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3 FRANK’S STATEMENT IS BEST PLEA PRESENTED IN HIS DEFENSE SO EAR By JAMES B. NEVIN. So far, unquestionably, to my way of thinking: Leo Frank himself has made the best and most appealing plea in behalf of Leo Frank. His statement in the recital thereof was as clean cut, as dignified, as dis passionate and as convincing as any statement I ever heard from the wit ness stand, and I have heard hun dreds. Regardless of its merits—or, at least, aside from that—the defend ant acquitted himself with credit, and that much may be said of him un grudgingly &nd in the frankest fair ness to all parties concerned. Of course, had Frank been nerv ous, hesitating, “fidgety,” or seeming ly in any wise disconcerted, there would be those, perhaps, who would have Seen in that great evidence of his guilt—and by the same token, in that he was calm, poised, self-pos sessed, even smiling at intervals, there will be those who see in that evidence of a monstrous coldness and unfeeling design. The vast majority of those who heard that remarkable statement, however, must have been impressed by, at least, the apparent sincerity of it and the seeming inclination in the defendant to hold back nothing. In its recital the statement of Leo Frank was wonderful—In its written form, stripped of the man’s personal ity, it still Is a human document of intense and absorbing interest. It impressed me, too, as being n many ways characteristic of Frank as I have come to know him of late— and I never spoke one word to him in all my life. I have come to know him as the prisoner sitting over there between the two women in the courtroom— the slight, spectacled party, a seat or two beyond Luther Rosser and Reu ben Arnold. I have come to know him, in my way of knowing persons charged with grave crimes, not by w;ay of personal touch so much as by constant obser vation of him under fire. Repression Makes the Story. All that was dramatic in Frank’s statement was repressed—the dramat ic touch was there, to be sure, but the red fire and the usual accom panying stage tricks were not. If Frank should undertake to sell me a gross of pencils. I should ex pect him to tell me the truth about the pencils, and nothing but the truth —but I should expect him neverthe less to pell me the pencils at a profit. His statement of Monday seemed to me a recital much after the fashion I should expect from him in the pen cil transaction. To me, it seetfifed that Frank was undertaking to tell the truth and nothing but the truth of the Mary Phag-an murder, as he knows the truth—and to tell it at a profit to himwelf. That is the best and the worst that I can say of Leo Frank’s state ment. as It appealed to me. True, in a transaction involving a mbre gross of pencils, there would be lacking all the great elements that entered Ih\o the statement Frank made on Monday—a.hd yet, at that, neither subject matter is, In Its final analysis, anything more or less than something about which the simple truth Should be told. Frank looked th'e jury fairly and squarely in the eye when he was mak ing his statement—and not once did he hesitate or falter in stating his plea. Contrast the statement of the de fendant with the statement of the negTo—'the star witness summoned against him. Frank’s Day in Court. Now, Monday was Frank’s day in court, and it is square and right that Frank’s showing should be criticised freely and frankly—it is right that his statement should be praised, if it seemed to deserve praise, just: as it should be condemned, if it seemed to merit that melancholy fate. Contrast it, therefore, with the statement of Conley! Argue the matter With yourself. Certainly, Frank has behind him a long period of decent life, good rep utation, business integrity, and home happiness—and Conley h/ts, what? Take the two stories—and upon these two stories the verdict in the Frank case must turn eventually— and weigh them, side by side, honest ly, without prejudice, and in the light of a clean conscience. What is your answer? What will be the jury’s answer? The field of speculation thus opened is mos* engaging, and it will, if one but undertake to enter it seriously and with open mind, be well worth the entering. In the matter of his character. Frank said little. He entered simple denials to some few things cited against him. He was willing to be cross-exam ined on his statement. He