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THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN ANT) NEWS. 3 By L. F. WOODRUFF. The sun’s heat Is broiling:. No man can stand it without suffering. And etill men stand, not one man, but scores of them, on a blistered pave ment gazing on a red brick building as unsightly as a gorgon’s head and look at nothing by the hour. They are led there by a trail of crimson, and they are held there by the carmine charm that—since Cain , committed his deed of fratricide— * has made murder the deed that the law most severely punishes and has made it the act that most interests man. Go to Pryor and Hunter streets. You'll And a study there. Leo Frank Is being tried for the murder of * Mary Phagan in the courtroom in ki building on the northeast comer. The trial is progressing in a quiet, orderly manner. Sheriff Mangum’s force is attending to that. Few per sons not vitally interested in the case are permitted in the courtroom. Outsiders are not even allowed m the same side of the street that abuts on the building housing Atlanta's most famous criminal trial. But these retmlatlons fall to dampen the interest Atlanta feels in the case. Dickens was never wrong in his study of human frailties and human emotions. Do you remember when Mr. Pickwick was arrested for tres passing and when asked as to his identity replied "cold punch?” Do you remember when he was placed in the pound the sage of Gad's Hill told how the village populace gazed at nothing through the cracks in the fence of that inclosure? Old Scene Re-enacted. The same thing that Dickens wrote of a half century ago is being re enacted in Atlanta in this good year of 1913. Hundreds of Atlantans are figuratively looking through the cracks of the pound fence and seeing nothing. , They are standing on that sun- .« burnt pavement gazing on a building Just because in the four walls of that structure a man is fighting for his life, just because a gallows threatens a. man accused of ending the life of a little girl they never saw, they sever heard of, until her dead body was found, and the Incarnadined mys- 1 very was added to the criminal hls- > tory of Georgia’s capital. For hours they gaze. They can not possibly learn more of the progress of the trial there across the street than they could at their homes or their places of business. But there they stand. The Intimacy of the lo cation with the tragedy enthralls them. When this crowd 13 viewed, the strange fascination of the old Ro mans for the arena in which men died, the allurement of the present day prize ring in which men suffer, Is not so strange. A peculiar kink In nature has made man love to wit ness the tribulation of his fellows. Inside the courtroom the crowd is different. Frank is there because sus picion points to him as the slayer. His wife Is there, because It Is the wife’s place to be near her husband In his supreme hour of trial. His mother is there because mother love demands that she be a protector, a guardian, a consoler, when others are trying to blacken his character, to have him declared unfit to breathe the air of free and honorable men. Attorneys and Their Fight. The attorneys are there to fight a fight they think Just. Hugh Dorsey i is struggling to establish a record that the county of Fulton will up hold the law thou-i the offender oe 8* wealthy and as powerful as the chieftain of the greatest trust. Luther Rosser and Reub Arnold are there in their panoply of invincibility to rnain- V tain their reputations as well as de- fend the man they declare innocent. Mary Phagan’s mother and sister are there because the call - of the blood tells them that the death cf the little 'actor • girl should _ be avenged. There are scores of spectators, young lawyers, who wish to witness the Struggle between those master minds of their profession engaged <n the case. Their interest is as nat ural as the interest of a stock bro ker’s clerk in the personality of the , the fortune of Morgan, big round table is seated a of coatless men working at teed, every energy strained to , people of Atlanta know the g issues of the battle, a of these men is there by They would probably like to ome other place, where, thougn of electric fans are blowing ntly, the heat is as oppressive t of a Turkish bath steamroom. outside the railing, in the spec- assigned seats, is a crowd a a ruous to the atmosphere as a borer at a king’- levee. Every e class is represented, e are business men of big m- They sit through the hear- ith their mouths agape, just e crowd on the pavement There are typical Crackers in irong. One man wearing tha of honor of a Confederate vei- as been in constant attendance the trial. . Boys Hang on Every Word. the large portion of the audl- j, young, pitifully young, too. INTEREST AT TRIAL CENTERS ON WOMEN when the Issue and the result i» con sidered. Boys just in long trousorg have obtained admission in some way. They are lustful for every word, every deed. They are not seeking informa tion. They are attending the tri.il The mother of i Leo Frank, who is at her son’s side constantly Mrs. J. W. Coleman, mother of the slain girl. OUie Phagan, sister of slain girl, who is attending every session as a result of the same