Statement of Fred Tronson taken in the office of Detective Captain Baty on Thursday, November 19th, 1914, in the presence of Deputy District Attorneys John A. Collier and Thomas G. Ryan, Detectives Pat Moloney and Tom Swennes. _Question._ What is your name? _Answer._ Fred Tronson. _Q._ How old are you? _A._ Twenty-four. _Q._ How long have you lived in Portland? _A._ One year and seven months. _Q._ What have you been doing? _A._ Running elevators. _Q._ Now, Fred, I am a deputy district attorney representing this state, Mr. Ryan here is a deputy district attorney, and these other men are officials and officers. You have been charged with a crime, and of course you have your rights. You have a right to make a statement here to me if you want to tell us what the facts are. You are not forced to make a statement, but you may do so if you want to. There isn't any use of your getting nervous, and there is nobody going to bother you here. You needn't be afraid. You cannot be forced or compelled to make a statement, and any statement you make must be voluntary. Do you want to make any statement about this shooting affair? _A._ Yes. _Q._ You may go ahead and just tell me what happened, commencing at the first of it, and tell me how it came about. _A._ Well, that time I accosted the girl in the street, it was last August the 3d, I asked her if she would have me and she didn't give me any satisfactory answer. She said she would wait outside at noon. In the meantime she had me arrested. Of course I threatened to shoot myself if she wouldn't have me. She says, "No, don't do that; I would rather have you leave town," she says like that. She says, "I will write to you." She says, "You are going to be a man, aren't you?" I said, "Yes, if I can't have you." She said she would meet me out there at twelve, and before that she phoned the police or the other girl up there, I don't know. _Q._ That was last August? _A._ Yes. _Q._ You were arrested on that charge? _A._ Yes. _Q._ What did they do with you? _A._ Well, they kept me here about a week and then let me go with the understanding that I go out of town. Judge Stevenson says go out in the harvest fields and take a good sweat and when you come back, look for some other job and you will be all right. Come back in the fall. So I went out next Monday and stayed a couple of days and couldn't get anything and came back and waited about a week and stayed another week and then went to Hood River, and picked apples and stayed up there about ten days and then came back and I couldn't get anything. I was hoping the girl would kind of come to me after awhile and I found after a few months that she wasn't, so I thought I would get rid of her so somebody else wouldn't have her. _Q._ When did you make up your mind to do that? _A._ Last week. _Q._ After you made up your mind to do that, what did you do? _A._ I went off and got the guns. _Q._ Where did you get the guns? _A._ At Vancouver.