. Colyar
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Tuesday, July 1, 1913
Grand Jury Declines to Indict Colyar for Reply to Attack of Colonel Felder
[…]charging A. S. Colyar, of Nashville, with libel, the Fulton county grand jury at its session on Tuesda ymorning [sic] refused to indict the Tennessean, returning a “no bill” in the case. Mr. Colyar has been in the limelight recently as a principal in the sensational dictograph episode, and has been engaged in a heated controversy with Colonel Thomas B. Felder.
The Tennessean was charged specifically with libelling Mr. Felder in a card published over his signature in The Journal of June 8, in which he excoriated the Atlanta lawyer.
The grand jury had the bill drawn of its own initiative, it is said, and considered it Tuesday morning. The only witness called before the grand jury was John Paschall, city editor of The Atlanta Journal.
In answer to questions of the grand jurors, Mr. Paschall stated that the card was furnished for publication by Mr. Colyar. Colyar has been given an opportunity to reply to an attack on his character, which Mr. Felder had embodied in a card, addressed to the editor of The Journal and which was published on the same day, the newspaper man told the jury in answer to further questions.
Attached to the bill, which was drawn against Mr. Colyar, was a copy of his card.
The grand jury was in session more than an hour considering the bill, before its decision not to return an indictment was reached.
* * *
Colyar Indicted as Libeler of Col. Felder
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Tuesday, July 1, 1913
Grand Jury Develops Sensational Sequel to Famous Dictograph Scandal.
A. S. Colyar, Jr., dictographer of Colonel Thomas B. Felder, Mayor Woodward and C. C. Jones, was indicted by the Grand Jury on the charge of criminal libel Tuesday forenoon.
Colyar is the man who sought to trap Colonel Felder by means of the dictograph into offering a bribe of $1,000 for certain affidavits in the Phagan case in the possession of the police. The dictograph records as furnished an afternoon newspaper by Colyar contained the offer.
Colonel Felder swore the records were padded. Largely on Colonel Felder’s representations, the indictment was procured. John Pascal, of The Journal, was the only witness called by the Grand Jury in considering Colyar’s case.
Chief of Detectives Lanford and Colonel Felder, indicted last week by the Grand Jury, obtained their freedom by making a $500 bond. It was expected that the same bond would be imposed upon Colyar.
Much of the time Tuesday was occupied by members of the Grand Jury in probing into police affairs. Without calling any witnesses, the scandal which has shaken the department was given serious consideration for nearly two hours. The result of the discussion was not made public.
* * *
Facts Do Not Indicate Indictment of Conley
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Tuesday, July 1, 1913
Rumor About Negro in Phagan Case Not Confirmed—Grand Jury Is Through
The publication to the effect that the negro sweeper, Jim Conley, probably would be indicted by the Fulton county grand jury for the murder of Mary Phagan, is apparently without any justification.
The grand jury, according to its foreman, Lewis H. Beck, will make its presentments to the court Wednesday morning and in all probability will be discharged then.
It is not likely, therefore, that the jury will consider any further bills. Mr. Beck declined to comment on the publication and referred the reporter to the solicitor.
As Solicitor Dorsey is known to be opposed to an indictment of Conley at this time, there seems to be no basis for the report that the case will be taken up.
Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey vigorously asserted Tuesday afternoon that no attempt had been made by the grand jury toin dict [sic] the negro Conely [sic] for the murder of Mary Phagan nor had any suggestion been made by the jurymen in this direction.
He said positively that he had heard of no intention on the part of jurors to go over his head in the Conley matter.
* * *
Colyar Not Indicted On Charge of Libel
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Tuesday, July 1, 1913
The Fulton County Grand Jury returned no bill against A. S. Colyar, Jr., Tuesday forenoon on the charge of criminal libel. Colyar came into prominence a few weeks ago by dictographing Colonel Thomas B. Felder, Mayor Woodward and C. C. Jones in Williams House No. 2.
Colyar is the man who sought to trap Colonel Felder by means of the dictograph into offering a bribe of $1,000 for certain affidavits in the Phagan case in the possession of the police. The dictograph records as furnished an afternoon newspaper by Colyar contained the offer.
* * *
Frank Is Willing for State to Grill Him
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Tuesday, July 1, 1913
Accused Man Declares He’s Anxious Even for Prosecution to Cross-Examine.
