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

Here is the translated text as follows:

THE TRIAL OF W. J. COOK FOR BLACKMAIL, ATLANTA, GEORGIA, 1918

THE NARRATIVE

Asa G. Candler, Mayor of the City of Atlanta, Georgia, a man of substantial wealth and a noted philanthropist, was approached one day in the summer of 1917 by two women seeking a license to raffle an automobile for the benefit of the Red Cross. One of the women, whom he had met before, introduced the other as Mrs. Hirsch. Some time later, at a luncheon hosted by the Rotary Club for General Swift and his staff, Mayor Candler encountered Mrs. Hirsch again. She was among other ladies selling raffle tickets. After the luncheon, a photographer captured a group photo that included the General, the Mayor, prominent club members, and the ladies. In January, Mrs. Hirsch visited the Mayor’s office once more to request another favor.

Asa G. Candler's Background

Asa G. Candler was born in 1851 in Carroll County, Georgia. He received a common school education and moved to Atlanta in 1873, where he has resided ever since. Initially, he was engaged in the drug business and later became the proprietor of valuable formulas, including the soda fountain beverage known as Coca-Cola. He has been actively involved in its manufacture and sale. Candler is perhaps the wealthiest man in the Southern States, owning extensive real estate and other interests in Atlanta, Baltimore, New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and many other places. He is renowned for his public spirit, having donated $1,000,000 to Emory University and the site on which the present great university stands, near Atlanta. He also erected and endowed Wesley Memorial Church and Hospital in Atlanta and has contributed to numerous other notable charities. The only political office he has held is that of Mayor of Atlanta, to which he was elected in December 1916, and which he currently holds. Candler comes from a distinguished Georgia family; one of his brothers, Warren Candler, is a Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church and Chancellor of Emory University. Another brother, Milton Candler, now deceased, was a leading member of the Georgia Bar and served in Congress. A third brother, John S. Candler, was a Judge of the Superior Court of Georgia, a position he resigned. Mr. Candler has been prominently involved in every major movement for the development of Atlanta over the last twenty years and is often referred to as Atlanta’s first citizen.