davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1915-03-28
THREATS If JURY FOUND
PRISONER INNOCENT.

1t almost was to be expected that in
the closing days Of the trial a state Of
excitement and suspense would prevail
not far unlike that which captured the
city few years before on the eve of q
race riot, when negroes were shot down
on the streets, on street cars and on
porches where they had taken refuge,
irrespective of whether they were guilty
or anything or not. In the more recent
instance 1t was an educated and brill
liant young Jew and not a band of ne
groes, who had aroused the hatred of a
portion of the population
There were threats Of what would
happen If the jury should turn Frank
loose. Whether the threats would have
been carried into execution or merely
were the utterances Of a braggart and
irresponsible person no one can know.
They were sufficient, at any rate, to
cause great deal Of uneasiness to the
authorities. to the trial judge and to the
attorneys for the defendant.
The murder mystery so seized the
imaginations of some that 1t became
with them a monomania. II seemed
that it haunted their dreams by night
and occupied their thoughts and conver-
sation by day. Though the tragedy Is
nearly two years in the past, the writer
is able to recall several with whom the
subject is still an obsession. who can
not speak except to speak Of the mur-
der.
Some revile Frank some are certain
Of his innocence. One person. it is com
mon knowledge. Is in an asylum from
brooding over the undeserved charges,
as he believes, against the young fac
tory superintendent
The Washington times., 1915-03-28
Spite of Factory Girls Is Vented on
Their Former Super
intendent
intendent.

One Newspaper. at least, was prom
ised fate like t.lat suffered by the Los
Angeles Times because it was thought
to be favorably disposed toward the
prisoner. a newspaper writer was ac-
cused in dozens of letters of having sold
out to the Jews because he dared sug-
gest that Conley had as favorable an
opportunity to kill Mary Phagan as
Frank. and that it was not at ell out OF
reason to believe he was actually the
murderer.
A fact which may or may not be re-
garded as significant, in considering the
question Of whether race prejudice had
anything to do with the sentiment
against Frank, WAS that practically
every letter referred to him as that
Jew" Most of the writer's did not con-
fine themselves to that simple uescrtp-
ton. but embellished 1t with words con-
sidered not in very good form I'm parlor
conversation.
Dorsey, we'll before the end of the
trial, had proved himself able to take
care Of himself in his encounters with
confidence OF the public. They were
willing to leave the case in his hands.
AS many as We're able crowded into
the little courtroom to rejoice as he made
each successive point One might see
them leaning forward. their hands
clenched in their laps, their eyes on
every move of the solicitor. their ears
catching every word. Their eyes lighted
when he trapped an unwary witness
Their hands came together and they
would have clapped and cheered as In
a Roman holiday had they not been re-
strained.
The Washington times., 1915-03-28
EX-FACTORY GIRLS
MALIGN SUPERINTENDENT.

He brought ex-factory girls into court
who swore that Franks character was
bad. That is all they were allowed to
tell under the rules. but two of them.
on the basis of a denial by one of the
forewomen that her rela tions with Frank
had been other than those of an en-
ploye to her employer. were allowed to
contradict this witness and relate cir
cumstances which the State held gave
the lie to the first young woman's denial
Each fresh revelation Of Franks al
legged moral delinquencies, as it was
forced into the record by the determined
solicitor, gave the throngs about the
court house and on the streets a new
bit upon which to discourse and feed
their hungry Indignation. And each
new witness uncovered by the solicitor
to tell the gaping courtroom audience
she knew Franks conduct toward wom-
en- was bad" heightened the frenzy
OF popular enthusiasm for the solicitor
AN enthusiasm that was to crystalline
the next year in the demand by thou
sands of his admirers that he make
the campaign for Governor OF Georgia
against the field of five already in the
race
By the time the trial was midway in
it's course, the crowds began congregat-
ing at the court house an hour and two
hours before the time set for the open
ing. The first one on the scene would
take his position jam up against the
door. The next would stand second and
soon a line would be formed that
stretched in both directions from the
door and around the court house on
both sides. A force of deputy sheriffs
and court baliffs would appear a few
minutes before court time and marsnul
the two lines inside until every seat
t,lr i 4
shut on the later comers, but they kept
their formation. They knew il they
waited long enough some of those al
ready inside would be dragged reluct-
antly away by a business engagement
or by an incompleted task.
The Washington times., 1915-03-28

