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TTTT: ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS.
MARY PHAGAN AND WOMEN TO WHOM TRIAL IS PITIFUL ORDEAL
Miss Monteen Stover, friend of Mary Phagan
Mrs. J. W. Coleman, Mary’s mother.
By TARLETON COLLIER.
That black-clad woman in the cor
ner of the courtroom—nobody has
noticed her much. Things have hap
pened no swiftly in the Frank trial
that all eyes are on the rush of
events, waiting for a quiver on the
face of Leo Frank, watching with
morbid gaze the brave faces of
Frank’s wife and his mother, studying
the passing show that the numerous
witnesses present.
And the woman is so unobtrusive,
so plainly out of it all. The tears,
whose traces are evident on her face,
were not shed as a result of this trial.
The lines under her eyes are older
than two weeks. Her sorrow—and
it Is plain that she has undergone
sorrow—came some time ago. No*\
the first poignant pain of it has passed
and only a dull ache remains.
All that is plain as she sits in the
courtroom in an attitude which be
speaks much of listlessness and resig
nation. The thoughts that pass in
her mind are revealed in that atti
tude and in her placid face. And the
sum of them is this:
No matter what happens, the dull
ache will always be there at her
heart.
Mary Phagan’s Mother.
Because you eee. it is her lit tie
girl that all this is about. The black-
clad woman is Mrs. W. J. Coleman,
Marv Phagan’s mother, and Mary
Phagan is dead.
Mrs Coleman has not been in the
courtroom during all the trial. Much
of the time she has been in the room
upstairs, kept there because she was
a witness. And witnesses must not
see nor hear what is going on in the
courtroom before they are called, even
if the names of their own little girls
are bandied back and forth.
But now Mrs. Coleman has testified.
She has looked upon the blood
stained pitiful clothing of her daugh
ter the clothing that was publicly
shown the intimate garments that
were upheld before hundreds of eyes.
Many Years’ Test of
Eckman’s Alterative
For nrwral years a large number of volun
urily written IMtlmonlalB from persons wh.
rrcorered rrnm Lung Trouble hare been re
reived by the makers of Eckman’s Alterative
, r(me <ly for the treetment or Throat and
Luna Trouble. Surely plenty of time to dem
onstrate Us lasting value. You ran write l
,ny of them for eonflrmatlon Here Is one:
3328 Girard Are.. Phila.. I*a.
••Oentlemen: In the winter of 1903 I had ai
attack of Grippe, followed by Pneumonia am!
later by Consumption. In the winter of 1904
1 had coufb, night sweats, fever and raised
Quantities of awful-looking stuff and later I
had many hemorrhages: at one time three In
three successive da>s. Milk and egga became
,o distasteful I could keep nothing down.
Three physicians treated me. 1 was ordered to
the mountains, hut did not go. Kokman’s
Alterative was recommended by a friend. After
taking « small quantity I had the first quiet
U's sleep for weeks. My improvement w
•ked from the first. I gained strength and
jht and appetite. I never had another
mrrhage and my cough gradually lessened
II entirely gone. I am perfectly well.”
Affidavit) ANNIE F LOUGHRAN
Above abbreviated; more on request.)
ckmau's Alterative has been proven by many
s' test to he most efficacious in cases of
re Throat and Lung Affections. Bronchitis. (
nchlal Asthma. Stubborn Colds and In up- J
I,ling the system. Does not contain narcotic. /
mus or hai>lt-forming drugs. For sale by )
,.f .laco’".' Drug Spires and other leading ^
agists. Write the Kckinan Laboratory. Chi’ (
lphla. Fa., for booklet telling of recoveries \
additional evidence. (
She hast announced for purposes* of
court record that they were Mary’s
She has explained how she last saw
her daughter alive. She has told how
Mary Phagan ate her last hurried
meal, of cabbage and bread and then
went out to a horrible death. Now.
she may come out of the witness
room and listen to all that other per
sons have to say about Mary, alive
and dead.
Now she may sit in a corner of the-
courtroom and hear that her daugh
ter was beaten and choked and killed.
She may listen, perhaps with a pang
of jealousy, to other persons tell that
they saw' Mary Phagan alive, happy
and serene, long after she kissed the
little girl good-by for the last time
It is her Alary that they are talking
about, the little girl whom she heiu
in her arms as a baby, whom she
watched grow up to be a capable
worker, with a spirit unspoiled, with
a laugh as free as in the baby days,
with a hundred dreams and hopes
there on the edge of young woman
hood.
