by Simon Baatz
IV.
Notes Relating to the Leopold-Loeb Court Case [1924], (Richard Loeb) , Folder E37, Box 1, Records of Superintendent William Alanson White, Records of St. Elizabeths Hospital (Record Group 418.3.3), National Archives [abbreviated as William Alanson White Notes (Loeb)].
Notes Relating to the Leopold-Loeb Court Case [1924], (Nathan Leopold) , Folder E37, Box 1, Records of Superintendent William Alanson White, Records of St. Elizabeths Hospital (Record Group 418.3.3), National Archives [abbreviated as William Alanson White Notes (Leopold)].
William White interviewed Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb during the first week in July. White kept his handwritten notes from his interviews; these notes are preserved in a collection of White's papers at the National Archives in Washing ton, D.C.
V.
Psychiatric Reports re: Leopold and Loeb "Trial," Adolf Meyer Papers, Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (abbreviated as Psychiatric Reports).
The expert witnesses for the defense each prepared summaries of their reports on Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. These summaries, often only a few pages in length, provide succinct analytical statements on the medical and psychiatric condition of the defendants.
NEWSPAPERS
The fierce competition between Chicago's six daily newspapers and the public's insatiable fascination with Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb produced an avalanche of newspaper coverage. The Chicago newspapers alone printed hundreds of articles on the case during 1924, and if one were to include the coverage by out-of-town newspapers, the total might easily exceed several thousand. Each Chicago newspaper employed several journalists to cover the case. As a consequence, Chicagoans in 1924 could learn all they wanted to know--and a great deal that they did not care to know--about the murder. The attorneys for each side cultivated the reporters, assiduously feeding them information that would tilt public opinion one way or the other. The reporters had unlimited access to the defendants, often spending hours chatting with them outside their cells in the Cook County jail.
I had imagined, in the early stages of my research, that reading the articles in a single newspaper would provide a comprehensive account of the case, but just as soon as I looked at a second newspaper, I realized my error. I discovered that there were details in the
Chicago Daily Journal, for example, that had gone unmentioned in the reports of the Chicago Daily Tribune (and vice versa). Clearly, it would be foolish to base my account on only one or two newspapers; and so, in the early stages of my research, I resolved to read through all six of the city's daily newspapers. Because these newspapers have frequently altered their titles, usually on account of a merger with some other paper, or, alternatively, in an effort to abbreviate, I have been careful to cite the exact title of a newspaper as it appeared at the time.
The
Chicago Daily Tribune and its sister paper, the Chicago Sunday Tribune, first appeared in 1847. In the 1920s the Tr ibune, a morning newspaper, saw itself as the mouthpiece of Chicago's leading businessmen and, in this capacity, was fiercely opposed to the gangsterism that was harming the city's general prosperity. The Tr ibune, while generally supporting the Republican cause, consistently opposed the Republican mayor, William Hale Thompson, who, according to the Tr ibune at least, was responsible for the corruption of politics in Chicago. The Tr ibune was the mouthpiece of the reform movement and brief ly supported Robert Crowe in the early 1920s in his opposition to the City Hall machine.3
William Randolph Hearst owned both the
Chicago Herald and Examiner, a morning newspaper that first appeared in 1918; and the Chicago American, an afternoon newspaper founded in 1900. Hearst's reputation for sensationalism and yellow journalism derives from his ownership of the New York Evening Journal, which advocated overseas expansionism and militarism during the Spanish-American War. Neither the Chicago Herald and Examiner nor the Chicago American, however, was especially sensationalist. The Chicago American had a tabloid style in the 1920s, but its coverage of the Leopold-Loeb hearing was generally reliable and responsible. The Chicago Herald and Examiner was the superior of the two Hearst newspapers in the extent of its coverage of the case. Hearst consolidated the two newspapers in 1939 as the Chicago HeraldAmerican. In 1953 it became again the Chicago American. After a change of ownership and several other name changes, the newspaper finally expired in September 1974.4
The
Chicago Daily News, an afternoon paper that first appeared in 1875, never let its rivals forget that it had scooped them in the early stages of the police investigation. James Mulroy and Alvin Goldstein, two recent graduates of the University of Chicago, were cub reporters for the Chicago Daily News in 1924. Mulroy and Goldstein won the Pulitzer Prize in 1925 for their inspired guess that the typewriter used by Nathan Leopold to type his law notes might also have been used for the ransom letter. The Chicago Daily News was distinctive among Chicago newspapers for the clarity of its writing, but its coverage of important events was never as comprehensive or as detailed as the coverage provided, say, by the Chicago Daily Journal. The publisher of the News, Victor Lawson, disliked Robert Crowe and consistently denounced the state's attorney as a demagogue who used the resources of his office to crush opposition to his electoral machine. Lawson's animus toward Crowe never became an issue, however, in his paper's coverage of the Leopold-Loeb hearing.