quittal been brought in is, OF course,
simply a matter OF conjecture.
Franks lawyers and friends say there
would have been a lynching right there
and then. Dorsey says that all the talk
Of probable violence is idle. The dis
turbances In and about the court house
have been greatly magnified In import
ance and Significance, according to the
solicitor. Judge Roam, at any rate, was
sufficiently impressed by the situation
to stop Solicitor Dorsey's argument and
adjourn court until Monday.
The farmers drifted back to their
homes feeling somewhat cheated. Some
of them stayed in town and made a
night of 1t. The police. anticipating
trouble II the roysterers should get to-
gether In any numbers. were unusually
alert. The soldiers of the Fifth regi-
ment we're ready for duty on short
more than the usual Saturday night dis
order. Over Sunday the city Gained
down somewhat.
While the abrupt adjournment doubt
less took care of an extremely delicate
situation, it also gave the fiery solicitor
a day OF rest in which he recouped his
prodigally used strength, and recalled
points he had overlooked or too lightly
stressed in his argument Of Friday af-
ternoon and SATURDAY.. His address,
that probably would have lasted not
more than half or three-quarters of an
hour more on Saturday, by Monday had
taken on proportions that extended II
we'll past midday.
He was more vitrolic than he had
been on the previous days. He swayed
the crowd and swayed the jury by the
flerceness of his invective. And the
marvel of 1t all was that Leo Frank
sat with unchanged countenance through
the bitterest of the solicitors diatribe
He appeared mildly interested as Dor
sey pictured each step In the strangline
mystery as the State had reconstructed
1t from the evidence. He gazed con-
templatlvely at the solicitor, his head
cooked a little to one side, as Dorsey
The Washington times., 1915-03-28
WRATH OF WHOLE CITY
VENTED ON FRANK.

From this time on, the wrath of the
cNcitable and violent element in the pop
uation spent itself on Frank. The young
superintendent, so far as the general
public knew, had borne an irreproach-
able reputation. Now stories began TO
be whispered about that Frank had
been some thing of a Hbertine. These
stories were followed by vague rumors,
the source of which 1t was difficult to
locate, that pictured Frank in even a
more abhorrent light.
Nina Formby, a notorious woman.
signed an affidavit in which she swore
that Frank on the night of the mur-
der had asked to bring a girl TO her
house. Frank, as a matter OF fact.
was home, where a gathering Of rela-
tives and friends was playing cards.
This startling statement. palpably
untrue. was less damaging to Franks s
case than a charge in another para
graph which was designed to furnish
corroboration of the rumors that
Frank was a degenerate.
with this situation in Atlanta. it
was hardly remarkable that feeling
Tose to a white heat, rather than di
furnishing, as the investigation pro-
Sressed. 1t was not strange that dis
cussion grew into argument and argu-
nent into dispute, and that friendships
were broken and families almost dis
rupted. 1t must not be understood
that all the feeling was against Frank.
The accused had his defenders. and
they were not confined to his own race.
But there were no "neutrals" then
They have developed since.
Came the trial, and the hints and
rumors of gross immortality on the
part Of the defendant suddenly were
crystallized in the revolving and amaz-
ing story of the negro, Jim Conley.
Franks fate was sealed, undoubtedly
The Washington times., 1915-03-28
Crowds Hung on Every Word of So
Hcitor Dorseys Arraign-
ment of Frank.

humanity outside--a shout arose and
swelled that drowned out everything in
side the courtroom.
Men yelled until they could yell no
longer. They threw their hats in the
air. They danced around the street and
shook each others hands Atlanta never
witnessed such an outpouring of wild
JOY and satisfaction. The celebrants
were in an ecstacy of jubilation.
Judge Roam, kindly, and anxious to
avoid the very thing that had happened.
was greatly distressed. He tried his
best to poll the jury, asking each MEM
Der separately II that was his verdict.
but he admitted afterward and certified
1t in the record Of the case that the din
and uproar were so great outside that
he could not hear the replies after the
first two jurors had been polled.
The twelfth juror had given his an
swer and the demonstration was at its
height when fresh source Of joy was
found in the avalanche Of newsboys
that came sweeping down on the crowd
with papers proclaiming the verdict.
The Washington times., 1915-03-28

