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TTRATtST’S SUNDAY AMERICAN, ATLANTA, OA., SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 1012.
HUGH DORSEY WINS HIS SPURS IN PHAGAN CASE
FOURTH WEEK OF FRANK
TRIAL FIS INTEREST OF
RS. LEO M. FRANK plainly showing the strain as Solicitor
band. Below is Mrs. Rea Frank, the defendant’s mother, w
Dorsey arraigned her hns-
ho also betrayed her agitation.
Popular Opinion Swayed, First When
State Springs Climax With Conley’s
Story, Again When Defense Put
the Accused Man on the Stand.
BY AN OLD POLICE REPORTER.
The fourth week of the Frank trial
came to an end shortly after noon Sat
urday, with Solicitor Dorsey still far
from the finish of his concluding ar
gument In behalf of the State.
Judge Roan announced at 1:45 that
he would adjourn the case over until
Monday, as he has been doing here
tofore, and the Solicitor will conclude
his argument then.
The Solicitor had been speaking
more than six hours when adjourn
ment came, but apparently was phys
ically able to go on if necessary.
His address, when it i: finished
Monday, will have been broken into
three sections—one Friday afternoon,
another Saturday morning, and a
third Monday morning.
The Solicitor’s address has been so
far a wonderful piece of work.
On all sides he has been praised un
grudgingly for the fine effort he has
made in behalf of the prosecution.
Atlanta will breathe a long, deep
and soulful sigh of relief, however,
when the last word is spoken by way
of argument and the case is given Into
*he hands of the Jury for a verdict.
Leading Topic for Months.
Never before in the history of Ful
ton County has a criminal proceed
ing so challenged the unabated and
undivided attention of the people.
For fonr months the Frank case—
or the Phagan case, as It more gen
erally is called—has been the leading
topic of discussion among all classes
of Georgians, rural and urban, rich
and poor, high and low, informed
and uninformed.
Every figure to the tragedy has j
been picturesque in the extreme.
Mary Phagan, a sweet young work
ing girl, cruelly murdered; Leo Frank,
a young business man of theretofore
unblemished character and standing,
indicted for the murder; Jim Conley,
a negro, a confessed accessory after
the fact of the murder, with a long
criminal career attaching to him, the
principal witness against Frank; Lu-
cile Frank, the loving and devoted
wife of the defendant, always at his
side, with his mother, cheering and
sustaining him; Reuben Arnold and
Luther Rosser, two of the leading and
most noted lawyers in the South, de
fending the accused; Frank Hooper
and Hugh Dorsey, the former an at
torney of established reputation, the
latter a brilliant young lawyer lately
named prosecuting attorney of the
Atlanta Circuit; a presiding Judge
who has tried many of the most fa
mous cases in the State—these make
up the dramatis personae of the Frank
case.
Case Fought Stubbornly.
Never before In Fulton County, If,
Indeed, within the State, has a case
been so stubbornly and so bitterly
fought as the Frank case.
It required more than three weeks
to get the evidence all in. Every inch
of ground was contested vigorously
and to a finish.
It is estimated that the defense in
terposed more than 100 objections of
one sort and another, as the case
progressed, thus fortifying itself as
abundantly as possible for an appeal,
in the event of conviction.
The only party to the crime, as
witness or otherwise, who has not
been attacked vehemently one way or
the other is the little dead girl, Mary
Phagan!
All sides have agreed that, what
ever else might or might not be true,
tfre murdered child was blameless—a
pathetic and unoffending victim of a
brutal homicide.
Frank, the defendant, has been
painted by the defense as a bright
young business man, perfect in de
portment at all times, a loving hus
band and a dutiful son, irreproachable
in character, Incapable of criminal
deeds and thoughts, persecuted and
assailed maliciously by hostile offi
cials seeking reward both by way of
fame and material gain!
*By the State Frank has been paint
ed as black as the darkest depths of
Hades itself, an unfaithful husband, a
vicious son, a lustful monster, partic
ularly after young girls; a pervert, a
leader of two lives, a designing and
crafty monster—an inhuman mur
derer!
Conley Blamed and Praised.
Conley has been held up both as a
witness worthy of all belief and as a
witness worthy of no belief w’hatever
as a negro reluctant to tell the
truth originally because of his disin
clination to involve Frank, his erst
while .kind and profitable master, .but
rushing candidly and sincerely to re
cite the truth eventually, neverthe
less, and, on the other hand, as a
negro lying from start to finish for
no other purpose than to save his
ow n neck from the noose by slipping
It over the head of the oppressed
Frank.