Surpassing in interest any of the other testimony at the trial of Leo M. Frank will be the story related on the stand by the accused man himself. That Frank will make a detailed statement of his movements on the day that Mary Phagan was murdered is regarded as one of the certainties of the trial.
It was learned Wednesday that Frank was desirous of going even further than this by being sworn and submitting to a cross-examination by the attorneys for the prosecution. He will request his lawyers, Luther Z. Rosser and Reuben R. Arnold, that the privilege of cross-examination be extended the State.
Conley Tale Is Hope of Defense
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Monday, June 30, 1913
DEFENSE PLANS TO TEAR DOWN CONLEY TALE*
* This headline appeared on Page 3 of the Georgian.
Expect to Prove Frank Innocent By Discrediting Negro’s Story Of Phagan Crime.
Warned that the State is basing practically all of its expectations of sending Leo M. Frank to the gallows on the dramatic story told by Jim Conley, the defense this week is completing the collection of a strong line of evidence with which it is planned utterly to discredit the negro’s statements and his testimony in court.
Conley again has insisted on confronting Frank. He says he is certain if he can meet the factory superintendent face to face he can make him “tell the whole story.” The negro has told the detectives he not only is willing, but is eager to repeat in the presence of Frank the story of the disposal of Mary Phagan’s body just as he has related it a dozen times since he first made the sensational acknowledgment that he had a part in the crime.
It is regarded as most unlikely that the two will be brought together. Luther Z. Rosser, attorney for Frank, has refused to make any definite statement of his attitude in the matter, but it is known he looks with suspicion on every word and every act of the negro. He has given the impression that he is not unwilling for his client to face the negro, but that he regards the court room as the proper place for the meeting and the actual trial of Frank as the proper time. For this reason, the dramatic moment when accuser and accused confront each other in all probability will be saved for the time when the legal battle is in progress for Frank’s life.
Brilliant Legal Battle Is Sure as Hooper And Arnold Clash in Trial of Leo Frank
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Sunday, June 29, 1913
[BRILLIANT BATTLE SURE IN FRANK TRIAL IN CLASH OF HOOPER AND ARNOLD]*
[Order Has at Last Been Rested and Indications Are That Struggle of Attorneys Will Be Waged in the Most Ethical Manner.]
* Alternate headline from another page is shown in brackets above.
By An Old Police Reporter.
As deplorable as the Phagan case is in all its melancholy details, it already is evident enough that there will come of it eventually much that the community may be thankful for.
In the first place, Atlanta and Georgia, and incidentally the entire South will have learned a good lesson in law and order, justice and fair play, and to that extent may be the better prepared for the next case of the kind that comes to their attention.
In the second place, there will be in the future no such wretched bungling and frenzied appeal in and from police headquarters, as for a time marked the Phagan case unique among its kind.
It looks now as if the decks have been pretty well cleared for action and that Leo Frank’s trial may be expected to proceed in dignity and order, and that in its final analysis the truth of Mary Phagan’s murder may be established, at least to the extent of Frank’s real or suspected participation therein.
If Frank should be convicted, that would mean the subsequent indictment and conviction of the negro Conley, as an accessory after the fact.
Many Experts to Take Stand in Frank Trial
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Sunday, June 29, 1913
Great Array of Finger-Print and Blood-Stain Students Will Give Their Views.
The trial of Leo M. Frank will bring forth the most prominent array of criminal and medical experts ever grouped in a Southern court room.
This became known Saturday when Solicitor Hugh M. Dorsey began making preparations to have the skilled investigators who have worked in the Phagan case return to Atlanta for the trial, July 28.
The defense has not been idle and is prepared to have an expert on almost every conceivable angle to introduce in rebuttal.
Fingerprint experts were brought into the case almost immediately after it was taken from the hands of the police by Solicitor Dorsey. One of the most prominent of these, who has figured in solving many New York mysteries, was the first to be brought South. He spent several days in a minute investigation of the scene of the crime, articles of clothing and the fingerprints of every suspect in the case. Other experts in the same line followed him.
Solicitor Dorsey did not trust wholly to the examination of Dr. Hurt, the Coroner’s physician, who could not qualify as an expert in the Appelbaum trial, but sent with him some of the most prominent of the Atlanta medical men.
Blood Stains Important.