Impulse that leads them to spend their sparse nickels for a recital of the deeds *jf derring-do, of “Diamond Dick,” oi “Old King Brady.” One man, hardly a man either,- for. his face was youthful, has been .nt? every session. He is palpably a drug ( victim. His pallor stands out in* striking relief among the rather ro bust countenances of the rest of the audience. His hands twitch nervous ly. His head frequently droops. Hi3 physical being is demanding the dnig he craves. But his mental desire for the thrill of the trial holds him more firmly than the power of the opiate. His interest in the case might be a study for the most eminent neurolo gists. A common link holds all of these people, those Inside and those out. It is the rope of hemp that hangs ».s a possible conclusion to this gripping tragedy that has held a city three months. No man has ever been seen who says that he enjoys witnessing a hanging. No hanging has ever been seen where there were not more peo ple anxious to see the execution than there was room in the death cell. The sun on Pryor street may scorch, but the awful charm of the noose and black cap makes the place as pleasant as the veranda of a sea shore hotel. The heat of the court room may sear the very being of the spectators, but the fascination of the death watch keeps them as firmly fastened in their seats as though there were bars of iron about, the chairs. It’s a morbid thought, but It’s a morbid crowd. Those Interested in Frank listen to the case in the hope of developments that will free him of the ordeal of mounting the stairs of steel. Those who wish his conviction are there to see a web of circum stance weaved around him that leads only to that awful end. 3 Weather Officials, Moore's Aides, Out WASHINGTON. July 31.—Secretary of Agriculture Houston to-day an nounced the dismissal of Daniel J. Carroll, chief clerk. Executive Assist ant Henry L. Helskell, professor of meteorology at the Washington office of the weather bureau, and Roswitte E. Pollock, section director of the weather bureau at Trenton, N. J., because they bad failed to respond to charges of misuse of Government time and funds in the promotion of the candidacy of Willis L. Moore, de posed chief of the weather bureau, who wanted to be Secretary of Agri culture. Vthite Man Held in Dublin Slaying Case DUBLIN, July 31.—Robert William son, white, was arrested here to-day charged with the murder of Mr. and Mrs. J. T. Hewell, an aged eouple who were killed at their home here several weeks ago. Williamson is said to have had a disagreement with Hewell a short time before the killing and has been suspected some time, but no arrest was made until to-day. Four negroes are under arrest for tjie same offense. The Grand Jufy is investigating the matter to-day. MOVE TO CREW SI. Episcopal Property Ordered Va cated—New School To Be Completed in 1914. The English Commercial High School on August 1 will vacate the property of the Episcopal Diocese on Washington street and occupy the old Crew street schoolhouse pending thq construction of a new $75,000 structure in 1914. This is the decision of the Board of Education following the report of the committee composed of Walter R. Daley, W. M. Slaton, L. M. Land rum, Dan Green and Marcellus An derson. “It will mean a saving of $10,000 in five years if the new school is not completed at that time,” said Presi dent Daley. “The change will also mean that the board will be able to take care of all the students enrolled this fall.” Under the old lease of the Episco pal Diocese building, which expires Friday, the board agreed with Bishop Nelson to pay a rental of $125 per month. Several months ago Super intendent Slaton informed the Board of Education that there would be an increase of 75 students next year, which would bring the attendance up to 200 instead of 125. To provide for this increase it was thought that the church property could be enlarged or an annex erect ed. The board was, however, notified that if the property was enlarged the rent would be increased to $140 in stead of $125 per month. In making an estimate, Construc tion Superintendent Winburn stated that an annex to the building would cost at least $900 and that the Crew street building could be renovated and made serviceable for $1,500. Increased rental and Improvements estimated for five years on the church property total $9,800. This building contained five rooms, whereas the Crew street building has eight. After hearing the report of the committee it was unanimously decided not to re new the lease with the Episcopal Diocese. Superintendent Slaton ordered the desks and property moved from the church building Thursday morning. TIFT MILL TO RESUME. TIFTON.—The sawmill of H. H. Tift, located here, will resume opera tions next Monday. The mill was shut down several weeks ago on ac count of the condition of the lumber market, but an order has been re ceived for more than 1,000,000 feet of lumber. TAKE POSTOFFICE TEST. TIFTON.