- 16 minutes ago
Friday, May 9th, 1913
Solicitor Dorsey Says He Has Secured Powerful Aid in Search for Slayer of Girl—Woman Says She Heard Screams in Pencil Factory.
Shelby Smith, chairman of the Fulton commission, declared Friday afternoon that the board would back Solicitor Dorsey in any and all expense he might incur in the state's exhaustive investigation into the Phagan murder mystery. Smith said;
"We have instructed Dorsey to obtain the best possible detective skill for his probe and he would be backed by the county commission to the last ditch in the money the spent.
"The fact that he hired a good detective Friday is news to me, but he has the sanction and backing of the board in the matter."
HIRE'S BEST DETECTIVE, HE SAYS.
Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey said Friday afternoon that he had the best detective in America working on the mystery of the Mary Phagan strangling.
Important developments had ensued already, he declared, and he was confident that an early solution of the case would be reached by the new expert of national reputation who had been placed at work on the clews.
The solicitor is understood to have the affidavit of a woman who swears that she heard a girl's screams as she was passing the factory at 4:30 o'clock the afternoon of the tragedy. The cries were shrill and piercing, she says, and died away as she stopped an instant to listen.
The woman was sure they came from inside the factory, but she gave little attention to her startling experience until she read of the strangling of Mary Phagan. Then it occurred to her that she very likely had heard the dying cries of the little girl and she reported the matter to the authorities.
Solicitor Dorsey, as his first action after the holding of Leo M. Frank and Newt Lee to the Grand Jury for the murder of Mary Phagan, put out the dragnet for witnesses.
A batch of subpoenas were issued for the witnesses to appear in his office to give testimony in the case of "The State vs. John Doe."
After a long conference with Detective Starnes and Campbell, Solicitor Dorsey asserted that action on the part of the Grand Jury might be expected any time after Friday. He plainly intimated that a special session of the jury might be convened Saturday to consider the Phagan murder.
The Solicitor declared as he left the court house with a private detective whose name he refused to divulge that he anticipated the development of startling evidence before night, which, he said, would clear matters materially.
Dorsey Questions Newt Lee.
With the private detective the Solicitor went to the Tower and was closeted with Newt Lee, the night watchman, for more than an hour.
Solicitor Dorsey Says He Has Secured Powerful Aid in Search for Slayer of Girl—Woman Says She Heard Screams in Pencil Factory.
Shelby Smith, chairman of the Fulton commission, declared Friday afternoon that the board would back Solicitor Dorsey in any and all expense he might incur in the state's exhaustive investigation into the Phagan murder mystery. Smith said;
"We have instructed Dorsey to obtain the best possible detective skill for his probe and he would be backed by the county commission to the last ditch in the money the spent.
"The fact that he hired a good detective Friday is news to me, but he has the sanction and backing of the board in the matter."
HIRE'S BEST DETECTIVE, HE SAYS.
Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey said Friday afternoon that he had the best detective in America working on the mystery of the Mary Phagan strangling.
Important developments had ensued already, he declared, and he was confident that an early solution of the case would be reached by the new expert of national reputation who had been placed at work on the clews.
The solicitor is understood to have the affidavit of a woman who swears that she heard a girl's screams as she was passing the factory at 4:30 o'clock the afternoon of the tragedy. The cries were shrill and piercing, she says, and died away as she stopped an instant to listen.
The woman was sure they came from inside the factory, but she gave little attention to her startling experience until she read of the strangling of Mary Phagan. Then it occurred to her that she very likely had heard the dying cries of the little girl and she reported the matter to the authorities.
Solicitor Dorsey, as his first action after the holding of Leo M. Frank and Newt Lee to the Grand Jury for the murder of Mary Phagan, put out the dragnet for witnesses.
A batch of subpoenas were issued for the witnesses to appear in his office to give testimony in the case of "The State vs. John Doe."
After a long conference with Detective Starnes and Campbell, Solicitor Dorsey asserted that action on the part of the Grand Jury might be expected any time after Friday. He plainly intimated that a special session of the jury might be convened Saturday to consider the Phagan murder.
The Solicitor declared as he left the court house with a private detective whose name he refused to divulge that he anticipated the development of startling evidence before night, which, he said, would clear matters materially.