Gov. Slaton Takes Oath Simply
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Saturday, June 28, 1913
With the simplest ceremonies in the history of the State, marked by the absence of all military display and red tape, John Marshall Slaton becomes Governor of the State of Georgia in the hall of the House of Representatives of the State Capitol Saturday at 12 o’clock noon, succeeding Governor Joseph M. Brown.
The joint committee on inaugural arrangements selected from the memberships of the Senate and the House has conformed to the expressed desires of Governor-elect Slaton in preparing for his induction into office, and there is none of the pomp and excitement attending previous gubernatorial inaugurations. Within an hour or an hour and a half after the ceremonies begin, Governor Joseph M. Brown will have relinquished his office and made preparations to retire to his Cobb County farm, and His Excellency John Marshall Slaton will take his place as head of the State Government.
Governor Slaton will give voice to certain distinct policies of his own in his inaugural address, which also will be his message to the Legislature. He will recommend certain legislation and condemn certain other legislation, but there will not be that tense, nervous feeling that usually characterizes a change of administration, though it be usually hidden behind a mask of pomp and display.
Great Crowds Attend.
State Secures New Phagan Evidence
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Saturday, June 28, 1913
[HOOPER SECURES NEW EVIDENCE FROM CONLEY]*
[NEW FACTS GIVEN BY NEGRO]
[Admissions to Prosecutor’s Aide Strengthens Rumor That He Saw Girl Just Before Crime.]
Conley’s Admission Strengthens Rumor That He Saw Child Just Before Slaying.
Frank A. Hooper, associated with Solicitor Dorsey in the prosecution of Leo M. Frank on the charge of strangling Mary Phagan, admitted Saturday that Jim Conley, negro sweeper at the National Pencil Factory, had made important additions to the story of his part in the murder mystery and had told of circumstances on the day of the crime which he had revealed in none of his previous statements.
A persistent report that Conley had made the startling admission that he had seen Mary Phagan enter the factory on the day she was slain arose at the time the negro was questioned more than an hour by Solicitor Dorsey early in the week, and this rumor was heightened after Attorney Hooper’s interview with the negro Friday.
In all of his statements to the detectives Conley denied he saw the girl at all on the day of the crime until he was horrified by the sight of her dead body lying in the rear of the second floor where he was directed by Leo Frank. Solicitor Dorsey is believed to have wrung the statement from him that he did see Mary Phagan when she came in the door of the factory and went to the second floor to Frank’s office.
Hooper Mum on Topic.
Lanford and Felder Are Held for Libel
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Friday, June 27, 1913
Grand Jury Indicts Lawyer and Head of Detectives for Attacks on Each Other.
Three indictments charging criminal libel were returned Friday by the Grand Jury against Colonel Thomas B. Felder, the Atlanta attorney, and Newport Lanford, Chief of Detectives, who accused each other of most everything in the category after the famous dictograph episode. There are two bills against Felder and one against Lanford.
The two men will be placed under bond and will be tried in the Fulton County courts under the misdemeanor act for unlawfully and maliciously accusing each other, according to the true bills.
The penalty for conviction of a misdemeanor is six months in the county jail, twelve months in the penitentiary, a fine not exceeding $1,000, either or all three.
Colonel Felder appeared at the Solicitor’s office about 2 o’clock and furnished the $500 bond required. Chief Lanford had not been located at that time, but was expected to do likewise.
The accusation against both men is based on recriminations issued against each other and published in the Sunday newspapers of May 25 and June 8.
In those statements Colonel Felder attacked Lanford bitterly, hurling a line of invectives that the greatest of the Roman orators might have envied. He attacked Lanford’s private and public character, accusing him of “hideous crimes.”
Lanford in Full Denial.
New Frank Evidence Held by Dorsey
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Friday, June 27, 1913
Solicitor Closely Guards Data of Which City Detectives Have No Knowledge.
New activity was injected into the Phagan case Friday when James Conley, negro sweeper at the National Pencil Factory, was removed secretly from his cell in police station and closely questioned by Frank Hooper, who will aid Solicitor Dorsey in the prosecution of Leo Frank.
The move was surrounded with the utmost secrecy. The negro was taken from his cell by Detective Starnes, and behind locked doors questioned anew in the room used by the Police Commissioners. He had been in for many minutes before the action became known.
Mr. Hooper asked Conley various new questions, and after the quizzing was over hurried away from the police station.
Dorsey Has New Evidence.