Luclle Frank, the wife, has been
cited both as the faithful and loving
wife there at the husband’s side in
the courtroom and a* the shrinking,
suspcious wife, early indisposed even
to visit Frank in his cell at the Jail.
Rosser and Arnold have painted
Hooper and Dorsey as direct agents
of a wicked and malicious “frame-
up against the life, liberty and most
sacred honor of Leo Frank, deliber
ately and designedly seeking to hang
the defendant to gratify a misguided
enthusiasm and official zeal, if noth
ing worse; and Dorsey and Hooper
have been unsparing lr. tneir criti
cisms of Rosser and Arnold, the paid
attorneys of the defense.
An imposing array of witnesses
have declared Frank’s character both
good and bad, while two other arrays
of witnesses have sought both to up
hold and to break down his alibis.
Medical experts, of repute and
fame, have been set up one by one fc
only to be designated “fakes” and
“quacks” by the other side, and vice
versa.
Second Charge in Case.
Besides the original charge of mur
der there was Injected into the case,
in Its early stages, an unspeakable
charge of degeneracy.
First this charge went in with the
defense’s knowledge and consent, and
then the defense moved to rule It out.
It wasn’t ruled out, and the defense
then seized upon it and undertook to
make a boomerang upon the State.
The State thereupon sought to en
large upon it, and the State was
stopped from doing that.
Three or four days was used up in
attempting to show whether boiled
cabbage could reach such and such a
state of digestion in such and such
a time, and after a long wrangle as
to that, the defense and the State
found that they were not particularly
disagreed about the matter, anyway,
as It fit both theories like a glove to
show that Mary Phagan died within
an hour after eating the cabbage.
The defense has contended that Jim
Coploy and not Leo Frank murdered
Mary Phagan, and the State has con
tended quite as earnestly that Frank
did it, and Conley was connected with
it only after the exact fashion he
swore to.
Looking backward over the trial
from the present day point of view,
one may see much that appear? grim
ly humorous In the proceedings—and
yet. there has been nothing bordering
ever so slightly upon the humorous,
really. On the contrary, the trial has
been tragedy piled uncompromB'ing-
ly upon tragedy, from beginning to
end!
Public Swayed Both Way*.
Into all the other complex, puz
zling. elusive and sinister details of
the mysterious Frank case, a larg'
measure of prejudice was injected as
It swept along.
The public has been swung first
this way and then that, rushed to on* 1
conclusion, only to be rushed as mn '
ly, after a bit, to another, until, up
one side and down the other, the pub
lic breathed, as aforesaid, a large and
deep sigh of relief when at last the
Jury got the matter into its keeping,
to unravel it as best it might and to
speak the truth of It as nearly and
as exactly as human ingenuity and
the forms of law can approximate
the same.
The State has fought doggedly to
one theory: That Leo Frank, shortly
after noon on Saturday. April 26,
lured little Mary Phagan, for un
speakably immoral purpose, to the
rear of the second floor of the Na
tional Pencil Factory In Forsyth
street, after having paid her her
weekly pittance, and there, when she
refused to yield to his lustful pur
pose, he killed her, first by knocking
her down and subsequently strang
ling her.
That after this horribly tragic cul
mination of a perhaps non-murder-
ous original Intent, Frank sought the
help of a negro, Conley, with whom
he had had previous very question
able relations, to hide the body, and
that Conley, already deep In the mlr*
with Frank, consented, and as a mat
ter of fact, did hide the body of the
dead girl In the basement of the fac
tory. where subsequently he expected
to burn it.
Charges Not©* Were Framed.
That after this, Frank and his ac
complice returned to the second floor,
whereon Frank’s office Is located, and
prepared some Illiterate notes, which
were placed bes»ide the dead body for
the purpose of diverting suspicion
both from Frank and the negro.
That the defendant then gave the
negro s one money for his work, and
promised him more* eventually.
That Frank's actions following the
nurdor were su.«: ieioru enough to
re »* his retention at police head-
A.iat his general character is bad
enough to warrant the presumption
that he had lus*tful intentions toward
Mary Phagan, as evidenced by his re
lations with other women and girle*.
That his professed alibis are in
consequential and misleading, and
not sustained by facts.
