Atlanta Georgian. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, August 01, 1913, Image 3

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3 THE ATLANTA GEUKGIAN AND NEWS. DEFENSE NOT HELPED BY ENTRAPPING THE STATE DORSEY UNAFRAID AS HE FACES CHAMPIONS OF THE ATLANTA BAR By JAMES B. NEVIN. Ha* the State succeeded in thoroughly establishing the fact that little Mary Phagan’s tragic death was effected on the second floor of the National Pencil Factory, in Forsyth street? It has not, of course—but it has set up by competent evidence a number of suspicious circumstances, v hich, if properly sustained later along, will prove damaging in the extreme to Leo Frank. Unless these circumstances, trivial in some aspects, are braced up and backed up, however, by other much stronger circumstances, they will give the jury, in all probability, little con cern in arriving at a verdict. Thursday was not a sensationally good day for the State, although it was much better than the day be fore. Twice Thursday the Solicitor Gen eral claimed that he had been “en trapped" by witnesses—and this, with the lamentable fall down of John Black the day before—served to give rise in the minds of some spectators to a faint suspicion that the State didn’t have its case very well in hand. No Help to Defense. There is something terribly sig nificant and actually sinister in that little word “entrapped,” however, when hurled at a witness in the pres ence of a jury, and it would be a mis take to believe that“U witness, ac tually convicted, even in the mere opinion of the jury, of having delib erately misled the prosecution there by helps the defense. The witness wv\^ entraps, or who is thrown under suspicion of having entrapped, frequently does th e party he seems primarily to have hurt a wonderful amount of gqod. » I believe, for instance, that Witness E. F. Holloway was speaking the truth when, on oath, he reversed his former affidavit to the Solicitor, and said that he left the elevator un locked on Saturday, whe.eas he be fore had sworn that he locked it Fri day and did not unlock it Saturday —the last inferentially, at least. This point will mean a good deal later, when it is reached in develop ing the defense’s cane, and if Hollo way’s last story, apparently satisfac- tori-j explained, holds together, well and good—but who can tell what the jury thinks about that contradiction upon the part of Holloway, particu larly when he has been so deliber ately accused by the Solicitor of en trapping him? Holloway is an employee of the pencil factory—was before and has been since the murder. If the Jury gathers the impression that he has been tampered with since his first statement, and by friends of Frank, to clear up seemingly damaging cir cumstances against Frank, it likely will be an aggravating thing, when the jury comes to make up its find ings. , Will Hurt Frank’s Case. Just as I thought, and still think, that Dorsey made a tactical mistake —for which he paid the full price, moreover—when on Wednesday he exclaimed “plant,” thereby accusing th e defense of unfair and grossly in decent methods of bolstering up its cause, so I think the constant sug gestion of witnesses changed in opin ion and testimony, and in favor of Frank, will hurt Frank’s case, rather than help it, if sustained. Mr. Dorsey failed utterly to bolster up his charge of “planted” evidence, but he didn’t fail, in anything like the same degree, to say the least of it, in attacking Holloway. Or, anyway, there is a grave prob ability that he didn’t fail in the minds of the jury. In short, my idea is this, as it has been all along: The public, and pre sumably even more the jury, will re sent anything that savors of unfair methods employed either by the State or the defense. Steadily, though slowly, the defense seems to be pulling away from the prosecution in the Frank trial, and the impression apparently is gaining ground gradually that the State like ly is fighting a losing battle. All of this may be changed in a moment—one witness on behalf of the State may serve to win back all the ground it may have lost. Nothing More Uncertain Than Verdict And, of all things, there is nothing to speculate upon quite so uncertain as the verdict a jury will hand in. The Jury is sitting there, its atten tion confined to the development of the evidence. It reads no newspa pers; it converses with no outsiders. It can not get up, run across the' street and swap ideas with somebody in the corner drug store. It took charge of the case, under its deliberately assumed oath that it vas “perfectly impartial between the State and the accused,” and it is see ing things in its own way—and that way may not be the way