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VTTF ATLANTA GEORGIAN ANT) NEWS.
FRANK CALM AS HOOPER ARGUES TO SEND HIM TO THE GALLOWS
Stoically and Unblinkingly He Listens to Scathing Arraignment of State
ACCUSED ATTEMPTED TO
IEI
AND GANTT, STATE SAYS
ATTORNEY F. A. HOOPER
ARGUING BEFORE JURY
Continued from Pege 1.
protection of the law Just as any other
citizen.
"But another thing He la not en
titled to any more. He la not, on ac
count of hla high position and wealthy
connections, entitled to any more than
any other defendant The strong
arm of the law la strong enough to
reach to the highest places and do
Justice there.
"It la strong enough to reach down
into the gutter and regulate the lives
of the lowliest. I am not going to
undertake to go over all the facts In
this case.
Believes Firmly
In Frank’s Guilt.
"I congratulate you, gentlemen of
the Jury, that the case la nearing an
end. I have felt sympathy for
you. because you not only have
worked hard, but you have been de
prived of your liberty and the en
joyment of your homes. In one Sense
of the word, you have been in Jail.
"There ha* never been a criminal
case In Georgia that has been so long.
There has been no trial so Important
or the result of which will be so far-
reaching, and that only makes the re
sponsibility on you the greater.
"There is one other thing that I
want to say to you before I go Into
the facts of the case. This man ought
not to be convicted simply because
someone has to be, nor because of the
law that demands an eye for an eye
and a life for a life. We think tho
evidence shows him to be guilty bs-
yond any reasonable doubt.
"In taking up this evidence I am
considering you deeply, I am consider
ing the strain you have been under.
I am thinking deeply; In fact, I am
trying to make myself as one of you
twelve men, and in attempting to
bring this to a conclusion I am striv
ing to get at the truth.
"Let’* see what the situation was
on Memorial Day, Saturday April 26.
Here is this great big pencil factory,
which was being run by a number of
men with this defendant In charge.
Let us consider the conditions that
existed there, and, gentlemen, I must
say that I am not proud of these con
ditions.
Witnesses Incensed
By Factory Conditions.
"But to ret to the reel facte of this
case; to come to a full realization of
Just how thlnrs occurred, we must
understand the conditions that existed
here absolutely before we can pro
ceed with this case. The character of
this plaec was one to make us think
deeply. The evidence which has been
laid J>ef°re you here has been of the
kind to make one doublv serious. Take
the defendant. Between 26 and 40
girls have come before you and said
that hie character was good.
“They spoke In the highest terms
of him. That must be considered,
But on this charge this Is negative
evidence. But also consider that we
have brought before you girl after
girl who told of his character being
bad ;who told of the Immoral condi
tions that existed in this great pencil
factory, and, gentlemen of the Jury,
most of thewe girls had quit working
at that factory from two years to
thres weeks before the time of this
trial.
"Every one of them said his charac
ter was bad. Did you notice the em
phasis with which they said It was
bad? And did you notice that they
would have told more If they could
have been allowed to? Did you notice
how highly lnoensed they felt toward
the Immoral conditions which existed
at this factory?
"You have those who are still there
who *111 say that his character Is
good, but you have those who have
left who Invariably say hts character
Is bad. We put them on notice from
the very first that we were willing to
enter fully into his character. We
could furnish particular information
In regard to this, but we have been
prevented.
“We have asked their own wit
nesses and our own; we have asked
them. 'Did you ever hear of this Inci
dent?' and ’Did you ever hear of that
Incident?’ We brought these particu
lar girls before you, and asked them
In regard to Frank's character. They
said It was bad. We turned them
over to the defense, and they failed to
question them In regard to any ot
the Incidents to which we have re
ferred."
Colonel Arnold Interrupted at this
point protesting to Judge Roan that
he considered Mr. Hooper was mak
ing an Improper argument In saying
that the State could not go Into the
particular evidence and In intimating
that it was an Incriminating circum
stance that the defense did not take
advantage of Its privilege and ques
tion the State’s witnesses In regard
to the particular Incidents. Judge
Roan sustained Hooper, saying that It
was his only legal recourse. Hooper
continued:
"If out of 100 men, 90 of them say
that a certain person's character Is
good, but ten of them say, 'Beware
of that man; he Is a bad man,' would
you say that you had a man of good
character?
Says Girls’ Morals
Were in Hands of Men.
"It 1a almost Impossible to magni
fy the temptation In the National
Pencil Factory to a man without con
science and filled with lust. These
girls in the factory were entirely de
pendent upon the attitude assumed by
the men who were superior to them.