himself Insisted that his general character be put in issue. He furnished the State with the first information it ever had that Conley could write. All the way through, his statement rang with confident challenge, and a dare to the State to prove anything vile in him whatever! Now, then, people will differ as to the EFFECT Frank’s statement will and ought to have on the jury. Hay be it is a clever evasion of a grave issue—maybe it is possible of rebuttal, and maybe it will be broken down. Impressively Delivered. The fhet remains that it was most impressively delivered, and carried with it every emphasis of apparent truth and straightforwardness! It is my opinion now that the State has in Frank’s statement the hard est thing to get away from that yet has been tendered to it. It contradicts the State at points that the defense has been able to for tify abundantly with facts. It makes more necessary than ever before the complete success of the State’s efforts to break down Frank’s good name. For I think It safe to predict that unless the State DOES demolish Frank utterly, the wonderful state ment he made on Monday more than likely will serve In connection with the other things set up—to clear him of the charge bf murdering Mary Phagan! Tt matters not. so far as this arti cle is concerned, moreover, whether the statement ought to clear him— the prospect is that it WILL clear him unless the State can batter it down and collapse it entirely! The defendant touched upon every phase of the State’s case against him —the happiness of his home, his nervousness on the morning of the murder, his movements on the day of the crime, and the day before, and the day after, his family’s financial resources, his disinclination to talk to Conley, although he at first talked freely to the police officers, his alleged peeping into the girls’ dressing room, his lack of knowled^ of or acquaint ance with the impeached Dalton, his non-association With loose characters, male and female. There was not a point he failed to touch, even though he seemed to todch points now and then with a measure of fine scorn! Is there a gap that Frank MIGHT let down that he has FAILED to let down ? Is there a point involved that Frank has not invited investigation of? Hard to Find Gaps. It is rather hard to locate any such gaps of points, if they are there. And yet they may be there! That Is for the State yet to demonstrate! The State has the full right of re buttal, as applied to Frank s state ment, that it enjoys In respect of other evidence. There may be weak points in his story—just as there were weak noints In Cofl0$y’s. The point is that they are not nearly so apparent upon the surface of things in the Frank statement. For one thing, Conley made four sworn statements, all contradictory, before be got one finally landed, and Conley admitted freely from the stand that he had lied time and again. On the other hand, Frank s state ment is the first and only sustained and sequenced utterance as to the de tails of his story yet falling from his lips. It must stand in Its entirety or fall In its entirety. Whatever may be the effect of that siAtfertieht in the efid, it will fcb down in the criminal history of Georgia as one of the most remarkably clear and apparently convincing statements ever falling from a defendant’s lips. When the State gets through with it, the statenij?pt may be shot to pieces artfThqnflfcred..Utterly ineffective. As It stafi&KT t6-<5ay, however, I hardly think a dozen people who henrd It will deny the profound Im pression it made, and the present probability of its determining effect upon the minds.of the jury. The deferral has played its best card in Leo Frank's statement. It remains yet to be seen, how ever, whether that card is sufficient to win the case! Fresh Appeal for Exhibit To Be Made Three hundred ‘Atthnta manufactur ers will gather at Hotel Ansley for a luncheon at 1 o’clock Tuesday. They will discuss the manufacturers’ ex position which the Chamber of Com merce has been endeavoring to estab lish in its building. While many manufacturers have signed for space in the exhibit* there still is a large amount which has not been taken. Unless this is arranged for immediately, the proposition is likely to fall through. Enthusiasm has been displayed, however, and around the Chamber of Commerce the belief is that the ex position is assured. JUDGE MATTHEWS HOLDSCOURT JACKSON.