410 Sheet – American State Trials 1918 Volume X Leo Frank Document

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Here is the translated text as follows:

378 X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

In his statement, the defendant says, "though I didn't look at her and couldn't have recognized her if she was in the dirty, distorted condition," yet he claims, "but I know it was Mary Phagan."

He corroborates the detectives' statements, saying that at the undertaking establishment, "we went down a long, dark passageway with Mr. Rogers following, then I came and Black brought up the rear. Gheesling was on the opposite side of the little cooling table, the table between him and me; he took the head in his hands, put his finger exactly where the wound in the left side back of the head was located." He seeks to have you believe that he "noticed the hands and arms of the little girl were very dirty, blue and ground with dirt and cinders, nostrils and mouth—the mouth being open—nostrils and mouth just full of sawdust, the face was all puffed out, the right eye was blackened and swollen and there was a deep scratch over the left eye on the forehead." He claims that in that brief glance, if he ever took any glance at all, he saw that. The only way in the world to believe him is to say that these men, John Black and Boots Rogers, who have no interest in this case in God's world but to tell the truth, perjured themselves to put the rope around the neck of this man. Do you believe it? Is Starnes a perjurer, too?

Starnes says, "when I called this man up over the telephone, I was careful not to mention what had happened." Unless Starnes on that Sunday morning in April was very different from what you would judge him to be by his deportment on the stand here the other day, he did exactly what he said he did. And yet, this defendant in his statement said he says, "what's the trouble, has there been a fire?" He says, "No, a tragedy, I want you to come down right away." "I says all right." "I'll send an automobile after you," and Starnes says that he never mentioned the word tragedy. Yet, so conscious, so conscious was this man Frank when Rogers and Black went out there and he nervously twitching at his collar, "What's the trouble, has the night watchman reported anything?"