When, Monday morning, the detec-
lives, becoming suspicious of j. M.
CAN'T a discharged employe who had
visited the factory Saturday night, set
out to arrest him and caught him leav-
ing town, it was thought that the solu-
ton of the mystery was only few
hours off To add to the suspicion
against CAN'T one of his relatives told
conflicting stories. When inquiry was
made for CAN'T the relative told one
reporter that CAN'T was on his way to
California and another that ne had not
been in Atlanta for months. CAN'T, how
ever, was able to clear himself salts
factorily, and was one of the witnesses
against Frank at the trial
The city was stirred Tuesday when
Frank, president Of the Atlanta B'nai
Birth and superintendent Of the pencil
factory, was taken into custody. 1t
was a still greater sensation when
Newport Lanford, chief of detectives
announced a few days later that he
would be able to satisfy the public OF
Franks guilt
The Washington times., 1915-03-28
DORSEY PERPLEXED
AT INTERRUPTION.

Solicitor Dorsey was put out at the
interruption to his address, which oc-
CURED at shortly after / o'clock Sat
urday afternoon. The attorneys for the
defense, he said had been granted
every consideration, and he did not un-
derstand why he should be cut short
in that manner. He may in part have
understood when he heard the riotous
acclaim with which he was received by
the crowds outside when he came from
the court house that afternoon.
About the building We're hundreds who
had congregated in the expectation of
hearing the verdict before nightfall.
What the big, surging crowd-some OF
its members noisily denouncing Frank
would have done had q verdict Of ac-
The Washington times., 1915-03-28

OF his invective against the prisoner.
AZ he left the courtroom tho nrst af-
ternoon he was hoisted on tho shoulders
or the crowd outside. They paraded
him across tho street, hundreds mean
while yelling and cheering in their de-
light at the manner he was excoriating
Frank and Franks lawyers.
On his arrival in the courtroom the
next morning a cheer broke out and
some one little more enthusiastic or
a little less fearful Of the courts dis
pleasure than the others shouted '.Hur-
rah for Dorsey" sentiment which was
promptly echoed by a subdued wave of
applause that swept the courtroom.
And one may be sure he was not slow
in throwing down the gauntlet to
Franks distinguished lawyers and in
forming them, in return for all the
charges they had heaped on him during
the trial, that he did not care q rap
for their opinion or for the opinion OF
any one else so long az his own con-
science was clear.
The Washington times., 1915-03-28
CROWDS Openly Shop Antagonism After
Novelty of Courtroom
Wears Off.

The court attaches arrived the first
morning to find an enormous crowd
there before them. The courtroom was
50 packed that many had to be driven
out, Succeeding mornings the situation
was the same, except that the sheriff
let in only enough to fill the chairs.
Each day the trial progressed found
the crowd besieging the doors little
larger. Those disappointed in getting
entrance did not leave. Hour after hour
they hung about in the broiling sun or
in the shade of the buildings engaged
in the not very profitable nor instruc-
live occupation of gazing at the red
brick walls Of the courthouse. Occa-
sonally one or two of them. alertly
Watching the doors, pressed inside as
>ane or two who had been within came
Iut
The Washington times., 1915-03-28
GEORGIANS TAKE
LAW IN OWN HANDS.

