Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-11

upon the poor girl as a spider would
upon q fly. II robbery was his mo-
tive, an assault with a stick might
have feled her She could have been
thrown down the elevator shaft or
through the opening near the eleva-
tor. which has a ladder under il lead
ing down to the dirt floor Of the base
mcnt.
The place on the second floor where
Conlet says he picked up the body Of
the girl shows no trace Of blood.
Every circumstance indicates that
she received the blow on her head
before she died--and he says she was
dead when he saw her there-so II
she bled anywhere the strong prob
ability Is that the bloodstains would
have been found where she had been
picked up.
Even the mystfying fact that the
staple Of the rear door. leading out
Of the basement to the street, had
been pulled from the inside could be
easily explained on the theory that
the criminal took the precaution TO
pull that staple so as TO be able to
run down the ladder and make his
event any cutlery was made by his
victim.
Much emphasis is placed upon the
dramatic manner with which COnley
re-enactcd the supposed work Of car
rying the body from the second floor
10 the basement that fatal day.
Might Not He Swear Falsoiy2
Does II tax our Credulity greatly to
believe that q cunning negro. who
has been proved 10 have had unob-
structed opportunity TO commit the
crime, and who admits having Sc
GREETED the body, is capable of swear
ing that another man was with him
when the crime was committed "a
man behind whom he can hide from
the law?
Would a drinking, irresponsible
perhaps criminal man OF low order
Of life be incapable of swearing away
the life Of any man If by so doing he
could save himself from the gallows 2
What Is called the humanity Cf
the law invests every person charged
with crime with the presumption Of
innocence until his guilt has been
proved, and proved 10 the extent u
being irreconcilablo with every hy-
pothesis of his innocence. Guilt
must be established beyond a rea-
sonable doubt
And the rcasonableness OF a doubt
on the minds Of the jury trying a
given case might depend largely upon
the state Of the public mind regard
ing that case
For this reason, II for no other
:hc people In a community where "a
crime has been committed should be
reluctant to reach a conclusion OF the
guilt OF any one, where only circum-
stantial evidence ls adduCihle.
IL would he q roma fsll blg fRrfY1fna
ton Of the Phagan case, which is not
now so mysterious as 10 once seemed,
II Frank. the first man suspected by
the detectives. should be acquitted,
and his accuser the negro COnley,
should be brought to trial and CON
viCted
But stranger things have happened.
And II the evidence against Conlav
Is as strong as 70 now seems as
sured II viii he, win not the prose-
CutiOn be greatly handicapped in the
necessity of prosecuting Conley by
reason Of having put forth such
strenuous and hopeful efforts 10 con-
Wet Leo FRANKIE
How Rewards Would Be Shared.
Rich rewards viii rcCompense the
discovery Of evidence TO convict the
slayer IN this case. n Frank should
be found guilty. the division Of the
large sums offered for evidence 10
convict viii 20 20 certain secret scrv-
ice men who first called attention TO
the opportunity of Frank TO COM
init the crime. and who have direct
ed their energies I'm the investigation
OF il on the theory Of his guilt
II Conley should be- proved guilty
one Of the foremeu Of the factory
who saw tho negro washing a shirt
under suspicious circumstance. and
who directed his arrest, will likely
get the coin. But with the public II
is not a question Of rewards TO he
distributed but IL Is the vital. the
supreme question. who is the real
murderer
The law. II rightly followed, is a