Finally, that Conley’s seemingly
contradictory attitude is accounted
for in two directions, first by his de
sire to save both himself and Frank,
and second by his desire to protect
himself against a great measure of
responsibility for the tragedy than
rightfully belonged to him, when it
became evident to him that Frank
was preparing to iet him suffer Just
so much measure of responsibility,
even to the murder itself, as might
be fixed if he did speak.
What Defense Has Claimed.
The defense has fought doggedly to
this one theory: That Leo Frank
scarcely knew Mary Phagan at all,
and that the only time he saw her on
Saturday, April 26, was when she
came to his office to get her pay; that
he never lured her to the rear of the
second floor, or anywhere else, for
any purpose whatever, and that he
never saw her alive after the brief
moment she stood in his office on
Saturday.
That after she left his presence,
happy and unharmed, she passed on
downstairs, and encountered Jim Con
ley, the negro •weeper, whom Frank
did not even know was in the build
ing, and who was not supposed to be
in the building at that time.
That Conley, then only partially re
covered from a drunken debauch of
the morning, saw her little mesh bag
in her hand, and, being “broke” and
wanting more whisky ,he seized the
girl, snatched her mesh bag, after
knocking her down, threw her into the
cellar below through the nearby open
elevator shaft, whence later he
dragged her to the trash pile in the
rear of the building, tied the strang
ling rope about her neck, either to
complete his dastardly work or to
create a false suspicion ns to the di
rect cause of her death.
That he then pulled the staple from
the back door of the basement and
thus made his escape finally from the
building.
That all of Conley’s story as to how
he helped dispose of the body is a
fabrication and a monstrous lie,
framed for *he purpose of shielding
himself and placing the blame upon
Frank.
That his story was dragged from
him. bit by bit, beginning with the
fulsehood that he could not write, and
that it was revised four times, always
under oath, before its amazing and
incompatible contradictions could be
fixed up to stick with any degree if
plausibility, and that he was helped in
every one of these revisions by all too
willing police officers, detectives and
court officials bent upon finding in
Frank a victim for Mary Phagan’s
murder.
Claim Negro Wrote Notes.
That the negro himself, of his own
motion, wrote the notes he later con
fessed to having written, hoping
thereby to divert suspicion from him
self.
That Conley only began his series
of contradictory “confessions” after
he found that Frank was under sus
picion, and thereby realized his (Con
ley’s) opportunity to fasten mce
firmly upon Frank that suspicion, to
Conley’s own great benefit.
That Frank’s general character is
good, In contradistinction lo Conley's
idmitted bad character.
That Frank has set up two unas
sailable alibis, and could not, there
fore. have committed the crime
charged.
That his nervousness the day fol
lowing the murder was occasioned
by the manner in which the fact of
the murder was communicated to him,
and not because of guilt.
That the long and delicate clerical
work he did on the afternoon fol
lowing the murder Is proof that he
could not then have been agitated
by guilt or by any other sinister
knowledge.
That Frank, ss a matter of fact,
knows nothing whatever of the cause
of Mary Phagan’s death, and Is ut
terly and entirely guiltless of any
participation therein.
Two intensely dramatic even's
marked the progress of the trial—and
about them the entire case has re
volved constantly.
Conley’s remarkable story, contain
ing the unspeakable charge of perver
sion, wealthy in detail and full of
thrill, was the State’s big point.
Frank’s wonderfully clear, dispas
sionate and well-sustained statement
from the witness stand was the de
fendant’s big point.
These two contrary things have
been pitted the one against the other,
and upon which the jury finally would
accept as the truth the case always
has seemed to turn for final adjust
ment.
Attack Centers on Negro.
Every effort of the defense has been
to break down Conley—including two
days’ unmerciful grilling by Mr. Ros
ser—and every effort of the State
has been toward upholding him.
Every effort of the defense, there
fore, has been also directed toward
holding up Frank’s statement. Just as
every effort of the State has been di
rected toward breaking It down.
It ever was Frank vs. Conley—the
life of the one or the other as the
law’s satisfaction for the murder of
Mary Phagan!
Regardless of all things else, the
public is unstinting in its praise and
approval of the brilliant young So
licitor General of the Atlanta Circuit,
Hugh Dorsey, for the superb manner
in which he ha* handled the State's
side of the case.
It ail along has been freely admit
ted that those two veterans of crimi
nal practice, Luther Rosser and Reu
ben Arnold, would take ample care of
the defendant.
Two more experienced, able and ag
gressive attorneys it would be impos
sible to secure in any cause.
When It was first learned that Ros
ser and Arnold were to defend Frank,
the public realized that the defendant
had determined to take no chances.