—Judge H. A. Mat thews, of Macon, is holding court here this week for Judge # Robert T. Dan iel, of the Flint Circuit, who is «11. The criminal calendar will be reached about the middle of the week, civil business having been taken up Mon day. Freddy Film 1918. International New* Sfrrnop He Gets Another Scalp Wtll, I HAti T SHOW TH 1 BOSS THAT rii a bao MAN ! “MORE OINKS" AROUND HERE-.' I HATE MEET NEW BRINSON MANAGER. SAVANNAH,—About 40 agents of the Brinson Railway are assembled In Savannah to get acquainted with R. Morgan, the new general man ager. THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN ANT) NEWS. REACHPEACE Report of War Move Against the United States Is Denied by Charge O’Shaughnessy. Continued from Page 1. tion from the American Government by last midnight. He found these reports unfounded and spread the news among the mem bers of the American colony in Mexi co City. The population seemed to take it for granted that Huerta was about to make the desperate play which he long had threatened. Secretary Brvan to-day denied that the State Department had received any Ultimatum from Mexico concern ing recognition of the Huerta gov ernment by any stated time, or that Charge d’Affairea O’Shaughnessy had been given his passports and told to leave Mexico. The State Department was in formed to-day by Charge d’Affaires O’Shaughnessy that Senor Gamboa, Minister of Foreign Affairs, has de nied the statement made by Senor Urrutia, Minister of the Interior, con cerning the reported ultimatum, and it is believed here that the outlook for a peaceful settlement of the trou bles between the two nations is more promising at the present time than it has been in the pest fortnight. Wild Rumor Laid to Cabinet. Charge d’Affaires O’Shaughnessy, in his telegram to the State Depart ment to-day, reported that President Huerta and Envoy Lind were con ferring concerning the final settle ment of the difficulties between the two countries. While he did not comment on the situation beyond giv ing a bare report of the fact, Mr. O’Shaughnessy strongly indicated that he hoped for a peaceful settle ment and that the next 48 hours prob ably would bring developments lead ing to a compact between the United States and Mexico. It is believed at the State Depart ment that the sensational reports em anating from Mexico City last night were inspired by the Huerta Cabinet. It is thought that the Mexican news papers wpr« instructed to print only this story and that they will not car- ry*the denial of this ultimatum issued by Senor Gamboa early to-day. In this way, it is believed, the Huerta government will be enabled to “save its face” before the Mexican people without at the same time bringing on war with the United States. New Insurance Firm Open for Business Announcement of the establishment of the French & Lochrid-ge Insurance Agency was made Tuesday morning by T. B. Fbench and Clifford L. Loeh- ridge. The new agency takes its place among the business enterprises of Atlanta with every prospect of suc cess. Mr. Fbehch and Mr. Lochridge were with The Atlanta Constitution for several rears and have made an extehsive study of all forms of in surance. They have obtained the local agen - cy for two of the leading companies of the United States and a German company. Associated with them s John R. (‘‘Jake’) Rauschenberg, a widely known insurance man. The offices of the new agency are in the Candler Building. Militants Destroy Historic Altar Cloth Special Cable to The Atlanta Georgian. LANBERIS, WALES, Aug. 19.— Suffragettes to-day destroyed a beau tiful historic altar cloth in the Paris Church at the foot of Mount Snow don. BEDFORD. ENGLAND, Aug.. 19.— A large lumber yard was burned here to-day by militant suffragettes. 3 Years in Prison • For Selling Liquor MERIDIAN, MISS., Aug. 19.—Prob ably the heaviest sentence ever im posed for the illegal sale of liquor in this State was given when Trav- ant Johnson, a crinple, to-day was given three years in the penitentiary. The law makes the third sale of liquor a penitentiary offense. Moonshiner Slays Man in Pistol Duel LEXINGTON, Aug. 19—In a pis tol duel at Burnside, Ky., between Joshua Carter, a moonshiner, and John Fitzgerald and Town Marshal John Ooomer, Fitzgerald was killed and Coomer wounded by Carter. The slayer forced a ferryman to row him across a river when pursued by a posse. Officers wounded him as he escaped to the mountain's. A posse is in pursuit. COLUMBUS CONCERN BANKRUPT COLUMBUS.