An editor Of one OF the Atlanta papers
took a stroll around town that morning.
He saw the numbers of men from the
country districts and sensed trouble.
Georgians are not at all hesitant about
taking the law in their own hands. an
observation that Is confirmed by Incl
dents there in the last few months, in
one of which they lynched a negro fam
ily. one member after the other, for an
attack on a sheriff, and in another
of which a posse shot down a physician
on the plea that he was seeking to es-
cape justice.
The editors Of the other two papers
were called into conference. They al
so had noticed the unusual number OF
strangers on the streets, the unusual
patronage the saloons were getting, and
the increased tenseness that was ap-
parent In all discussions on the out
come of the murder trial. Threats had
been heard that Frank never would
reach his home alive II he were ac-
Quilted by the jury sitting on his case
1t looked as though those loudest In
their denunciation of Frank had enough
men at their call to do almost anything
they desired. The situation appeared
more critical and fraught with tragic
possibilities than any Atlanta had had
to meet in years.
The editors, fearing repetition OF
the horror that accompanied the shoot
ing down of negroes in the streets a
few years before when the populace was
excited by attacks on white women, ad-
dressed letter to Judge Roam, presid-
ing at the trial, suggesting that in the
interest of Atlanta's good name he con-
tinue the solicitors address until Mon
day, when the countrymen would have
returned to their homes.
1t was largely on this account that
Solicitor Dorsey found himself sudden
ly interrupted by the judge Saturday
afternoon, and it was because of the
same situation that Chief OF Police
Beavers and Col. f. E. Pomeroy, COM
manding the Fifth Regiment. National
Guard OF Georgia, were called into con-
ference with Judge Roam and were
asked II they were prepared TO cope
with any attempt at violence that might
arise at the close of the trial.
The Washington times., 1915-03-28
WITNESSES STORY rOF~ FRANK TRIALS EXCITING

asked that the courtroom be cleared OF
spectators.
Judge Roam replied to the requests by
saying
well, IL there are any more demon
stratons of the kind I will have the
courtroom cleared. ! want to ask you
now. as citizens OF Fulton county, to
keep quiet. I do not need any cheers
for any ruling that / may make. am
going to make It In spite Of your cheers
or your Jeers I am going to do ex-
actly what think is right, independent
Of whether 1t pleases you or not"
Dorsey, not much Of figure before
the trial. rapidly was becoming the
hero II the hour Pity was the kind
liest sentiment entertained for him be-
fore he began his presentation Of the
case against Frank. In Rosser and
Arnold, Leo Frank had two Of the Keen
est, ablest and most formidable lawyers
In Georgia. People shut their eyes
when they anticipated what havoc these
two forensic whirlwinds would wreak
with little Dorsey He would be
slammed and buffeted about and his
professional remains would be on divers
scrap heaps when the case was over,
was the prophecy even by many Of
those who most desired for Frank a
trip to the gallows.
The Washington times., 1915-03-28
COMPLAINED OF
LAUGHTER IN COURT.

Now, Your Honor. I hear laughing
again out there in the courtroom" ex-
claimed Attorney Arnold one day toward
the close OF the trial as delighted
smokers and chuckles interrupted pro-
ceedings after a particularly caustic
remark by the solicitor.
I'VE want to know who is creating
this disorder and we want to know II
We have got to try this case this way"
Mr., Arnold added. Judge Roam had
warned the spectators before, and this
time he threatened that they would not
be able to get admittance at all IL they
continued their demonstrations.
81 want to state" he said that II
any one creates any more disorder out
there we will not admit any one to the
courtroom tomorrow. Mr.. Sheriff. you
will please maintain order in the court
room"
A little later Mr.. Arnold protested
again, and again Judge Roam ordered
We'll, you will watch, Mr.. Sheriff,
and keep order"
With these demonstrations taking
place inside the courtroom, where deputy
sheriffs were stationed about TO keep
order, the scenes outside where there
was much less restraint are not diff
ficult of imagination.
When the fourth week OF the trial
came all knew that the closing days
were at hand. For Dorsey 1t was not
SO much daily encounter as 1t was
continuous battle. He hardly slept
At night he prepared for the fight he
must make the next day. On those last
mornings he came into court with his
eyes and his slightly drawn features
showing the effects OF little sleep. But
he was game to the core and was not
going to let down with this mans con-
viction almost within his hands
The Washington times., 1915-03-28
SENTIMENT OF PEOPLE
BECOMES MORE TANGIBLE.

Tho principals in the case were not
long in finding out that the sentiment
of the people was manifesting itself
even more tangiblV than in the excited
conversations about the court house. in
the "near-beer" saloons, the clubs and
on the streets. Attorney Arnold re-
ceived an anonymous letter of threaten
ing nature. Then Franks chief Of coun-
sci, Luther Rosser, received one written
in similar vein. Before the trial was
ended each OF the lawyers had a huge
stack of messages that contained all
manner of vlification and threats
Probably no one concerned with the
defense escaped this bombardment OF
communications, mostly anonymous
The lawyers, although they knew most
of the letters to be from irresponsible
persons, generally we're accompanied to
and from court by men generally sup.
posed TO be bodyguardB.
The Washington times., 1915-03-28
DORSEY CARRIED FIGHT
TO HIS OPPONENTS.