—Three aspirants entered for the examination held in Tifton this week to fill the postmastership of the Alapaha postofflee. They are L. J. Austin. J. P. Griffin and J. H. PaiL State Balloon Soars When Dorsey Cries ‘Plant’ By JAMES B. NEVIN. Poor John Black! With the unwitting assistance of the Solicitor General and the assist ance of Luther Rosser, he furnished all the "punch” there was in Wed nesday’s story of the Frank trial. Black evidently was undertaking to tell the truth, and was unwilling to tell more or less than the truth, but that didn’t help matters much, so far as the State was concerned. When Solicitor Dorsey exclaimed "plant!”—which means nothing more than “faked” or "framed up” evi dence for the benefit of the defense— 1 glanced rapidly at Rosser. I saw precisely what I expected to see—a momentary flicker of a smile about tbo lips and eyes of the man, an almost immediate tightening of the lips and narrowing of the eve*, and then a quick r'etum of the habit ual ferocious frown. I knew Dorsey had put his foot In it—put it right in, away up over the ankle, and I also knew that get ting that foot back to solid ground again was going to be an undertak ing pregnant with extreme difficulty and danger. State Balloon Goes Up. The Solicitor was fretted when he exclaimed "plant”—thereby accusing the defense of rankly unfair and un pardonable methods of establishing Frank’s innocence. And right then and there, up went the state’s balloon, and it hasn’t come down yet! If there is one thing in all this world Luther Rosser loves better than anything else he knows of. It Is an adversary In the courtroom who hol lers "plant,” and things like that— particularly when said adversary is mad! When Mr. Dorsey on Wednesday, in a moment of forgetfulness and vexation, exclaimed "plant,” it was meat and bread and pie and cakes and beer and skittles to Luther Ros ser! Right then, I would much have pre ferred being a high private in the ranks of the Bulgarian army than John Black! The Solicitor handed Mr. Rosser the very club Mr. Rosser was lay ing for, and wherewith the said Mr. Rosser proceeded to pound poor, un offending John Black to smithereens! In no conceivable way did Black’s responses justify the Solicitor’s pas sionate outbursts. Witness Goes Far Adrift. On the contrary, it served to con fuse and befuddle the witness, to send him far at sea. After that he contradicted himself, failed to remember, became hazy and evidently worried and distressed. He had been shot mortally from an unexpected quarter, and he soon real ized that Luther 55. Rosser was de termined to finish the Job—fcnd finish it he did! As for the rest of the day and the beginning of this day— Court officials have settled them selves down In full expectation of a long siege In the Frank trial. So far, the progress of tha case ha* been, in the main, commonplace In the extreme, and bewildering only when spectators have considered the thousand and one questions asked, and the always Inevitable interposi tion of objections. The thing the average person in the audience does not understand, however, is that In all that seem ingly Interminable objecting and wrangling there Is, at least upon the part of the defense, a far-reaching purpose the mere mention of which will serve to Illustrate Its importance. Effect of One Little Error. In murder cases the defense has the right. In the event the battle goes against It, to move for a new trial upon assignment of judicial error in the first trial. If a new trial be re fused by the trial Judge, the defense may appeal to the highest court of review in the State, and if that court finds error to have been committed on the trial of the case, It will remand the entire proceeding back to the court of original Jurisdiction for cor rection of the error, which means, of course, for another trial. Then the case will begin all over again, exactly as If It never had been tried at all. The State, on the other hand, has no such right as that—If it loses its case In the first instance, it loses t for all time. Frank, save of his own motion, never can be tried a second time for the killing of little Mary Phagan. The more rulings the defense, there fore, calls upon the trial judge to make the more chances there are that error may creep In—and one little as- slgnment of error sustained by the court of review would serve to re verse the entire Judgment, and send the case back for another trial. State Must Grin and Bear. In insisting that the case be held stTtctly within the legal rules, which a trial Judge never can be absolutely sure of doing, the defense throws an anchor to windward in case of defeat —and the State can do nothing but grin grimly, and bear it. The big battle Wednesday to get the diagram of the pencil factory, containing as it did a red-lined indi cation of the State’s theory of the crime, before the Jury had, as will readily be seen, a tremendous signifi cance—and although Judge Roan 'et It go In, It went In over the bitter and carefully recorded protest of the de fense, and In case Frank should lose his fight now, the admission of that diagram doubtless will be assigned as error on original trial. The State, of course, can not take advantage of its own errors, but Dor sey can hope to obtain nothing more than present advantage by combat ing them—hence the defense may cut in in all sorts of directions, with the burden of proof on the State and the presumption of Innocence always with the defendant at bar, and the State may