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TILE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS STATE IS FORCED TO Must Stand By While Defense Seeks Weak Link in the Negro’s Story. MAN WHO SAYS NEGRO JIM CONLEY CONFESSEDSLAYINGOF LITTLE GIRL , . T~ " L'i "" sZxfcZ™!!SP* 1 -r -i,. By JAMES B. NEVIN. As the defense in the Frank ease pets under way, it is evident enough, as it has been from the beginning of this ease, that there is but one big, tremendously compelling task before it—the annihilation of Conley’s ugly story! The State climaxed its case thrill- ingly and with deadly effect in the negro. He came through the Are of cross- examinatiort, exhaustive and thorough, In remarkably good shape, all things considered. He unfolded a story even mor e horrible than was anticipated. Certainly, in every conceivable way, he has sought to damage the defend ant—even going to the extent of lodg ing against him another crime than murder! Through the cross-examination, however, there ran an evident vein of deadly purpose upon the part of the defense. Conley was given full limit to go his length. He went it— no disputing that! The question is, did he go TOO FAR? Did he, in his last minute effort to get in EVERYTHING that possibly might work against the defendant, tell things, or say things, that even tually will rise to plague him to his utter undoing? That is the defense’s task—THE UNDOING OF CONLEY. Conley the State’s All. Conley is the heart and soul of the State’s case—without Conley, the State Is rendered helpless. He is the Alpha and the Omega of the charge against Leo Frank. That great detective, William J. Burns, says ‘‘they always—criminals —leave something out of gear in the stories they tell.” Burns declares there never was a lie told to shield a criminal that did not have in it SOMEWHERE a fatal weakness, that might be located if patiently sought for. The more elab orate the tale the criminal relates, the- more chance thfcre is, no matter how infinitely shrewd he may seem to be, that he will be discovered. To-day is the defense’s day in court •—during its progress, which may be for a week or more, even as the State’s day lasted 240 hours, Leo Frank must break down the awful story of Jim Conley, and prove him self innocent, If he can, of all the va? rious charges brought against him. Can he do It? Well, maybe he can, and maybe he can not—at least, in the name of jus tice and decency and all that is right, he must have full and free OPPOR TUNITY. One Side of the Case. During the progress of the State’s case, the defense was led far into the gloom. People began to doubt Frank’s Innocence—people of poise and fair minds, desirous of seeing the truth prevail though the heavens fall. Even these people found themselves staggering and groping as the hideous and sinister charges fell from the lips of the negro. Could Leo Frank, of previous good reputation, of fair name and unblem ished integrity, college bred and stu dious in habit, so far as the public knew or suspected, be the monster responsible for little Mary Phagan’s death, and also—the other unspeak able thing? In a rather remarkable interview Mrs. Leo Frank gave The Sunday American some few weeks ago, she said this of Frank and herself: ‘‘As sweethearts, we went hand In hand, and intruded ourselves upon no per-^ 4 son; as man and wife we have gone hand in hand, and we have intruded ourselves upon no person!” They still are going "hand in hand,” the man and the woman, the husband and the wife—the one hold ing up as best he can under the ter rible charge of murder, the other there beside him—‘‘for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer”—until —death, or worse than death, shall sever the tie that binds. That is something steadying to think about! It is the defendant’s day in court— and he is entitled to fair play and a fair chance! To some It may seem that the bur den has shifted, that it is up to the defense now, notwithstanding the more or less fictitious presumptioi of innocence the law jealously has established in his favor, to PROVE his innoncence. Be that as It may—even as the gloom has closed about him and a:l he holds most dear In this world—ha still is a human being, in very dire distress, as yet unconvicted; and It is only right that the public should be patient, as he sets forth HIS side of this terrible affair. And I give It as my opinion here and now, for whatever it is worth, that the case against Leo Frank yet may be far from conclusive—and it may never be made conclusive. Conley’s Tale Impossible? Suppose the defense is able to show, by a sequence of logical, orderly and ■llv./JlHL ■■ oil ■ .. " .. pF’■ • " a T yr • • -■ - : t r )•! »!>!: • M' 1 fa --*■ .