The Chicago Evening Post first appeared in 1890 and was the least distinguished of the city's newspapers. Its coverage of the murder was competent yet largely routine. The Post's journalists rarely reported any aspect of the case that had gone unnoticed by its rivals. The Chicago Evening Post could not survive the Great Depression and disappeared in 1930.
The
Chicago Daily Journal, an evening paper that first appeared in 1844, was distinctive in its appearance (it was printed on pale green paper) and in its support for the Democratic Party. Its coverage of the Leopold-Loeb case was unrivaled. It devoted more column inches to the murder than any other paper, including the Chicago Daily Tribune, and its reporters seemed to be everywhere, uncovering new facts, pursuing fresh leads, and interviewing anyone with even the slightest connection to the case. The Chicago Journal, despite the breadth and extent of its coverage, failed to survive, and merged in 1929 with the Chicago Daily News.5 AUTOBIOGRAPHIES
An autobiography--one might imagine--would provide an insider's perspective. The author's account would be direct, objective, and truthful; it would provide an immediately accessible description of events. If only that might be so! In reality few individuals can resist exaggerating their accomplishments. One of Robert Crowe's assistants, Joseph Savage, wrote his autobiography in 1975, fifty years after the murder; and as one might expect for an account written so long after the event, it is full of errors. Less forgivably, Savage assigns himself the leading role in the investigation of the murder and appropriates Crowe's triumphs for himself.
6
Clarence Darrow was seventy-three when he wrote his autobiography. Darrow was a protagonist in some of the most sensational trials of his day, and he devotes just two brief chapters to the Leopold-Loeb case. In the first, Darrow outlines the facts of the murder, and in the second he provides an analysis of his defense. His animosity toward Robert Crowe had softened in the years since the hearing and little remains of the hostility and contempt for the state's attorney that Darrow expressed so frequently during the courtroom battles. Darrow always believed the best of his clients and, notwithstanding all the evidence to the contrary, he describes Richard Loeb as "a kindly boy" and Nathan Leopold as "genial, kindly, and likable." Otherwise Darrow's account is generally accurate.
7
Whereas Joseph Savage was careless with the facts, Nathan Leopold, who completed his autobiography in 1958, was careless with the truth. The first five chapters of
Life Plus 99 Years deal with the events surrounding the murder; the remainder of the book is an account of Leopold's experiences in Joliet and Stateville. Leo
pold wrote his autobiography as part of his campaign to win parole, and it should be read in that light. It is an immensely clever book, written in a clear and engaging style that portrays the author as a lovable rogue who constantly struggles, despite adverse circumstances, to improve the lives of his fellow prisoners. The establishment of the prison school, his work as an X-ray technician, his stint as a nurse in the psychiatric ward, his participation in the malaria experiments--everything, in Leopold's account, is undertaken selflessly for the betterment of mankind. The publication of his autobiography came too late to be considered by the parole board, but it succeeded in creating a picture of Nathan Leopold that persists to the present. There is no evidence, for example, that Leopold could speak several languages or that he had an exceptional IQ, yet such myths have been repeated so often that they have now come to be accepted as true.8
NOTES CH A P T ER 1: T H E K I DNA PPI NG
1. Trial Transcript, fols. 30, 38, 50, 69.
2. Ibid., fol. 67.
3. "Moron Theory Gains Favor in Franks Murder Inquiry," Chicago Daily Journal, 23 May 1924.
4. John Herrick, "Jail Policeman in Franks Quiz; Tutors Freed," Chicago Daily Tr ibune, 29 May 1924; "Harvard School Head Calls Robert Franks Bright Yout h," Chicago Daily Tribune, 23 May 1924; "Moron Theory"; "Franks, as Debater, Won on Plea to Save Necks of Murderers," Chicago Daily Journal, 4 June 1924.
5. John Kelley, "Jacob Franks, Father of Slain Boy, Started as Pawnbroker; Made Fortune in Realty," Chicago Daily Tribune, 23 May 1924.
6. Ibid.; "Franks without Enemies, Says Old Time 'Pal,' " Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924.
7. "Ettelson Sets Mark for Longest Term as City Law Chief," Chicago Daily Tr ibune, 9 November 1920.
8. "Ettelson Tells of Vain Effort to Spring Trap," Chicago Daily Tribune, 23 May 1924.
9. Ibid.
10 . Trial Transcript, fol. 107.
11. "Moron Theory."
12. "Kidnap Rich Boy; Kill Him," Chicago Daily Tribune, 23 May 1924. 13. Ibid.
14 . Trial Transcript, fols. 82-84.
