- 9 hours ago
Tuesday, May 6th, 1913
(Page 11, Column 1)
For Three Hours and a Half, Mr. Frank Was on the Stand, Answering Questions About His Movements Every Hour and Minute of the Day—He Was Calm and Unruffled When Excused From Stand and Returned to the Tower
HE TELLS OF VISIT OF LEMMIE QUINN TO HIS OFFICE TEN MINUTES AFTER MARY PHAGAN RECEIVED WAGES
Introduction of Quinn Gives the Factory Superintendent an Important Witness, in Confirmation of His Statements. Only Three Witnesses Examined by Coroner at Session Monday Afternoon
For three hours and a half, Leo M. Frank, general superintendent of the National Pencil factory in which Mary Phagan was murdered, faced the coroner's jury Monday afternoon [May 5th, 1913] and told minutely, detail by detail, in precise sequence, where he was and what he did during practically every minute of Saturday, April 26, Saturday night, and Sunday, April 27 [1913]. When he had finished, his father-in-law, Emil Selig, was put upon the stand and questioned closely regarding what he knew of Frank's whereabouts and acts on those days. And after Mr. Selig had been excused, Mrs. Josephine Selig, his wife, was called to testify along the same line. These three witnesses occupied the entire session Monday, which was at work for almost five hours.
That Lemmie Quinn, foreman of tipping department, visited the Naitonal Pencil factory shortly after Mary Phagan is supposed to have received her pay envelope and departed, was an absolutely new feature in the murder mystery brought out by Mr. Frank's testimony.
While Quinn has never been on the stand he has corroborated Mr. Frank's statement in interviews with the detectives, and goes further by saying that he recalled his visit to the factory for the incarcerated superintendent.
Mr. and Mrs. Emil Selig, father and mother-in-law of Mr. Frank, with whom the latter lives, were the only other witnesses examined Monday afternoon before the inquest was adjourned until Thursday morning at 9:30 o'clock.
When Mr. Frank left the witness stand at 6:20 o'clock, after three hours anda half of examination, he stated to a Journal reporter that he was not tired. He seemed none the worse for the ordeal he had just gone through. He was at once transferred to the tower.
Leo. M. Frank, superintendent of the National Pencil factory, was the first witness when the inquest was resumed. Mr. Frank entered the commissioner's room where the inquest was being held at 2:45 o'clock. He was accompanied by Chief of Detectives Newport A. Lanford, Chief of Police James L. Beavers, Detective J. N. Starnes and Deputy Plennie Miner.
He was sworn at 2:50 o'clock p.m. and a systematic questioning was begun by Coroner Donehoo, who was occasionally prompted by Solicitor General, Hugh M. Dorsey and Chief of Detectives, [Newport] Lanford.
(Page 11, Column 1)
For Three Hours and a Half, Mr. Frank Was on the Stand, Answering Questions About His Movements Every Hour and Minute of the Day—He Was Calm and Unruffled When Excused From Stand and Returned to the Tower
HE TELLS OF VISIT OF LEMMIE QUINN TO HIS OFFICE TEN MINUTES AFTER MARY PHAGAN RECEIVED WAGES
Introduction of Quinn Gives the Factory Superintendent an Important Witness, in Confirmation of His Statements. Only Three Witnesses Examined by Coroner at Session Monday Afternoon
For three hours and a half, Leo M. Frank, general superintendent of the National Pencil factory in which Mary Phagan was murdered, faced the coroner's jury Monday afternoon [May 5th, 1913] and told minutely, detail by detail, in precise sequence, where he was and what he did during practically every minute of Saturday, April 26, Saturday night, and Sunday, April 27 [1913]. When he had finished, his father-in-law, Emil Selig, was put upon the stand and questioned closely regarding what he knew of Frank's whereabouts and acts on those days. And after Mr. Selig had been excused, Mrs. Josephine Selig, his wife, was called to testify along the same line. These three witnesses occupied the entire session Monday, which was at work for almost five hours.
That Lemmie Quinn, foreman of tipping department, visited the Naitonal Pencil factory shortly after Mary Phagan is supposed to have received her pay envelope and departed, was an absolutely new feature in the murder mystery brought out by Mr. Frank's testimony.
While Quinn has never been on the stand he has corroborated Mr. Frank's statement in interviews with the detectives, and goes further by saying that he recalled his visit to the factory for the incarcerated superintendent.
Mr. and Mrs. Emil Selig, father and mother-in-law of Mr. Frank, with whom the latter lives, were the only other witnesses examined Monday afternoon before the inquest was adjourned until Thursday morning at 9:30 o'clock.
When Mr. Frank left the witness stand at 6:20 o'clock, after three hours anda half of examination, he stated to a Journal reporter that he was not tired. He seemed none the worse for the ordeal he had just gone through. He was at once transferred to the tower.
Leo. M. Frank, superintendent of the National Pencil factory, was the first witness when the inquest was resumed. Mr. Frank entered the commissioner's room where the inquest was being held at 2:45 o'clock. He was accompanied by Chief of Detectives Newport A. Lanford, Chief of Police James L. Beavers, Detective J. N. Starnes and Deputy Plennie Miner.