Dorsey Questions Newt Lee.
With the private detective the Solicitor went to the Tower and was closeted with Newt Lee, the night watchman, for more than an hour.
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00:00Friday, the 9th of May, 1913. Best detective in America now is on case, says Dorsey, Atlanta,
00:06Georgian. Friday, May 9th, 1913. Solicitor Dorsey says he has secured powerful aid in search for
00:12slayer of girl woman. Says she heard screams in pencil factory. Shelby Smith, chairman of the
00:18Fulton Commission, declared Friday afternoon that the board would back Solicitor Dorsey in any and
00:23all expense he might incur in the state's exhaustive investigation into the Fagan murder mystery.
00:29Smith said, we have instructed Dorsey to obtain the best possible detective skill for his probe
00:34and he would be backed by the County Commission to the last ditch in the money they spent.
00:39The fact that he hired a good detective Friday is news to me, but he has the sanction and backing
00:44of the board in the matter. Hires best detective, he says. Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey said
00:51Friday afternoon that he had the best detective in America working on the mystery of the Mary
00:55Fagan's strangling. Important developments had ensued already, he declared, and he was confident that
01:01an early solution of the case would be reached by the new expert of national reputation who had
01:06been placed at work on the clues. The solicitor is understood to have the affidavit of a woman who
01:11swears that she heard a girl's screams as she was passing the factory at 4.30 o'clock the afternoon
01:16of
01:16the tragedy. The cries were shrill and piercing, she says, and died away as she stopped an instant to
01:23listen. The woman was sure they came from inside the factory, but she gave little attention to her
01:28startling experience until she read of the strangling of Mary Fagan. Then it occurred to
01:33her that she very likely had heard the dying cries of the little girl and she reported the matter to
01:38the authorities. Solicitor Dorsey, as his first action after the holding of Leo M. Frank and Newt Lee
01:44to the grand jury for the murder of Mary Fagan, put out the dragnet for witnesses. A batch of subpoenas
01:50were issued for the witnesses to appear in his office to give testimony in the case of
01:54The State v. John Doe. After a long conference with Detectives Starnes and Campbell,
02:00solicitor Dorsey asserted that action on the part of the grand jury might be expected any time after
02:05Friday. He plainly intimated that a special session of the jury might be convened Saturday to consider
02:11the Fagan murder. The solicitor declared as he left the courthouse with a private detective whose name
02:16he refused to divulge that he anticipated the development of startling evidence before night,
02:21which, he said, would clear matters materially.
02:25Dorsey Questions
02:26Newt Lee
02:28With the private detective the solicitor went to the tower and was closeted with Newt Lee,
02:33the night watchman, for more than an hour. The form of the subpoena is taken to mean that many of
02:38the witnesses will submit their sworn testimony before the solicitor general, who will thus have it in
02:43documentary form, instead of going before the grand jury to give oral testimony. However,
02:49it will be necessary for the material or indicting witnesses to go before the grand jurors in person.
02:54The investigation has just begun, said Chief of Detectives Lanford Friday, in discussing the
03:00action of the coroner's jury. We were confident we had presented sufficient evidence to warrant the
03:05holding of the two suspects in the case. But we will have much more when the case gets into the
03:09courts.
03:10Yes, have strong theory already. We are going to continue right on with the investigation
03:15and try to dig down to the full truth of the mystery. We have a strongly supported theory as
03:20to who committed the crime, but we are ready at any time to change our opinions as soon as the
03:24evidence points in another direction. It will be possible, with the rush and hurry of the
03:29coroner's jury Fagan case to be rushed to grand jury by Dorsey Past, for my men to work with more
03:35deliberation and care, and to sift with a greater thoroughness every bit of evidence that comes
03:39into their possession. Even if nothing new should develop, we have enough leads to keep half a dozen
03:45detectives busy for a week. Detectives Rosser, Campbell, Black, Starnes and Bullard are still
03:51working with the chief on the case, and probably will continue until the mystery is cleared.