outsiders are seeing it. So far, however, the State’s wit nesses alone have been introduced. Whatever advantage the defense has gained of them has come in two wa>s —either in their failure to testify di rectly to the &tau'a benefit or tfirouga circumstances and admissions brought out in favor of the defense, under the merciless cross-examination of Lu ther Rosser. It is a good deal to say, neverthe less, that at this stage of the trial the defense apparentlv has scored heav iest, for such noint* as it has won necessarily have been wrung from the State’s own witnesses, and not the witnesses of the defense. In other words, wherever the State fails to score, the defense scores. How Points Have Been Scored. If the defense made little, if any thing, of Lee. it lost little, if anything, because of him. It almost, if not quite, broke even on Rogers—and it most certainly scored tremendously on Black. Scott, if damaging in a way, was also helpful in a way, in that he prac tically admitted suspicion of the ne gro Conley quite as strong as sus picion of Frank. Monteen Stover swore that Frank was not in his office for, at least, a period of some five minutes, imme diately after 12 o’clock on the day of the murder; at least, If he was, he was where she could not or did not see him. Grace Hix undoubt edly helped Frank. Dr. Smith helped the State. R. P. Barrett swore he found a piece of a pay envelope under Mary Pha- gan’s machine three or four days after the murder, and that he found bloou spots near the dressing room door three or four days after the murder. Mell Stanford swore that the spots near the dressing room were not there Friday, and were there Monday, but he could not swear the spots were blood. Holloway helped the defense, probably. There is nothing new in most of this testimony, however, save that of Barrett concerning the piece of en velope, and the defense presumably is ready, therefore, to meet it. State Faces Hard Task. The mere finding of a piece of pay envelope somewhere even near Mary Phagan’s machine, is not, of its*K highly important; but it might serve as a link in an otherwise strong chain forged to connect Frank di rectly with the killing. But if the K-tate has succeeded if' setting forth the fact that Frank may possibly have committed the crime, i; yet has a long road to travel before it proves “beyond a reasonable doubt” that he DID do it. Indeed, . Frank’s attorneys have never combated the idea that he way in the factory at a moment when tl killing of Mary Phagan MIGHT have been effected—and beyond that fa.-t the State has been unable to proceed very far to date. It must be remembered, too, that while th4 State now is engaged in weaving a web. real or imaginary, about Frank, the defense expects ro weave a much more terrible and sub stantial web about Conley. But even at that, mere suspicion alone will serve to convict neither. Much Depends on Conley. After all is said and done, and it generally gets back to this, the pre liminary chain of circumstances against Frank likely will hold to gether tightly or fall apart hopeless ly, according to the fate of James Conley on the witness stand. If Conley stands the test of ex haustive cross-examination, then the circumstances leading up to and away from Conley’s connection with the case will stand or fall. He is, and has been, at all times both the hope and the despair of the State, no less tl^n the hope and de* spair of the defense. He is the star witness about whom the entire Frank case revolves, about whom it has revolved for weeks, and about whom it must revolve to Its end. Of course, there ever is the chance that the State has something sensa tional, new and significant up its sleeve—and there is the remoter chance that the defense has some big surprises in store. As the fifth day of the trial drags on, however, the impression has deep ened almost into a conviction in the mind of the public that neither the State nor the defense has much to let out that already hasn’t been let out, in whole or In substantial parts. Spirit of Fairness Everywhere. And the public is waiting for (’on- ley’s evidence before making up its mind. More and more I notice in the cas ual comment of people about town a spirit of fairness and an inclination to await the full developments of both ti?e State and the defense. The public largely still is open- mind xi. It is “from Missouri”—and, after all, that is the way ihe public mind should be in this matier. for it is a very grave matter, and its Aral effect will be far-reaching and full oi significance, no matter which way the verdict comes finally. There is one point that Undertaker Gheesling Cleared up, on oath, and the public should take careful