He was sworn at 2:50 o'clock p.m. and a systematic questioning was begun by Coroner Donehoo, who was occasionally prompted by Solicitor General, Hugh M. Dorsey and Chief of Detectives, [Newport] Lanford.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Leo Max Frank's complete story of where he was and what he did on day of Mary Fagan murder,
00:05the Atlanta Journal. Tuesday, May 6th, 1913, page 11, column 1. For three hours and a half,
00:13Mr. Frank was on the stand, answering questions about his movements. Every hour and minute of
00:18the day, he was calm and unruffled, when excused from stand and returned to the tower. He tells
00:24a visit of Lemmy Quinn to his office ten minutes after Mary Fagan received wages. Introduction
00:30of Quinn gives the factory superintendent an important witness, in confirmation of his
00:34statements. Only three witnesses examined by coroner at session Monday afternoon. For three
00:40hours and a half, Leo M. Frank, general superintendent of the National Pencil Factory in which Mary
00:45Fagan was murdered, faced the coroner's jury Monday afternoon, May 5th, 1913, and told minutely,
00:52detail by detail, in precise sequence, where he was and what he did during practically every
00:58minute of Saturday, April 26th, Saturday night, and Sunday, April 27th, 1913. When he had finished,
01:06his father-in-law, Emile Selig, was put upon the stand and questioned closely regarding what he
01:11knew of Frank's whereabouts and acts on those days, and after Mr. Selig had been excused,
01:16Mrs. Josephine Selig, his wife, was called to testify along the same line. These three witnesses,
01:22occupied the entire session Monday, which was at work for almost five hours. That Lemmy Quinn,
01:28foreman of tipping department, visited the Nitonal Pencil Factory shortly after Mary Fagan is supposed
01:33to have received her pay envelope and departed, was an absolutely new feature in the murder mystery
01:39brought out by Mr. Frank's testimony. While Quinn has never been on the stand, he has corroborated Mr.
01:45Frank's statement in interviews with the detectives, and goes further by saying that he recalled his visit
01:50to the factory for the incarcerated superintendent. Mr. and Mrs. Emile Selig, father and mother-in-law
01:57of Mr. Frank, with whom the latter lives, were the only other witnesses examined Monday afternoon before
02:03the inquest was adjourned until Thursday morning at 9.30 o'clock. When Mr. Frank left the witness stand
02:09at 6.20 o'clock. After three hours and a half of examination, he stated to a journal reporter that
02:15he was not tired. He seemed none the worse for the ordeal he had just gone through. He was at
02:20once
02:20transferred to the tower. Leo M. Frank, superintendent of the National Pencil Factory, was the first witness
02:28when the inquest was resumed. Mr. Frank entered the commissioner's room where the inquest was being
02:33held at 2.45 o'clock. He was accompanied by Chief of Detectives Newport A. Lanford, Chief of Police
02:40James L. Beavers, Detective J. N. Starnes, and Deputy Plenty Minor. He was sworn at 2.50 o'clock p
02:47.m.,
02:47and a systematic questioning was begun by Coroner Donhu, who was occasionally prompted by Solicitor
02:52General Hugh M. Dorsey and Chief of Detectives Newport Lanford. What is your name? the coroner asked.
02:58Leo M. Frank was the answer. Where do you live? At 68 East Georgia Avenue.
03:03What is your connection with the National Pencil Factory? I am General Superintendent.
03:08How long have you been with the National Pencil Factory? Since August, 1908, was the answer.
03:15How long have you held the office of General Superintendent? Since September 1st, 1908.
03:20Where were you prior to that date? Just prior to that time, I was buying machinery for the factory.
03:26Have you lived in Atlanta all your life? No, sir. Where did you live before coming to Atlanta?
03:31In Brooklyn, New York. Are you married or single? I am married. Is your wife living? Yes, sir.
03:38How many times have you been married? Once only. Where did you live in Brooklyn, NY?
03:43My last address there was 152 Underhill Avenue. In what business were you engaged in Brooklyn?
03:48I was with the National Meter Company. When did you leave Brooklyn? About the middle of October, 1907.
03:55Where did you go? To Atlanta to confer with the National Pencil Company.
04:00When did you go abroad? The first week in November, 1907. When did you return to Atlanta?
04:07August 1st, 1908. His duties at factory. What are your duties at the pencil factory?
04:12I look after the purchasing of material, inspect factory costs, see that orders are properly entered
04:18and filled, and look after the production in general. What time did you get up Saturday morning,
04:23April 26th, was the next question. About 7 o'clock. Do you and your wife live alone? No, sir.
04:30With whom do you live? My mother and father-in-law. Who are they? Mr. and Mrs. Emile Selig.
04:35Have you any children? No, sir. Does anyone else live with you? No, sir. How many servants have you?
04:42There is only one on the place. What is this servant named? I don't know her last name.
04:47Her first name is Manola. She is colored. What time does she get there? About 6.30 o'clock.
04:52Was she on time Saturday, April 26th? Yes, sir.
04:58Left home at 8 a.m., Mr. Frank said that he left his home about 8 o'clock that morning,
05:02Saturday, April 26th. He remembered seeing his servant Manola and his wife as he was leaving.
05:08He didn't remember seeing anyone else. He was sure he did not see Mrs. Selig. He might have seen Mr.
05:13Selig, but he did not remember. At his corner, he can catch either the Washington Street or the
05:18Georgia Avenue car, said he. He did not remember which he boarded that morning. He did not remember
05:23talking to anyone on the car. He arrived at the factory about 8.20 o'clock a.m. He does
05:28not punch the
05:29time clock. Mr. Holloway, the day watchman, and Alonzo Mann, the office boy, both were there.
05:35Holloway was near the time clock as he went by. Alonzo Mann, the office boy, was in the office.
05:40He did not remember whether anyone was in the machine room. He didn't look back there. He didn't
05:45remember how long it was, perhaps an hour, until several other people came in to get their pay
05:50envelopes. One man came to get his envelope for his son, and another for his stepson.
