You Are Employed to Hunt Down the Murderer, It Matters Not Who He Is," Luther Rosser Informs Detectives
Grand Jury to Probe Mystery Next Week; Solicitor Dorsey States He Wants All Evidence Ready Before Opening Hearing
Officials of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, brought into the Phagan case through the National Pencil Company's connection to Leo M. Frank, recently approached company authorities to clarify the terms of their engagement. Speaking in the presence of Frank's counsel, Luther Z. Rosser, the Pinkerton representatives stated their position directly.
"We want to make our position clear," they said. "The Pinkertons have been employed to apprehend the murderer of Mary Phagan. That is our intention, and if anybody can find her slayer, we can. Shall we continue on the case?"
Rosser, who has served as Frank's attorney since the superintendent was first detained, did not hesitate.
"Find the murderer of Mary Phagan," he told them. "Work with the police, work with anyone, work any way that might lead you to success. Let your chips fall where they may. You are employed to hunt the murderer until he is found and convicted. It matters not who is guilty."
Five Men on the Case
Five carefully selected operatives, working under Assistant Superintendent Harry Scott, are assigned exclusively to the Phagan mystery. Scott is coordinating with city authorities through Detective John Black of headquarters.
It should be noted that Rosser has represented the National Pencil Company for several years, primarily in civil matters. When Frank was first detained, Rosser was engaged in his capacity as the company's counsel, not as Frank's personal attorney. Reports suggesting he was hired directly and personally by Frank have been incorrect.
Rosser visited Frank at his cell in the Tower on Sunday, though the meeting was brief. He told a reporter he had simply inquired after Frank's health and had not discussed the case. Frank received a number of other visitors throughout Sunday, including several of his former classmates from Cornell University, from which he graduated.
The Girl in Red
Fresh rumor breathed new energy into the search for the so-called "mysterious girl in red," a woman said to have appeared at a Marietta grocery store and claimed she had accompanied Mary Phagan to the pencil factory on the day of the murder. A squad of detectives and members of the Solicitor's staff have been combing the communities in and around Smyrna, Marietta, and Mapleton in search of her.
Having turned up nothing to establish her identity, investigators are beginning to question whether the woman exists at all, and suspect she may be the invention of an overactive imagination.
Grand Jury Will Act Next Week