—The Smith-Gordy- Boyd Furniture Company, one of the oldest establishments of the kind in Columbus, has filed a petition of bankruptcy in the Federal Court, placing assets at $10,885.48 and lia bilities at $9,067.20. .The manager .of the firm died recently. •’ Sunday American's Trail-Blaz ing Car Reaches Tallapoosa on First Day's Run. By HUGH GRANT. (Sunday American Representative With Pathfinder.) TALLAPOOSA, Aug. 19. E. L. Ferguson, official ''pathfinder ’ for the All-Southern Transcontinental High way, and party ended a triumphant tour through Georgia here Monday night. The party, consisting of Mr. Ferguson. Mrs. Ferguson and the Fer guson children, arrived on schedule time at 5:45 o’clock. The tourists left early Tuesday morning for An niston. They will be joined en route by President John Craft, of the Ala bama Good Roads Association, and State Highway Engineer Keller, who will accompany them through Ala bama. That Tallapoosa is keenly awake to the importance of the monster project to blaze a trail from Atlanta to San Francisco was clearly indicated Mon day night when a score of Talla- poosans, including Mayor C. E. Pearce, L. E. Chandler, editor of The Tallapoosa Journal, and other promi nent citizens, heldl a conference with Mr. Ferguson at the Tallapoosa Hotel In regard to the formulation of plans for the development of better roads in this vicinity. The Tallapoosa good roads boosters wt»re very enthusiastic over the'cam paign Inaugurated by The Sunday American, and pledged their heart*’ support. All Towns Givj Welcome. Tallapoosa’s warm reception, how ever, was only one of many between here and Atlanta. All along th£ 63- mile route the good roads boosters turned out to give the transcontl- nentalists a rousing send-off. At Austell Mayor L. C. Upshaw and Editor Dake, of The Douglasville New Era, heading a delegation of Douglas ville boosters, met the tourists and escorted them to Douglasville. H^re good roads and highways were talked of. and a typical old-time Georgia dinner was served at the Douglasville Hotel, with Mayor Upshaw and Mr. Dake acting as hosts. Other Douglasville citizens who act ed as official escorts were R. E. Ed wards, J. F. Long, superintendent of the cotton mill; J. M. Banks, and Douglas County Commissioners J. T. Lee and A. S. Gresham. According to Mr. Gresham, the Douglas County authorities are pre paring now to spend several thousand dollars on the development of the old Tallapoosa road. The largest work will be the construction of a new ste^l bridge over Sweetwater Creek costing approximately $2,000. The improvement in Douglas Coun ty of the Tallapoosa highway which was traversed by the Ferguson party and which has been selected as the official route will make this one of the best roads in the entire State. Pathfinder Ferguson declared Mon- i Tech Commercial Course Endowment Is Growing Rapidly More than 25 of tne 100 required guarantors for the new commercial course at Tech, to be launched at the opening of the 1913-14 term Septem ber 15, have been obtained, and an ac tive campaign Is being waged to com plete the list by Saturday. Each of the 100 guarantors Is to give the sum of $25. making an en dowment of $2,500. The eum may he Increased later. Classes In practical accounting, commercial law, business economics, auditing, banking and similar sub jects will be taught. Afternoon classes from 4 to * o'clock will be conducted to give business men of Atlanta an opportunity to attend. Professor E. C. Green, formerly of New York City, but for the past year an Instructor at Tech, will be at the head of the department. Pour other Tech professors will assist him. Ed gar Watkins will be oounsei for the law department, and Joel Hunter for the accounting. Anniston Has World’s Biggest Casting Pits ANNISTON, Aug. 19.—Anniston’s latest world-beater comes in the form of the largest ca.sting pits in exis tence, it is said, at the new plant of the Lynchburg Foundry Company, which is nearing completion. The plant will make pressure pipe. Although there are labor-saving de vices on every hand at the new plant, it is said that it will employ 200 men when it is put into blast, and when the other two ptts are completed this number will be doubled. 