05:55One of the men was the father of a boy named Jimmy Grant, he remembered. Saturday, being Memorial Day,
06:00was a holiday in the factory, but he had instructed the office force to report, and coroner Paul Dunhu
06:06fired question after question, related or without context, at Mr. Frank, the queries being rapid and
06:12precise. It was evident that the witness was to be examined most minutely. Continuing, Mr. Frank
06:19remembered that during the morning of that Saturday, Miss Maddie Smith came in to get the pay
06:24envelopes of herself and her sister. He didn't remember whether there was anybody in the outer
06:29office at that moment. The office boy should have been there. His chief clerk was Herbert Schiff,
06:34a salesman, who had been acting in that capacity since the discharge of J. M. Gant, the former
06:39incumbent. Schiff was not in the office. The stenographer should have been in the outer office.
06:45She is a Miss Eubanks. He didn't remember her first name. He had been in the office about thirty or
06:50forty minutes when N. V. Darley, Wade Campbell, and Mr. Fullerton came in. The first thing he did was
06:55look over his mail and the papers. Went to manager's office. What sort of papers, he was asked.
07:00Notes and orders, he replied, adding that the notes are memoranda for his attention about work
07:05around the factory. He put them in a folder to get ready for Monday. What did you do after you
07:10went through the mail, he was asked. He replied that he went over to the manager's office about ten o
07:15'clock
07:15a.m. Before going there, he talked several minutes with Darley and Campbell. He did not attend to the
07:21financial sheet then. He couldn't recall doing anything else. The manager's office is in the
07:26establishment of Montag Bros. 10 to 20 Nelson Street, he said. Sig Montag is the manager. The
07:32coroner questioned him closely about what papers he handled that morning. He asked the witness,
07:37what do you usually do after you get to the office when the factory is at work? Mr. Frank replied
07:42that
07:43usually he opened his desk, got out the orders, arranged the work for his stenographer, and at a
07:48few minutes after seven o'clock he would go up into the factory and distribute the orders among the
07:53proper departments. He said that he did not get the factory mail at this office. Sometimes he got
07:58personal mail there, he said. He went to the safe that morning and got out the papers, but couldn't
08:03recall what the first one was. He answered numerous specific questions about where he was when the others
08:09came in and how to make out a financial sheet, etc. Frank said that he prepared a financial sheet
08:14Saturday afternoon. It bore the date of Thursday, the 24th of April, he said in response to the
08:20coroner's question. Their week ended on Thursday, he said. Why didn't you make out the sheet on Thursday,
08:25he was asked. I didn't know the payroll then. We generally get the payroll on Friday. Intended to
08:31go to game. Did you intend to go to the ball game on Saturday? The coroner asked. Yes, replied Mr.
08:37Frank, until I got up and saw it was a cloudy day. He was asked why he didn't make out
08:42the final sheet
08:42in the morning, and replied that he had other matters, invoices, orders, etc. to look after.
08:48When did you work on the house books, he was asked. Not on Saturday, he said. Mr. Frank said that
08:54his
08:54stenographer was not at the office Saturday, so he called a Miss Hall from Montag Brothers to help him.
08:59He went to Montag Brothers to see an official of the National Pencil Company, who has his office there,
09:05he said. And shortly before eleven o'clock, Miss Hall telephoned him there to return to the pencil
09:10factory and took over some important papers. When he got back to the pencil factory, Miss Hall,
09:15his office boy, and some others were in his office, he said. At this point, the coroner abruptly changed
09:21his line of questioning to ask, Is the house order book of April 30th in your handwriting?
09:26No, replied the witness. How many others were there on April 30th?
09:30Eleven, I think, said Mr. Frank. Who entered those? Miss Hall, said the witness.
09:36The coroner then came back to the visit to Montag Brothers, and Mr. Frank said that he remained
09:40there until about eleven o'clock. He said that he talked to several persons there on business,
09:45look over the mail for matters needing immediate attention. Many questions asked.
09:50Did you stop on your way there? he was asked. I don't remember.
09:54Did you stop on your way back? I don't remember, he again answered. The coroner asked him to try to
10:00refresh his memory. He still insisted that he did not remember stopping at any place either on his
10:05way to or from Montag Brothers. The coroner kept up his systematic fire of questions, asking,
10:11How old is your office boy? About fifteen or sixteen, he replied. Does he wear long or short trousers?
10:17Short? What did you do when you got back to the pencil factory? I sorted orders for about ten minutes.
10:22What was in those orders? I don't remember. He didn't remember whether the orders or invoices
10:28were from in Atlanta or out of the city, he said. Do you usually get orders or invoices on the
10:33twenty-sixth?
10:33was the next question. We get invoices when the goods are shipped, the witness answered.
10:38Do you remember any specific order or invoices on that date? he was asked. No, sir, I do not,
10:44said Mr. Frank. He had no specific times for taking up routine work, said Mr. Frank. Usually he took up
10:50what appeared to be most important at the time. He was alone, he said. He dictated letters a while
10:55to Miss Hall. She entered the orders that he had received that morning. He didn't remember just
11:00what she was doing while he did that. It took him about five or ten minutes to assort the orders.
11:05It took Miss Hall about fifteen or twenty minutes to enter them. When she had entered them,
11:10she wrote postcard receipts for them. Then she copied on the typewriter the letters that he had
11:15dictated to her. That didn't take her long. About twelve o'clock he started copying the orders and
11:20the shipping requests. About that time Miss Hall and the office boy left. He didn't remember whether
11:25they went together. He remembered it was about noon, for he heard the whistle blow at the time.
