Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-28
F ACTS
GIVEN BY
NEGRO
Admissions to Prosecutors Aide
Strengthens RumOr That He
Saw Girl lust Before Crime.

saw Glrl Just before Crlme'
Frank A. Hooper, associated with
Solicitor Dorsey in the prosecution of
Leo NJ. Frank on the charge of
strangling Mary Phagan, admitted
Saturday that Jim Conley, negro
sweeper at the National Pencil Fac
tory, had made important additions
to the story Of his part in the muir
der mystery and had told of circum-
stances on the day Of the crime
which he had revealed in none OF his
! previous statements.
A persistent report that Conley had
made the startling Admission that he
had seen Mary Phagan enter the fac
tory on the day she was slain arose
at the time the negro was questioned
more than an hour by Solicitor Dor
sey early in the week. and this ru-
NOR was heightened after Attorney
! Hooper's interview with the negro
| Friday.
In all of his statements to the de-
tectives Conley denied he saw the
girl at all on the day Of the crime
until he was Mortified by the sight or
her dead body lying in the rear OF
the second floor where he was d.
rected by Leo Frank Solicitor Dor
| sey is believed to have wrung the
statement from him that he did see
/ Tav aHs IN 70
door of the factory and went to the
second floor TO Franks Office.
! Hooper Mum on Topic.
Mr. Hooper refused either to af-
firm or deny this report, declaring
| that his connection with the case was
so recent that he would not be war
ranted in making any definite state
ment for publication in reference to
the evidence in the possession of the
| prosecution
| His attention was called to the fact
that while in. all Of the published
statements Of Conley the negro de-
MED seeing Mary Phagan go into the
factory, no one connected with the
/
say that he still stuck to this partic-
ular and puzzllng feature of his
story. Mr.. Hooper, however, would
make no comment on the circum-
stance.
He contented himself with the gem
eral assertion that the State has a
big stack Of evidence OF which the
defense is in entire ignorance and OF
when they win remain in ignorance
until II is presented when Frank is
placed on trial for his life.
81 went to the police station yes
| terday merely for the purpose Of hav-
ing Conley rehearse his story to me-"
said Mr. Hooper 1T is true that he
told me of a number of circumstances
Of which l had been in ignorance be-
fore, circumstances which have a
most important bearing on the case.
He made additions to his story
which, while they were along the
same general line as his last affida-
Wit, gave a detail that assisted me
remarkably in getting much clearer
idea Of the events as they happened
on that day.
Will BE Revealed at Trial.
II can not tell what they were. They
will be revealed when the trial is in
actual progress. Mr.. Dorsey has
guarded his evidence carefully and
! has RETAINED from trying his case in
the papers If it were not presump-
tuous for me to step in and give this
evidence away to the public and to
| the defense it would at least be
| most unwise.
THE negro appeared TO be telling a
straightforward story. He said moth
| ing that caused me to alter my theory
of the killing in the least. So far as
l know, there never has been any Sc
rious doubt that those were blood
stains there on the second floor.
am confident that it was there that
the attack was made. / questioned
Conley only occasionally, preferring
to let him go ahead and tell his story
in his own way. Only when some
point puzzled me for moment did l
stop him for an explanation"
Mr.. Hooper said Solicitor Dorsey
had built up a convincing case against
the factory superintendent, one into
which the defense would have ex-
IRENE difficulty in injecting the ele-
ment Of reasonable doubt"