Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-03-10

Hattie Hall finished the work and
started to leave when the ~ O'Clock
whistle blew. She left the office and
returned, u seemed to me, almost az
once, calling into my office that she
had forgotten something. Then she
went away for good. To the best OF
my recollection, II was some ten or
fifteen minutes after she left that the
girl, whom l afterward found out to
be Mary Phagan. came into my office
and asked for her pay envelope
And let me say right here that II
/ had been guilty OF this crime, moth
ing on earth would ever have in
duced me to admit that ! had seen
and talked with Mary Phagan only IL
| few moments before the time when
the prosecution claims she was killed
IT. therefore ! did not hesitate to say
that I had seen her and talked with
her. what object could have had in
misstating the timer
Didn't Hurry Mrs. White.
Concerning the assertion of the
State that Frank was eager TO get
Mrs White out of the factory. and
that he did not mention in his state
ment TO the police that Lemmie Quinn
had been in his office, he says:
Il was in no hurry to get Mrs,
White or anyone else out OF the fac
tory that afternoon. l merely told
her that she would have to go unless
she wanted to, be locked I'm with the
two workmen then at work on the
fourth floor, as ] was going home to
lunch and was going to lock up the
factory. ! said nothing about haste.
'As TO the visit OF Lemmie Quinn,
nj faf tn iCFa To ha
police, the matter simply had slipped
my mind. although II was a circum-
stance favorable 10 me. AS soon as
Quinn referred to the fact himself, l
recalled II at once. SO far from
telling him to say nothing to the po-
lice until 7 had consulted with my
lawyers. ] told him TO tell the truth.
| told him ] would report the fact to
my lawyers, and | did so, because |
was not certain Just what the police
were claiming at that time, and did
not know what bearing Quinn's visit
would have as evidence"
And here Is a point that has been
talked about as much, probably, as
any other in the trial. Again and
again It has been asked, IF Frank
was innocent OF any misconduct, why
did not his lawyers cross examine the
State who sWore that his character
was bad9'
This is what Leo frank says him
self,
My experience with Dalton, the
first character witness against me,
had given me and my attorneys fair
warning what to expect from the so
called character witnesses. Here was
a man upon whom l never had laid
eyes before he took his seat in the
witness chair, and OF whom had
never heard and yet he swore sol
EMMY to acts and doinSs with me
that We're utterly and absolutely UNI
true and without the slightest foun-
dation.
My lawyers decided that II they
cross examined these so-called char
acter Witnesses against me. 1t would
merely be way of allowing these
hostile people to tell all they had
heard about ms in the way OF vile
slander-not what they knew, which
was nothing My lawyers felt that
these witnesses had been loaded with
ISLANDERS about me Just for the pur-
poses OF cross examination. They did
not want to give them the chance 10
repeat malicious tales against me
which they had no opportunity to in
yestigate or answer"
As to the terms prejudice" and
persecution" Frank asserts that the
prosecution OF himself became perse-
cution from the moment OF discovery
of a negro brute" with knowledge of
the crime, admitting that he wrote
the notes found beside the dead girls
body. after steadily denying thate he
could write at ALL and finally, after
repeated visits by detectives and the
Solicitor" inventing a "preposterous
and unbelievable tale" putting the
crime on the man previously arrested
ia order TO save his own neck.
"And as for prejudice" said Frank.
Il should say that the influence OF
prejudice was evident from the mo-
ment that IL was sought to convict
me. at all costs, after il was shown
that another had full opportunity TO
| commit the crime