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Show oo IDENTITY OF MOB STILL A MYSTERY Coroner's Jury Brings in a Verdict Ver-dict After Hearing Eleven Witnesses. ASSASSINS UNKNOWN No Great Effort Made to Discover Dis-cover Any of the Guilty Parties. Marietta, Ga,. Aug. 24. Without being able to elicit from anyone of eleven witnesses a single clue as to the identity of any person connected with the lynching of Leo M. Frank near this city last Tuesday morning, a coroner's jury today returned aA verdict nhat Frank came lo"h"isr'deatrf by hanging at the hands of parties unknown. City and cqunty officials testified that they had endeavored diligently to get at the facts of the lynching but so tar their efforts had been of no avail. Tho nearest disclosure as to what happened in tho oak grove near the Frey gin came from J A. Benson, a Marietta merchant who drove by the place soon after the lynching party had parked its automobiles by the roadside and had led Frank to the tree where death awaited him. Mr. Benson said he had a "pretty good suspicion" as to what was going on, but he did not stop to see it and ho did not recognize anybody in the party. Marietta, Ga Aug. 24. Prior to the resumption here today of his inquiry in-quiry into the lynching of Leo M Frank, just a week ago, comparatively comparative-ly little was known of the plans of Coroner John Booth. The jury was empaneled just after Frank's body was cut down. At that time members mem-bers of the jury heard1 two witnesses as to the identity of the dead man and then adjourned until today so the inquest might proceed in a calmer calm-er atmosphere and to permit the coroner cor-oner to collect evidence. , Special counsel for the coroner was -provided by tho county commissioners. Coroner Booth had set 10 o'clock for the jury to meet today at an undertaking un-dertaking establishment Tho general gen-eral impression for several days had been that witnesses would be few. Several persons, said to have seen, the lynching party on the road near Marietta, were expected to tell what they knew, but the likelihood of learning" learn-ing" the identity of any of the participants partici-pants in the affair has been regarded as remote. Some members of the coroner's jury, it was said today, had expressed doubt that they could reach at this time any other conclusion than that Frank came to his death at the hands of "parties unknown." The lynching will be officially called to the attention atten-tion of the Cobb county grand jury, September 1. When the time for the jury to as-semblo as-semblo arrived, tho coroner decided to transfer the inquest to the county courthouse to accommodate the large crowd on hand to hear the testimony. John T. Dorsey of Marietta represented repre-sented tho 9tatc of Georgia. Gordon Gann acted as special attorney for Coroner Booth. Dr. C. D. Elder, the first witness, testified to viewing tho body of Frank while it was still hanging in the oak grove near the Frey cotton gin. Dr. Elder did not know Frank personally but was told the body was that of Frank. He was not present when the body was cut down. When he saw it he said tho body still was warm. "Do you know any of the circumstances circum-stances Burxoundlng tho hanging?" asked Mr. Dorsey. "Absolutely nothing." replied the witness. "You were among the first to reach the scene " "Yes, sir." "How many people were present when you arrived?" "Perhaps half a dozen." "Do you know. 'who' thoy were?" "Yes, sir." "Please name them," rcquestod Mr. Gann. "As I came up two men were running run-ning out of the woods. One of them was Joe Carter and the other was a man they told me was representing the Associated Press. I also saw J. Frey, E. L. Robinson and W. A. Sams." "Was Frank dead?" "Yes, sir. The death rigor had not set in, however." "Was there any mutilation of tho body?" "No, sir. The only mark I saw was tho cut in tho neck that had been opened by the rope." Dr. W. M. Kemp, another physician, testified that Frank's death was due to strangulation. J. Bart Wing, a Cobb county commissioner, com-missioner, was the next witness. He, also was among the first to reach the scene of the lynching after tho body was discovered. "Do you know anything about the hanging " he was asked. "Nothing." to state to the jury?" Wing hesitated a moment. Then he said: "Nothing, except that that morning on the road I saw several automobiles on the Roswell road going in the direction di-rection of Marietta." "Could you tell who were In the machines?" "No, sir, I could not ten wnetner they were negroes or white people." W. J. Frey, owner of the place on which Frank was lynched and regarded regard-ed as the star witness of the inquest, next was sworn. Mr. Frey, an ex-sheriff ex-sheriff of the county, took the stand in his shirt sleeves. He is a very large man of about 45 with a short brown mustache and florid complexion. Saw Body Hanging. Frey continued: "I turned to Walter Gann and said, Let's go to the house, there's something some-thing doing.' We went to the house and Mrs. Frey had breakfast ready for us in about five minutes. We ate and I got my car started and we put out for Marietta," Frey said he passed the actual scene of the hanging without noticing notic-ing .an yjtblng out .of.J.waj;. He "continued': "I came on to town, but did not see anything. I went to the cemetery where Mary Phagan is buried, but there was nothing there. I came back Into Marietta and met Gus Ben-sou, Ben-sou, who said: 'Bill, those automobiles automo-biles turned In the road by your gin. I drove right back to the gin and when we reached the oak grove there was the body of Frank hanging." "Is there any further light you can throw on this transaction?" "No. sir." m Frey was excused. " Saw Frank in Car. "Mr. Frey," asked Acting Sollcibir Dorsey, "were you among the 'first 10 discover the body?" "When I got there with Gus Benson and Walter Gann, there wasn't anybody any-body in the grove but Leo M. Frank." "When did you first know anything had happened that morning?" "About 5 o'clock that morning my brother telephoned me the state prison pris-on farm had been broken Into and Frank taken out, Walter Gann, a traveling man from Augusta, was vis iting at my place. I livo right on tho main road. Mr. Gann and I were in the field about 6:30 or 7 o'clock when three or four automobiles automo-biles came whizzing by. Having heard about the break at the prison farm, It popped right Into my mind there was something doing In the way of Frank " Frey said Frank was seated in tho rear seat of ono of the passing cars, with a man on either side of him.. "Did you recognize any of the other parties in the cars?" "No, sir." "Do you know now who they were?" "No, sir." "Were they masked?" "No, sir. but they all wore goggles." gog-gles." oo |