* - ■ r ^ * j* STATE SEES BITS E Chain as Strong as Its Weakest Link, but Cord Must Be Cut Thread by Thread. :| l ”"'. >'. liE -. - -: fff» y; ill u... ’’ si V* ’ V ' \ t ! W. H. Mincey, the country school-teacher on whom the Frank defense depends, in a measure, to turn the sus picion of guilt of the Phagan slaying to Jim Conley. Mincey says the negro, on the day of the slaying, told him he had killed a girl. This sketch from life of Mincey is by P. A. Carter, Georgian artist. honorably sustained witnesses, that the tale Jim Conley tells is utterly absurd—and IMPOSSIBLE? What then? Will you be prepared, If forced to a conviction against your will, If it be that way with you, to say to Frank: ‘‘All right, you came through the fire, at times seemingly sure to consume you, unhurt and unscorched, but you came through, and I am con tent.” Conley’s story has not YET bean bioken down—no. But It MAY be broken down. In an article a few days ago, I said this, and I feel like repeating it now: In Judging this Frank case, purely from the State’s own standpoint, there is nothing so im portant as the TIME ELEMENT in which the State uncompro misingly claims the crime was committed. In another article a few days there after. I said this, and this I also feel like repeating now: If the Conley story is a lie, if it has been TOO CLEVERLY ‘‘framed up”—if and a thousand other “ifs”—what matters that? It matters this: If It be a lie, It MUST break down, somewhere, sometime; if it be the truth, it will stand against ALL the as saults made upon it! State Tied by Conley, Remember, unless Conley’s story holds together, the case against Frank goes to pieces. Everybody who has read the evidence and who still Is ca pable of rendering just judgment will admit that. Suppose It can be shown, and Is shown, that the story Conley told CAN NOT be true? The defense MUST show that, or Frank is lost! Can the defense do that? The State has pinned itself down to exact and definite propositions. Remember, the defense has hardly started its story yet—it may be able to make absurd those very proposi tions the State ha* set up. The crime, according to the State’s witnesses, MUST have been commit ted thus and so, in exact order, and just as stated—or Conley’s story falls down. The biggest element in the State’s case Is the time element—mark that! Upon it the State will stand or fall eventually. If Mary Phagan was NOT killed before 12:05, then Leo Frank didn’t kill her. If she was not killed at that time, Conley’s story will not do. Then is when the State says she was killed—THEN and not at any other time. Conley’s story ALL leads up to and away from that. Remember, too, that the only wit ness who swears to knowledge or suspicion of any unspeakable conduct upon the part of Frank is—again— Conley. Dalton a Tame Witness. When It came to corroborating Con ley, Dalton proved a tame corrobo rator. The ugly, nasty charge of per version and degeneracy, glibly drop ped from the lips of Conley, rests ENTIRELY AND ALTOGETHER on Conley’s word. If Conley’s story of the murder Is shown to be IMPOSSIBLE AND AB SURD, will you then reverse your other opinion concerning Frank—If you have accepted Conley’s word as to that—and agree that Conley, having lied to send Frank to the gallows, would have lied as readily to besmirch him with unmentionable scandal oth erwise? Shall not Frank have the right, un challenged and fair, to clear himself of every charge lodged against him? To-day is hi* day in court—will any living person begrudge him, sore pressed, one moment of it? Will, in the end, he be able to read and take to himself, happily and se- | tenely, Tennyson’s beautiful poem ending— “And now it is daylight every-\ where /” Will he? We shall see. At least, he is entitled to his day In court—and it is at hand! , X ‘ ‘ By 0. B. KEELER. They call it a chain that the State has forged, or has tried to forge, to hold Leo Frank to the murder of Mary Phagan. Rut isn’t It a rope? A chain, you know, is as strong as its weakest link. Take one link out. and the chain comes apart. With a rope, It’s different. Strand after strand might be cut or broken, and the rope still holds a certain weight. Then might come a time when the cutting of one more strand would cause the rope to break. The point Is. the finished rope will sustain a weight that would instantly snap any one of Its several strands. Bits of Evidence Threads. And that la what the various bits of circumstantial evidence might bet ter be called—strands or threads. Edgar Allen Poe, In “The Myaterv of Marie Roget,” has nearly exhausted the philosophical phase of accumula tive circumstance and Its relation to evidence. Applying the system of the well- known Dupln to the case in point— and REGARDING IT, BE IT UN DERSTOOD. STRICTLY FROM THE STATE’S VIEWPOINT—an analysis of part of the evidence against Leo Frank follows: First off, the Isolated circumstance of Conley’s ability to write would seem as futile as a smoke wreath in sustaining any weight of evidence, except against Conley himself. But