We selected from among the cream of
the Georgia bar.
That the State’s interests, quite as
sacred as the defendant's, would be
looked after so jealously, so adroitly,
and so shrewdly in the hands of the
youthful Dorsey, however—that was
a matter not so Immediately settled!
Dorsey an Unknown Quantity.
Dorsey was known as a “bright
young chap,’’ not widely experienced,
willing and aggressive enough, but-
He had been but lately named So
licitor General, and he hadn’t been
tried out exhaustively.
Maybe he could measure up to the
standard of Rosser and Arnold, but
It was a long way to measure up,
nevertheless!
It soon became evident that Dor
sey wa^s not to be safely underrated.
He could not be sneered down,
laughed down, ridiculed down, or
smashed down.
He took a lot of lofty gibing, and
was called “bud" and “son” right
along—but every time they pushed
him down, he arose again, and gen
erally stronger than ever!
Time and again he outgeneraled his
more experienced opponents.
He forced them to make Frank’s
character an issue, despite them
selves.
He got In vital and far-reaching
evidence, over protest long and loud.
Whenever the Solicitor was called
upon for an authority, he was right
there with the goods. They never
once caught him napping. lie had
prepared himself for the Frank case,
in every phase of it.
The case had not progressed very
far before the defense discovered un
mistakably that it had in Dorsey a
foreman worthy of its most trust
worthy and best-tempered steel!
And the young Solicitor climaxed
his long sustained effort with a mas
terful speech, that will long be re
membered in Fulton County!
In places he literally tore to pieces
the efforts of the defense. He over
looked no detail—at times he was
crushing in his reply to the argu
ments of Rosser and Arnold, and
never w'as he commonplace!
Fixed His Fame by Work.
Whatever the verdict, when Hugh
Dorsey sat down, the Solicitor Gen
eral had fixed his fame and reputa
tion as an able and altogether cap
able prosecuting attorney—and never
again will that reputation be chal
lenged lightly, perhaps!
Much credit for hard work and
intelligent effort will he accorded
Frank Hooper, too, for the part he
played In the Frank trial. He was at
all times the repressed and pains
taking first llteutenant of the So
licitor, and his work, while not s®
spectacular, formed & very vital part
of the whole case made out and ar
gued by the State. He was for four
teen years the Solicitor General of
one of the most Important South
Georgia circuits, and his advice and
suggestions to Dorsey were invalua
ble.
A noteworthy fact in connection
with the Frank trial is that it gen
erally is accepted as having been as
fair and square as human fore
thought and effort could make it.
It may be true that a good deal of
the Irrelevant and not particularly
pertinent crept Into it. but one side
has been to blame for that quite as
much as the other sid®.
Ruling Cut Both Ways.
The judge’s rulings have cut im
partially both ways—sometimes fa
vorable to the State, but quite as
frequently in favor of the defense.
Even the one big charge of de
generacy, which many neople hold
had no proper place in the present
trial, went in without protest from
the defense, and cross-examination
upon It even was indulged in.
Unlimited time was given both the
State and the defense to make out
their cases; expense was not con
sidered. The trial has lasted longer
than any other in the criminal his
tory of Georgia. Nothing was done
or left undone that could give either
side the right to complain of unfair
ness after the conclusion of the
hearing.
It Is difficult to conceive how hu
man minds and bm&n efforts could
provide more for fair play than was
provided in the Frank case.
English Housewives Mail-Wooed Bride
Plan Bacon Boycott On Journey to Coast
Hope to Force Down Price by Ab
staining From Buying for
Fortnight.
Fur •ununttr complaints
Duffy’s Pure Malt Whiskey
„ best. It will ke*n» y° ,,r "trnnt'h and bowel*
In tine condition to do all the work called for.
thu* avoiding or relieving cramp*, dysentery,
diarrhoea, cholera, malaria and ntomach trou
hie*. _ .
The genuine Duf
fy'* Pure Malt Wl.is
<ry la aold In SKAIJCD
JloTTI.F.8 ONLY, by
druggist*, gr-aera and
dealer*. Should our
friend* for any reaaon
unable to aerure It
their locality, w*
will have It ahlpped
to them from their
nearest dealer, expreea
prepaid (cash to ac
company order) at the following prices:—
4 Large Bottles, $4.30.
6 Large Bottles. $5.90.
12 Large Bottles. $11.00.
Duffy's Pure Malt Whiskey ahould lie In every
home and we make the above announcement ho
that you may ttecome familiar with a source of
supply.