whistle for consolation. It makes the trial rather uphill pull ing for the State, therefore, however much one may think it otherwise. If Dorsey wins a point, it may avail him something on the present trial, but it will get him nothing eventually, in case he Is forced to go to the high er court. The Solicitor has one long, straight shot for vletory—and no more. The defense, on the contrary, is not nearly whipped if it loses Us present fight. Defense Seems to Have Shade. If there has been any advantage gained by either side thus far, it has been gained, I should say, by the de fense. Nothing necessarily damaging has yet been set up against Frank. In deed, much of the evidence drawn out seems almost childish in its mean inglessness. Rogers testified that Frank was "nervous” when he (Rogers) saw him Sunday morning, April 2?, and that he continued "nervous” for some time thereafter—although Rogers never saw him before, and had no way of comparing his conduct then with his general conduct. But if Frank was "nervous," does the State seek to establish the pre sumption against him therefore that his "nervousness" was occasioned by the thought of little Mary Phagan’s dead body there in the cellar, and Frank responsible for it? Maybe so—but then— Rogers ssvore almost in the same breath that Frank, looking up the record of Mary Phagan after the par ty reached the factory, deliberately set the combination on I he office safe, opened it the very’ first time, without excitement or unusual circumstances of any sort. Does the State Intend to establish the presumption here that Frank, not withstanding the weight of guilt upon his soul, was diabolically cool and de liberate in his movements, as indi cated by the safe Incident? What Is State’s Purpose? Why not that presumption as ra tionally as the other? Which thing does the State Intend the jury shall believe from Rogers’— its own witness—testimony? Fiddlesticks! What IS the State driving at, anyway? Maybe we shall find out eventually 1 Again, when Grace Hix was placed on the stand—and she was the State’s witness, remember—she testified on cross-examination that Frank had only spoken to her three or four times during her five years’ service in the pencil factory; that he talked to the girl employees very seldom, and that she had never known him to address Mary Phagan at all. This very pretty young girl an swered the questions given her in a straightforward way—evidently she was seeking to speak only the truth. So, too, Rogers had the appearance of sincerity—and what he said, wheth er significant or of small importance, apparently concerned him not at all. Therefore since the State seeming ly made so little of either of these witnesses, although they w'ere offered as the State’s witnesses and not the defense's, prompts me to say that the advantage falling to either side be cause of their introduction fell, really, to the defense. What Has State Shown? What, frankly, has the State sstabl llshed thus far? That Mary Phagan is dead; that she probably was murdered; that the place of the murder was Fulton County, and the date of it April 26. As a matter of fact, nothl/ig much has been developed that has not been public property for weeks—some of It for months. There is a feeling, growing more fixed every day, I think, that the State, if It hopes to win, must set up some thing more than It has yet made pub lic! If the State hits some big cards up its sleeve. If It is prepared to surpris* the defense, and many people think It has the first and will do the second, then the case yet is in its Infancy and the real charge against Frank still Is to be made out. If the State has no unrevealed evi dence and Is NOT prepared to strike the defense heavy and unanticipated blows, it is but the simple and honest truth to say here and now that the feeling vague and elusive enough, but unmistakably there, that acquittal eventually will come to Frank and will steadily grow and develop as the days run by and the monotonous trial proceeds. In short. the impression is deepen ing dally that the State’s case Is fated to one of two things—either startling and complete victory or utter and complete collapse! There likely will be no compromise —Frank either will go free and ad mittedly innocent, or he will be con victed and forever thereafter damned beyond hope of recovery. Frank Hooper, calm, collected, re pressed and unemotional, seems very sure of the State’s case, and expresses himself accordingly. He hints o( startling things to come, and cer tainly he is capable and of approved record in the matter of prosecuting crime. Collapse of Testimony of Black Great Aid to Defense Although the State’s witnesses were on the stand all of Wednesday the day was distinctly favorable for Frank, partly because nothing dis tinctly unfavorable was developed against him—the burden of proof being upon the State—but most largely because of two other factors, the utter collapse of the testimony of one of the State's star witnesses, City Detective John Black, and the testi mony in favor of Frank that was given by another of the State’s wit nesses, Miss Grace Hix, a 18-year- old factory employee. Girl Helps Frank. Miss Hix testified that the strands of hair found on the lathing