11:30So far as he knew, there was no one else in the office after Miss Hall left. He said it
11:35was customary
11:35to copy orders on the day of their receipt. They were seldom more than a day late copying them.
11:40It took him probably forty minutes to copy the orders. He didn't begin work more than a minute
11:45or two before twelve o'clock. Again he was asked whether he was alone and answered yes as far as
11:50I
11:50know. Mary came for wages. About twelve ten or twelve or five o'clock, said Mr. Frank. This little
11:56girl who was killed came up and got her envelope. I didn't see or hear anyone with her. I didn't
12:00hear
12:01her speak to anyone who might have been outside. I was in my inside office working at the orders when
12:06she came up. I don't remember exactly what she said. I looked up, and when she told me she wanted
12:12her envelope I handed it to her. Knowing that the employees would be coming in for their pay
12:16envelopes, I had them all in the cash basket beside me, to save walking to the safe each time.
12:22Mr. Frank said he didn't know Mary Fagan's number. He said each envelope had the employee's number
12:27stamped on it. He admitted that he had looked up Mary Fagan's number since the murder, but he had
12:32forgotten it again, said he. He did not see her pay envelope after he handed it to her. He made
12:37no
12:37entry of the payment on the payroll or any other record because none was required, said he.
12:42The girl left. She got to the outer door and asked if the metal had come. I told her no.
12:47The girl had
12:48been laid off from work at the factory the preceding Tuesday, it has been understood, because of a
12:52shortage in some metal which her work required. Where was Mary Fagan when she asked about this metal?
12:57he was asked. In the outer office, I think, or in the main hall. He explained that the Fagan child
13:03hadn't been working since Monday because of the shortage in the metal supply. There was one dollar
13:08twenty cents in the child's pay envelope, he said, part of it being for work on Friday and Saturday of
13:13the previous week. He didn't know at what rate she was paid, he said, as he didn't open the sealed
13:18pay
13:19envelope. Heard footsteps die away. When she left, he heard her footsteps die away in the hall, he said,
13:25and returned to his work, thinking no more about her. Mr. Frank said he knew the Fagan child's face,
13:30but didn't know her name. She stood partly behind his desk, he said, and he didn't notice the details
13:34of her dress, but thought the color was light. He didn't recall whether she wore a hat or carried
13:39a parasol or purse, he said, and didn't see her shoes or stockings, which, he said, were hidden by the
13:45desk. The girl reached his office between twelve ten and twelve fifteen, he said, and stayed there
13:51about two minutes. He thought her name was on the outside of the pay envelope, he said,
13:55but had identified her by her number. No one else came into the office while she was there,
14:00the witness said. In response to a question from the coroner, he said that he had told her she had
14:04come almost too late. When she left, he thought he heard her voice in the outer office, he said.
14:09He made no entry on the payroll after giving the girl her envelope, he said. About five or ten minutes
14:15after Miss Fagan left a man named Lemmy Quinn, foreman in the tip department, came in, he said.
14:20Quinn remarked, Well, I see you're busy, Mr. Frank said, and left about twelve twenty-five.
14:25Mr. Frank then copied orders, he said. He didn't know where Quinn went, he said. Mr. Frank said that
14:31the medal hadn't come at that time, and he didn't think it had arrived yet. The acting chief clerk,
14:36whose name was Schiff, would receive it when it came, he said. He didn't go to see whether it had
14:41come when the Fagan child called, he said. Nor did he ask Schiff about it. He would probably know it
14:47had come before Schiff did, he said. Heard whistles. Mr. Frank said that he fixed the time Mary Fagan
14:52came for her money by the factory whistles, which blew about noon. He didn't leave his office between
14:57the time the girl left and Quinn called, he said. He didn't recall how Quinn was dressed, he said,
15:02but thinks he wore a straw hat. Mr. Frank said he didn't know how long Mary Fagan had worked at
15:07the
15:07pencil factory. He said that Quinn knew Mary because he was foreman of the tip department
15:12in which she was employed. Quinn worked last week, Mr. Frank said, on tools and machinery.
15:17Mr. Frank said that Quinn usually wore the same clothing around the factory that he wore on the
15:22streets. Quinn came into his office about twelve twenty-five and spoke to him. He was wearing
15:27street clothes. Quinn was about twenty-five or thirty years old, said he. Probably half an hour after
15:33Quinn spoke to him he left the factory about one o'clock, or three or four minutes after that hour.
15:38He did not lock all of the papers in the safe, he said, because he anticipated returning to work
15:43with them that afternoon. Do you remember which ones you got together before you left? Mr. Frank
15:48answered that he got the production sheet and looked it over, and a few other papers. After the
15:53time Miss Hall left the office until he himself left to go home, he was in the office all of
15:58the time,
15:58he said. Before he left he went up to the fourth floor, where he found Harry Denham and Arthur White
16:04and Mrs. White, and told them he was going out and would lock the door. Mrs. White, he thought,
16:09said she would go on out, and he thought she went away. He went up by the stairway to that
16:13floor,
16:14he said. The day watchman was there shortly after eleven o'clock, said he. He didn't remember exactly
16:19what time he left, except on Saturdays the day watchman usually worked until the night watchman
16:24came on duty. On Saturdays, said he, he himself worked, except on rare occasions, and when he
16:30did work he let the day watchman go. He couldn't remember more than three or four occasions, said
16:35he, when the day watchman had worked. He let the watchman off as a usual thing that Saturday, said
16:40he. Hadn't seen Fry. He was asked about Walter Fry, a negro employed at the factory. Fry, said he,
16:46is one of the oldest negro employees there. He had to clean the third floor of a lot of glue
16:51once
16:51each week, and usually he did it on Saturdays. Mr. Frank did not know whether Fry was in the
16:56building that day. The watchman said nothing of it, as he should have done had the negro been there.