3 ITUM BILLS With more than 200 bills on Gov ernor Slaton’s desk which had to be signed immediately, the doors of the executive offices were closed to vlaU tors Tuesday while the Governor delved Into the mass of work In an effort to get the bills signed and out of the way before the next batch came from the engrossing clerks pf the House and Senate. The Governor expects to sign all the bills that reach him Tuesday be fore the day is over, in order to fore stall any discussion as to whether Sunday shall be counted as one of the five days In which he is allowed to sign bills passed by the Legislature. Up to Tuesday morning Governor Slaton had signed only one of the three local bills affecting Atlantr.. This was the measure creating a new judge for the Atlanta Circuit, which he ap proved Monday afternoon. The other two, the bill creating a new charter for the city and the bill creating mu nicipal courts, probably will be signed Tuesday. * It is understood the Governor will defer appointing the new Atlanta judge until he returns from the con ference of Governors at Colorado Springs, Colo., next week. Governor Slaton will leave Saturday, to be gone about ten days. Special Session Idea In Alabama Growing BIRMINGHAM, Aug. 19.—That Governor O’Neal may cal) a special session of the Leflutature In order to (rtraighten out the United States Senatorial mud<U e appears more like ly to-day. • Tim untt-,fee system advocate* in Jefferson <’o8nty, the largest county In the State, are working hard to have Included In the call for the *pe- cial session the anti-fee system bill. It !» pointed out that the Sheriff of Jefferson County gets In fees almost as much per annum as did the Pres ident of the United States before the last Increase In salary of the latter. Suffragettes Want Baby Booth at Fairs NEW YORK. Aug. 19.—Among the things that the suffragettes, headed by Harriet Stanton Blatch. want is a pocket in their skirts and a plac* at fairs where women can check Ihelr babies. Mrs. Rlatch visited a numbteV of fairs throughout the State and de clares It a crying shame that at- not one of them did she find a place whore mothers could leave tbelr babies while thay rambled around the park. SUNDAY SCHOOL CONVENTION. COLUMBUS. Aug. 19.—The Lee County, Alabama, annual Sunday School Convention begins Tuesday at Waverly. Prominent Sunday School workers from all sections of Alabama will be in attendance. -. Aged Fat Man in Furs With Mercury at 100 BOSTON, Aug. 19.—While the street thermometers registered 100 here, a man aged and fat, wearing a heavy winter suit, a heavy ulster that reached the ground, heavy shoes and a fur cap, with the laps turned down over the ears, Was seen wandering about the streets, seemingly cool. ilimiiiiiR M. Rich & Bros. Co. Patent, Gun-Metal and Tan % -~ § Pumps and Oxfords day night that the road between Aus tell and Douglasville was excellent, and that he remaining sections were good and could be put in fine shape by the expenditure of moderate sums in each county. Leaving Dowglasville Monday aft ernoon. Mr. Ferguson and party made a bee line for Villa Rica, arriving there on schedule at 3:40. Temple, Ga., was reached shortly after 4 o’clock, Bremen at 5, Waco at 5:15 and Tallapoosa at 5:45. Members of the party reported a most delightful trip, with not a single mishap to mar the journey. A wMre from Heflin, Ala., Tuesday morning told of elaborate prepara tions there for the reception of Mr. Ferguson and party. From Heflin the tourists will proceed to Anniston, Ala., where a monster good roads cel ebration will be held a a greeting ebration will be held as a greeting guson expects to reach Birmingham Thursday at noon. $4 and $5 stock stylos $2.95 S£ The opportunity Ls too profitable to rhisa. Thhse ■£ styles are, without exception, the newest obtainable. Other values at $1.05 and $3.95. ^ $3.50 and $4 -5 White Canvas :■ P u m s $1.95 All sizes $7 Brooklyn-made Spanish Heel Colonial Pumps $5.45 All sizes | M. Rich & Bros. Co. IMM “A Department of Famous Shoes.” MW SALE N-O-W ON! “Correct Dress for Men” Essig Bros. Co. August Reduction Sale Here are Two Items that should interest Every Man in Atlanta. The Prices are cut far—and Deep—to Close out Before Inventory! All Fancy Suits— All Fancy Suits— up to and including gen^iino $18.50 values for a quick clearance. Buy them for that regularly sell from $20 up to and includ ing $27.50, marked now for you to take home with you at This Positively Is a Cash Sale Essig Bros ti Correct Dress for Men.” 26 Whitehall St.