03:55Lemmy Quinn, foreman in the tipping department at the National Pencil Factory, was the first of the
04:01witnesses to be examined by the solicitor. He was in Mr. Dorsey's office a considerable part of the
04:06forenoon, and underwent a rigorous examination. New witnesses sought. Detectives Starnes and Campbell
04:13also were with the solicitor, and two of the solicitor's assistants. Newton Garner and Dan
04:18Goodland were dispatched the first thing in the morning to hunt up new witnesses of whom Mr. Dorsey
04:22had information. Foreman Quinn was called, it is understood, to clear up the discrepancies in his
04:28testimony and the statement he is said to have made to the detectives and to several of his
04:33acquaintances. In his testimony before the coroner's jury, he declared that he visited the
04:38factory between 12.10 and 12.30 o'clock, the afternoon of the killing of Mary Fagan. He said he
04:45talked with Frank for two minutes in the superintendent's office. Detectives declared that
04:50Quinn had told them and other persons that he did not visit the factory at all Saturday and that he
04:55was
04:55not there from the time he left Friday until the following Monday. Frank expected to be held.
05:01That's about what I expected at this time, was the comment with which Leo M. Frank, with little trace
05:07of emotion, received the news of the action of the coroner's jury Thursday night. Deputy Sheriff
05:13Plenty Minor was the officer who informed both Frank and Newt Lee that the jury had recommended that
05:18they be held under charges of murder for further investigation by the Fulton County Grand Jury.
05:23The night watchman received the news indifferently and had nothing to say. Frank and Lee are held
05:29under charges of murder, as the following verdict of the coroner's jury will show. Atlanta, Georgia,
05:35May 8, 1913. We, the coroner's jury, impaneled and sworn by Paul Donhu, coroner of Fulton County,
05:42to inquire into the cause of the death of Mary Fagan, whose dead body now lies before us,
05:47after having heard the evidence of sworn witnesses and the statement of Dr. J.W. Hurt,
05:52County Physician, find that the deceased came to her death from strangulation. We recommend that
05:57Leo M. Frank and Newt Lee be held under charges of murder for further investigation by the Fulton
06:01County Grand Jury. Signed, Homer C. Ashford, Foreman, Dr. J.W. Hurt, County Physician.
06:09Solicitor Dorsey said Friday he would give the Fagan case all of his attention and present his
06:13evidence to the Grand Jury as quickly as possible. The solicitor has shown an anxiety to avoid delays of
06:18any nature in hunting down the slayer of the Fagan girl, and now that the coroner's jury has
06:23turned the case over to the solicitor and the Grand Jury, it may be taken for granted that the
06:27investigation will be hurried along with all possible speed. Case in State's hands.
06:33The case now is fully in the hands of the State, said the solicitor Friday morning.
06:38It will not be presented to the Grand Jury Friday, but I shall endeavor to present it at the earliest
06:43possible moment. The instant that I have a complete case, I shall bring it to the attention of the
06:49Grand Jury. It is my desire to bring the slayer of Mary Fagan to justice with the greatest dispatch.
06:55A great crime has been done, and I am no less eager to see the guilt determined than the general
07:00public.
07:01It required the coroner's jury about twenty minutes to frame its formal verdict Thursday night.
07:06The jurors received a brief charge from Coroner Donohue and filed from the commissioner's room in the
07:11police station at 6.08 o'clock. At 6.28, they were back with their verdict. Coroner Donohue admonished
07:18the jurors to be as ready to hold a person who they thought might be withholding information of
07:22the crime as to hold a person they regarded as the possible culprit. A person possessing knowledge
07:27of the crime and withholding it, he said, was an accessory after the fact. An immediate hush fell on
07:34the packed room when the jurors returned. There was a dead silence except for the voice of Homer C.
07:39Ashford, foreman of the jury, when the verdict was read.
07:44Girls testify against Frank.
07:46The most damaging testimony against Frank in regard to his treatment of employees at his factory
07:51was saved until the last hours of the hearing. Girls and women were called to the stand to testify
07:57that they had been employed at the factory or had had occasion to go there, and that Frank had
08:01attempted familiarities with them. Nellie Pettis, of 9 Oliver Street, declared that Frank had made
08:07improper advances on her. She was asked if she ever had been employed at the pencil factory.