17:01He had not excused Fry from work, said he. He hadn't seen Fry in two weeks, he added. He caught
17:06a Washington streetcar and got off at Georgia Avenue. He got home about one twenty o'clock.
17:11He found his mother-in-law and his wife dressed and ready to go to the opera. He told them
17:15good-bye
17:15and went in and had lunch with his father-in-law. The servant, Manola, waited upon them. They spent
17:20about twenty minutes eating. Afterward he lit a cigarette and lay down upon the sofa, his father-in-law,
17:26a chicken fancier, going out in the backyard to look at some chickens. His father-in-law had not
17:31come back when he got up and left the house. He did not sleep while he lay on the sofa.
17:36He dozed,
17:37for he was tired from the morning's work. He left home about two o'clock. On the street he saw
17:42a cousin
17:43of his from Athens and the cousin's mother. He crossed the street and talked with them. They said they had
17:48come down for Grand Opera. He walked on up to Glen Street not having missed a car, and there caught
17:53a
17:53Washington streetcar. On the streetcar he met another cousin, J.C. Loeb, and talked with Mr.
17:59Loeb as they rode to town. At the corner of Washington and Hunter Streets the car stopped,
18:04on account of the parade, and he got out and walked west on Hunter to Whitehall. When he reached that
18:09corner the parade came around into Hunter Street from Whitehall. Watched the parade. He stopped there and
18:15watched the parade a while, then walked on up Whitehall toward Alabama. In front of Rich's he
18:21met Miss Rebecca Carson, one of the four women in the factory. He spoke to her but did not stop.
18:27That must have been about two forty o'clock. Just a few minutes later when there was a lapse in
18:31the
18:31parade, he crossed Whitehall and entered Jacob's Drugstore on the corner, buying three or four cigars
18:37of a brand that he named and perhaps a package of cigarettes. From Jacob's he went on up Alabama
18:43Street to Forsyth and turned down Forsyth to the factory. He opened the street door with his key
18:48and locked it behind him with a latch manipulated from the inside. He unlocked the inner door and
18:53left it open behind him. That was about three o'clock. He took off his coat and went upstairs to
18:59the third floor where he found denim and white in the back of the room. They told him they would
19:03be
19:03through work and ready to leave in a few minutes. He came directly downstairs to his office. He opened the
19:09safe and took out some papers and started work on the financial sheet. A few minutes later he heard
19:14denim and white come down from their work and ring the clock. White came into his office and borrowed
19:19dollar two. He joked with white a minute or so about the loan and then got his signature upon an
19:24advanced wage sheet and gave him the dollar two. He put the slip in an envelope where he kept other
19:29slips like it. About three oh nine or three ten o'clock white and denim went downstairs. Shortly
19:35afterward he followed them and latched the street door again behind them. That was about three twenty
19:39o'clock he said. The day watchman left about three o'clock Mr. Frank said and white and denim left
19:45about three fifteen. He went downstairs and locked the door after them he said and returned to his work
19:50on the financial sheet. The witness said that so far as he knew he was alone in the factory. He
19:56had seen
19:57no one while on his way up or down the steps. Mr. Frank said that he worked on the financial
20:02sheet
20:02until about five thirty o'clock. At about fifteen minutes before four he said he went to the
20:07lavatory to wash his hands and on his way back to his office saw the night watchman coming up the
20:12stairs. Night watchman comes. Mr. Frank said that on Friday he had told the watchman to report for
20:17duty at four o'clock Saturday afternoon and that he remembers the time because he looked at his watch
20:23to see if the watchman was on time. The watchman had pass keys to the doors he said. Asked about
20:29his
20:29conversation with the night watchman Mr. Frank said that he said, Howdy Lee, and told him he was sorry
20:35he had to come to work so early and that he could go out and enjoy himself for an hour
20:39or an hour and a
20:40half. Lee offered him some bananas, he said, but he took none. The only other interruption during the
20:45afternoon, Mr. Frank said, was a telephone call from Mr. Schiff. Mr. Frank said that he had planned to go
20:50to the
20:50ball game with his brother-in-law, Mr. Ersenbach. He had tried to telephone Mr. Ersenbach that he
20:56couldn't go, but had been unable to get him, the witness said. Mr. Frank said that after five-thirty
21:02he balanced the cash. This took until about six o'clock, he said. Mr. Frank was not downstairs
21:07between four and four-thirty, he said, in response to a question. The witness said that when Lee returned
21:12about six o'clock he was putting in the clock slips. There were two clocks, he said, one that registered
21:18between one and one hundred and the other between one hundred and two hundred. The watchman punched
21:22the latter. Mr. Frank took out the Friday slips, he said, which were dated April 26th, and put them
21:28on the clerk's desk. He was asked when Fullerton was to start to work. On Monday the 28th, he said.