note of it. He swore that Mary Phagan’s body was NOT mutilated in the way stre *t rumor and gossip had it mutilated, just after the crime was committ ed That ugly story undoubtedly was accountable for some of the primary prejudice against Frank—but it v.as an untrue rumor, and in all fairness,j now that it has been exploded, It I should be borne m mind, i the committee did not take any ac tion on the bill. Mr. Slade declared he has small hopes of the passage of his bill, but seeks to effect a com promise with the bill Introduced in the Senate by Senator McGregor, which curtails the powers of the mil itary. It Is probable that the committee will not report on the Slade bill until next week. Slade’s Interpretation of Consti tution’s “Good Character” To Be Recommended to House. The disfranchisement bill of Rep resentative Slade of Muscogee, which its author says is an interpretation of the “good character” clause in tho State Constitution, will be favorably recommeryied by the House Commit tee on Constitutional Am«idments at Friday's session nf the House. The vote was unanimous in favor of so re porting the bill at the committee meeting Thursday afternoon. Mr Slade’s bill interprets the goal character clause to mean that "no man. white or black, whom a virtu ous woman will not trust in a place of seclusion without fear of physical assault, shall be allowed to vote." The right to strike off names of voters is vested in the ordinaries of the counties. If a voter objects, wom en shall not be called in, but the question shat’ be decided by men who are faini iar with the voter's life and habits. Mr. Slade declared that the bill s not directed against white men, but by Its passage he hopes to disfran chise every negro in the State. "1 have been trying to get this bill through for the past two or three years, and am very hopeful that the members of this Legislature'may see fit to pass it at the present session,” Mr. Slade said. Funeral Designs and Flower* FOR ACL OCCASIONS, Atlanta Floral Company, 455 EAST FAIR STREET. Declares Negligence of Civil Of ficials Is All That Makes State Troops Necessary. Blacksmith Gives a Social in His Shop CHICAGO, Aug. 1.—The custom of us ing the churches and school houses of a community as social centers was upset in Oak Purk, a suburb, when M. M. Mc Mahon, a blacksmith, held an ice cream social where the guests sat among piles of horseshoes and the decora oiteswn Declaring that if the civil officers of the State could be made to do their duty, there would be no need of the military, Adjutant General Van Holt Nash, before the House Committee ; on Military Affairs Thursday after- I noon, protested against the passage : of the military bill offered by Rep- I resentative Blade, of Muscogee. The bill repeals t*he military act of 1912 and re-enacts the law of 1910, making the militia subservient to the civil authorities. "The militia is entitled to some consideration,” declared General Nash. “We offer our lives to the State with practically no remunera tion, and are sworn to uphold the j honor of the State and its laws. The 1 only reason there is any need for the | militia is because the civil officers do. not do their duty. If you will i make the civil authorities perform j their work, there will be no necessity I for calling out th e militia. Says Present Laws Protect Them. "The present law should stand. It protects us from being overridden by the civil authorities, and prevents us from being made the scapegoats of incompetent civil officers." Mr. Slade declared the present military law is unconstitutional be cause it means the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. He likened conditions that arose in Augusta last year, under military rule, to the Re construction period, when “blood flowed as freely as water.” Representative Ennis, of Baldwin County, spoke against the bill. He declared if the State were under mil itary rule there would be fewer law breakers. Because of the absence of a quorum of horseshoes, and the decorations were tongs, hammers and bellows. A lecturer from Chicago gave a talk* on the “Rocky Mountains," after Mc Mahon called the folks to i order by pounding on the anvil. Textile Industry in Spain Hit by^Strike Special Cable to The Geonglan. MADRID. Aug. 1.