Testimony Bewilders.
Mrs. Coleman wears a look of be
wilderment at t^mes, as she tries hard
to follow the Intricacies of the testi
mony. Sometimes they are not talk
ing about Mary Phagan at all, but
about expense accounts and balance
sheets and clocks. What has ail that
to do with her iittle girl?
It is when the witnesses are talk
ing about these incidental bits in the
chain of circumstantial evidence that
the black-dad mother is most the list
less and passive figure of resignation.
It is then that she looks around, with
her wide-open stare, as if in wonder
that her little girl could be the cause
of it all.
Hut even when the name of Marv
Phagan is mentioned, the mother is
not noticeably attentive. Her eyes
cease their wandering, but her body
changes nothing of its posture of list-
lessness, loses none of its air of being
detached from the courtroom and its
incidents.
She is there plainly without resent
ment toward any one in particular
There is no vengefulness in her soul
—you can read that in her face. It
is almost as if she, having suffered
so much, is unwilling that any others
suffer. She sits there and looks,
curiously, wonderingly, a little dully.
And sometimes they mention Mary
Phagan’s last meal of cabbage. It is
remarkable that a dish of homely
cabbage should become a great thing
There is something grimly ludicrous
in the situation. And there are some,
the irreverent and the unfeeling, who
have made it a subject of Jest.
Glorified in Love.
But to Mrs. Coleman there must be
something appealingly intimate In the
subject. She cooked the cabbage. She
chopped it and prepared it as her
little daughter liked. The simple mea!
was glorified by the love that must
have* gone into its making—house
wife love for those in her care, moth
er-love for the whims and desires of
her children. The cabbage subjec t
must be of tremendous interest to
Mm Coleman.
Whatever her interest, though, it
is never keenly shown. Apathy seems
to be «the chief characteristic of her
in the courtroom—no. not apathv. but
just a dull wonder.
You read plainlV from tier worn
fare and her figure that she i9 not
seeking vengeance. Sometimes you
might wonder why s.Me is there In the
courtroom. You establ’sh curiosity as
the motive, curio ntv and the natural,
jealous, mother-desire to hear directly
from the mouths of others something
about her iittle girl as she last was
seen.
It must be almost liiie awaiting . 5
message that she is there, nursing her
dull grief.
Interest Unabated as Dramatic
Frank Trial Enters Third Week
The third week of the most remark
able murder trial ever known In Geor
gia opened to-day with no apparent
lessening of the acute interest and
grim appeal heretofore attaching to It.
The public has come to realize thor
oughly and completely that the issue
is a battle not only between the State
and the defendant, Leo Frank, but
between Leo Frank and the negro
Jim Conley.
Presumably, the defense will take
the entire week rounding out its cas*>
and perfecting its undermining of
Conley’s story.
If it does get through within the
week, it will have employed approxi
mately the same amount of time in
telling its story that the State em
ployed in telling the other 9ide.
The first powerful and bewildering
shock of Conley’s tale, unanticipated
in its full sinister detail, has passed
away In a measure, it seems.
It is but the simple truth to say
that the day of and the day following
Conley’s awful charge, in addition to
the one of murder, marked the climax
of the State’s case and the zenith of
feeling against Frank.
Then it was that the outlook for the
defense seemed to be the most dis
mal. and then it was that even
Frank’s most loyal friends and sym
pathizers began to grow apprehen
sive and sore afraid.
Doubt Begins to Grow.
Since the defense began its plead
ing. however, there has been some
thing of a revulsion of feeling—or, at
least, there appears to have been cre
ated a doubt in the minds of many
people as to the complete and con
vincing probability of Conley’s reve
lations.
Not that the defense is out of the
woods yet, by any means—as a mat
ter of fact, the defense still is very
deep In the woods, and while there
may be those w’ho think the defens
likely sees daylight and sunshine
somewhere through the darkness, .t
generally Is admitted that the dark
ness still very much Is there.*
As the frightful charge of perver
sion was the most prejudicial thing
injected by the State against Frank,
so, as a natural consequence, is the
seeming determination of the defense
to put his character frankly in issue
the thing seemingly most likely to re
move that prejudice, if possible.