21:35He didn't know, he said, whether Fullerton started to work on Monday or not. It was not very light,
21:41Mr. Frank said, when Lee returned to work. He had no conversation with him. Lee did not seem in the
21:46least agitated, Mr. Frank said. Gant was there. Mr. Frank said that about six o'clock he washed his
21:52hands and put on his coat preparatory to leaving the building. Lee had punched the clock and was
21:57at the bottom of the steps, Mr. Frank said, to lock the door after him. Lee was talking to J
22:02.M. Gant,
22:03former employee of the factory, on the sidewalk just outside the door, the witness said. Mr. Frank said
22:09that Lee told him Gant wanted to get a pair of shoes he had left in the factory. The witness
22:13said he
22:14sent Lee in with Gant and left the building himself. Mr. Frank said he then went to Jacob's
22:18Pharmacy at the corner of Alabama and Whitehall streets and bought a box of candy. It was a
22:23special kind of candy that was not kept boxed, and he had to wait a few minutes, he said, while
22:27the
22:27girl put it in a box for him. He chatted with the girl, he said, but spoke to no one
22:32else before he got
22:33home. He reached home about six twenty-five o'clock, he said. His father-in-law and the servant were
22:38there,
22:39the witness said, and his wife and his mother came in a few minutes later. They came in about
22:44six thirty o'clock, Mr. Frank said, just as he was telephoning to the factory. He telephoned at six
22:49thirty, he said, because at that time the night watchman was due to be punching the clock, and
22:54would ordinarily be where he could easily hear the telephone. Mr. Frank said that he failed to get
22:59Leet at six thirty, so telephoned him again at seven o'clock when the watchman answered. The witness
23:04said he asked whether Gant had gone, and if everything was all right, then ate his dinner.
23:09Mr. Frank said he had never heard Gant make any direct threats against him. Gant had been discharged,
23:14the witness said, because of negligence in his accounts. Mr. Frank said that he telephoned the
23:19factory because Gant was a man I wanted to keep up with when he was in the factory. The witness
23:24said
23:24that after supper he smoked and read until about nine thirty o'clock, when he went upstairs and lit the
23:29gas heater. He then went back downstairs, he said, and read until about ten thirty o'clock, when he
23:34went back upstairs, took a bath, and went to bed about eleven. Mr. Frank said he was awakened about
23:40seven thirty o'clock Sunday morning by the ringing of the telephone. He answered it in his bathrobe,
23:45he said. It was Detective J.M. Starnes, who said he wanted Mr. Frank to identify someone at the factory,
23:52the witness said. Mr. Frank said he asked the detective if there had been a fire, and the reply was,
23:57no, a tragedy. The witness said Mr. Starnes told him an automobile would be right up for him.
24:03Detective Black and Boot Rogers arrived before he had finished dressing, Mr. Frank said. He went
24:08with them, he said, to Bloomfield's undertaking establishment to see the body of Mary Fagan.
24:13Mr. Frank said that he immediately recognized the poor little thing. He looked at her, he said,
24:18and remarked, that is the child I paid off Saturday. Mr. Frank then described the appearance of the
24:24corpse, and said that the cord about her neck was of the type used on the third and fourth floors
24:29of
24:29the pencil factory in binding units. Goes to factory. He stayed at the undertaker's shop, but a few minutes.
24:37Then he drove down to the factory and saw Darley going in just ahead of him and called to him.
24:41He went upstairs where he saw the negro and a number of detectives. There he was told the details of
24:47the
24:47tragedy. He took them down to the basement in the elevator. He couldn't get the elevator to work at first,
24:53and Darley started it for him. He didn't see any blood in the basement. He told Darley to nail up
24:59the back door, which they showed him to be standing open. He said it was part of the watchman's duty
25:03to come down in the basement and see that that door was fastened, and also to look in the dustbin.
25:08The fire insurance people consider that dustbin somewhat of a hazard, said he. He hadn't been in
25:14the cellar a dozen times before during his connection with the company, said he. He answered a number of
25:19questions relative to the method of operating the elevator. It is run by electricity. There is a
25:24switch on the left of the elevator at the second floor landing where the power is turned off.
25:29The switch never is locked up. Formerly it was, but the insurance people objected, and later it was
25:35left unlocked where the firemen could get to it immediately and shut off the power in the building.
25:43The part of the time clock. He was questioned as to the tape on the time clock. When he looked
25:48at it
25:48first after the tragedy, he thought it was all right because the lines had not been broken.
25:52Later, said he, he studied it more closely and saw that the Negro night watchman had skipped in two or
25:57three places, punching hours only instead of hours and half hours. He said he had put the date,
26:0328, 28 on the tape in advance because he knew when the employees came to work Monday morning they would
26:08start to punching that date. While he was in the factory on the Sunday morning after the tragedy
26:13was discovered, the detectives used most of the time going over the factory, looking for someone
26:18who might have been hidden. He did not know what machine Mary Fagan used in the factory, said he.
26:23He didn't know of any stuff similar to whitewash used around the plant. There was a yellowish substance
26:28like soap, used for a lubricant. Said he helped detectives. Leaving the factory that Sunday
26:34morning, he went to police headquarters with some of the detectives and Mr. Darley. There he answered
26:39a number of questions. He did not remember what they were, but he remembered that he wanted to give
26:44the detectives every possible help in getting at the bottom of the thing. He told them everything
26:48that they wanted to know, said he. He and Darley left headquarters together and walked toward town.
26:54He asked Darley if he wanted to see Mary Fagan's body, and Darley, saying yes,
26:58they walked over to the undertakers, but they could not see the corpse because the embalmers
27:03were busy at the moment. Wore the same suit. Questioned as to the clothes he wore on the day
27:08preceding the murder's discovery, he declared that he wore the same suit that he wore then,
27:12as he testified. He had put it on the next Monday again, and had worn it constantly since.
27:18On the Sunday when the murder was discovered, he wore a blue suit. He answered a number of questions
27:23relative to the time clock. No person unfamiliar with it could manufacture a time record upon it,
27:28he said. He experienced some difficulty himself when he changed the dates, said he.