08:12No, she answered. Q. Do you know Leo Frank?
08:16A. I have seen him once or twice. Q. When and where did you see him?
08:21A. In his office at the factory whenever I went to draw my sister-in-law's pay.
08:25A. Q. What did he say to you that might have been improper on any of these visits?
08:30A. He didn't exactly say he made gestures. I went to get sister's pay about four weeks ago,
08:35and when I went into the office of Mr. Frank, I asked for her. He told me I couldn't see
08:40her
08:40unless I saw him first. Says he winked at her. I told him I didn't want to see him.
08:46He pulled a box from his desk. It had a lot of money in it. He looked at it significantly,
08:50and then looked at me. When he looked at me, he winked. As he winked, he said,
08:56How about it? I instantly told him I was a nice girl.
09:01Here the witness stopped her statement. Corner Dunhu asked her sharply,
09:05Didn't you say anything else? Yes, I did. I told him to go to H. L. and walked out of
09:10his office.
09:12Thomas Blackstock, who said that he was employed at the factory about a year ago, testified as follows.
09:16Tells of Frank's conduct. Q. Do you know Leo M. Frank? A. Yes. Q. How long have you known him?
09:23A. About six weeks. Q. Did you ever observe his conduct toward female employees of the pencil
09:28factory? A. Yes. I've often seen him picking on different girls. Q. Name some. A. I can't exactly
09:36recollect names. Q. What was the conduct you noticed particularly? The witness answered to the effect
09:42that he had seen him place his hands with undue familiarity upon the person of girls.
09:46Q. See it often? A. A half dozen times maybe. He generally was seen to become that familiar
09:52while he was touring the building. Q. Can't you name just one girl? A. Yes. Magnolia Kennedy.
09:58Q. Did you see him act with undue familiarity toward her? A. No. I heard talk about it. Q. Before
10:05or
10:05after the murder? A. Afterward. Girls tried to avoid him. Q. When did you observe this misconduct
10:12of which you have told? A. A year ago. Q. Did you hear complaints around the plant?
10:17A. No. The girls tried to avoid him. Mrs. C. D. Donegan said she was connected with the pencil
10:23plant for three weeks. Her capacity was that of four lady. She resides at 165 West 14th Street
10:29with her husband. Her testimony follows. State your observations of Frank's conduct toward the girls and
10:35women of the plant. I have noticed him smile and wink at the girls in the place. That was two
10:40years
10:40ago. Did you make a statement to the detectives of undue familiarity you had witnessed? I told them
10:46that I had seen Frank flirt with the girls and women. That was all I said.
10:51Charges, familiarities. The testimony of Nellie Wood, a young girl of 8 Corporate Street, came next.
10:56In brief it was this. Q. Do you know Leo Frank? A. I worked for him two days. Q. Did
11:03you observe
11:04any misconduct on his part? A. Well, his actions didn't suit me. He'd come around and put his hands
11:10on me when such conduct was entirely uncalled for. Q. Is that all he did? A. No. He asked me
11:18one day to
11:18come into his office saying that he wanted to talk to me. He tried to close the door, but I
11:23wouldn't
11:23let him. He got too familiar by getting so close to me. He also put his hands on me. Q.
11:29Where did
11:29he put his hands? A. He barely touched my breast. He was subtle with his approaches and tried to
11:36pretend that he was joking but I was too wary for such as that. Quit his employ. Q. Did he
11:42try further
11:43familiarities? A. Yes. Q. When did this happen? A. Two years ago. Q. What did you tell him when you
11:52left his employ? A. I just quit, telling him that it didn't suit me. Frank's testimony was looked
11:58forward to with keen interest, but when he was called to the stand in the afternoon, he merely
12:03answered additional questions as to his movements on the day of the crime and failed to add materially
12:08to the evidence in hand. He appeared pale and haggard from his imprisonment, but he replied to all of the
12:14questions clearly and showed no hesitation or apparent fear. He was asked. Testimony of Frank. Q. What kind
12:21of elevator door is there to the shaft in the pencil factory? A. Sliding doors. Q. How many? A. One
12:29on each
12:29floor. Q. Are they latticed or solid? A. Solid. Q. Where was the elevator at twelve o'clock Saturday?
