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r 6 A HEARST’S SUNDAY AMERICAN”, ATLANTA, OA., SUNDAY. .TUNE 1, 1913. Conley’s Story Cinches Case Against Frank, Says Lanford Today Is Mary Phagan’s Birthday; Mother Tells of Party She Planned LB POLICE REPORTER Attorney Rosser Is Reflected in Policy of Silence of Man Accused of Mur der of Mary Phagan—Negro Is Frying to Free Self by Falsehood. By AN OLD POLICE REPORTER. Developments came ’thick and fast during the past week, and one is able to approach consid eration of the Phagan case to-day with more assurance and ease of mind than heretofore. Distinctly have the clouds lift ed, 9o I think, from about Leo Frank, and if not yet are they “In the deep bosom of the ocean buried," they have, nevertheless. 1 take it, served to let a measure of the sunshine in. Leo Frank, snatching eagerly it that faltering ray of blessed and thrice-welcome light, may thank the negro Conley for it albeit Conley let it in neither hy way of an impulse of sympathy nor in tentional truth. If 1 were a de-tee-i-tlff— which, praise be to Allah, I am not!—I think I should cease shouting from the housetops my unshakable belief in Frank's guilt, and should begin n» con template in solemn and searching analysis the shifty and amazing Jarnfs Conley, negro! It is my opinion, bluntly stated, that Conley is an unmitigated liar, all the way through, and that the truth is not in him! His statement appeals to me an Old Police Reporter—and not a de-tec-i-tiff. again praise be to Allah!—as distinctly the weightiest document in Leo Frank's favor that yet has been promulgated. Would Belong in Asylum. Certainly, if Frank DID do the astonishing things Conley attrib utes to him, he should not be -ent to the gallows in an\ event, for he surely belongs in .VIilledgeville. safely held In the State lunatic asylum. But. more of *V>nley hereafter. The it ie f murder has been made with Leo Frank, and he must face trial. The Grand Jury has indh ted him, and he will be arraigned in due time and in order. It will be a finish fight between the State and the ‘defendant. There can be no compromise now —either Frank is guilty or he is Innocent, and tin truth <>f that is for twelve men, "good und true, to say. They will be picked carefully, the State and the defense each exercising its right of elimination to the limit, no doubt, in seeking .to frame a jury likely to hand in a just verdict. At least, that is the theory of it. Solomon cited three strange things as the strangest of all things—the way of an eagle in the air, a serpent upon a rock, and a man with a maid. Jury Strangest of All. In Solomon's day, however, they did not have trials by jury, other wise I feel sure his majesty would have added the way of a jur\ with a defendant as the fourth exceeding strange thing! The w ind blow eth w here it list - eth, and no man knoweth w hence it cometh or whither it goeth— and by the same token, the ver dicts of juries are past prophecy and sure anticipation. Therefore, students of the un certain—those people who delight to indulge in speculation and baf fling forethought—have three puzzles to engage their minds. First, who killed Mary Phagan? Second, what will Frank's defense be ’ Third, what will the jury ■&+ ''*• < v .. .CyCK' CHAS.P G-LOVER REALTY CO. OurJ Rent Department One thing .seems certain, either the jury will acquit Frank utter ly or condemn him utterly. There will be no recommenda tion of mercy. If he is found guilty, for that would make it ob- is very thorough 2 1-2 Walton Street llgartory upon the presiding judge to send Frank to the penitentiary for life, with a possible pardon or commutation of sentence ahead. He will not be found guilty of manslaughter, either voluntary or Involuntary, for that would mean that he killed Mary Phagan. but not with deliberate malice afore thought. The verdict will be written in one of two words—either "Guil ty" or "Not Guilty." Law Holds Frank Innocent. Remember. Frank, although In dicted, stands in the eyes of the law at this writing with the pre sumption of innocent*- in his fa vor. That is the written law, and tne judges will so charge the Jury when he comes to deliver into their hands the ca^e for a deci sion. The burden of proof will be upon the State to make out its case ag linst Leo Frank "beyond a reasonable doubt " • Frank may introduce witnesses or not. as he chooses. He may, as he will have the right to do, undertake his defense entirely in a personal statement, given not under oath, which the jury may accept in whole or in part, or re ject in whole or in part, and to the exclusion of all the sworn tes timony. if it so elerts. That also is the written law', and the trial jury will be so charged. The State of Georgia is very fair to a defendant, fairer' than many St'ires. If Frank should elect to rely upon his own statement alone, it will indicate his Arm faith in the weakness of the State’s case against him, and a determination to risk his chances thereup. To that extent, then-fore, it would he calculated to affect the jury fa vorably to his point of view. Point Favors Rosser. Morebver, such a course would give that wonderful criminal law yer. Luther Z. Rosser, both the opening and the concluding argu ments before the jury, which oth erwise he .will forfeit to the State •—and that, in a case of the Pha gan