Evening star., 1914-04-04
FRANKS COUNSEL
KEPT IN THE DARK
Burns Has Not Yet Revealed
Slayer of Mary
Phagan.
DETECTIVE DECLARES
THE TRAIL is PLAIN
Asserts There Can Be No Mistake
About Atlanta Murderer's
Identity.

ATLANTA. Ca. April 4.--Attorneys for
Leo NJ. Frank, under sentence of death
for the murder of Mary Phagan, said to-
day that the results of William j. Burns
investigation of the case mad not yet been
made known to them. They predicted
however. that the detectives findings
would be placed in their hands soon
after the arrival of Burns from Chicago
early tonight.
Burns. who has been Investigating the
killing of the little factory girl for nearly
a month at. the instance of Franks
friends. was quoted in press dispatches
from Chicago yesterday as saying he had
submitted his report to the Frank attor-
neyS.
1t is thought he mar have forwarded
this report by mail and later decided to
deliver his conclusions in person. His
lieutenants who have been at work on
the case here for several weeks said to-
day the investigation was practically
complete. and reiterated the declaration
of their chief that a report would show
conclusively who killed Mary Phagan.
They would not intimate, however,
whether or not their findings showed the
condemned factory superintendent to he
the murderer.
Execution to Be Stayed.
Franks execution is set for April IL,
but an extraordinary motion for a new
trial, 10 be iiled April IT, will auto
Inatically stay his sentence.
The chief witness against Frank was
James Conley, a negro factory sweeper
He was convicted as an accessory and
sentenced to one years Imprisonment.
According to his testimony, Frank kill
ed the factory girl on the second floor
of the pencil company's plant and then
summoned him to and IN the disposal
ol the body, which was found in the
factory basement the morning of April
81, 1913.
Frank was convicted on the first bal
| lot OF the jury August %. lie was
sentenced to hang October 10. but be-
fore that date a motion for d new
trial was filed 1t was denied. and an
appeal was taken to the state supreme
court. February Il. 1914, the supreme
court affirmed the verdict, and later
denied rehearing. Frank then was
Burns Intimation.
CHICAGO. April i.-WiIliarn J. Burns.
| who declared yesterday afternoon that he
knew who murdered Mary Phagan, in
| timated that from his Investigations and
comparing their results with the con-
clusions of the coroners jury-he did not
| think Frank the sort of man capable
OF making the attack on the girl alleged
to have preceded her murder
Burns, on his arrival from Kansas
City, related the story of his invesuga-
ton. He said his attention had first
been called to the case by young man
| from Atlanta who was passenger on
/ a steamer on which Burns was returning
| from Europe.
The young man expressed his regret
| that Burns had not become interested
| in the case before the arrest and con-
| vlction of Frank. Through him Burns
| read in newspapers of the trial, and
| concluded. from the accounts he saw,
| that Frank was guilty. Later. while he
was III Key West, three citizens of At
| lanta, including two personal friends Of
! Frank, saw the detective, and asked
| him to undertake an investigation Of
| the case.
| Franks friends declared that they be-
| lieved he had not been given a fair
| trial, that he was innocent of the crime
| but that if guilty they wanted indis-
| putable evidence of his guilt
Result of Investigations.
| Burns then took the case His inyesti-
cations soon showed him, he said, first
that public clamor, after a "crime
wave" had resulted in the police MAX
| ing extraordinary efforts to adduce
| evidence tending to convict Frank,
and second. that a report making out
Frank a man of abnormal characteris-
tics was commonly circulated through
| the city. putting public opinion strong
| ly against him..
His inquiries then convinced Burns that
| Frank was a perfectly normal man On
| the other hand. the testimony of physi-
| clans was to the effect that the one who
| attacked Mary Phagan vas abnormal.
1 Then Burns interviewed many of the
| witnesses who testified in the case. At
| the close of this phase of his investiEa-
| ton he said he was convinced that he
| knew the murderer.