12:37A. I did not notice. Q. Were the doors open or closed? A. I don't remember. Q. What protection
12:44would a person have from falling down the shaft if the doors were left open? A. A bar which projects
12:49across the opening. Q. After the crime was committed, where did the elevator stand? A. I only know where
12:55it stood Sunday morning. It then was on the second floor. Didn't file time tape. Q. When you last
13:01removed the tape from the time clock, what did you do with it? A. Handed it to an officer in
13:06the
13:06building. Q. Did you put it on file? A. No. Q. Are you sure? A. Yes, positive. Q. Do you
13:14remember a
13:15party at your house on the night of April 26th? A. Yes. Q. Can you name the guests? A. I
13:21don't
13:21remember them all. Q. When the police came to bring you down to the factory that Sunday morning,
13:26what was said about whiskey? A. I said I wanted something warm to drink. One of the detectives
13:31suggested whiskey. Q. What time was it? A. Between 7.30 and 8 o'clock. Says he viewed body.
13:38Q. What did you say about dreaming? A. I said to someone that I thought I had dreamed of hearing
13:43the telephone ring in the dead of night. Q. When you went to the undertakers, did you go in the
13:49water closet instead of the room in which the body lay? A. No. Q. Did you view the body? A.
13:55Yes.
13:55Q. Did you recognize the girl? A. Yes. Q. When did you first hear her name? A. I don't remember.
14:02Q. What time did you return home that Sunday afternoon? A. I don't recollect. Q. Did you
14:08telephone your wife before your return? A. Yes. Q. Was the murder discussed at home that afternoon?
14:13A. Not much. Q. What topic was discussed? A. I don't remember. Often does not remember. Q.
14:20Q. When did Quinn first mention to you his visit to the factory on the 26th? A. I don't remember.
14:25Q. What did he say? A. He said, Don't you recollect that I was at the factory Saturday about noon?
14:32Q. What did you tell him about withholding that information until your attorney had been consulted?
14:37A. I don't remember. I had so many visitors that I couldn't recollect the exact words.
14:43Q. Who suggested the conference with your attorney relative to Quinn's visit?
14:47A. I don't remember. Q. How long have you known you had counsel?
14:52A. Since Monday. Q. Why was it mentioned that Quinn's visit he kept quiet until consultation with
14:58your lawyer? A. I don't remember. Explains locks and doors. Q. How can you lock the door between
15:04your office and the dressing room where the blood spots were found? A. I have never seen it locked.
15:10Q. Is it usually open or locked? A. Closed. Q. Is there any way of closing the doors on the
15:16back stairway?
15:18A. Yes. They are locked. Q. Describe your telephone conversation with
15:23Detective Starnes at the time you were informed of the tragedy?
15:26A. He asked me if I was superintendent of the National Pencil Factory.
15:31I'd like to have you come down here at once, he said when I informed him that I was Leo
15:35Frank.
15:35He said he wanted me to identify a girl and asked me if I knew Mary Fagan.
15:40Q. Didn't you say that the first time you had heard her name was while you were traveling in the
15:44auto on the way to the factory Sunday morning? A. I don't recollect that I did.
15:50Q. Did you have any trouble with a girl in your office Saturday morning?
15:54A. No. There was one incident where a mistake had been made in the pay envelope of Maddie Smith,
16:00but it was corrected without any trouble.
16:02Tells of callers at office. Q. What time was Maddie Smith in your office?
16:06A. Between 9 and 10 a.m. Q. Did anyone enter while she was there?
16:11A. I don't remember. Q. Give the name of everyone in the office throughout the day Saturday?
16:17A. Mr. Darley, Mr. Holloway, the office boy, Miss Hall, the stenographer, Mr. Campbell,
16:23Mr. Fullerton, Mrs. White, Lemmy Quinn, Mr. Gantt, Emma Clark, another girl employee,
16:29Arthur White, Harry Denham, Newt Lee, and Mary Fagan.
16:32Q. Did you see Mae Barrett?
16:34A. I don't know her.
16:35Q. What did you say to Emma Clark?
16:37A. I don't remember saying anything to her.
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