Stover Girl Will Star in Frank Trial
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Thursday, June 26, 1913
State, However, Must Prove She Entered Factory Before Mary Phagan.
With the selection of the court room made Thursday, all is virtually in readiness for the trial of Leo M. Frank, accused of strangling Mary Phagan. The venire of jurymen has been selected and July 28 is fixed as the date, and both sides have announced they are ready to go into court.
A definite decision was reached by Judge L. S. Roan to hold the trial on the first floor of the old City Hall building. The decision was reached after a conference with Solicitor General Dorsey, and it was represented as impracticable to hold the trial in the small and not well-ventilated court room in the Thrower building.
The State is maintaining its determined attitude toward the subpenas duces tecum issued by the defense. Frank A. Hooper, assisting in the prosecution, has branded them as a palpable trick to discredit the testimony of the State’s witnesses.
Girl Star Witness.
The witnesses will be present with the affidavits called for, but a hot fight will be put up by Solicitor Dorsey and Attorney Hooper to prevent their use by the defense.
Monteen Stover, a timid little 14-year-old girl, will be a star witness in the trial [of Leo M. Frank July 28 on the charge of strangling Mary Phagan in the National Pencil Factory],* according to all indications Thursday.
[The frequency with which she has been called upon to repeat her story of going to the factory on the day of the crime and finding Frank absent from his office is taken as an almost certain indication that the prosecution regards her statements of the utmost importance.]
The State, if it is able to establish that Monteen Stover entered the factory on the day of the crime just after Mary Phagan went inside, will have scored a most significant victory. The evidence will still be circumstantial, it is true, but it will be of greater weight even than the weird stories of the negro sweeper, Jim Conley, who has sworn that he aided Frank in disposing of the body.
Adds to Mystery.
Her story; however, until it is substantiated or disproved in court, only adds to the mystery of a crime which already abounds in baffling and mysterious phases. Her appearance on the witness stand may mean everything or nothing—because there is the startling fact that every indication points to Monteen Stover having entered the factory BEFORE Mary Phagan. (more…)
Conley, Put on Grill, Sticks Story
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Wednesday, June 25, 1913
Police Resume Questioning of the Negro Sweeper Who Accuses Leo Frank.
Puzzled by several of the statements of Jim Conley in regard to his part in the happenings the day that Mary Phagan was killed, the police have resumed the questioning from which the negro had been free since he was taken to the police station by the detectives.
One point that has not been cleared up is why Conley saw every one else that went into or left the factory and yet failed to see Mary Phagan.
Conley, on Sunday, was confronted by Monteen Stover. He identified her as the girl he saw enter the factory shortly after 12 o’clock on the day of the crime. Yet he still maintains that he did not see Mary Phagan, although Mary must have entered the factory either just before or just after the Stover girl was in the building. The evidence in the possession of the State shows that there could hardly have been more than three to five minutes intervening between the times that the two girls were in the factory.
Want Clearer Statement.
Conley has been asked to explain this apparently improbable circumstance. Conley at first denied that he had seen Lemmie Quinn in the factory on the Saturday of the murder. Later he said he had seen the factory foreman. Which statement is believed by the State is not known. What explanation is made by the negro for lying in regard to the matter also is conjectural.
Mary Phagan left her home on April 26 at about 11:50 o’clock. Living in Bellwood, it is regarded as unlikely that she reached the factory in less than 25 minutes, or at 12:15. Monteen Stover had testified that she visited the factory at about 12:10, which would be just before Mary Phagan had entered the factory, if the times testified to are correct.
Conley, on this account, has been asked if he saw, from his vantage point behind the boxes, Monteen Stover enter the factory at 12:10 o’clock, and Lemmie Quinn enter at 12:20, why he did not see Mary Phagan when she entered in the interval between the visits of the Stover girl and Lemmie Quinn.
Sticks to His Story.
Another point on which he has been questioned is as to how he could have left his home at the time he has testified and visit all the saloons of which he has told and still meet Frank at Nelson and Forsyth Streets as Frank was on his way to Montag Bros. factory. Frank, according to the statements of members of the Montag firm, was in their building by 10 o’clock. Yet the things that Conley has testified to doing would have taken him until considerably after 10 o’clock, according to a conservative estimate. (more…)
Both Sides Called in Conference by Judge; Trial Set for July 28
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Tuesday, June 24, 1913
Dorsey, Beavers and Lanford Summoned to Appear June 30 With All Affidavits They Have Secured Relative to the Phagan Slaying Case.