15. "Kidnapers Slay Millionaire's Son as $10,000 Ransom Waits," Chicago Herald and Examiner, 23 May 1924; "Tony Minke, Finder of Boy's Body, Gives Details of Discovery," Chicago American, 23 May 1924.
16. Trial Transcript, fols. 300, 323.
17. Ibid., fols. 88-89, 91-92, 94, 309.
18. Ibid., fol. 306.
19. Ibid., fols. 316, 319-320.
20. "Kidnap Rich Boy."
21. Ibid.
22. Ibid.; "Cub Reporters Win Franks Case Glory," Chicago Daily News, 31 May 1924.
23. Leopold Statement, 2 June 1924, 12:01 a.m., fol. 329.
24. Ibid., fols. 327-328.
25. Trial Transcript, fol. 634.
26. "Moron Theory"; "Collins Orders All Policemen to Look for Franks' Slayer," Chicago American, 23 May 1924.
27. "Kidnap Rich Boy"; James Doherty, "Kidnaped Boy Died Fighting," Chicago Daily Tribune, 24 May 1924; "Question Woman in Franks Murder," Chicago Daily Journal, 26 May 1924.
28. "Expert Fixes on Kind of Machine Kidnaper Used," Chicago Daily Tribune, 24 May 1924; "Kidnapers' Ransom Letter Shows Hand of Expert Letterer," Chicago Daily Tribune, 24 May 1924; Charles V. Slattery, "Franks Boy Gagged, Died Fighting," Chicago Herald and Examiner, 24 May 1924. 29. "Police Delve into Past of Boy's Teachers," Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924.
30. "Kidnap Rich Boy"; Doherty, "Kidnaped Boy."
31. "Moron Theory."
32. "Raid Dope Rings for Franks Slayers," Chicago Daily Tribune, 28 May 1924; "Harvard School Not Hurt by Franks Case, Principal Says," Chicago Daily Tr ibune, 28 May 1924; "Aided Franks' Murder Car," Chicago Daily Journal, 27 May 1924.
33. "Moron Theory"; James Doherty, "Girl Vanishes as Franks Did," Chicago Daily Tribune, 26 May 1924; "Pence Vouches for His 3 Instructors," Chicago American, 23 May 1924.
34. "Frees Franks Teachers," Chicago Daily Journal, 28 May 1924; "New Franks Clues," Chicago Evening Post, 29 May 1924.
35. "Eyewitness Tells of Boy's Midnight Burial," Chicago American, 27 May 1924.
36. Doherty, "Kidnaped Boy"; Doherty, "Girl Vanishes."
37. James Doherty, "All City Hunts Kidnapers," Chicago Sunday Tribune, 25 May 1924.
38. Doherty, "Girl Vanishes"; "Coroner Renews Hunt for Clues at Death Scene," Chicago American, 27 May 1924.
39. Doherty, "Girl Vanishes."
40. "Aided Franks' Murder Car."
41. "Even Dogs Bark at Gray Cars," Chicago Daily Tribune, 28 May 1924. 42. "Slayer of Franks Boy May Be Suicide," Chicago Daily News, 24 May 1924; Doherty, "All City."
43. Doherty, "Kidnaped Boy"; Trial Transcript, fol. 95.
44. Doherty, "Kidnaped Boy"; "Dig For Franks Boy Clews," Chicago Daily Tribune, 27 May 1924; "Question Woman."
45. "Raid Dope," Chicago Daily Tribune, 28 May 1924.
46. Ibid.
47. "Slain Boy's Father Gets Death Note; Hunt Drug Addict," Chicago Evening Post, 24 May 1924.
48. Doherty, "Girl Vanishes"; "Girl, 17, Missing; Fear Her Victim of Franks Plot," Chicago Daily Tribune, 26 May 1924.
49. "Find Gertrude Barker: Male Companion Held," Chicago Daily Journal, 27 May 1924.
50. Maurine Watkins, "Simple Funeral Service Is Held for Franks Boy," Chicago Daily Tribune, 26 May 1924.
51. Ibid.; "Classmates Lay Franks to Rest," Chicago Daily Journal, 26 May 1924.
52. "Try to See Franks Slayer through His Spectacles," Chicago Daily Tribune, 29 May 1924.
53. Doherty, "Girl Vanishes."
54. Ibid.; "Talks of Franks Case, Found Dying of Drug," Chicago American, 29 May 1924.
55. "Glasses, Note Franks Clews," Chicago Daily Journal, 31 May 1924.CH A P T ER 2 : T H E R EL AT IONSH IP
1. "Psychiatrists' Report for the Defense (Joint Summary)," Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology 15 (November 1924): 360.