machine on the second floor might have been the hair of one of the other girls In the factory, many of whom when they were ready to leave the factory at night, combed their hair right where 'hey had been working. She said that Magnolia Kennedy's hair was almost exactly the color of Mary Phagan’s. She also said that the red spots on the second floor might be paint. She never saw Frank attempt any famil iarities with the girls. Black was made the uncomfortable victim of the fiercest grilling any cf the witnesses in the Frank trial have received up to this time. Luther Rosser, chief of counsel for Frank, tore Into Black the Instant the city detective was turned over to him for cross-examination. Black Bewildered. Within the space of 30 seconds the attorney had Black unmistakably be wildered, although the detective tried hi* best to stick to the details of the story he had Just narrated under So licitor Dorsey's questioning. In another 30 second* Rosser con tinued his bulldog tactles and had Black practically admitting that he. had told an untruth under oath, and that although a moment before he had sworn that he had seen Bosser at the police station between 8 and 8:30 o'clock the Monday morning after the crime, he now was not sure that it was not 10 or 10:30. Rosser, seeking to discredit Black’s previous testimony and his memory, drove Black to admit that he could not remember any of the details .'rank’s attire the morring that Black visited the Frank home, and that ae was not sure at all that Frank could not have seen the face of the Phagan girl when he visited the morgue Sun day morning. Shaky Testimony. Black swore when Dorsey was ques tioning him that Frank put on his collar, tie and coat on the first floor of his home, but when Rosser got hold of him he was just as willing to admit that it might have been in the cellar or on the roof, and the remain der of his testimony became shaky to the same extent. TaKing up a number of the details of Black’s testimony on direct exam ination, Rosser made the perspiring detective admit that he was not cer tain of a single one of them None too fluent and assured under the friendly Interrogation of the Solici tor General. Black instantly became halting and confused when Rosser let- loose with his fire of disconcerting questions. The detective's features flushed crimson. He mopped his face which was running with perspiration. Then he held his handkerchief up by two of It* comers to dry in the breeae from an electric fan. Before he could accomplish this, it must be applied again to his liquid features. He tripped and stumbled over his answers. He became hopelessly mud- dled as to times and conversations. He was groping, but ^iila memory turned traitor. The ”PI*ntt The climax cams ivhefr ' sollcitpf Dorsey came out with his declaratlo* that the bloody shirt found at Newl Leo’s home was a "plant," and that It was inspired by Frank or person* in terested in Frank. He said that he intended to show that Black had gone to Lee’* home to make a search- only after Frank had Informed him that several punches were missing from the time tape taken out of the regis ter clock, and that Lee would have had time to go home between punches. The Solicitor added that he proposed to show that the only interpretation of Herbert Haas’ demand for a search of Frank s house was in order to open up the way for a search of Lee’s houa* by the detectives. It took only a few momenta to demonstrate that the Solicitor wa» leaning on a broken reed. Black already had passed through the ordeal of more than an hour’s grilling by Rosser and Dorsey had him in th* redirect. Black gave only a half hearted and half-certain assent to Dorsey's Inquiry if these circum stances did not transpire before th* search of Lee’s house. But when Rosser charged at him again even this fragment of memory and aaaurance had departed from him. "Don't you know. Black, that, aa a matter of fact, that shirt was found before Frank ever said anything to you about the misses in that time tape?” Rosser bellowed at the red- faced, wilting detective. Waited Six Minutes. Black opened his mouth, but no answer came forth. "Don't you know it?" persisted the lawyer. ■Still no answer. Rosser drew his watch from his pocket and held it on the witness. Six minutes passed and the silence con tinued. Judge Roan started to speak ’’Give him time to answer, your honor,” Interrupted Rosser grimly, still holding the watch. "I don’t remember," finally came from the lips of the witness. A moment later Black gave up. Tm all crossed up” he said. "1 don't know where I’m at.” Rosser laughed. 'Tome down,” he said. “Come down.” echoed the Solicitor. J. M. Gantt, discharged employee of the pencil factory, followed Black on the stand. Gantt’* mo*t Important piece of testimony was that Frank, contrary to tlio representations h* made the morning after the murda*. knew Mary Phagan by name. He knew this, he said, because on* day when he had been talking with the Phagan girl Frank said to him: "You seem to know Mary pretty well Gantt.” Rosser brought out in his cross-ex amination of Gantt that the young man had failed to tell of this alleged incident when he was before th* Coroner's Jury when he wa* asked tt Frank knew the girt,