This defendant, assisted by the noble
Darley and the handsome young
Bchiff, practically had these girls
morals in his hands. The girls were
absolutely dependent upon this trio.
"We find that the defendant con
nected himself up with a man whose
character Is good enough at present,
but who admittedly was leading an
Immoral life at that time. What can
we say when a man whose dally as
sociates are bankers and prominent
business men shall associate himself
In his leisure hours with a man of
the character of this C. B. Dalton?
"I expect most all of you have read
that little etory, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde." We are all dual characters;
none Is so good but that there 1s
some evil; none so bad but that there
Is some good. It Is when the evil
predominates that we have a bad
man. The bad Is good when with his
own class. When the shades of night
have fallen, and he seeks associates
of his baser passions, then It Is that
we get a glimpse into his other na
ture. So it Is with this defendant.
"Hd didn't seek out the bankers and
people of his regula# sphere when his
baser paeslons came on. He looked
for an associate in a man like Dalton.
Dalton has had a number of men to
get up here and say they would be
lieve him. They are men who have
worked side by side with him. Of
course, he is a fellow’ of a lower class,
but It has been shown to you that he
is a good fellow of his class, con
genial to that environment.
"Then there are other facts to sup.
port this Idea. This defendant claimed
to you he did not know Mary Phagan.
Yet the evidence showed that he
passed back and forth by her every
day. We find he did know her. Wit
nesses declared he stopped to speak
to her and show her how to do her
work. He told her HE was the su
perintendent of the factory. He pur
sued her out of the beaten path. This
little girl, sent there by her parents
to be under his protection, was In his
eye, the eye of lust. He was laying a
foundation for his object.
Conley, Too Ignorant to
Lie, Stuck to Truth.
“Let’s turn back to the first evi
dence of this, the first interest of this
man who never knew Mary Phagan.
He said to Gantt, a man reared in the
same community, several weeks be
fore the tragedy, ’You are pretty thica
with Mary Phagan?’ He had her In
his mind. Next we see him getting
Gantt removed, and It was Ju$t after
he had remarked what a good office
force he had. The first opportunity
was about one dollar. He sought to
give you the impression of dishonesty.
He would attack this man whom he
wouldn’t let go into his factory unless
accompanied by a negro. Shame upon
him!
"Thus he got rid of Gantt, and be
gan to lay his plans.
"You remember that the defense
pitted its case against Conley. 1
haven’t said anything about him yet,
but he comes in right here. He w’as
to them like a stone mountain. They
must break him down, or they are
lost. They must break him down, and
you have seen here the greatest fight
between my herculean friend Rosser
on the one side, and that poor, ignor
ant negro on the other, and you have
seen the result. It was brains against
ignorance; strength against weakness
—'and after three and one-half days
you saw Conley unshaken. His evi
dence was written as fast as he talked
and my friend here, Rosser, carried
him hack over the same ground again
and again, but they could not break
him dowm, because It was the truth.
It continued to pour like the waters
through a mill race, because that ne
gro didn’t have sense enough to lie.
He was telling for the first time the
real story of what actually happened
that fAtal day.
"Why didn’t Mr. Rosesr break Jim
Conley down? It was because, after
all the lies the negro had told, he
was telling the truth, and the truth
Is stronger than either of these two
gentlemen. And it was the truth,
gentlemen of the Jury, that held Jim
Characteristic
attitude of
Dorsey’s
aide in
<r- V. -A
Attorney F. A.
Hooper, who
opened the
Frank trial
argument for
the State.
Conley unbroken on the stand for
three days. And truth Is greater than
all. Yes, even after my herculean
friend had worn himself out in a
three days’ effort to break the negro,
he tried to put it off on his brother,
Mr. Arnold. But the law protects a
man, and would not allow this. They
will tell you that Jim Conley Is a
powerful liar—and he Is. But take
each of his affidavits. Each one of
them gave a little more of the truth,
and on Mr, Rosser’s long cross-exami
nation he brought out more of the
truth.
"The opinion I expressed at the
time was that if the defense contin
ued to bore into Conley they mighl
bring out even more of the truth
What they brought out did Frank no
good. They beat upon him mentally
but he remained unshaken.
"This defendant is a smart ma.n. It
was a remarkable statement that he
made upon the stand to you, but he
didn’t need to get on the stand here
and talk to you for more than two
and a half hours. He went Into each
detail, going from one thing to the
other, and putting it on one maxi and
then the other.
"But let us go back to Jim Conley,
the Jim Conley they could not shake,
because he was telling the truth. He
tells you he had done that often be
fore. He told you that he saw other
people come there; that he saw men
and women meet there; and, gentle
men, there are other people who cor
roborate Jim Conley; w’ho said they
saw men and women come to this
pencil factory and meet the defend
ant there.
