256 Page – American State Trials 1918 Volume X Leo Frank Document

Here is the translated text as follows:

224 & AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

Mrs. J. J. Wardlaw worked at the pencil factory. She stated that Mr. Frank's character is good and she has never heard of any improper relations between Mr. Frank and any of the girls at the factory. She has never met Mr. Frank at any time or place for any immoral purpose. Additionally, she has never heard of him putting his arm around any girls on the streetcar or going to the woods with them.

THE PRISONER'S STATEMENT.

Leo M. Frank addressed the jury, stating, "Gentlemen of the jury: In the year 1884, on the 17th day of April, I was born in Cuero, Texas. At the age of three months, my parents took me to Brooklyn, New York, where I remained until I came South to Atlanta to make my home. I attended the public schools of Brooklyn and prepared for college at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. In the fall of 1902, I entered Cornell University, where I pursued a course in mechanical engineering and graduated after four years, in June 1906."

He continued, "I then accepted a position as a draftsman with the B. F. Sturtevant Company of Hyde Park, Massachusetts. After remaining with this firm for about six months, I returned to my home in Brooklyn, where I accepted a position as a testing engineer and draftsman with the National Meter Company of Brooklyn, New York. I remained in this position until about the middle of October 1907, when, at the invitation of some citizens of Atlanta, I came South to confer with them regarding the starting and operation of a pencil factory to be located in Atlanta."

"After remaining in Atlanta for about two weeks, I returned to New York, where I engaged passage and went to Europe. I remained in Europe for nine months. During my sojourn abroad, I studied the pencil business and oversaw the erection and testing of the machinery that had been previously contracted for. In the first part of August 1908, I returned to America and immediately came South to Atlanta, which has remained my home ever since."

Frank further explained, "I married in Atlanta, an Atlanta girl, Miss Lucile Selig. The major portion of my married life has been spent at the home of my parents-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Selig, at 68 East Georgia Avenue. My married life has been exceptionally happy—indeed, it has been the happiest days of my life."

"My duties as superintendent of the National Pencil Company were generally as follows: I had charge of the technical and mechanical end of the factory, overseeing operations and ensuring that the product was turned out in a quality equal to the standard set by our competitors. I looked after the installation of new machinery and the purchase of new machinery. In addition to that, I was in charge of the office work at the Forsyth Street plant and had general supervision of the lead plant, which is situated on Bell Street. I also managed the purchase of the raw materials used in the manufacture of pencils, keeping up with the market of those materials, where the prices fluctuated, so that purchases could be made to the best possible advantage."

---