March 17, 1922

GRAND JURY TAKES RECESS UNTIL MONDAY

The grand jury in the district court, at Okmulgee, yesterday evening took a recess until Monday. Five indictments were returned but by order of Judge Bozarth these were not made public nor will they be until the parties named therein are under arrest. It was stated that the judge ordered bench warrants issued and that they be served this morning.

The grand jury indicated in making its report yesterday evening that it expected to clean up its work within another day or two. It is expected the final report will be made before Wednesday as on that date Judge Bozarth must open court in Sapulpa.

The jurors gave the judge to understand that their work would be completed before he leaves, but added that if it became necessary to prolong the session a recess would be taken until his return.

Two men who were indicted by the grand jury which was dismissed by Superior Judge H.R. Christopher, before it had completed an inquiry into the bank’s affairs, were made joint defendants in each of the five bills returned today. These two men, when they were first indicted, appeared voluntarily and made bond pending their trial.

County Attorney James Hepburn, argued that it would be unnecessary to re-arrest them on the new indictments when they are already under bail in the old cases. Judge Bozarth however, ruled that Judge Christopher’s action in quashing the grand jury made void all proceedings growing out of the grand jury’s deliberations and ordered the court clerk to withhold the names of the two men until new warrants are served.

This is the first instance where the dismissal of the grand jury by Judge Christopher has been made an issue in court. At the time, Judge Christopher said he quashed the jury because he had improperly impaneled it.

ENDEAVORERS CONVENTION

The Okmulgee district Christian Endeavor convention will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in Henryetta, Sunday, March 19, at 2:00 and 6:45 o’clock p.m.

The following is the program:

2:00-2:30 – Praise service.

2:30-3:15 – Conferences.

3:15-4:00 – Business; election of district officers.

Ponca City Convention.

Southwest news complaints.

Society reports.

4:00-4:30 – “Four Square” campaign.

4:30-5:30 – Lunch hour.

5:45-6:45 – Union Christian Endeavor service.

The Oklahoma Field Secretary, Harold R. Singer, will be the main speaker of the convention. Mr. Singer is kept in full time service of the Christian Endeavor work by the State Union, and comes very highly recommended by some who have known him and have had a personal knowledge of his work. He was called to this state while attending the world convention at New York, last July, from Arizona, where he has made a wonderful record in the Young People’s work. He has just returned from the state convention of Arizona and it is sure he will bring a very interesting message as well as an instructive one.

DIVORCE CASES FILED IN SUPERIOR COURT

Two divorce cases have been filed in the superior court. The first is that of B.B. Bise against his wife, Helen Bise and in which the plaintiff alleges in his petition that they were married May 19, 1921 and that from December 1, 1921, the defendant was guilty of extreme cruelty toward him; that she fussed with him, nagged at him and abused him. He also alleges in his petition that on February 15, 1922, “without any notice to this plaintiff and with no excuse for so doing, ran away with another man.” He also alleges that since December 1, 1921, the defendant has been guilty of gross neglect of duty, in that she has failed to perform the duties of a wife.

The other case is that of Minnie H. Williams against John Williams. She alleges in her petition that they were married November 3, 1907, and have three children aged 12, 10 and 2 years, respectively; that since November 24, 1920, the defendant has been guilty of extreme cruelty toward her and that on March 4, 1921, he abandoned and deserted her. She alleges that they own four lots with a 3-room house in Colton. She asks for the care and custody of the children, a deed to the house and lots, $40 per month alimony and $50 as attorney fees.

BIG RISE COMING DOWN THE NORTH CANADIAN

A report from the North Canadian at the pumping station yesterday, was to the effect that the river was up about one foot and the water very muddy. A big rise in the river is coming down, according to the weather bureau, but when it will reach this section or what the rise may be this far down the river is not indicated. The Oklahoman this morning says:

The North Canadian River in Oklahoma City will be out of its banks late this week or early next week, according to reports of the weather bureau Thursday morning. A stage of 10 feet is predicted here, which will inundate the lowlands, the weather bureau said.

The reading at Reno Junction Thursday morning was 3.7 feet and rising. It is expected to be ten feet there by Saturday night or Sunday morning. It will then take the full rise two days to reach Oklahoma City weather men say. The distance by river from Reno Junction to Oklahoma City is about 180 miles, owing to the crookedness of the river. The reading at Canton, in Blaine County, Thursday morning was 4.10 feet.

BILL TO PROHIBIT BLOCS

A bill prohibiting the formation in Congress of blocs, based upon particular pursuits or geographical locations, for the purpose of “in any way affecting legislation,” has been introduced by Representative Ansorge, Republican. Senators and representative would be subject to a fine of $5,000 in case it was proved they belonged to a bloc. The bill, which would not interfere with regular

The bill, which would not interfere with regularly convened caucuses of the majority and minority political parties, was framed along the lines of the Sherman Act, prohibiting combinations in restraint of trade, Mr. Ansorge said.

The proposed bill was designed, he explained, to prohibit combinations in restraint of legislation “which inherently are more dangerous to the country than combination in restraint of trade.”