Says Affidavits Fit Exactly
With Negro’s Narrative.
"The next morning Frank was there
to see him; the next morning Jim
was there. Do you know, gentlemen,
that Providence sometimes will di
vulge the truth at the very last min
ute? At the last minute yesterday
two men came up here and said that
they saw Jim Conley there. Mrs. Ar
thur White said she saw someone re
sembling Jim, but she was not cer
tain. So Jim was telling a story that
a good many people were disbelieving,
but here came two men who said they
saw him there, or a negro very much
like him, who directed them to the of
fice at the right of the stairs. As
Mrs. White came dow’nstairs she saw
a negro sitting exactly where Jim
Conley in his affidavits said he was.
They made their affidavits at differ
ent places, but they fitted In exactly.
"Why was he there? For what was
he sitting there hour after hour? He
was sitting there to do as he had done
many times before—to watch at the
direction of Frank. One thing they
have said is that he was drunk. 1
suppose he did drink a few beers that
morning, but have you noticed that
he told of everyone that went up there
that morning, and in the order in
which they went up. He could have
said that he saw Mrs. White, but he
admitted that he was napping about
this time. Now we come to the time
of the tragedy. J!m was still there.
“But about this little Mary Pha
gan. A little girl who asked for
Mary's money hkd been refused the
night before. They told her that Mary
would have to come after it herself.
This was a violation of the general
rule at the office. Even Schtff told
y6u, I think, that they gave out the
envelopes to other persons If they
knew them well enough. Frank told
Jim on Friday night to come back
the next morning, but he didn’t have
any work for him to do. All he want
ed of him w’as to watch at the door
as he had done before. He wanted
him to watch w’hlle girls came up to
the offics to chat with him. You
will notice something peculiar about
that word ‘chat.’ It U a word I
never have heard before, but you wdll
notice that tnere are two persons that
use tt. One of them is Frank and the
other Is Conley.
"He tells Jim he wants to have a
chat with that girl that day. ‘Jim,
you Just make yourself convenient;
wait around.’ Jim comes and waits
He make® himself easy there in the
hall. He takes a nap. People come
and go. Then Mary Phagan comes,
the beautiful little Mary. She must
have been a beautiful little girl. I
guess you all remember her pictures,
w’ith her curly hair and bright eyes,
and trim figure.
"She came with a little boy. They
must have been sweethearts She had
an engagement with him. She want
ed to go to the factory first for her
little $1.20. She went, tripping along,
a happy child. From that dreadful
hour not one thing was heard from
her. But we know what a horrible
catastrophe she met as she went, so
Innocently, for her little $1.20.
"Frank was there. How do we
know it? From his own statement.
And he had to change It when he
came upon the stand. A live human
being, a young girl, came here and
said he was not there when she went
to his office. Frank did not see her.
She waited five minutes. He was not
in. I am not going into the details cf
the time. Mr. Dorsey will do that in
his conclusion. What*I want to im
press upon you is that Frank stated
here from this stand he might have
gone out of his office for a moment.
It was the first time such an admis
sion was Intimated. But there was
the sworn statement of Monteen Sto
ver-bo combat him.
“It had to be got around. You don't
have C-O depend altogether on Jim
Conley’t' story. Monteen Stover went
to his office after Mary Phagan, an1
he w’as not here.
Rosser Interrupts to
Enter an Objection.
"In the meantime another little girl
was waiting lh his office—Monteen
Stover—and Conley was waiting for
the signal downstairs. Frank fol
lowed that little girl back there, and
I want to be perfectly frank and say I
do not think he had murder In his
heart when he did, but the pent-up
passions of weeks grained control and
he could not stop. That' scream that
was poorly described here by this
poor, Ignorant negro—I wish you
could have heard it; that scream that
sounded like & ripple of laughter that
ended when she realised hl» hellish
purpose; the scream that ended when
her life began to ebb.”
Rosser Interrupted Attorney Hooper
to say that there was no evidence
about laughter. Hooper replied: “All
right; I was mistaken.”
"The scream,” Hooper continued,
’and then those fast running foot
steps. That w’as Frank coming to ge f
the cord that strangled the child
Then he gave the signal for the negrr
to lock the door and come up, and
Conley found him nervous and shak
ing, fresh from that harrowing scene
on the rear of the floor on which hi*
office was located.
"Now, gentlemen, we have this man
Frank—this man of high standing and
character—either committed this
crime or that he was back in his office
in plain hearing of any scream or any
running of the elevator or the hearing
of people going up and down the
stairs, attending to his duties in his
office, preparing that wonderful state
ment we have heard so much about.