Just before the conference with both sides in the Frank case started Judge Roan intimated strongly that he would set the case for July 14 or July 28 and hold it in some more commodious court room than the one in which he sits on the fourth floor of the Thrower building. Judge Roan’s personal inclination leans to a date in July, and it is not likely that the State or defense will object to acceding to his wishes.
The date was definitely fixed for July 28 at the conference.
The first important legal move by the defense in the battle for the life and freedom of Leo Frank, accused of the strangling of Mary Phagan, was made Tuesday in the issuance of subpenas duces tecum for the prime movers in the prosecution of the factory superintendent.
The following have been subpenaed to appear:
Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey, who will prosecute the prisoner.
Chief of Police James L. Beavers, who was the leader in obtaining incriminating affidavits.
Pinkerton Detective Harry Scott, to whom is generally given credit for the admissions gained from Conley.
All other city detectives who have worked on the case.
All of them are ordered to produce any affidavits they may have bearing on the case in court June 30, indicating that the defense will be prepared to go on with the trial at that time.
Judge Roan, however, had called a conference of the attorneys on both sides of the case for 2 o’clock in the afternoon, when he announced that he would set the date definitely after the attorneys had been given an opportunity to say whether or not their cases would be in shape to present if the trial were called the last of this month.
Plan to Use Same Evidence.
The startling move on the part of the defense was taken to mean that Frank’s lawyers propose to use to free their client the very evidence the detectives and Solicitor General have collected to send him to the gallows.
The most significant demand is made upon Chief Beavers, who is commanded to bring into court the famed series of affidavits made by the negro sweeper, Jim Conley. It is evident that Attorneys Rosser and Arnold, who are conducting the defense, intend to tear the contradictory stories of the negro to tatters and make his statements so utterly ridiculous and improbable that the jury not only will refuse to accept them, but will interpret them as an effort of Conley to get from under the blame for a crime that he committed himself. (more…)
Venire of 72 for Frank Jury Is Drawn
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Monday, June 23, 1913
Negro Conley Sticks to Affidavit Story When Again Cross-Examined by Dorsey.
The first official action of the court in preparing for the trial of Leo M. Frank for the murder of Mary Phagan was taken Monday afternoon when Judge L. S. Roan impaneled 72 men, from whom a jury to hear the case will be sought.
June 30 was agreed to by Judge Roan for the opening of the case. If a postponement is desired it will now have to be asked for in open court.
As yet Judge Roan said he had received no intimation from the defense that a delay was wanted. Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey said Monday the prosecution was ready for trial.
Trial in Thrower Building.
An extra staff of deputies has been sworn in and subpenas to jurymen impaneled and witnesses are now being served.
No plans for a larger room in which to hear the case have matured, and it is likely that the courtroom of the Superior Court in the Thrower Building will be used at last, despite its size and lack of comfort.
Jim Conley, the negro sweeper, was brought before Solicitor Dorsey Monday morning for another cross-examination. The questions were solely along the lines of the negro’s affidavit charging Frank with the crime. As the Solicitor later said, he had only refreshed Conley’s mind on the points he had made in his statement. The negro told the same story he told before without deviation. (more…)
State Ready for Frank Trial on June 30
Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.
The Atlanta Georgian
Monday, June 23, 1913
Defense Has Announced Its Case Is Complete and Judge Roan Is Free.
Prosecuting Attorney Hugh M. Dorsey announced for the State Monday morning that the trial of Leo M. Frank would be placed on the calendar for the week of June 30.
The defense had announced that its case was completed and no continuance would be asked unless some unforeseen contingency arose.
The trial judge, L. S. Roan, will have the most to say about the date for the trial. He intimated he would be ready on this date and would personally make no move for a continuance. He said, however, that in the event of it being impossible to open the trial June 30, he would be at leisure between July 14 and 28, and it is not improbable the trial may be advanced to that date.
Dorsey Back From East.
Solicitor Dorsey returned to Atlanta Sunday afternoon from a week’s vacation in New York. He called a conference with his assistants, E. A. Stephens and F. A. Hooper, at his home Sunday evening. Following it he announced that he would be ready for trial on June 30 and that unless the defense or the trial judge moved to have the trial postponed he would commence at once summoning witnesses and getting ready. (more…)