To put P’rank’s character In issue,
in the face of the fact that the de
fense alone has that right, despite th
dramatically delivered and certainly
impressive testimony of Conley
against it, will seem in the mind if
many to argue that the defense is in
no way afraid to meet that issue fair
ly and squarely—and it is not at all
illogical to conclude that the success
fully tendering of his character as an
issue will have the effect, in large
measure anyway. «>: removing from
the mind «»f i n jury the horrible
charge of the negro.
Depencs on Conley’s Word.
As the mailer stain's now, the at
tack on Frank's • haracter rests en
tirely upon Conley’s word—Conley has
been corroborate, n t at all on the
direct charge, and he has been cor
roborated. even nclirectly, in the most
doubtful way.
It may be. on the other nani.
that the State, on«e given the r.ght
to go after Frank’s character ham
mer and tongs, will be prepared to
attack it with heavy artillery, an 1
perhaps demolish it entirely. Cer
tainly the necessity of doing this, in
the circumstances then, will be no
parent enough.
The Supreme Court of Geer .a
By JAMES B. NEVIN.
has held definitely that character
may be tendered as evidence of a
positive fact, and it asks signifi
cantly this question, through the
late Chief Justice Warner:
"Of what use is good character,
which a man mag ha\'e been years in
establishing, if it is to avail him
nothing in his hour of peril?”
It is rather curious, In a way, that
practically every vitally effective
and controlling point in this case
should reduce itself eventually to a
question of truth between Frank
and Conley.
Nothing Fidgety About Frank.
The Leo Frank of this week of his
trial Is not the Leo Frank of last
week and week before last.
If spectators were inclined for a
time to think the quiet, repressed,
spectacled young man sitting over
there beyond Luther Kosser and
Reuben Arnold, the slight person im
mediately between the only two
women in the entire courtroom, was
in any wise indifferent to or unmind
ful of the progress of the trial—his
own trial, and for a brutal murder,
at that—they have changed their
minds now.
They have changed tie,r minds
as completely as Leo P'rank has
changed his attitude.
If there is anything in external
appearances and surface indications,
I should say that Frank Is. in prac
tically any and all circumstances, a
man of very marked patience. I |
doubt that he ordinarily hurries, or I
frets unduly, or grows especially !
restless, any way.
He Is brisk enough in his move
ments, getting up now and then,
with a quickness of action easily
enough to be seen, either to say a
word to one of his lawyers or to
leave the courtroom for a moment
—but there is nothing the least
“fidgety” about the man.
While the State was making out
its case—even when Conley was on
the stand, hurling his charge of im
morality against Frank—the defend
ant sat apparently unmoved.
Save for an occasional momentary
gripping of the arms of his chair, a
tightening of the lips, or a slight
wrinkling of the brows, the defend
ant gave no sign, either of the in
dignation he must have felt if inno
cent or the apprehension he must
have felt if guilty.
Apparent Stoic Under Fire.
While the State was making out Its
case, P'rank seemed the personifica
tion of patience—or whatever It is
on*- should call it, according to the
state of his mind in renpeet of the de
fendant.
He sat there—just sat there—to
some an apparent stoic,' to others a —
what?
Immediately the defense got well
under way directly, however, the l^eo
Frank theretofore known to the pub
lic became another person—absolute
ly and entirely another person.
He seems to have realized thal
now, at last, has come his day to
s*P« ak.
No longer must he, restrained by
wise and far-seeing counsel, hold back
In word of mouth or effort at defense.
At last after all the long days of
wait ( > j lying the . rge lodged
;iga' dm of r* . resting his emo-
m .-landing a’.oof from a crit-
•! . . possibly ho-«tile outside world,
•r nk is saying the necessary word
o clear his good name, if it be suf-
fi ' ' *o the undertaking.
on'-p i.c si unmoved and
he now takes a noticeably di-
i ..ng part In his defense. Time
and again, he arises, or loans over,
as the case may be. and whispers
words Into his attorney’s oars.
On several occasions his whisper
ings have been responded to imme
diately by approving nods from his
counsel, and at once thereafter has
followed, particularly on the direct
examination, a line of questioning
evidently enough set in motion by
the defendant himself, and by other
persons.
Seems Sure of Himself.
Frank, I think, is rather sure of
himself—guilty or innocent, he Is
there to do battle to the bitter end,
to meet his enemies in the gate, and
to vanquish them, if he find himself
powerful enough.
He is a very small man physically,
but I think he has the courage requi
site to the undertaking he has in
hand. Whether it is the courage of
righteousness and a sense of his in
nocence, or the courage of despera
tion and guilt, it Is not, perhaps, for
me to say.