Finds Mute Accuser
In Factory Diagram.
"By this diagram I will show you
that he was bound to have known
of the commission of this crime, even
if he hadn’t committed it, but lis
tened to that brute negro attack that
little girl.
"I want to show you that even If
he was where he said he was, and
where Monteen Stover said he was
not, that this crime could not have
been committed without his knowl
edge.
"I want to ahow you that he could
see from his desk to a point by the
clock. I don’t want to give any tes
timony. for if I did I could show that
he saw more than that, but by this
diagram—and it is a fact—I will show
that his line of vision sitting at his
desk would bring him to the clocks.
“Frank doesn’t sit back in his chair
He sits away forward, and when he
is at work he Is the hardest working
man you ever saw. And, gentlemen,
he could see into the space beyond his
office.
“Little Mary Phagan was killed
back there In the metal room—back
there where our friends say they could
see not find any blood spots, but
where we have shown there were
spots of blood. And, gentlemen of
the Jury, if Frank did not commit this
crime, he sat supinely there at his
desk and let that brute negro kill her;
let that negro bring her up the pas
sageway, bring her up to the elevator
and take her down that elevator,
which, when running, shook the whole
building, which the negro said he
could hear downstars; which witness
after witness has told you could i>©
heard over the entire building, aud
which Frank could not have helped
but hear.
“Frank’s First Word
Betrayed His Guilt.”
"Mr. Frank, I will give you the
benefit of every doubt, but according
to your own statements as to the time
you were there, and the time which
has been shown conclusively that the
girl was killed, you were right there;
you sat right there, and you never
moved.
"Now, to bring Jim .Conley back
into it: Gentlemen of the Jury, isn’t
It an evident fact—haven’t you been
shown conclusively, that either Frank
or Conley killed little Mary Phagan?
Or that Frank killed her by himself,
as Conley says? Or that Frank sat
supinely at his desk and let this
negro Conley kill her, and yet he
made no move?
“As soon as the murder was con
summated, there was something up
stairs that had to be attended to.
There were two men upstairs and a
woman. Frank was anxious that they
be let out of the factory. He went
upstairs and told them that if they
were going to go, now was the time.
"Mrs. Arthur White left. Arthur
White and Harry Denham stayed.
Frank told Mrs. White that he was
going to put on his coat and hurry
away. But this man, who was in such
a hurry, still was without his coat
when she got down to the office floor.
Frank went into his office, washing
his hands in that imaginary water.
They say that this was his habit, and
that we must not assume anything
from it.
“The first words that he uttered
when he got inside the office, he
opened the doors to his guilt that all
might look In. Frank said: ‘Why
should I hang,’ adding that he had
wealthy people in Brooklyn.
"What was the estimate that he put
on the life of a young girl? Didn’t it
hurt him to wind the rope about her
neck until It had sunk deeply Into the
tender flesh? I can’t conceive how
any being with the Instinct* of hu
manity oould have twisted the rope
about the neck of that pretty little
girl. But he said: ‘Why should I be
punished for doing such a little thing
as taking the life of this little girl?
I have rich relatives in Brooklyn.’
They will say he never uttered these
words. He has denied them on the
stand. But did Jim know that he
came from Brooklyn? Did Jim know
that he had rich relatives in Brook
lyn? Did Jim know that he reckoned
a human life in dollars and cents?
"No; those words came from the
bottom of this man’s heart.
“From the African temperament of
Jim Conley came the next remark.
‘What’s going to become of me?’ he
asked. ‘Oh, I’ll take care of you, Jim:
you have been a good negro. I will
write my mother In Brooklyn.’
“This Is that old mother who has
stayed here in the courtroom so faith
fully through all this trial. I can not
understand how she has had the
bravery to do It”
At this point Attorney Rosser ob
jected on the ground that the speaker
was quoting from the affidavits that
Conley first made and not those that
he told on the stand.
“You will find that they are all
about the same,” said Hooper.
"Frank says: ‘Jim, can you write?’
Jim says: ‘Yes, I can write a little
bit.’
Says Frank Lost Head
In Fixing the Notes.
“Why did he ask Jim that ques
tion? Jim had furnished reports on
those boxes. He knew what Jim
could do.
“Jim was trustful; he wasn’t on his
guard like he was when confronted
by the terrible Mr. Rosser. He had
faith in his boss, and how false was
his boss? As false as he was to
the little girl. As false as he was
to poor old Newt Lee when that
bloody shirt was planted.