Remit by expreas order
certified check to
The Duffy Malt Whiskey Company.
98 White 8L. Rochester. N. Y.
Special Cable to The American.
LONDON, Aug. 23.—The “English
breakfast” is threatened with cure
disaster. London housewives are pre
paring to boycott the toothsome
“raj,her”because of the continued high
prices ruling for bacon.
They plan to refuse to buy bacon
for a fortnight, beginning to-day.
Enormous quantities are likley to re
main in the hands of the wholesalers
and prices are expected to come down
with a rush.
Optimists predict a drop in price
of at least 6 cents a pound.
Cost of Living Up in
Britain 14 Per Cent
Prices of Foodstuffs Except Tea and
Sugar Have Risen at Re
markable Rato.
Special Cable to The American.
LONDON, Aug. 23.—Striking figures
showing the Increased cost of living are
contained In a voluminous report is
sued by the British Board of Trade,
according to which present prices are
the highest in twenty five years.
Retail prices of food have risen 14
per cent since 11)00, while ^wages have
Increased only 3 per cent
Prices of almost all foodstuffs, except
tea and sugar, have risen, the great
est Increases being In bacon. 32 per
cent, and ; otatoes, 46 per cent.
People have been able to meet the
advances only by reducing consumption.
CASTLE TO BE HOME OF
TRAMPS OF GERMANY
Special Cable to The American.
BERLIN, Aug. 23.—Here is perhaps
a bit of news which will be of inter
est to some of America’s “Wandering
Willies.” A ruined castle Ht Merlen-
hausen. Saxony, is about to lie re
stored by the local authorities, who
will* use it as a free rest house and
night shelter for tramps from all
parts of Germany.
Millionaire Ranchman Is Given Fine
Recommendation by Pastors
of His Neighbor.
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 23.—V'S.
Theresr^Patterson, a handsome wid
ow. aged 30, of Allentown, Pa., is
nearing Los Molinas to-day, a Jour
ney of 3,000 miles across the conti
nent, to become the bride of Charles
H. Smart, a wealthy rancher, after a
romuntlc courtship by mail.
Clergymen in Los Molinas and Al
lentown gave each a clean bill, the
former stating that while Smart Is
not a millionaire, he is worth nearly
that sum and would make a home
happy for any woman of his choice.
The marriage is to take place im
mediately upon Mrs. Patterson’s ar
rival.
5-Cent Fraud in Ice;
5 Days on Rockpile
Portland Dealer la Sentenced for
Cheating Customer In 25-Cent
Transaction.
PORTLAND, ORFJG., Aug 23.—Five
days at the rockplle for a 6-cent
fraud in the sale of a piece of ice
was the sentence imposed by Munici
pal Judge Stevenson upon Thomas
Barnes, proprietor of the National Ice
and Coal Company.
Baines delivered a 40-pound piece
of Ice worth 20 cents, saying it
neighed 60 pounds and charging 25
cents.
RUSS SERFS JOLLY. BUT
LAZY, SAYS VASSAR GIRL
Special Cable to The American.
ST. PETERSBURG. Aug. 23.—Miss
Texter, a graduate of Vassar College,
who has been making a tour of Sara-
toff and Simbirsk, typical agricultu
ral provinces of Russia, to study the
land question, has been telling the
Russian newspaners the peasants im
press her most by their good temper
and dislike for work.
I Cannot Possibly
Impress upon .vour minds (through the newspapers) the im
portance of calling to see me when your teeth need attention,
(live me a trial and learn for yourself how fair and honest I
treat you how my methods are ABSOLUTELY PAINLESS,
and my prices MUCH LOVyKR than any other Dentist in At
lanta. I cun assure you that it will be a pleasure to you to recom
mend me to your friends after you have once tried me. I employ
no students. Each doctor lias had from 5 to IS years’ experience
and is thoroughly versed in my painless methods.
MY WORK IS GUARANTEED FOR 15 YEARS
They
Must
Fit
Terms: UK?
WORRY. THESE
$5
ARE ARRANGED
A Set
TO SUIT.
Best Service for Least Money
They Never Slip or Drop.
SETS OF TEETH $5.00 UP
GOLD FILLINGS 75c UP
SILVER FILLINGS 50c UP
BRIDGEWORK $3, $4, $5
GOLD CROWNS a TOOTH
DR. WHSTLAW, Painless Dentist