Reading Time: 4 minutes [570 words]

LEO M. FRANK. 235

is, detective Seott and detective Black, and then began questioning
Newt Lee, and then it was that I had my first initiation into the
third degree of the Atlanta police department. The way that fel-
low Black sureed at that poor old negro, Newt Lee, was something
awful. He shrieked at him, he hollered at him, be cursed him, and
did everything but beat him. Then they took Newt Lee down to a
eell and I went to my cot in the outer room,

Before cloaing my statement, I wish to toueh upon a couple of
insinuations and accusations other than the one on the bill of in-
dictment, that have been leveled against me so far during the trial,
The first is this, the fact that I would not talk to the detectives; that
I would not see Jim Conley.

On Sunday morning I went to headquarters twice, willingly,
withont anybody eoming for me; I answered frankly snd ‘unresery-
edly, giving them the benefit of the best of my knowledge. On
Monday they eame for me; I went down and answered any and all
of their questions and gave them « statement which they took down
in writing. Tuesday T was at police atetion again, and answered
every question; talked to anybody who wanted to talk with me
about it, and I have even talked with them at midnight when I was
just about to go to bed. I spoke to Newt Lee alone, but what was
the resnltf They commenced and they grilled that poor negro and
pat words into his mouth that I never said, and twisted not alone
the English, but distorted my meaning. I decided then and there
that if that twas the line of eonduet they were going to pursue, I
would wazh my hands of them. On May lst, was taken to the Ful-
ton County Tower, On May 3rd detectives Black and Scott cama
up to my cell; wanted to speak fo me alone without any of my
frienda around, Black said: “Mr, Frank, we ate suspicious of
that man Darley. We are watehing him; we have been shadowing
bim. Now open up and tell us whet yon know about him.” I said:
“Gentlemen, you have eome to the wrong man, because Mr. Darley
is the soul of honor and as true as. steel He wonld not do a crime
like that, he couldn’t do it.” And Black said: “Come on, Scott,
nothing doing,” and off they go. That showed mo how much reli-
anes could be placed in either the city detective or our own Pink-
erton detectives, and it was for thie reason that I didn’t see Con-
ley, surrounded with a bevy of city detectives and Mr. Scott, be-
eanse I knew that there would not be an action so trifling, that
there was not an action so natural but that they ‘would distort and
twist it to be used against me, and that there was not a word that
I eould utter that they would not deform and twist and distort to be
used against me, but I told them through Mr. Klein thet if they got
the permission of Myx. Rosser to come, I would speak to ‘then:
would speak to Conley and faco him or anything they wanted—it
they got that permission or brought Mr. Rosser. Now, that is the
reason that I have kept my silence, not because I didn’t want to,
but because I didn’t want to have things twisted.

Then that other implication, the one of knowing that Conley
could ‘write, and didn’t tell the authorities.

On May Ist I was taken to the tower. On the same date the

Related Posts