"You all, I presume are Southern
men, or have lived long enough in the
South to become familiar with the
traits of the negro. Can you tell me
that you could Imagine a negro on
his own initiative writing such notes
as were found beside that body?
"They charge the crime to a negro
—a negro who could hardly write.
Would a ndgro who stood before the
grilling of Luther Rosser for three
days, and came out victor, be fool
enough to do that?
“The truth of the matter—the fixing
of those notes seems to be the only
time that Frank lost his head. He
might have known the police would
go back of that.
“Then we come to the money in the
case: I 6*n’t think Frank had any
$200 in hfcs office when he was talking
to Conley, but dollar bills would look
mighty big. He handed the reward to
Conley. Then he thought: ‘You are
as deep in the mud as I am in the
mire.’ Aloud he said: ‘Let me see
that money, Jim;’ and he sticks it
back Into his pocket as If to say: ‘If
everything comes out all right, I will
give It back to you.’
Tells How He Arranged
To Dispose of the Body.
"False again to the poor negro who
had carried out his bellish purpose,
he compromises with a cigarette box
containing about $1.60.
"Perhaps there was another idea in
his head; there was the mute and
mutilated evidence of the crime in the
basement. That must be destroyed.
This money would be a reward to get
that removed.
“Then we come hack to that origi
nal proposition that the body was
carried down the elevator shaft by
Frank and Conley. But there is the
part of burning the body. A man who
had committed the crime would not
hesitate to burn it. He knew that
there was no man to come back there
that day except Newt Lee.
"I don’t care anything about what
time Frank got home or what he did
there; he got back to the factory at 3
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o’clock, where he had an engagement
with Conley to dispose of the body,
and he knew that Newt Lee was go-
if)pr to get there at 4 o’clock.
"Conley overslept himself and Lee
came first. Frank said: ‘You go
away, Newt,' then to himself he said:
‘And give me two more hours to get
rid of that body.*
“But Conley never came back, and
Newt Lee did. He had to let him in,
and he knew then that he was lost.
“When Frank saw Gantt in front
of the factory door, did he start back
aghast and say, ‘There Is that blood
thirsty thief that was $1 sh^rt?’ No:
he said, ‘There Is Gantt; he was Mary
Phagan’s friend. He lived near her
and her family has sent him to find
her.’
"But Gantt would not harm a flea.
He reassured Frank by telling him Qe
nad come to "-et a pair of shoes n*
had left in the factory. But Frank
didn't want him In there, and told
him the shoes had been sw'ept out.
Charges Frank
Lied to Gantt.
"Qantt told him there was another
pair, and, gentlemen of the Jury,
Frank had to let him In, and he went
In and found not one pair of shoes,
but both pairs.
"Did Frank tell him a lie to keep
him out of the factory, or did he ,
really think the shoes had been swept
out? He told a He, and he was so
afraid Qantt would And something
that he sent him In under guard.
"And, gentlemen of the Jury, as he
stood at that entrance In the presence
of Qantt the thought was going
through his head, It Is going to be
known In a day that Mary Is gone.
Lord know* I don’t want to let you
In here, hut I have got to let you In,
but I will guard you. Come on In, but
you go with him, Newt,’ and, gentle
men of the Jury, notice this:
"The striking thing about It—the
singular fact Is that Qantt found both
pairs of shoes, showing, gentlemen of
the Jury, that Frank had never seen
the negro sweeping them out.
"Did he He about this, gentlemen?
And after he had left the pencil fac
tory. trembling and with a burden
upon him, what did he do that night?
He did something he had never done
before. He called up Newt Lee over
the telephone, and when he could not
get him the first time, he colled again
and asked If that long-leewed Qantt
was there.
"And when he found that Qantt had
left and had discoveerd nothing, what
burden rolled from him! No wonder
he looked light-hearted. No wonder
that he could read baseball stories
and Joke. No wonder that his family
could say that be bad nothing on his
mind.
“Another Thing on Hi*
Mind That Night”
"But yet he had another thin* on
hia mind before the night had gone.
During the early hours hia telephone
rang, but he did not answer it Hon
est old Newt Lee notified the police
and tried to notify him.
"But Frank did not answer. He
says he heard the telephone but faint
ly, or he Imagined he heard it
"But the police heard the call, and
they went down into that basement
Continued on Page 3, Column t.
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joying cheaper
minimum tele
phone rates to
day than any
American city
in which inde
pendent com
petition has
been stifled.
The Atlanta citizen
can have a telephone
in his home for 8 1-3
cents a day.
Thousands of them
have.
Why not you ?
ATLANTA TELEPHONE
& TELEGRAPH GO.