The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-22
PLEA FOR MOOSE CAUSES LEOPOLD
 TO BREAK DOWN
State Attorney Continues
 Terrible Attack On Two YOuthc
lTaased Wire to mo Age. .Hsraliil

(LAased Wire to The Age.MeFAld)
 CHICAGO, Aug. 21.-Pale and trembling, Nathan F. Leopold. Jr., and Richard Loeb sat in court Thursday and saw conjured up before them the hangman's- moose.
 Assistant States Attorney Joseph F Savage continued his terrific and dramatic portrayal of the murder by them of 14-year-old Robert Franks and demanded that they go to the gallows
 Leopold, who had tottered from the courtroom between guards during the afternoon recess, broke down complete ly in an adjoining chamber.
 Foreman Leopold, his brother, placed q reassuring arm around him and as he did so, the prisoner gasped and said a-. Fears GalIows
 My God, do you think they are, real. ly going to hang us?' Foreman, turned away and did not reply. Loeb, who has twitched and twisted in the court throughout the day and who turned every way, any way to avoid meeting the accusing gestures and eyes of the prosecutor, wiped his forehead with q handkerchief already moist. He had bitten some of his finger nails to tho quick during the intense session. F. Jacob Franks, father of the mur. dered boy, did not appear in court dur ing the afternoon session. He was there only short time during the day. Tears welled into his eyes as he heard Say age, in voice that expressed the whole gamut of human emotions, demand thai Justice John R. Caverly impose deaff on the two slayers of his son.
  Defense Argues
 The two slayers had a brief respite from the storm of denunciation wher Savage finished his speech, after talk ing almost two days, and Walter Bach rach commenced the closing argument for the defense. In a calm and uh emotional voice, Bachrach explained thu position of the defense and sought tc quel the storm created by the growini intensity of the prosecution's demand for death.
 Tt struck me, perhaps, that our DO sition in this case would be misunder stood" Bachrach began. "We take thu position that there is no question as tC the sanity of these defendants, but that there is a medical disease existing ir both.
 "By our plea of guilty we admitted that the defendants were guilty of mur der with malice and we are not seek ing to change that fact. We are mere ly seeking to offer evidence in mitiga. tion. We want your honor to consider this mental disease as a mitigating cir. cumstance."
 Admits ResponsibiIity
 We have not asked you to lesser the responsibility of these defendants nor do we intend to make such a re quest, Bachrach continued. And fl you should sentence them to serve 14 years in prison, that would in no wisc be lessening their responsibility.
 The anti-social considerations ir this murder are precisely the same al they are in all murders. There is nc difference between this homicide anG any other. The fact that these boys ar, from families of wealth has nothing tt do with the crime"
 No one ever thought there was any thing wrong with them. The frs thing the states attorney did aftel they had confessed was to send fol alienists to examine them. And how did those alienists conduct their exami nations In, the midst of a crewd, un. der abnormal circumstances. They might have well examined these boys or a street corner. @k
 And on the strength of such an ex animation these alienists came into court and testified that the defendants were sane and had no mental disease because they found fNl evidences 4f any such condition. How could they have found any evidence? It was only after the most careful and prolonged exami nations, that the alienists who have testified for the defense found out the true tconditions of the defendants.
 At this stage Justice Caverly sug gested that court suspend until Fri day morning. Bachrach will resume his argument at that time and he vii be followed by Clarence Darrow. '.
 Darrow is expected to make thu speech of his career. He told news paper men that he intended to talk al day Friday, Saturday morning, anC that he might run into Monday. Benja min Bachrach will close the argumen for the defense.
 States Attorney Grove expects C start the final argument for the prose cution, and the last argument durini the mitigation hearing, by next Tues day. Perhaps by, a week from Satur day Justice Caverly will impose tn sentence. .. postmaster testimonial. congratulat