It only seems that he is eager for
the fight, and confident of his strength
to win.
No spectator there can hope to read’
his heart or read his mind. Great
reams of newspaper space and rep-
ortorial effort might be saved hence
forth If only one might do either of
those tw*o things.
And whether all the rest of the
world be against him, It appears a
sure thing to say that, at least, his
wife there beside him and his moth
er constantly In attendance upon him.
believe him utterly and altogeth?r
Innocent.
I suspect there is no question, more
over that both Luther Z. Rosser and
Reuben Arnold believe In the inno
cence of Frank.
Beyond these four and the jury ami
the Judge, however, I doubt if P'rank
concerns himself extensively nowa
days—unless, of course, he thinks
often of that stout-hearted and un
afraid bald-headed man, Simon
Marks, and a band of friends who
never yet have forsaken him, no
matter how dark the gloom that has
seemed to close around him.
Picked Up State's Gauntlet.
It may be that Frank in his de
fense of himself will disappoint these
expectant ones. It may be that he
never will come through the fire un-
scorched, it may be that and It may
be a lot of things, but It will not be
denied, when this case Is over, that
Frank picked up. full and free, the
gauntlet the State threw at his feet.
The State’s case was the State’s
business. Frank stood off and let it
go ita limit Of course, he hardly
could have kept It from going its
limit—but the point Is. he didn’t try
particularly.
The defense, however—the defense
Is FYank’s business, strictly!
And he is right there, on the Job.
as he would be. I take It. had this
frightful murder never h*en commu
ted, and were It with him merely a
question of catching up with a smash
ing and record-breaking order for the
product of the factory over on For
syth street, where a few weeks ago
he was the universally respected su
perintendent.
Frank will make no half-way de
fense of himself—that much may be
anticipated confidently. I suspect. He
will meet every issue tendered—even
Including the attack other than the
charge of murder.
How will he fare eventually? Well,
that Is another question—and it is
not yet has been approximately an-
. swered.
its
TAX REFORMS
II MESSAGE
Jites the Deplorable Condition of
State’s Treasury and Asks
Early Action
Continued From Page 1.
champion the bill to the last.
The bill provides, among othei
things, for a state tax assessor, in
addition to county boards of tax
equalizers.
The Senate passed several meas
ures on the calendar several weeks.
The first rsolution to go through was
one by Senator Longino providing for
the appointment of a commission to
investigate and receive bids on the
propose.1 re-leasing of the Western
and Atlantic Railroad. Several
amendments w r ere lost.
Another Important bill passed was
that of. Senator Huie. of the Thirty-
fifth, making it a misdemeanor to
present a check when there are not
sufficient funds in the bank to pay
it.
Two bills by Senator McNeill were
passed—one permitting the operation
of through trains and trains carry
ing perishables on Sunday and the
ether allowing insurance companies
to inxest 10 per cent of their surplus
stock in bonds of any one institution.
The Senate agreed to reconsider the
bill giving the custody of young chil
dren to the mother, which was de
feated last week. Senator Stark,
pleading that the adverse report of
the committee be upheld, charged
that the present bill was planned as
the result of the Z&chry case, In
which Judge Hammond, of Augusta,
held that he was forced to deliver the
children to the father.
Upon motion of Senator McGregor
.he Senate order o that 100 copies ot
the Governor’s message, which was*
read Monday morning, be printed and
furnished to the Senators by Monday
afternoon
Ralph Sims and Two
Young Women Hurt
In Auto Accident
The overturning of an automobile
at the junction of Hapevllle and
Brown’s Mill road at midnight Satur
day resulted in a broken arm for ;
Ralph Sims and severe bruises for
two young women, who were taken
to a sanitarium. Sims Is the son of
John M. Sims and a brother of Claude
E. Sims, the real estate man.
The accident occurred while the
machine was passing a wagon on a
narrow road. Grass growing along
the edge of the road caused the driver
to think solid ground was there, but
instead there is a 24-foot sheer drop.
The car toppled down this, and but
for the fact that it was traveling
slowly the accident probably would
have resulted fatally.
Nurses in charge at the sanitarium
declined to m^ke public the names of
the young women, but It is understood
they are well known in Atlanta.
Kentucky Feudist
On Trial for Life
LEXINGTON. Aug. 11.—Thomas
Davidson, known as “Re/1,” was put
on trial to-day at Winchester, Ky.,
charged with complicity in the assas
sination of Ed Callahan, no'ed feudist,
for which three men have already
been sentenced to life terms In the
penitentiary.
