Page 9; on July 15th, 1915, regarding the June 21, 1915, Commutation of Leo Frank to life in prison by former Governor John Slaton.
Transcription of Letter:
The Mother and the Stepfather of Mary Phagan Write
To the Hon. Thos. E. Watson:
Dear Sir: As the mother and father of Mary Phagan, our poor daughter, we feel it our duty to write you a letter expressing our sincere thanks for your noble efforts in the publishing in your paper the truth about the Frank case.
While we know our advantages in life have been limited, and we are not wise and foreseeing as some folks, we do know that we are correct in the assertion that the great daily newspapers in Atlanta and elsewhere in the State have deliberately failed and refused to speak out the truth in the Frank case concerning the tragic death of our precious little daughter. These papers, of course, have been controlled by the rich Jews who advertise in their papers, and they have dared not to publish to the world anything that was calculated to fix this crime on Leo M. Frank, where it unquestionably belongs. And in our sorrow we feel that you are the only one that we can turn to for an expression of truth, and we find consolation in the fact that one man, through one paper, has bravely held up for our cause and has exposed the dirty work of deception and perjury, as it has appeared all along in the progress of the case.
We are sorry that our former governor, J. M. Slaton, has seen fit to override the judgement of twelve impartial, honest jurors, the judgments of the courts, both high and low, and also the judgment of the great masses of the people. We feel sorry that he should do this when we take into consideration the fact that for two years after his trial not a scintilla of evidence was brought forward in his defense, although he had numerous men employed to work on the case, and all that they could bring forward was some alleged affidavits, which one of their number swore to be false.
We are sorry to say, but the spirit in our souls compel us to say, that that which could not be done in front of the twelve honest men, nor through the courts all the way to the United States Supreme Court, has been done by the Governor through Jew money and influence.
We are sorry to the that man whom we supported for Governor of Georgia was so weak and so little succumb to these influences, and we pray to God that Georgia shall never have another such man to sit in her executive chair.
It appears to us if Slaton thought the rich Jew, whom his partner represented was innocent, why in the name of God didn't he free him altogether? Why should he only commute his sentence? To our minds there was no middle ground whatsoever. We can't possibly see why a man guilty of so heinous offense should have his sentence mitigated.
We both were in attendance at the trial each day, we heard the evidence, we noticed Frank's attitude and his actions all through the trial, and we know beyond any question of a doubt that Leo M. Frank is the guilty man.
If we had any doubts as to Frank's guilt at any stage during the trial, we would have been the first to so declare. While personally we wanted the murderer of our young daughter punished, we wanted it more so for the fact that if the offender of this heinous crime was brought to sure and swift punishment it would deter others.
We had hoped that by the sure and certain punishment of Frank that no other young Georgia girl, budding into womanhood, would die a horrible death defending her virtue against a rich, depraved, sodomite Jew.
We feel that justice delayed has been justice denied.
We cannot but help feel that the man, be rich or poor, who unquestionably murdered our daughter, while she was defending her virtue and honesty, the principle of which we had been so careful in teaching her from childhood, should pay the death penalty.
We cannot help but believe Slaton, who by his acts as an official, has been a traitor to the people of Georgia, a traitor to law and justice, and a traitor to the womanhood of Georgia.
In conclusion we will say, that while the flowers bloom about the last resting place of our dear, innocent child and we are left to tread the balance of our life the dreary path of sorrow, we must declare our deep feeling of gratitude to you, Mr. Watson, for your brave and patriotic attitude in this case, and it does seem to us that you, along with the fearless and noble Georgian, Hugh M. Dorsey, deserve the unlimited and everlasting admiration for your loyalty to a cause that involves the great issue between money and fair play with the common people of our State.
Respectfully yours,
MR. AND MRS. J. W. COLEMAN.