character, is a matter of pos sibly tremendous consequence. It will not surprise me if Luth er Rosser takes his time about assembling the jury to try Frank, in so r ar as he may. .Neither will it surprise me to see him ex haust every effort to get a jury of marked intelligence I think he will incline to se cure as many h gh-elass men upon it as possible—conservative business men. heads of families, non-emotlonai, middle-aged per sons, perhaps a minister of th£ gospel. Here is a case of nation-wide interest. Not only is Leo Frank to be put on tidal; the State of Georgia is to be put on trial also! Of absorbing interest now, of course, ^s the probable theory of Frank’s defense I have some, ideas with regard to what it may be, and these l state, merely for what they may be worth, and as matters of per sonal speculation purely. What I say of the defense is not said to prejudice the case one way or another. I have no personal concern in it whatever—it inter ests me merely in the abstract. I have no acquaintance or con nection with any party to the tragedy of Mary Phagan not the slightest. It is. to me. an absorb ing problem that’s all. Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being in the peace of the State, with malice afore thought. either expressed or im plied. It may be proved either by direct or circumstantial evi dence. Naturally, it is harder to make out a case of murder by circum stantial evidence alone than by direct or mixed evidence. Will the State of Georgia be uble to make out such a definite ease against Frank that the State will be willing to take his life upon the gallows as a forfeit for hi6 crime? It either is that, or acquittal. No Definite Responsibility. Prophecy is gratuitous in mat ters of this kind, of course, and venturesome, but inasmuch as I am speaking for myself alone, 1 think I shall go on record here and now as saying that THE STATE NEVER WILL FIX 1’PON LEO FRANK DEFINITE RESPON SIBILITY FOR MARY PHA GAN S Ml’RDER! I do not believe the State’s case- unless its most convincing elements yet are secret—will "stand up" in court to that de gree necessary for conviction. And, with no hint or sugges tion from him to guide my mind or direct its trend, I predict that Luther Z. Rosser will bend his best energies to showing more the hopeless weakness of the State’s case than the strength of Frank’s defense. He will, I think, seek to clear Frank largely through a process of elimination, directed at the various factors in the case set up against him. He will put in fearful and full measure the tremendous respon sibility upon the State of taking Frank's life without being very sure of his guilt. And that argument, remember, is to be directed not \o YOU, gen tle reader, nor to ME, nor to the judge, nor to the spectators in the court house—but to those TWELVE MEN "good arvd true," under oath to do justice, there in the jury box! Must Remember Law’s Majesty. Luther Rosser is going to de- He Has Told the Whole Truth—There’s Not a Lawyer Who Can Shake Him,’ Asserts Chief. [ IM CONLEY has told the whole truth—there's not the shadow of a doubt about it. We feel perfectly satisfied now with the case against Frank. If we had the least suspicion that his story were false, we could not feel satisfied—we would be puzzled and wor ried just as much as when the crime was first committed. Conley’s evidence be—who / cinches the case against Frank, will go on the witness stand in the trial of Frank and tell his story just as he has told it to the officers. There’s not a lawyer in the whole United States—no matter how shrewd he may could shake that negro’s testimony—because it’s the truth. No person could doubt this after seeing him re-enact that tragedy in the pencil factory Friday. It was the most dramatic and remarkable spectacle ever witnessed here, and thoroughly convinced us that the negro was acting a role vividly impressed on his mind from already having portrayed it in tragic realism. Conley’s story makes the case against Frank direct and posi tive. It is no longer a case of circumstantial evidence. We were already convinced that we could convict Frank with the web of j circumstances woven about him, but now we have direct evidence on which to rely, and which is corroborated by this maze of con demning circumstances. Conley will make no further confession—there’s none for him to make. There is not a feature of his story that causes me to) doubt that he has told all he knows. From the very first we suspected that Frank was guilty, but we were never prejudiced against him. We have entertained every possible theory and worked on many different lines, as have all of the detectives on the case, and have been open to convic tion. But every bit of real evidence unearthed pointed to Frank, and now the confession of Con ley makes it all plain.