to that fact Is added the fact that Frank knew Conley could write. Still, the thread Is flimsy, and, even connected with the case against Frank, would appear worthless. Six Deductions Seen. But when It develops that Frank knowing Conley could write, and knowing the police were trying to find the author of the murder notes when Frank, well aware of these, things, did not inform the police that Conley was lying when he said he could not write, the following deduc tions appear: (1) That Frank did not want to j connect Conley with the murder note?. ! which (2) would have been the i natural and prompt Inclination of a j suspected man who knew nothing of the crime himself, so that (8) It ap peared Frank knew something of the murder, and (4) knew that Conley knew he knew something of the mur der. which (5) justified the conclusion on the part of the State that Frank feared to implicate Conley, lest (6) Conley, In turn, tell something that would implicate him. Of course, this strand may be broken entirely by the defense, show, ing Frank never knew the police wep ignorant of Conley’s ability to write before the police learned it them selves. But there Is one pretty substantial strand of evidence, as the State sees it—and all having its genesis in the simple fact that Conley knew how to write, and at first denied it. But that strand of Itself surely would fail to carry the burden of the case. There must be others. Even Conley’s story is strong only by reason of many strands that sur round and support it. Presented to a jury, round and unvarnished— tainted by the reek of false affidavits and weakened by the dry-rot of self- interest, Conley’a story never would win a verdict against Leo Frank. is the shred of the mur- Conley’s story draws sup- —— I port from that. There is the time JACKSON, Aug. 8.—With visitors 1 factor brought out h.v the expert tes- Holiness Meeting at t a • n * rv I win a vert Indian Springs Opens I But there from all parts of the South present and with every indication pointing to the largest and most successful meet ing in its history, the annual ten days’ session of the Indian Springs Holiness Camp Meeting opening Thursday night. The railroads have offered reduced rates for the occasion, the cottages already are filled and the hotels it Indian Springs have capacity crowds. Charlie Tillman, of Atlanta, will con duct the singing. 3 Japanese Killed In Riot in Oregon SALEM, GREG., Aug. 8— Fear of further trouble to-day led the police to guard the section of the city where last night three Japanese were killed In a riot. A man, woman and child were kill ed outright and another Japanese man was reported dying to-day. Savant to Kill, Not Cure, by Violet Ray Special Cable to The Atlanta Georgian. HAVRE, FRANCE, Aug. 8.—The violet rays, which have come to be an agency in medicine, may take their place In war Signor VIIvi, an Italian scientist, to-day began experimenting with the object of perfecting a device by which explosives may be set off with infra- violet rays. timony—Conley's story twines itself about the prop of science. There is the agitation of Frank noticed by Newt Lee in the middle of the after noon—Conley’s story provfdes for that. There is the visit of Monteen Stover, a tiny circumstance of itself —but of vast importance Just so far as it strengthens Conley’s recollec tion of exact time. And it is by reason of the rope already well along in the twisting that a hundred other little circum stances become significant that of themselves would be lighter than the air-drawn dagger that troubled the dreams of Macbeth. They fit in with the twisting of the rope. Will the Rope Hold? There Is Frank’s agitation at home and at the factory. There le the tlfflj story of habitual ‘‘chats” at the fac tory, guarded by Conley as watch man. And the sending away of Newt Lee that afternoon. And the seeing t>f Conley by Mrs. White, ‘‘loitering” at the place he fixes for himself as watchman, and at the time. And the alleged reluctance of Frank to con front Conley at the Jail. And all the rest of It. So many little incident*, and most of them small to triviality in them selves. The point Is. each strengthens the other, until the fragile threads be come a rope. Will It hold after Frank’s lawyers have presented their side of the case? The jury must decide. $9 WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH and return—Saturday. August 16th—good 15 days. Seaboard. Runs Through Open Switch Shepherd Device insures safety In railway travel. Demonstration by train at Oakland City. 3 p. m., Saturday. Take East Point car. Our Mr. L. B. Joel, who has been in the East for the past week, has instructed us to sell all Summer Goods to make room for the big Fall and Winter stocks he is now buying—so price is no object—if they are Summer Goods, THEY MUST GO. Store Open Until 10 o’Clock Saturday Night. $5.95 Summer