Fourteen are to be tried after Da
vidson. Nearly 1,000 special venire
men have been summoned, varHvs
counties throughout the State belnq
called on to furnish panels for trials
of the remainder of the feudist band
STRIKE CRIPPLES MILAN.
MILAN. ITALY, Aug 11.—Over
1,000 arrests were made here to-dav
In the general strike which has stag
nated the city. Traffic Is at a stand
still. Martial law is In force and sol
diers patrol all the streets.
Board Awaits Last
Plea Before Fixing
McNanghton’s Fate
The fate of Dr. W. W. McNaugh-
ton, confined in the Chatham County
jail under sentence of death, will be
decided by the State Prison Board
either Monday afternoon or Tues
day morning, according to announce
ment at the Capitol Monday morn
ing.
The board has held up its decision
pending tlje arrival of certain addi
tional papers which the defendant's
attorneys have prepared as a last ap
peal for clemency. These papers, it
is understood, are expected Monday
afternoon. The decision probably
will be handed down immediately fol
lowing the examination of the addi
tional evidence.
The Prison Board will also act in
the case of Frank Collins, a negro
also under sentence of death in Sa
vannah.
30,000 at Templar
Conclave in Denver
DENVER, COLO., Aug. 11.—Twen
ty-five hundred persons arrived in
Denver every 60 minutes to-day for
the thirty-second triennial conclave
of the Knights Templars. Thirty
thousand Knights and thousands of
othei: visitors vvi'» be in the city to
night. Between 400 and 500 special
trains were scheduled to arrive in
Denver before toe real business of the
conclave begins to-morrow.
More than ?300,000 has been spent
to make Denver beautiful.
JUVENILE PIEOLE
PISSED M HOUSE
Measure Also Gives Fulton Supe
rior Judge Power to Expedite
Cases Against Children.
The House Monday morning dis
posed of numerous minor bills and
accomplished more along that lin3
than at any session this year.
A bill granting the judge of the
Superior Court of Fulton Countv
power to appoint probation officers
and to ex mediate hearings of cases
against children, introduced by Black
burn. of Fulton .was passed unan
mously.
A resolution recommending the ap
pointment of three Representatives,
two Senators and two lay lawyers
to investigate civil and criminal pro-
ceedure within appellate jurisdiction
for the purpose of ascertaining points
whereby wholesome revision of laws
could be affected, was passed after
much acrimonious debate between
Hardeman, of Jefferson, and Slater,
of Bryan.
Slater took the stand that tl\e delay
In the court of the present day were
avoidable and cited the Frank case
as a precedent. Hereupon he was
met with a volley of protests from
the entire House. One member stren
uously objected to the discussion of
the Frank case in the House, and was
sustained.
Kimbrough, of Harris, and Melson,
of Clayton, started a fight when theV
introduced a bill prohibiting any man
from killing a heifeh calf under one
year old. Heated discussion followed
which was prolonged until adjourn
ment, the issue remaining unsettled.
Slater, of Bryan, opposed the bill
and pointed out that it was* impos
sible to induce farmers to buy young
calves for raising.
Gibbons Is Certain
Suffrage Will Come
CHICAGO. Aug. 11.—“I am weary.’*
said Cardinal Gibbons, when inter
viewed here. “1 am growing old and
these trips are trilie hard on me.
“Personally I do not believe in wom
en voting.” he answered in reply to
a question. "The Church has not
passed on the subject. 1 have the
ol'cT-fashioned idea about woman and
the home. I think women would bet
ter make good mothers than good
politicians. But suffrage is certain to
come to women.”
2-POUND BABY LIVES.
HUNTINGTON, IND., Aug. 11.—A
two-pound bfcby girl, fully developed,
was. born to Mr. and Mrs. Frank C.
Smith, of this city. Doctors say it
has a fighting chance to live.
$9 WRIGHTSVILLE
BEACH
Round-trip. August 16th. Good
15 days. Through sleepers. Sea
board.
3 P-R-I-N-T-O-R-I-A-L-S ■
No. 210
Now s tke time to plant your advertising!!
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your message getting it READ, and PULLING IN THE ORDERS.
Our GOOD PRINTING is
the final solution of GOOD
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to demonstrate with plans
and ideas.
BYRD
Phones M. 1560-2608-2614.
Printing Co.
46-48-50 W. Alabama,
Atlanta.