—NEWPORT LANFORD, Chief of Detectives. Parents Intended to Give Child Happy Surprise—Now TLiey Will Strew Flowers on Her Grave in Marietta Churchvard. POLICE REPORTERS HAVE BEEN TREMENDOUS AID IN SOLVING MYSTERY Perhaps as many of the great murder mysteries of history have been solvod through the efforts of police reporters—men assigned by newspapers to “cover” criminal cases—as have been solved by de tectives. At any rate, the police will always admit that police re porters have had a large part in unraveling the knotty problems. In a case of this sort the police re porter's analysis is particularly good, for he is simply seeking the truth. He, unlike the police, is not held responsible for the production of the criminal, and, therefore, whatever line of thought he pur- sues is solely in the interest of clearing up a baffling mystery. As such the accompanying article is presented. mand of that Jury that it re member the majesty of the law— and he is going to picture its greatest majesty in its protection of the innocent rather than in Its punishment of the guilty. Let us now consider for a while the part the negro Gonley is play ing in this Phagan case. Conley’s participation began with a iie. He first ventured the assertion, vehemently, that he could not write. It was soon dis covered that the negro was falsi fying about that. He next swears that he wrote the notes found beside Mary Phagan’8 dead body, and that he wrote them the day BEFORE the killing. Presumably, it flnaJly filtered through his thick head that he had made out a case of premeditated murder against Frank in that statement—if he had made out any case at all— and so he shifted away, and again swore that he wrote the notes the day OF the killing! Finally, he gave out a state ment. sworn to again—he seems to he about the most willing swearer that ever came down the pike!—saying that he actually had helped Frank, AT FRANK* INVITATION, somewhat uim- mltlv delivered, to dispose of the dead' body of Mary Phagan, penned the notes at Franks dic tation. and ALMOST GOT $.00 FOR DOING IT! .... Do you believe the moon, the pale, inconstant moon, that night ly changes,” is made of green cheese, gentle reader? If so. niay so happen that you believe Conley is telling the truth—oth erwise. 1 doubt it. Frank in Conley’s Hands. Look at it in a common-sense light Look at it fairly and square ly. Face it in its abstract as pect. Ask yourself this question: Would Leo Frank, a white man of at least average intelligence and good reputation, with a fam ily at home and a good business standing abroad, kill a girl just in her teens, sure in the knowledge that no human being had wit nessed the deed, and then delib erately go forth to find a shift less negro to make him directly acquainted with the crime and its circumstances, and that to hide a body as effectively hidden as it was when found next morning? Did Leo Frank do that? If so, he is not a murderer in any— event —he is an irresponsible lu natic! And it doesn’t occur to me as remotely possible that Mr. Rosser will enter a plea, of luna cy iu Frank’s behalf. What is there, outside the pre posterous “confession” of Conley that might be damaging to Frank that he. has not himself been first to admit? Did Frank not admit, readily, being in the pencil factory at such and such hours, held to suggest the possibility of his having com mitted the crlm*? Did he not say, voluntarily, when shown the dead body of Mary Phagan, "Why, that is one of the girls I paid off yes terday ?” Shreds and patches will be about the proper words to em ploy in discussing Conley when Luther Rosser gets through with him. I suspect. If the suddenly grown loqua cious Conley only can be kept loquacious, we yet may reach the absolute truth of the Phagan murder, before Frank goes to trial! Looking back over the articles 1 heretofore have written with re spect to the Phagan case, and noting the thread of more or less unconscious optimism a.s con cerns the final intent of the peo ple to be fair, to be just, to be true to their higher ideals, I note little, if anything, that. I would unsay. Public Opinion Honest. Public opinion yields readily enough now and then to passion ate impulse and unreason, but. in the long run, it may be depended upon to right itself and to deal honestly with men and things. 1 thought I was right in say ing that judgment some time ago was suspended with regard to Loo Frank, that the public mind, free of its Initial distortion, had set tled itself into a calm determina tion to see fair play—fair play for all, for Frank, for the dead girl and for the great State of Geor gia. To-day, I think the public? mind is more firmly set in that direc tion than over. The people of Atlanta, of Georgia, of the South, of the nation ARE FAIR! One or two further points, and I am through. There are those who wonder why Frank, innocent, if so he be, so persistently declines to see people and to discuss his case for the public edification. In the first place, I may answer to that, Frank has employed for his de fense the most discreet and sec retive attorney in Atlanta. Luther Rosser is, and ever has been, the personification of silence when si lence seemed golden. In the mat ter of keeping things to himself, the well known Sphynx has noth ing whatever on Luther Z. Rosser. Mr. Rosser unquestionably long ago advised Frank not to talk— particularly when he (Rosser) was at Tallulah Falls trying a case. Besides, by declining to try his case in the neswpapers, Frank has displayed much common sense. Conley Badly Frightened. There ,are those who ask why Conley confessed, when to keep quiet seemed so much safer. Well, Conley is a negro, and he started out with a stupid purpose to lie—remember his denial of his ability to write—and when he found that he was being suspect ed. despite his lies, he became fearful