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

Here is the translated text as follows:

638

X. AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

He said, "I told you on Saturday that I had committed every crime except murder. I kept a woman when I was fifteen years old, working in the Southern shops." He continued, "Before I was twenty, I was arrested in bed one night; a fellow came in and caught me with his wife, and I was arrested for rape and taken to the station house. I got out of it by being able to prove that the fellow was never married to her; he was keeping her himself. I got into a row with the master mechanic about it; he was also friendly with the woman, and it resulted in my discharge by the master mechanic. The higher authorities investigated it, and reinstated me and moved the master mechanic to some other department. The master mechanic took me into his room one day and told me if I said anything more about it, I would have to eat his gun; he would kill me. I told him, 'I am not afraid of anybody killing me; start that right now.' He told me about his experience with the wife of another railroad official in Tennessee, where he had surprised him one night in bed with his wife. Cook had gotten his pistol and stuck it right in his eye and backed him out of the room, and he left there. That woman had followed him all over the country; finally, one reason he came back to Atlanta was that he knew that woman would not follow him to Atlanta."

He grew very impatient and said, "I don’t want any more arguing about this damn case; it has worried me about to death; I cannot sleep; I have to go to the barber shop every day and get my hair shampooed and get my head rubbed; it has worried me to death thinking about my friend Hiney Hirsch." He continued, "I saw him and her together Saturday night, and it was all I could do to keep from going right up to them. I ducked so he would not see me and got out of the way; I am not accustomed to ducking people; I don’t want to hear arguments from you; not another damn word; I have made up my mind that it has got to be done. I told old man Candler I would give him a reasonable time; I think I have been more than reasonable; if he doesn’t do it, I am going to hunt Hirsch up the minute he comes back into this town and tell him what occurred in Mr. Candler’s office."

I then arranged for another conference with Mrs. Hirsch; I had Mr. Asa Candler, Jr., come to my office Tuesday morning at 8:30, and shortly afterward, Mrs. Hirsch came in. She was at first very much surprised to see Mr. Candler there and said she was not being treated right by drawing so many people into it. Mr. Cook had told me Thursday morning that Mr. Candler had made a hell of a mistake in taking a whole lot of people into his confidence and telling this thing around, and he said, "The first thing you know, it will get out." I told him it would not be talked out through us; he asked me how many knew it; it was a great mistake; he would rather have dealt with Mr. Candler directly, without bringing all these people into it. She at first talked a great deal about how hard it was for a woman to have to give up her husband and her home, and that the woman was usually blamed.

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