Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-10-25

! really are the only american people.
1t will not be long before we are com
| pletely Invested of all this prejudice,
but this time, | am sorry to say. is
! not yet here, if one may Judge by
what occurred at the courthouse dur
ing the trial last August. when mobs
/ were pushing their way into the
/ courtroom to misbehaYe. when peo-
1 PIE reJoiced and smiled and threw up
thelr caps in delight because a man
was condemned to death
don't believe there is another
case on record that a wretch con-
ressed to witnessing the commission
OF a crime against nature and lied in
each OF four successive affidavits on
material points in his story, where
his evidence would have been taken
against that of a sheep killing dog,
ConIey's Evidence All.
/ Yet, YOU would believe the infa-
/ nous lies told against this man now
under sentence of death in the
! rover You would believe the charge
/ OF peFNersion. as base lie as ever
was heard in a courtroom. The re-
| voting story created an impression
| OF truth. though it was the greatest
strain ever put upon the credulity of
a civilized and law abiding people
! ask your honor: Outside the tes-
! 'ii'ioiiN III JlldJ iilSPI6DIe NpptCn, I on l.
[ ley, would there be any pretense of
having enough evidence to convict
Leo Frank? Would you do anything
more than pick up your pen to grant
new trial? Would YOU have done
anything else than discharge the Jury
/ from their box?
Then, what IS there 10 constra in
YOU to act differently than in any
other case? Would anyone hesitate
minute? In an ordinary case the
intiammatory speech of Mr.. Dorsey
would have Disguised the court and
/ the spectators. The jury would have
, returned verdict of not guilty with
out leaving their seats Why was 1t
different in this case?
Have we taken leave % our senses?
II so, man was condemned TO death
on as flimsy a fabrication as ever
was devised. No man in darkest
! Russia ever suffered more unjustly. |
would not have believed it.
Lies were circulated from the first.
II Is not pleasant to admit it, but
falsehoOd travels faster than truth
People like to believe the unusual, the
strange, the revolving. Lies We're
sworn to that make me shudder But
he prince of all the liars was Con-
ley If that black wretch had any
conscience he some day would con-
fess. But there's no wolf, no bear.
no hVena a devoid Of conscience as
that niger \ man never had a bet
ter opportunity than was given him to
shift the crime he had committed on
TO the shoulders of another. All he
had to do was to answer the leading
questions that were fired at him by
the detectives. Why. Detective Scott
testified that they even went so far
as to point out the weak points in his
weird tale and he forthwith patched
them up
He made one affidavit. Then he
made another, another and still an
ether, each one differing from the one
that preceded. There were the four
affidavits and then came the seven
interviews with the Solicitor TO which
the negro admitted on the stand And
when he came to testify. his story no
more compared with that fourth af-
fidavits-his final true. unalterable
statement-than anything in the
world.
rs your honor going to believe that
monstrous fake. or will you say that
il. at least. is so incredible that You
will not forever pass on 1t by affirm
ing the verdict. but instead, will grant
new trial.
Fixed Story to Fit Folks"
AT the outset nothing was found
against Frank Nothing would have
been found against him had he not
voluntarily offered the information
that he was in the factory at IL
o'clock and that Mary Phagan came
in to get her pay from him.
1T was not until many days after
that the States own witness ad-
mitted that he was there, and many
others had the opportunity to be in
the factory at the time without the
knowledge of anyone else. The detec
tives had a few facts that amounted
to nothing. Instead of using the facts
to CorrobOrate or disprove Contey's
story, they fixed up his story to fit the
facts
THE most remarkable story that
the negro told came at the last as
a climax. In none of the four al
fidavits had ConleY said anything
about the purse of Mary Phagan. To
reporters and others he had deneG
ever seeing it, He was on the stand
for hours under the direct mination
Of Solicitor Dorsey and never men
toned it. He was under the cross
examination of Mr.. Rosser two days
and there never was a hint that he
had seen it.
FINALLY. when MIR. "nr"' had him
on the redirect. he said: We'll, what
about the purse. jim and Jim said:
oh. yes. | seen it laying on Mr..
Franks desk and he taken it and
put it in the safe.
Some people have said: WHY
didn't you break Conley down? The
ignorance of some persons is astound
ing. They think that in order to
break a witness down you have to
oil. i'm