WADE CAMPBELL, Sworn In For The Defendant, 46th To Testify

Wade Campbell, witness for the Defendant, at the Trial of Leo Frank in the Fulton County Superior Court of Atlanta, Georgia, in 1913 (Testimony Portion From July 28 - August 21, 1913; Closing Arguments August 21-25, 1913)
Wade Campbell testified that he had worked at the National Pencil Company for 1.5 years. On April 28, his sister Mrs. Arthur White told him she saw a Black man (negro) sitting at the elevator shaft upon entering the factory at 12:00 p.m. on April 26, and heard low voices but saw no one when leaving at 12:30 p.m. Campbell arrived at the factory ~9:30 a.m. on April 26; Frank was in the outer office, laughing and joking, mistakenly thinking Campbell wanted to borrow money. He left ~9:40 a.m. Campbell never saw Frank speak to Mary Phagan. On Tuesday, April 29, he was on the fourth floor with Frank but did not see Jim Conley speak to him. He noted the elevator sometimes ran when machinery was off, causing noise/vibration. He saw spots on the second floor near the ladies' dressing room, unsure if blood, and common varnish/paint spots looked similar.
On cross-examination, Campbell confirmed his sister's account of the negro at entry and voices on exit from the second floor. He denied saying she saw the negro on a box when leaving. He signed a statement (corrected) at Dorsey's office.
On re-direct, Campbell explained he went to Dorsey's on subpoena; signed a 21-page statement with Starnes, Campbell, and a stenographer. He saw Conley reading newspapers twice post-murder on the fourth floor during work hours. Spots were usual in the metal room from various causes.
On re-cross, Conley read extras by the elevator and rear; could write (seen doing reports with pen/ink). Metal-room spots from red varnish/paint mimicked blood; common everywhere, not just near dressing room.
Campbell's testimony rebutted State's claims by normalizing "blood" spots as factory stains, confirming elevator noise when idle, placing Frank calm/joking pre-noon, and exposing Conley's post-murder behavior/reading as suspicious—while denying Frank-Conley interactions Tuesday. His sister's voices account implied hidden activity without implicating Frank, undermining Conley's narrative. As fourth-floor worker, his familiarity bolstered defense against metal-room "evidence" as routine, not murder-related.