2. Trial Transcript, fols. 1870, 1873.
3. Ibid., fols. 1916-1917.
4. Bowman-Hulbert Report (Leopold), fol. 27.
5. Jean F. Block, The Uses of Gothic: Planning and Building the Campus of the University of Chicago, 1892-1932 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983).
6. "Samuel F. Leopold," in Paul Gilbert and Charles Lee Bryson, Chicago and Its Makers (Chicago: F. Mendelsohn, 1929), 665.
7. Ibid.; Bowman-Hulbert Report (Leopold), fol. 3.
8. Maureen McKernan, "Leopold Family a Big Factor in City Business," Chicago Sunday Tribune, 1 June 1924.
9. Bowman-Hulbert Report (Leopold), fols. 23, 24.
10 . Ibid., fols. 17-18.
11. Ibid., fols. 18-20.
12. Ibid., fol. 18.
13. "At h le t ic s ," Harvard School Review (1920): 89-95.
14 . Bowman-Hulbert Report (Leopold), fols. 24-25.
15. Ibid., fol. 24.
16. Maurine Watkins, " 'Dick Innocent,' Loebs Protest; Plan Defense," Chicago Sunday Tribune, 1 June 1924; "Jacob M. Loeb," in Gilbert and Bryson, Chicago and Its Makers, 928.
17. Watkins, " 'Dick Innocent.' "
18. Bowman-Hulbert Report (Loeb), fols. 13, 33; William Alanson White Notes (Loeb), fol. 4.
19. Bowman-Hulbert Report (Loeb), fols. 72-75.
20. William Harms and Ida DePencier, Experiencing Education: 100 Years of Learning at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools (Chicago: University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, 1996), 4-10.
21. "Review of the Season," Correlator 16 (1918): 124-125.
22. "Molecules Hold Meeting," University High School Daily, 31 October 1917. 23. "Freshman Lit Club Officers Nominated," University High School Daily, 9 May 1918; "Election of Officers Closes Freshmen Lit," University High School Daily, 22 May 1918.
24. "Freshmen! Vote Today for Class Officers," University High School Daily, 11 January 1918; "Freshmen Elect Officers," University High School Daily, 15 January 1918; "Freshmen," Correlator 16 (1918): 25; "Freshmen to Wind Up Year with Large Party," University High School Daily, 6 June 1918.
25. Bowman-Hulbert Report (Loeb), fols. 14, 19.
26. Ibid., fol. 14.
27. Ibid., fol. 40.
28. Ibid., fol. 14; Trial Transcript, fols. 1285-1286.
29. Bowman-Hulbert Report (Loeb), fol. 12.
30. "Sophomore Literary Society Holds Initial Meeting," University High School Daily, 10 October 1918; "Soph Literary Society Holds Varied Meeting," University High School Daily, 5 December 1918.
31. Bowman-Hulbert Report (Loeb), fol. 24.
32. Ibid.; Official Transcript (Richard Albert Loeb), Office of the Registrar, University of Chicago.
33. Bowman-Hulbert Report (Loeb), fols. 14-15; Trial Transcript, fol. 1670. 34. "The Campus Club," Cap and Gown 26 (1921): 178-179.
35. Ibid., 179; Bowman-Hulbert Report (Leopold), fol. 28; Official Transcript (Nathan Freudenthal Leopold Jr.), Office of the Registrar, University of Chicago.
36. Bowman-Hulbert Report (Leopold), fol. 89; Bowman-Hulbert Report (Loeb), fol. 78.
37. Bowman-Hulbert Report (Leopold), fol. 92; Bowman-Hulbert Report (Loeb), fol. 85.
38. Bowman-Hulbert Report (Leopold), fols. 90-91; Bowman-Hulbert Report (Loeb), fols. 83-85.
39. Trial Transcript, fols. 1671, 1683-1684.
40. Bowman-Hulbert Report (Loeb), fols. 69-71.
41. Ibid., fol. 68; William Alanson White Notes (Loeb), fol. 6; Trial Transcript, fols. 1295-1296, 1534-1535.
42. Bowman-Hulbert Report (Leopold), fols. 92, 93-94; Bowman-Hulbert Report (Loeb), fols. 85-86, 92-93.
43. Bowman-Hulbert Report (Leopold), fol. 139; William Alanson White Notes (Leopold), fol. 17; Trial Transcript, fols. 1386-1387.
44. Bowman-Hulbert Report (Leopold), fols. 63-64; Trial Transcript, fols. 1329-1330, 1484-1485, 1703.
45. Trial Transcript, fol. 1485.
46. Bowman-Hulbert Report (Leopold), fols. 66-68; Trial Transcript, fols. 1486, 1704.
47. Bowman-Hulbert Report (Leopold), fols. 67, 133; Trial Transcript, fols. 1486 -1487.