Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

TTEARST’S SUNDAY AMERICAN, ATLANTA, HA., SUNDAY, AUGUST 24. 1012. 3 A HUGH DORSEY WINS HIS SPURS IN PHAGAN CASE PUBLIC STILL WHITE HOT 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. 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 own neck from the noose by slipping it over the head of the oppressed Frank. Luclie Frank, the wife, has been cited both as the faithful and loving wife there at the husband’s side in the courtroom and as 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 in their 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 Dreak down his alibis. Medical experts, of repute and fame, have been set up one by one, on’.y to be designated “fakes” and “quacks” by the other side, and vice versa. Second Charge in Case. Besides the original charge of mur- 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 nt 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 w r ork. On all sides he haa 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, hcAvever, when the last word is Spoken by way of argument and the case is given into the 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 four 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 qriminal career attaching to him, the principal witness against Frank; Lu- cile Frank, the loving and devoted wife of the defendant, always at hi? 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 judg<- 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, w’ho 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, the murdered child was blameless—a pathetic and unoffending ictim 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 w itness worthy of no belief whatever 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 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 Conley 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 appears 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 uncompromiMing- ly upon tragedy, from beginning to end! Public Swayed Both Wa^ys. Into all the other complex, puz zling. elusive and sinister details of the mysterious Frank case, a large measure of prejudice was Injected as It swept along. The public has been swung first this way and then that, rushed to one conclu^on, only to he rushed as mad ly, afiar a bit, to another, until, up TRIAL FIS INTEREST OF enough to W’arrant the presumption that he had lu.vtful intentions toward Mary Phagan, as evidenced by his re lations with other women and girls. 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 let 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 ('on- ley, the negro wweeper, whom Frank did not even know was in the Vuild- 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, sa*w her little mesh bag in her hand, and. being “broke” and wanting more w’hisky ,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 h-s dragged her to the trash pile in the 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 mir.i wdth 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 Notes 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 beside the dead body for the purpose of diverting suspicion both from Frank and the negro. That the defendant then gave the negro some money for his work, and promised him more eventually. That Frank’s actions following the murder were suspicioou enough to prompt his retention at police head quarters. That his general character is bad M RS. LEO M. FRANK plainly showing thi* strain as Solicitor Dorsey arraigned her hus- band. Below is Mrs. Rea‘Frank, the defendant ’s mother, who also betrayed her agitation. rear of the building, tied the strang ling rope about her neck, either to complete his dastardly work or to create a false suspicion as 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 the purpose of shielding himself and placing the blame upon Frank. That his story was dragged from him, bit by bit, beginning with the falsehood that he could not write, and that it was revised four times, always under oath, before its amazing and incompatible contradictions could he 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 mo»*e firmly upon Frank that suspicion, to Conley's own great benefit. That Frank’s general character is ^ood, in contradistinction to Conley’s admitted 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 licltor 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 was 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 fie 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. He 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 Ms 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 was 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 be accorded Frank Hooper, too, for the part he played in the Frank trial. He was at all times the repressed and pains taking first liteutenant of the So licitor, and his work, while not so spectacular, formed a 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 la 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 side. 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-ejcamination 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 hman efforts could provide more for fair play than was provided In the Frank case. 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, as 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, waR 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 tcrward 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 has handled the State's side of the case. It all 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 lmpos- English Housewives Plan Bacon Boycott Hope to Force Down Price by Ab staining From Buying for Fortnight. Special Cable to The American. LONDON, Aug. 23.—The “English' breakfast” is threatened with dire disaster. London housewives are pre paring to boycott the toothsome “rasher”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 lik'.ey 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 Rate. Special Cable to The American. LiONDON, 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 1900. while wages have Increased only 3 per cent Prices of almost all foodstuffs, except tea and sugar, have Yison, the great est increases being In bacon. 32 per cent, and potatoes, 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 lie of inter est to some of America’s “Wandering Willies.” A ruined castle at Merlen- hausen, Saxony, is about to be 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. Mail-Wooed Bride On Journey to Coast Millionaire Ranchman Is Given Fine Recommendation by Pastors of His Neighbor. LOS ANGELES. Aug. 28.—Mrs. Theresa 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 romantic 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 Is Sentenced for Cheating Customer in 25-Cent T ransaction. PORTLAND, OREG., Aug. 23.—Five days at the rockpile for a 5-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. Bnrnes delivered a 40-pound piece of ice worth 20 cents, saying it weighed 50 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. 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 He 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! Dor*ey an Unknown Quantity. Dorsey was known as a “bright young chap,” not widely experiem ed. willing and aggressive enough, but— He had been but lately named So- I Cannot Po ssibly Impress upon your minds (through the newspapers) the im portance of calling to set* me when your teeth need attention. (»ive me a trial and learn for yourself how fair and honest I treat you -how my methods are ABSOLUTELY PAINLESS, and my prices MUCH LOWER than any other Dentist in At lanta. T can 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 has had from 5 to 18 years’ experience and Is thoroughly versed in my painless methods. MY WORK IS GUARANTEED FOR 15 YEARS PATENT For summer complaints Duffy's Pure Malt Whiskey la best. It will keep your atomach and bowels In flue condition U> do all the work called for. thua avoiding or relieilng cramp*, dysentery, diarrhoea, cholera, malaria and stomach trou ble*. The genuine Put Pure Malt Wills Key 1« wold In SKAI.EP luVrri.KS ONLY. '-V druggist*. gr'N era and dealer*. Should our |rten«N for any reason unable to aecure It their locality, we will have It snipped them from thetr nea-eat dealer. expr*-** prepaid (ca*h to ac company order) at the following prices:— 4 Large Bottle*. $4.40. 6 Large Bottle*. $5.40. 12 Large Bottles. $11.00. Puffy’* Pure Malt Whiskey should h« in every home and we make the aUive announcement ho that you may Itecome familiar with a source of supply. Remit by expreaa order, postnfflee order, or certified check to The puffy Malt Whiskey Company. 98 White St.. Rochester, N. Y. They Must Fit $5 T WELL, 1 erms: don’t WORRY. THESE 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. WHITLAW, Painless Dentist Largest and Most Thoroughly Equipped Sanitary Office in the South. Phone M. 1298. 73‘ WHITEHALL ST.