27:33There is a key to the time clock, said he, but he didn't even know who had it. It would
27:37be possible
27:37by moving the hands of the clock to make it register at regular intervals, he thought.
27:42Running the elevator. The coroner reverted to Friday afternoon. He stayed somewhat late that
27:47afternoon, he said. The elevator boy is a negro called Snowball, he said. He explained again the
27:53operation of the elevator. He, Frank, could run the elevator, but he had not done so on any certain
27:59occasion that he remembered. On Saturday morning the motor was running, he knew, because it was being
28:05used to operate a circular saw in the department where Denim and White were at work. He said he had
28:10never telephoned before Saturday night to the negro night watchman, Newt Lee, because the negro had been
28:15there only a couple of weeks. The negro had been employed formerly by Mr. One Word Illegible,
28:20said he. Frank said that he identified the girl's corpse by her hair and her features. He didn't know
28:26the girl's name, he said, but recognized her corpse as that of the girl he had paid Saturday.
28:31Mr. Frank said that he hadn't noticed that the girl appeared nervous when he saw her Saturday
28:36afternoon. He wasn't sure he had heard her voice after she left him, he said, but thought he had
28:41heard some girl's voice in the outer office. Mr. Frank said that when he went to the undertaker's
28:45establishment Sunday morning, he wore a blue suit he was accustomed to wear on
28:50Sundays, having changed from the brown one he had worn the day before. He had never worn this blue
28:55suit to the pencil factory that he remembered, the witness said. He said that he mentioned to
28:59Darley on Sunday that he had on another suit. He changed things from the pocket of the brown suit
29:05to the blue one, he said, changed his underwear and his shirt, as he was accustomed to do. He had
29:10never given the night watchman any clothes, he said. Mr. Frank was asked about his talk with Lee at
29:15the police station. He said that previous to his talk with Lee, he had been asked by Detective Black
29:20and Scott to try to find out whether Lee had been letting couples into the pencil factory at night.
29:25Black said, put it strong to him, the witness said. Try to get out of him all you can. We
29:30think he knows
29:31more than he is willing to tell. Tell him they've got you and me and they'll send us both to
29:35hell if
29:35you don't tell what you know. Mr. Frank said that he said to Lee something similar to the words Black
29:40has
29:40used. I talked to him kindly, Mr. Frank said. The witness said that he urged Lee to tell the truth
29:46about the couples, that he told Lee in substance, they know you something, and said, they can swing
29:52us both if you don't tell. Mr. Frank said that the Negro said in substance, for God, Mr. Frank, I
29:58don't
29:58know anything about it. Lee declared that he had admitted no couples, Mr. Frank said, and kept up a good
30:03tale. The witness said that he didn't use the words the detectives told him in which he used the word
30:08hell. Going back to the talk of the ball games, Mr. Frank said that he didn't know what time the
30:14game started. The witness was then quizzed as to how many suits of underwear he had worn, and how
30:20often he was accustomed to change. He had worn one suit last week, he thought, he said. When he took
30:26them off, he put them in the wash bag, he said. Detective Black saw them, he declared a suit of
30:30winter
30:31underwear. He generally wore two suits of underwear a week during the winter, he said, and four or five a
30:36week in the summer. Going back to the references to the ball game, the witness was asked if he had
30:41intended going to the ball game after four o'clock. He said that he had expected to leave the factory
30:46at one o'clock. Mr. Frank said that he had notified the factory employees by posting notices about
30:52Monday or Tuesday that they would be paid Friday afternoon, since Saturday was a holiday on account
30:58of being Memorial Day. They were paid about five o'clock p.m. Friday afternoon, he said. Mr. Frank said
31:04that during his conversation with Lee, the watchman did not accuse him of the crime, or describe the
31:09girl's body, and declared that he did not tell Lee not to talk about the tragedy. Mr. Frank then said
31:15that the usual pay time was about noon Saturday. He replied in answer to a question that he didn't
31:21remember ever having used any cord like that found about the girl's neck to tie a bundle. Are you
31:26right-handed or left-handed? he was asked. Right-handed, he replied. Mr. Frank said that he had been in
31:32the
31:32habit of carrying a pocket knife, but this was taken from him when he was arrested. The witness
31:37repeated his statement that he first heard the telephone on Sunday morning at about 7.30. Later
31:42Sunday morning, he said, he thought he recalled dreaming that he heard the telephone in the night.
31:47Mr. Selig on stand. Emil Selig, father-in-law of Mr. Frank, succeeded him on the witness stand.
31:53He lives at 68 Georgia Avenue, said Mr. Selig. About three years ago, Frank married his daughter. He had never
32:00heard of Frank being married before. He had known Frank about a year before Frank married Miss Selig.
32:05In answer to the question, do you live with Mr. Frank? the old gentleman replied, no, he lives
32:10with me. He didn't remember seeing Frank leave on the morning of the tragedy, said he. He did see him
32:16at dinner time and ate dinner with him. His wife and daughter both were going to Grand Opera, and as
32:21well as he remembered, they left before the end of dinner. After dinner, said Mr. Selig, he, Selig, lay down
32:27and took a nap. He didn't know what Mr. Frank did. Maybe he lay down, too. Mr. Selig said he
32:32got up
32:33about three o'clock and Frank was gone. He saw him again at supper. That was between seven and eight
32:38o'clock, he thought. He didn't remember the exact hour. His wife and daughter and the servants all
32:43were there with them, he thought. After supper that Saturday night, Mr. Frank went out into the hall and
32:48sat there reading. We played cards, said he. Asked who we was, he replied that they had a little
32:54company in that evening. Asked for the names of the company, he remembered that Mr. and Mrs. Morris
32:59Goldstein, Mrs. I. Strauss, who lives on Pryor Street, and Mrs. Wolfsheimer from Washington Street,
33:05and maybe another married daughter, Mrs. A. E. Marcus, were there. Mr. Frank didn't play cards,
33:11said he. Mr. Frank must have known that the guests were there. He didn't remember especially about that.