that suspicion would shift from Frank to himself, and so he rushed forth to fix it upon Frank in so far as he might. He has had four weeks to frame his story In his mind and to rehearse it to himself. He has rehearsed it to himself so many times, that, negro like, he actually may believe it, or at least part of it. And I doubt capitally that he is through talking—and swearing —yet! DUE! HINTS AT PLANS OF STATE By M1GNON HALL. This will be the saddest Sunday with Mary Phagan’s family since that fatal Sunday Just five weeks ago when the little girl’s body way found hidden away in the basement of the National Pencil factory. For to-day is Mary’s birthday, and it had neen planned by her mother and stepfather, Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Coleman, that they would give her a party. If she had lived it would have been celebrated last night in her lit tle home on Lindsay Street, where she had spent the past fifteen months of her life. Instead of that, there is a shadow over the household, and , she was spoken of with an ache in the throat and tears. Where last night would have been so happy for Mary, there was silence, and to-day the family expects to go to Marietta to weep above the little mound where she rests and lay flowers on the graye. Was to Have Been Surprise. Mary's birthday party, Mrs. Cole man said, was to have been a sur prise, and as she told of it Saturday i morning over the ironing-board— j spoke of her other childish birthdays, the things Mary said and did, and all the tender little recollections of her a mother’s heart holds dear—her voice choked with sobs so that she could scarcely speak. “It would have been the child’s first party,” she said simply. "The poor little thing never had had much in her life—she had to work so hard. It was Mr. Coleman’s idea. He thought it would be nice for her. He was like a father to her, anyway, and the only one she had ever known. Her own father died before she was born. “We were going to have about twenty-five of the young folks and serve them ice cream and cake and fruit—and now—” The mother’s lips twitched and her hands trembled as she straightened out.the white waist and ran the iron across it. Mother Broken-Hearted. “Seems just like I can t get over it,” she said. “I dan hold up pretty well for a while, and then it seems I just have to cry it all out. I know' that all the tears in the w'orld won’t help things, but I just don’t seem able to do anything vise. "I just dread supper to-night. Poor little Mary—Mr. Coleman was going to give her a bracelet for her birth day—she had wanted one so Inog— as far back as I can remember.” She said that Mary had always been so happy over her birthdays, and she never forgot one of them, even those when she was a little girl. "I used to cook a little something extra for her,” Mrs. Coleman said, "and she. would be satisfied, for she was always easy to piease—the least little thing made her happy; and we’d have suen a good time together.” Most of her life Mary had lived in the country, her mother said, and she had always worked, for Mrs. Phagan was a \vidow r and there were four children besides Mary. The family had first lived six miles from Mari etta on a farm, and then later in Alabama, till they’ moved here a few’ months ago, when Mrs. Phagan mar ried Mr. Coleman. "I never will forget Mary’s birth day three years ago,” Mrs. Coleman said. “Her sister Ollie ^ave her a little locket with a little bit of a heart on it. It was pretty, and Mary took a spell over it and wore it all the time till 9he bought another one day just before she got killed. I think the child paid a dollar or two for it, but, just like she was about everything she had, she thought it was the nicest thing in the world. She never envied other girls." Longs for Slain Child. Mrs. Coleman dropped down in the chair, her hands listless in her lap. "You don’t know,” she cried to the reporter. “It seems to get lonesomer and lonesomer without Mary.” It was a few minutes before she could speak again, and then it was to tell of hefw the days went without the child. It seemed, she said, like she just couldn’t remember that Mary w’as dead. Sometimes when she would be cooking in the kitchen she w’ould be expecting her, and two or three mornings she had called her when it w’as time for her to get up. "It’s so quiet in the house,” she said. “Mary was always laughing and talking, telling w’hat she had done and w’hat she was- going to do and all that. Me and the children are just like we’re dead without her. Mary always used to carry my picture in her locket—she was a good child to me. "I remember so well how she looked the day she was born. It was the first day of June she came. Bhe had right black curly hair, and the same smile she grew up with. I never will forget that smile. I used to see it the last thing every morning when she went to work. I never could bear to see her going off to the car with out I watched her. Especially cold mornings, w’hen I thought she might have to wait. I used to stand out there in the street with my arms Jiugged up almost freezing till I saw her get on. I couldn’t be satisfied without I did that, seemed like.” Slain Girl’s Last Week. And then Mrs. Coleman told of the last week before Mary had been killed. The child had mentioned her birthday several times. She was