All the time he was carrying the fight
to his opponents. His plans had been
carefully guarded. Much Of the testi-
mony had not been hinted at before
the trial began. 1t Is likely that he
caught Franks attorneys by surprise
more than once. He asked for little
aid. Virtually the entire burden of the
prosecution he bore on his own shoul-
ders. Because of the Importance of the
case, he engaged Frank A. Hooper as
associate counsel, but Hooper seldom
was more than silent adviser.
AS he continued to emerge victorious
from virtually all of his clashes with
Rosser and Arnold, the townspeople be-
gan to speak TO him in the streets. He
was pointed out. Persons he never had
known before stopped him, shook his
hand and congratulated him. His was
the popular side undoubtedly. His trips
between his ONCE and the court house,
made four times daily, were made oc-
casions for ovations by the ever present
crowds The enthusiasm for the solic
itor grew with each day of the trial and
were in proportion TO the increasing
tide of excitement and feeling.
The Washington times., 1915-03-28

smoothly from the negro's lips, the
whole courtroom was astounded and
Franks attorneys appeared taken ut
terry by surprise.
The story was told and fastened in
the minds of the Jurors before an OBJ
lection was made. Then Luther Rosser
anu Reuben Arnold, who conducted
Frank defense, moved that all of Con-
leys testimony bearing on the alleged
specific acts Of immortality Of the de-
fendant be stricken from the record.
Judge Roam first ruled in their favor
but on the request Of Attorney HOOPER,
for the prosecution, withheld his de-
cision until the next day and gave the
state permission to bring in authorities
to show why he should not expunge the
testimony.
1t was as important a point as arose
in the entire trial. Left in. this assault
on Franks character and morality
might be the deciding factor in dispos-
ing the jury to verdict OF guilty. The
spectators, densely packed. were await
ing In suspense the next morning for
the judges final decision.
n loud outburst OF applause, irrepres-
slole for the moment, greeted Judge
Roahs announcement that he had re-
! Versed himself anu would allow the tes-
tlmony to remain. He said he had a
doubt as to the admissibillty of the
negro's testimony as an original prop
| oslton, but that, as no objection had
been made at the time, he was not 60
ing to take it from the record. He
added:
y ou may eNpunge it from the record
nut you cannot eXpunge It from the
minds OF the jury, ami while that. per-
maps from legal standpoint. from a
strictly legal standpoint, should not in.
huence the court. inasmuch as il il
there, I am going to let It remain there, -
The Washington times., 1915-03-28
TAKEN TO COURT
FOR SENTENCE.

The next day-Tuesday, the twenty
sixth day of August-they were given
their wish. So quietly that few knew
what was taking place, Frank. showing
slightly more pallor than usual, and for
the first time appearing somewhat at
fected by his desperate situation. was
hurried from the Tower in an automo-
bile and taken into the presence of
Judge Roam. There. with his wife, his
lawyers, the reporters and court at
taches as the only spectators, he was
sentenced to be hanged by the neck
until dead.
More than year and a half has
passed and Frank still is fighting the
execution of the sentence which three
times has been pronounced and as often
stayed. Constitutional experts of New
York, Washington and Atlanta have
been enlisted as members of his bril-
liant array of counsel.
The last chapters in the great crime
drama are being written in the Supreme
Court of the United States where the
lawyers for the condemned man have
succeeded in carrying the case. An ad-
verse decision, lawyers say. will offer
no alternative to the imposition of the
death sentence SO gladly greeted by the
multitude when first pronounced
decision favorable to Frank may turn
him loose at once or may send his ap-
peal back to the United States District
Court of Georgia, depending on whether
the Supreme Court goes so far as 10
say that the prisoner himself has not
the right to waive his presence at the
rendition of the verdict or says only
that counsel, except by express consent
of the client, may not waive the clients
presence.
In the latter case. the district court
will have to decide il express consent
was given By Frank 10 his lawyers.