“If we are to have an agricultural bloc why not a manufacturers’ bloc, a consumers’ bloc, and numerous geographical blocs?” Mr. Ansorge asked. “Then legislation will not follow platform pledges, but will be the result of dickering and combinations between various blocs. It will be a case of ‘you vote for this and we’ll vote for that,’ and I shudder to think what will happen tour representative form of democracy.”

On the other hand, Senator Capper said the other day in the senate among other things:

“Here, Mr. President, is the true reason why we have a group of men in congress sometimes called, the farm bloc. Our entire business structure rests upon the land. The farmer not only feeds us and clothes us, but is as a class our best customer. Without him the railroads would languish, the steel industry perish. Unless the farmer and the farm industry prosper, no other industry can. This is the task these representatives and senators from the agricultural states feel they have cut out for them.”

March 19, 1922

SOWERS A CANDIDATE

In an interview with Sheriff Sowers in his office Friday afternoon, that gentleman definitely declared he is a candidate for the republican nomination for sheriff to succeed himself. This is not surprising, for his friends have expected him to do this. He is sheriff now, but was appointed to the office on the suspension of Lon Kuhn, last fall. Free-Lance is well please with this announcement. We know Sowers well and have known him from the early days in Henryetta even before the sheriff was grown up. We have never known, in all these years, a single black mark against Frank Sowers. As a boy here, a youth, his conduct was exemplary. He came to this town with his parents, back in 1903, and lived here until some years ago when the family moved to a farm out on Salt Creek, northwest of Henryetta.

Mr. Sowers has been in the stock-raising business out there, and was never in any sort of public office until he went into the sheriff ’s office last fall. He was a candidate for commissioner from the Third District in 1920, but owing to the support that very many Henryetta city republicans extended to Mr. Liggett, Frank was not elected. Or if one agree with the petition filed in Okmulgee contesting the election he was “counted out.” However this may be, Liggett got the certificate of election, and is serving in the office. It might be well to say right here that the contest over that election has been dropped, too.

Now that another election is approaching, Mr. Sowers will ask for the nomination of his party, and he deserves it. He has made a most excellent and industrious officer during the short time he has been in, and should have no difficulty in being nominated.

We desire to go on record with this simple statement: there is no man who possesses better habits than Frank Sowers. He not only does not booze, but is a tee-totalar. If he uses any profane language we have never heard of it. His personal honor is of that sort that is beyond question. His word is good. He is a simple, straightforward and intelligent man who obeys the law himself, and who comes as close to making others do so as is humanly possible. Okmulgee County can find no better timber in either political party, and can find no more trustworthy official than B.F. Sowers.

Frank is about thirty-seven years old. He says he was three years old when his father made the run into old Oklahoma in 1889, coming from Kansas.

LUCY COMPANY HAS LOCATED IN HENRYETTA

A deal was closed yesterday for the location of the Lucy Manufacturing Company to locate in Henryetta.

A five year lease was executed for a building to be erected by Lee Boerstler just north of the Boerstler wholesale house on North First Street.

This building is to be 92x125 feet, and will have sidetrack facilities on the Frisco. The work will begin Monday morning on the building.

This company makes a number of articles for oil field use, including engines, pumps and other articles of machinery. They are now at Tulsa, but like everybody else, are looking toward Henryetta.

The Chamber of Commerce through its secretary and committees has been working for this consummation for a long time, and are therefore please with the signing of the contracts.

27 BUILDING PERMITS DURING 17 DAYS

Fire Chief Boaz, who is also building inspector, from whom building permits must be obtained, reported yesterday that during the first seventeen days of this month the permits taken out number 27 with a total valuation of $62,945.

Chief Boaz calls attention to the fact that any person proceeding to build without first having secured a permit is liable to a penalty under the law.

HENRYETTA MEN INDICTED

For a second time a grand jury has returned a true bill against W.L. Sullins and F.J. Kersting in connection with the election in 1920. These two ell known Henryetta men were counters in ward one, this city, and are accused of changing votes from Herrald to Ferris, from Hepburn to Wallace, and from Sowers to Liggett, and thus violate the state law.

The grand jury that was called by Judge Christopher in December, and which was discharges on February 9, at Okmulgee, indicted the two men. Henryetta citizens rushed to Okmulgee at that time and executed a very heavy bond – that is, the bond was five thousand, and more than a hundred thousand dollars was scheduled on it. The men were not arrested but voluntarily appeared as soon as they read about the indictment in an Okmulgee paper. The discharge of that grand jury voided the indictments returned by it, and thus there was nothing against them.

When Judge Bozarth called a grand jury, the same witnesses, and presumably the same testimony were brought before the new jury, with the result as stated. The two men hurried to Okmulgee yesterday and made bond.

It has been the attitude of Free-Lance all the time that these men are innocent. They are entitled to that presumption until they are proven guilty. The grand jury heard but one side of the evidence, as indeed no other evidence can be adduced before such a body. It is therefore plain that whatever evidence the accused men have in their own behalf has not been heard. We shall await convincing testimony against them. If guilty, they should be punished. Falsifying election returns is a crime – a real crime as well as a technical one. They protest their innocence, and are entitled to be considered innocent until proven guilty.