33:17They played cards there until about eleven o'clock. Mr. Frank, he presumed, went on up to bed about
33:22nine o'clock. He didn't see anything of him after that. Mrs. Frank didn't play cards, but was out with
33:27her husband for a while. Who played partners, the coroner asked him. We didn't have any partners,
33:32answered the witness. We were playing for blood. On Saturday, Mr. Frank had on a brown everyday suit,
33:38said the witness. He thought Mr. Frank had on the same suit Sunday. It was the same suit he had
33:43worn
33:43to the inquest, said Mr. Selig. Didn't talk about tragedy. Mr. Selig said that he didn't hear the
33:48telephone ring during the night, Saturday or Sunday morning. He didn't remember Mr. Frank
33:53having telephoned the factory Saturday night, but that Mr. Frank might have done so without his
33:57having known it. Mr. Selig said that he awoke about eight o'clock a.m. Sunday morning after Mr. Frank
34:04had left the house. Mrs. Frank told him that something terrible had happened in the factory, he said,
34:09but that he didn't press the question as to what had transpired. That all day Sunday he made no
34:15efforts to find out what had occurred. Mr. Frank returned home about ten o'clock,
34:19the witness said. Mr. Selig said that he didn't remember Mr. Frank having mentioned the affair
34:24during the day. He said that Mr. Frank had frequently called the factory at night to ask
34:29if everything was all right. Mrs. Selig testifies. Mrs. Josephine Selig, wife of Emile Selig and mother-in-law
34:35of Mr. Frank, was the witness who succeeded her husband on the stand. She saw Mr. Frank Saturday
34:40at dinner, she said. She had not seen him at breakfast. She rarely saw him at breakfast.
34:46He came home to dinner about one fifteen o'clock. She and her husband, Frank and his wife and the
34:50cook were there in the house at that time. She and Mrs. Frank left about one twenty o'clock to
34:55go to
34:55the opera matinee. She was not sure whether her husband was present when they left. She saw Mr. Frank
35:01again at supper about six fifteen o'clock. He was sitting in the hall reading a paper when they came
35:06in.
35:06They had supper between six thirty and six forty-five o'clock. Mr. Frank had continued
35:12his reading since they came in. She didn't see Mr. Frank use the telephone, but was pretty sure
35:17that he did. It was possible that she might have been upstairs when he used the phone in the dining
35:21room. It would not have been unusual for him to telephone, said she. She could not swear, she said,
35:27that Mr. Frank used the telephone that evening. After supper, she said Mr. Frank stayed in the hall
35:32and read. She stayed there in the hall until about eight twenty o'clock p.m. Then they had company,
35:38and their company was entertained in the dining room just off the hall. Asked to name those who
35:42were there, she said the two Mrs. Marcus, Mr. and Mrs. Goldstein, and Mrs. Ike Strauss were there.
35:48Ike Strauss came over about ten thirty o'clock p.m. for his wife, he said. She remembered that Mrs.
35:54Wolfsheimer was there, too. Knew guests were there. Mr. Frank knew these guests were in the house,
35:59she said. He was in the hall and conversed casually with them when they arrived. He must have talked
36:04with the guests about twenty minutes, she said. She couldn't remember any of his conversation,
36:09she said. Now this was the last night of the opera, her questioners cautioned her.
36:13Are you sure these guests were there that night? Mrs. Selick was positive. They played cards,
36:18she said. Mrs. Frank was there, too. She was in the dining room and out in the hall with Mr.
36:23Frank
36:23constantly during the evening. Mrs. Frank sat out there with him a good deal,
36:27but came in occasionally. He stopped reading sometime between nine thirty o'clock and ten
36:32o'clock, she said. He went to bed then, stopping at the door as he went and telling them all
36:37good
36:37night. Mrs. Frank went upstairs with him, she said. Mrs. Selick said that when she got up the next
36:42morning, the first person she saw was her daughter, Mrs. Frank. Mrs. Frank said Mr. Frank had gone to town,
36:48but didn't say why. About ten o'clock, Mr. Frank came in and told her that some girl had been
36:53found dead
36:53in the factory. She didn't remember anything else about the conversation. She didn't attach much
36:58importance to it, she said. Mr. Frank didn't go into details. He mentioned it casually. After a
37:04while he sat down and read a paper, she said. She denied that he seemed to be apprehensive.
37:09Questioned again about that part of her testimony, she reiterated that the matter of the girl having
37:14been found dead was treated casually. Mr. Frank seemed not greatly concerned about it, she said.
37:19All of these statements were made in direct answer to direct questions. Mrs. Selick seemed
37:24not to remember very much except that which she answered positively. Mr. Frank wore a brown suit
37:29of clothes all three of the very days, she said Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. She was positive
37:34about this, she said. Mr. Frank did not mention to her the name of the girl who had been found
37:38dead,
37:39said she. He owned another suit of blue, she said. She went into detail about who their laundrymen
37:44are, etc. At 7.20 o'clock p.m., the inquest adjourned until 9.30 o'clock a.m., Thursday
37:51morning.
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