—The textile in dustry in Spain Is practically at a standstill today. Tweaity thousand men are on strike for higher wages and better working cctnditions, and 195 factories have been closed. The strike is spreading hourly, the workers at Sabadell, Tarrasa and Villa Nueva joining the. men whp are out. Troops are being brushed to the strike zone. DR. WHITLAW 73 1-2 Whitehall St Painless Dentist Have your teeth treated at once. Make your bad teeth a« good a a new. My system of Painless Dentistry enables me to make your ach ing teeth sound with absolutely Wo Pain. If your teeth pain you, don’t delay. Come to see me at once. Teeth* re-enameled absolutely painlessly. Examination free. Lady attendant and ladies' rest room. Crown and Bridge Work $3, 54, $5 r^aANCHORfl llfSDeNT URtH PLATmR |$g 5.00 # 4 SET My Gold Dust Roofless Rubber Pfcite will not slip or drop. Guar anteed for 20 years. Fillings In Gold, Bllvsr, Platinum and Porcelain, 60c and $1. FHOWE MAIN 1298 OPEN PROM 8 TO 8. SUNDAYS, 10 TO 3 TERMS TO SUIT Largest and most thoroughly equipped Sanitary office In South. Entrance, 73 1-2 Whitehall St., opposite Vaudette Theater, fourth door from J. M. High, over A. & P. Tea Store. j the Muse Clothes, Shoes and Furnishings at Reduced Prices During August This being the time appointed for MUSE reductions, we’re presenting to you in ac cordance with our regular midsummer plan—the best that we have at reduced prices. And we believe that MUSE best is the best to be had in Men’s Wear. A detailed list may be found in the morning paper. These are the condensed figures: Boys' Spring and Summer Wool Suits Hugh M. Dorsey, Solicitor and prosecutor of Leo M. Frank. Up Against a Hard Proposition Youthful Solic itor Is Fighting Valiaiftly to Win Case. By L. F. WOODRUFF. Reductions on Men's Suits Black, Blue and Fancy 2 and 3-piece Suits. Suits priced regularly at $15 to $40—now $11.25 to $30.00. (Palm Beach Suits excepted.) Odd Trousers iucluding white flannel and striped serges 54 Off Georgia’s law’s most supreme pen alty faces Leo Frank. A reputation that they can not be beaten muvt be sustained by Luther Rosser and Reuben Arnold. Atlanta’s detective department’s fu ture is swaying on the issue of the Frank trial. But there is a man with probably as much at stake as any of the hun dreds who crowd Judge Roan’' 1 court room. with the exception of Frank, nr.d he is accepting th ordeal, though he realizes it. as calmly as a person who has nothing more serious to de cide than whether he will order his steak rare or well done at breakfast time. Hugh Dorsey is hereby Introduced. He is known pretty well in Atlanta without Introduction, but ns chair men on political meetings Insists on telling the audience that the Presi dent of the United States is about to speak or that the Secretary of State if endeavoring to earn an additional amount to his yearly $12,000, Mr. Dor sey can be placed before the public without fear of violating precedent. Consider Hugh Dorsey. Consider Dorsey’s job. His posi tion as public prosecutor places on him the duty of sending someone to the gallows and this time it is Leo M Prank, against whom he must direct his efforts. The proposition of convicting a man is as common in the life of a Solicitor as paying his car fare home. But here’s a different proposition. Doisev is confronted with the task of getting a conviction over the efforts of Luther Rosser and Rueben Arnold to obtair an acquittal. And anyone who knows Atlania. who knows Fulton County, who knows Rosser, who knows Arnold, realizes that this is a task from .which Hercules might sidestep, a labor that is more tremendous than the building of the Panama Canal or the success ful storming of 'the fortress of Gi braltar. And still Dorsey has gone Into the fight unafraid; not only that, he is aggressive. Atlanta’s record for big crime tri. Is has not been altogether healthy in tlv> past twelve months. In that time Dorsey has prosecuted Mrs. Daisy Grace’ on ’a charge of attempting to slay her hus’band. Atlanta was in tensely interested in this issue. Mrs. Grace was acquitted. Dorsey lost. He prosecuted Callle Scott Apple- baum on a charge of endin" the life of h*r husband. Again the public was deeplv interested. Again Dorsey lost. And then came the Phagan killing. Atlanta, Georgia and the South d» - mand« d that her slayer oe brought before the bar of justice and be given law's severest penalty. Frank was fixed upon by the police as the man.