not at work in the factory and had helped around the house. She had baked her first biscuit one day as a surprise to her mother. “I was always so proud of the child —maybe I was too proud,” Mrs. Cole man said. "I used to look at her when she was a little playful girl before she had to go to work out, and I used to think I was the happiest mother in the world. She wasn’t much more than a playful little girl when she got killed. I’ll show ypu just w’hat size she was. Wait.” And she went into the other room and brought back a short blue dress with white embroidered collar and cuffs. "Mary ahvays looked well, no mat ter what she had on,” she declared with moist eyes, as she held up the dress and took in its tender curves that would never again hold the little body. “The neighbors used to say if she put on a toe sack she’d look just like a morning glory.” Mrs. Coleman said she hoped some day to erect a stone over Mary’s grave. They were too poor to do it now, though, and they would have to wait, she said. What they would get she did not know'—but something simple and sweet—like Mary was. RICHMOND AND RETURN $16.70 VIA SOUTHERN RAILWAY. Tickets on sale June 7 and 8. Through Pullman Sleeping Car leaving Atlanta 2:45 p. m. daily, arriving Richmond 8:40 a. m. Dining car. City Ticket Office No.-l Peachtree Street. Established 1865 EISEMAN BROS,, Inc. Incorporated 1912 Continued From Page 1. a score of other topics. But when the negro’s mind was apparently dis tracted he would come back at him with a trip-hammer volley of ques tions covering time and again the ground that had been covered in the last affidavit of the negro. Time Stressed by Solicitor. On one point, particularly, the So licitor placed considerable emphasis— the time Assistant Superintendent Darley walked to the factory entrance door with the woman w’ho w r as crying. Darley placed the time as between 9:30 and 10 o’clock. The negro told the Solicitor that he was positive it was as late as 10:30 w’hen this inci dent occurred and probably later. He said he would take a positive oath that it was not earlier than 10:80, and that Mr. Darley must have been mis taken. The time he left the factory he placed as very nearly 1:40. He said he left by the front door and crossed the street to a near beer saloon where he got two drinks. He casually no ticed the clock, he said, and his recol lection w r as that It w r as about 1:40. He was equally as ignorant on the subject of tjie condition of the body when he found it. When the negro was taken from the Solicitor’s office he was taken to the police station instead of to the jail and lodged by himself in a private cell. No one was allowed to see him except those directly inter ested in the case. He asked the de tective chief to please allow him a short respite from the third degree and there was every indication the negro would not be again called be fore the detectives or the Solicitor until Monday. Following his examination of Con ley, the Solicitor intimated for the first time the line of his prosecution. He explained, however, that later developments might make it neces sary* to change this plan. He would not comment on how* much credence he placed in Conley’s story*. Frank, indicted by the Grand Jury, he intimated, would be tried alone as the principal. Conley, whom he expects to have the Grand Jury indict as an acces sory* after the fact, he wfill use first as a material witness against Frank. He may be tried later. Newt Lee, held for the Grand Jury on a blank bill of indictment charg ing murder, he expects to see exoner ated by a “no bill” when the jury meets again. Lee will be held in jail as a material witness. Negro’s Theory of Crime. Conley* gave for the first time Sat urday his theory of how Mary Pha gan met her death. Eliminating his dialect and rearranging the sequence of events it is: Mary' Phagan went to the pencil factory' superintendent’s office to draw her pay. She and the superin tendent were alone and conversed rather freely. In the course of the conversation she asked Mr. Frank something about the metal. She de cided to go to the metal department for some reason. Before going she placed her purse and pay’ envelope on the superintendent’s desk. She \\ as followed to the rear of the build ing where she met her death. (He would not express any opinion as to how.) Several minutes elapsed before he was called, probably* twenty or thirty minutes. In this time Frank had had time to dispose of the purse and pay envelope and decide to call him to help conceal the body. READ WHAT WE SAY! AND LEARN WHERE AMERICA’S BEST CLOTHES ARE TO BE HAD. We are exclusive representatives in Atlanta of SEVEN OF THE MOST NOTABLE MAKES OF MEN’S CLOTHES IN THE COUNTRY. Amongst such a superb and representative collection of models, every style is thoroughly and exhaustively rep resented. The ENGLISH, and Semi-English; the NOR FOLK in every version of the vogue; the conservative cut, too, all at their very best; handsomely tailored; beauti fully finished; intensely correct in line, and made of highly finished fabrics in the popular colors, and modish mixtures. Cool Canadian Crash Suits! Extremely light in weight; two-piece models, coats quarter lined; all seams piped with silk; handsomely tailored; fine fitting garments. 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