Dresses at One-Third We have just received another shipment of fine dresses. In the lot are Embroidered Voiles, all-over Lace dresses and some all-over Net dresses. Most all colors, including pink and light blue. Choice All-Wool Skirts 1500 Ladies’ and Misses’ all-wool Skirts, in black, navy, cream and striped serges. Values up to $8.00. Choice $2.98 $7.50 Dresses $1.98 Handsome white all-over embroidery Dresses, not a one in the lot worth less than $5. But to close, take your choice $1.98 W ashable Skirts 500 white corduroy, P K and plain white Skirts. These are the same kind you pay $2 for elsewhere. Choice 98c Ratine Hats, Milan Shapes, Etc. Beautiful Ratine Hats in plain white and oombination colors. Number one white Milan, black, tan and white chips; not a one worth less than $3. Choice m Other Ready-to-Wear Specials Silk Shirt Waists at $1.98 Beautiful Silk Waists in rich black and colored messaline; also heavy black and white China Silk Waists and Shirts. Worth $5. Saturday Sale of New Blouses at Saturday we offer the gen uine Balkan Middy Blouses, made of best quality white Galatea, and neatly trimmed in red and blue. Special Ladies’ long Crepe Kimonos, in all colors, and worth up *-°°- qe r choice Ladies’ New House Dresses, well made and neatly trim med, all colors, worth up to*. 1 - 50 ’ 50c choice vvv Ladies’ Corset Covers and Drawers, good quality muslin, and neatly trim med, worth up to 4 Q. 50c, Saturday I vC 300 Children’s Parasols, in most all colors, Saturday 5c 1,000 Garments, Ladies’ Gowns, Petticoats and Princess Slips. Cheap at $2.00. QOa Saturday wwv Sale of Ladies’ Long Lawn Kimonos, in new colors, Saturday Ladies’ Lisle Finish Under vests, the 19c kind, to close out £ ^ Saturday wv Ladies’ Short Kimonos, in all colors, worth 19c, Saturday C? C 50c 1,000 Ladies’ Fancy Para sols, in all colors, on good frames and neat _ handles, Saturday. I About 100 Ladies’ Shirt waists, slightly soiled, worth up to $2, Saturday &%#€r Children’s Dresses, well made, good material. All sizes. Good values 4 Q. at 50c. Saturday. . I One lot Black Petticoats; would be a bargain at $1,00-- Saturdav..... ii 49c GREAT BARGAINS ON MAIN FLOOR SATURDAY 50 Pieces Silk Poplins, Rat ines, Cords and Silk Voiles. Very special. 4 r. Yard I DC 10 Pieces 50-inch Silk Rat ine, in all colors and worth $1 yard. QQ_ Saturday w3C Big table Flaxons, Voiles, Lawns, Organdies, etc. Near ly all 25c values. E/% Special Vv 500 yards 36-inch wide Rat ine. The $1 kind. ftQ. Very special. Yard. £5JC Rippletts, French Ginghams and All-Linen Ginghams, the Great Clean-Up Sale, 4 A. yard I UC 2,000 yards fine 36-inch French Percales, in neat stripes and figures, E/% yard 3C 10 bolts of the new Pink Ratine, which is so scarce and good, vard“Pww 50 pieces Dress Linen, in all colors, and worth 50' < yard, Saturday i vw Good quality 36-inch-wide Curtain Scrim, in white and ecru. Worth P_ 19c. Yard 1,000 yards 36-inch bleached Cambric, like Lonsdale. Yard w® 1,600 yards good quality 36-inch Sea Island. f“ _ In this sale DC Full double-bed size hemmed read.y-for-use bleach- cd Sheets. Special.. favv 100 full double-bed size Counterpanes. In (JQ. this sale Uww Full size Pillow Cases; hemmed, ready for Q _ use. Saturday 53 C 1,000 Ladies’ and Men’s fine Umbrellas, with detachable handles. QQ- Saturday v0w Children’s strict’.v rain proof Umbrellas. In OQ _ this sale only (aVV Scarfs, Shams, Table Cov ers and round Centerpieces; embroidered, scalloped edges, hemstitched, etc. Choice k Wv Ladies’ White Kid Belts, worth 50c, g* _ Saturday. £wC Ladies’ 50c Black, White and Tan Silk Ilose, special mvv 1,000 pairs. Ladies’ long Black Silk Cloves, _ in this sale only kwv Ladies’ fine Silk Ilnse, in black, white and tan, <4 Q _ big bargain at 8 5/'* Ladies’ All-Linen Initial Handkerchiefs. Very spe- eial. P* Saturday DC Ladies’ Shetland Silk Hat Drapery Veils, *)P A only Children’s and Babies' Socks. All odds and ends. Regular 25c kind. Co Special 3C Men’s Negligee Shirts, worth and sell for $1.00 everywhere, QQo Saturday Men’s Porous Knit and Bal- briggan Underwear. Regu lar 50c garments. Saturday , I 3v Specials in Furniture Dept for Saturday 6x9 Jap Matting Art Squares in Flo ral and Oriental $1.25 $1.39 designs, Saturday ... 100 6-foot Bamboo Porch Screens, worth $2.50, special Climax Mosquito Bars, ready to hang, *7 lete : 98c 5,000 yards extra heavy China Mat ting in new designs, and Ot worth up to 50c yard, only... A ^ C Good size, fine Feather Pillows in this sale QQ- only MC Good Linen Opaque Window Shades, on good Spring Rollers, 1 Q^, only 4-foot polished Brass Extension Rods, worth and sell for a Cp dime, only Odds and ends, samples, etc., in fine Lace Curtains. Some slightly £2Q soiled. P ^ Mission Oak Cos tumer, made ex tra strong, and o w ni r y th $2: 98c BASS DRY GOODS CO. Solid Oak Din ing: and Bedroom Chairs; worth $1.25, Sat- CQ|> urday