| Tfiu grand jury indicted him. and Dorsey staked his all on his convi tion. Luther Rosser had been retained *«• Frank’s chief counsel. Dorsey smiled. Again there was a flash. Reuben Arnold had been added to the list of legal array to clear the name of th© superintendent of the National Pen cil Factory of the charge that the had taken the life of a little erirl. Reputation is a big thing. No prize fighter faces a champion without doubts as to his ability to cope with him. The greatest financial genius probably trembled in hie boots when he first met the foremost captain of industry. V violin virtuoso bows be fore Kubelik. There is r.o pianist who would approach Paderewski without a sensation of awe. And here in Atlanta, Arnold and Rosser are champions. They are Kubeliks, they are Paderewskis. Hugh Dorsey hadn’t quailed. Desperately in Earnest. Thrcughout the trial he has been desperately earnest. He realizes the work that is before him. If he has any enemies, they will admit that he has handled his case well. The Solicitor General is a great deal younger than his opponents. His hair in tinged with gray, and thc.c will probably be more of those strands there before he is through with his clashes with the dynamic Rosser and tho erudite Arnold. He is taking the case with intense seriousness. So far. Ross«er’s effort:- to rattle him by calling him "Hugh." “my young friend." “son” and “bud” have been unavailing. The practical collapse of his de tective testimony was enough to stun any man. but Dorsev stuck it out gamely. There is plenty of fight Hill in his eyes. It will be there if the ea'-v* goes against him. His appearance would indicate that he is holding something back, some thing with which he expects to sur prise his eminent opponents. Then, There Is Hooper. There is one thing that every spec tator knows is ebing held back. He Is a quiet little man. with a scholarly face, a man who has already won spurs in Georgia politics, but* who has not figured extensively in the bigger criminal cases tried before Atlanta courts> The man is Frank Hooper. He been on his feet but once. He made an Impression then. And when the case comes to it* crucial stages, it will be well to watch these two voun; lawyers arrayed against the admitted masters of their craft. She lithe and unknown Uorbett sent the invincible John L. Sullivan to oblivion. Brian dn Boi•• Gilbert was unhorsed bv Wilfred of Ivanho**. Theodore Roosevelt ran second ii* a Presidential race. Who know*.'? Straw Hat Specials All Split Straws and Bangkok Ilats ONE-THIRD OFF. All other Straws, including Milaus, HALF PRICE. Men’s Shirt Reductions Shirts priced regularly at $1.00 to $8.50—now 75c to $6.50. Men's Underwear Reductions Garments priced regularly at 50c to $3.00—now 40c to $2.00. One lot Mismatched Suits, 50c to $1.50 garment, HALF PRICE. Men's Night Shirts and Pajamas Night Shirts priced regularly at 50c to $3.50- now 40c to $2.50. Pajamas priced regularly at $1.00 to $7.50—now 75c to $5.75 Neckwear Reductions FANCY AND KNIT FOUR-IN HANDS AND WASH TIES. Ties priced regularly at 50c to $2.50—now 35c to $1.50. 50c ties 3 for $1.00. One lot Silk Ties, formerly $1.00—now 3 for $1.00. . ■' One lot 50c Sox All Fancy Vests HALF PRICE. HALF PRICE. Double Breasted Styles ONE-THIRD OFF. Suits priced regularly at $5.00 to $16.50—now $3.35 to $11. Boys' Norfolk Suits *4 Off Suits priced regularly at $5 to $16.50—now $3.75 to $12.40. Children's Wash Suits Reduced Suits priced regularly at $1.00 to $6.50—now 75c to $5.00. Boys' and Children's Straw Hats Half Price Wash and Silk Ilats ONE-FOURTH OFF. Boys' Furnishings Reduced Colored Blouses and Shirts priced regularly at 75c to $3.00—• now 60c to $2.25. Boys’ Knit Underwear and Pajamas ONE-FOURTH OFF. Children’s Wash Reefers ONE-FOURTH OFF. Boys' Shoe Reductions - Hoys’ $3.50 Oxfords, ail leathers, lace and button $2.85 Boys’ $3.00 Oxfords $2.60 Boys’ $2.50 Oxfords $2.10 Little Gents’ $3.00 Oxfords, all leathers, lace and but ton $2.45 Little Gents’ $2.50 Oxfords, 7 all leathers, lace and but ton $2.00 Little Gents’ $2.00 Oxfords, all leathers, lace and but ton $1.75 Men’s Shoe Reductions ALL BOYDEN $7.00 Oxfords—all leathers $5.65 6.50 Oxfords—all leathers 5.20 6.00 Oxfords—black vici only 4.85 ALL MUSE $6.00 Oxfords $4 85 5.00 Oxfords—all leathers 3.85 4.50 Oxfords—all leathers 3.35 4.00 Oxfords—all leathers 3.10 8.50 Oxfords—all leathers 2.85 SPECIALS. One lot Gun Met^l Oxfords, button only $1.85 One lot White Canvas Blucher Oxfords $1.45 Boys’ Scouts not included in this sale. Reductions on Women's, Misses' and Children's Shoes WOMEN’S WHITE SHOES. $6.00 Buckskin Pumps and Colonials $4.45 $5.00 Buckskin Pumps and English Oxfords $3.45 $3.50 and $4.00 Canvas Pumps, Ties and Button Oxfords $2.45 WOMEN’S BLACK AND TAN SHOES. With tho exception of a few numbers. $5.00 and $6 00 Black or Tan Pumps, Ties and Colonials $3.45 $3.50 and $4.00 Mack or Tan Pumps, Ties and Colonials $1.85 EVENING SLIPPERS. $4.00 and $5.00 black, pink, blue and white Even ing Slippers $2.45 MISSES’ AND CHILDREN'S SHOES. Girls’ $3.00 Ankle Strap Pumps, all leathers and white canvas $2.15 Misses’$3.00 Ankle Strap Pumps, all leathers $1.85 Children’s $2.00 Ankle Strap Pumps, all leathers ....$1.45 Infants’ Ankle Strap Pumps, all leathers 85c Special—One. lot Women’s White Canvas Ties, small sizes 45c George Muse Clothing Co.