Henryetta Daily Free-Lance – 1922 (George Riley Hall, Editor & Publisher)

July 30, 1922

LON KUHN BUSY

Former Sheriff Lon Kuhn was in town yesterday, and is as busy as a bird pup in the hunt for votes. Kuhn feels that he did not get a square deal last year, and is asking the Republicans to nominate him so that he can try for the office of sheriff again. Vindication is what he seeks and he wants a chance to come back.

Mr. Kuhn seems encouraged to think that he has a chance for the Republican nomination.

COWEN HERE

Grant Cowen came in today, after spending the entire month in Muskogee where his duties as deputy United States Marshal kept him busy. His absence from the campaign may hurt his

His absence from the campaign may hurt his chances for the Republican nomination, but he could not help it. He had no choice but to obey orders.

He will remain in Okmulgee County now until August first, and will see as many voters as possible. His friends did not forget him during his absence, but still there is nothing like being on the job in a political campaign.

Grant is too well known over the county to need any boosting.

This is particularly true of the old timers, but the newer element of our people have had little opportunity to know him personally.

For this reason it may not be out of place for Free-Lance to say that there is no better officer in Oklahoma, and no cleaner man in his dealings than Grant C. Cowen.

ABOUT JAMES SCHOCK

James J. Schock, whose advertising is carried in the Free-Lance, is in fact nearly a native son in Henryetta.

He came here as a boy with his parents in 1902, and his family lived in Henryetta, where the family continued to reside until after the 1907 election. E.E. Schock, the father, was elected county treasurer, and moved to Okmulgee at that time.

James attended school here, and afterwards worked his way through college in Iowa. He is an active, energetic young man, and has made a remarkable amount of progress already. He is thirty seven years old, and has a wife and three children. They live in Okmulgee.

Mr. Schock declares he seeks the office of representative with a sincere wish to be useful to Okmulgee County in promoting sound legislation, rather than to seek a “soft job.”

Everyone knows that a capable business man as he has proven himself to be cannot afford, as a business proposition, to run for office and particularly that office, it pays less than the actual and necessary expenses account. This proves that Schock wants to be of service to the public rather than to benefit himself.

This man has not lived in Henryetta since he was a boy but the old citizens remember him well. His candidacy is left to the judgement of the Republican voters.

REAL BARGAINS IN REAL ESTATE

We have the following properties for sale. It is a pleasure to show them. We can arrange terms to suit the purchaser.

- Five room modern home on West Cummings. Two blocks from the school. Garage and other improvements.

- Three room plastered house. Been completed only a short while. In first class condition. Liberal terms on this property.

- Six room modern house, only one block from Main Street. This an excellent buy as owner has left city and wants to sell.

- Four room house on hill side. Corner lot 50 by 140. An excellent location, a bargain price for a quick sale.

- Fourteen room apartment house. $250.00 per month income.

- Twenty-nine room apartment house. $360.00 per month income. House $30.00 per month income.

- Four room house, only $150.00 cash and balance monthly. This is only a few of the bargains we are offering at this time. No obligation on your part to see them.

General Brokerage Co., Rooms No. 5-6, Morgan Bldg. Phone 288.

PICKERING HAS QUIT

Levy Pickering is definitely out of the race for sheriff on the Democrat ticket, having withdrawn in favor of John Russell.

Mr. Pickering feels that there were too many Democrats asking for the nomination, and has acted accordingly. He declares he is a Democrat all over and will support the nominee without hesitation.

MAN DROWNED MAY HAVE BEEN MILLIONAIRE

By Associated Press.

Sheriff William McCullough and the police were notified this morning that a body of a drowned man had been found on a sand bar in the Arkansas River, some distance below here.

According to reports to the sheriff the body was found face downward. There was no marks of identification and the man had apparently been dead for several days, so that identification would be difficult.

The body was believed to be that of the unknown man who jumped off the Arkansas River bridge a week ago, and who is thought to be D. H. Thomas, 40, said to have been at one time a Georgia millionaire, who disappeared from a hotel Saturday after behaving in an eccentric manner for several days.

August 1, 1922

SITUATION AT OKMULGEE

With an open endorsement of the Ku Klux Klan for Robert H. Wilson for governor before some 10,000 people here last night, the political situation of Okmulgee county, which only a few hours before had been turned into turmoil by the announcement of the Klan’s official paper at Muskogee that the organization had no favorites, again underwent a sudden and violent shakeup, and this morning the whole thing is more of a mystery that it was ever who will be the Democrats’ choice, to run against John Fields in the November election, asks the Okmulgee Times this morning.

The action of the Klan last night, voiced by W. V. Buckner who represented himself to be an official lecturer of the organization, changed the complexion of things politic here in a moment, and last night there was much speculation as to whether the action made or lost votes for Mr. Wilson in Okmulgee County.

One thing, however, remained certain. There has been a constant drifting of strength during the past three or four days, and at least a half some say much more, some say much less has gone to Thomas H. Owen. And out of it all there has been a decided tendency of the average voter, of whom there are so many and who are too often forgotten as the deciding factor, to analyze just what their vote for Walton, Wilson, or Owen would mean.

There were expressions of sentiment in many quarters and by a few prominent Republicans who would rather their names “be not used” strongly in favor of Walton as the Democratic candidate in the November race whom John Fields could easily beat. From the Democratic side there was a more marked tendency to find out more about the Shawnee Reconstruction League convention that endorsed Walton, and why the farmer element withdrew from it. These things are all having their effect, political sage said last night, and they all agree that there is a tremendous hourly shifting of strength that can hardly be calculated.

EDITOR'S NOTES

Senator Harreld is doing well to advocate the investment of restricted Indian money in bonds of cities, roads and other good Oklahoma securities. If the federal agents really fear to leave this money in Oklahoma banks, this offers them a safe outlet, and at the same time will work well for the state. It will keep the wealth here, where it will pay taxes in the land where the wealth accrued. But Free-Lance fails to get the drift of the danger to restricted funds in Oklahoma. It might be easy to realize that the department would be afraid of state banks, because of the condition of the guaranty fund; but what about the many prosperous national banks in Oklahoma? They are in no more danger in Oklahoma than in any other state, if the federal agents do not want to risk these funds in the guaranteed state banks, why not transfer them to the Oklahoma national banks?

Whatever may be the outcome of the activities of the Ku Klux Klan in today’s primaries, the speech made last night in Okmulgee by Senator Buckner is one that commends itself to all good Americans, whether they approve the Klan or not. In this speech Senator Buckner called into action for the Klan all those old fashioned virtues that made our early civilization virile and strong both individually and as a people. He spoke of those homely notions that now, unfortunately, are not so prevalent, and which go a long way in the shaping of brave men and really good women. These sentiments are wholesome, no matter who presents them.

Today is big with events, but hard on the newspapers. No one knows what to say. Events are transpiring, great matters are moving along but cannot arrive in time to be recorded in an afternoon paper. Voters are sweating through the long list of candidates, and are selecting their favorite standard bearers for the November election. But none are known standard bearers during the working time of the afternoon paper. Yet we hope that nothing in the way of crime shall occur, even though there be little news in the paper.

Some benighted people think to take “Alice out of Wonderland” today. But they have sadly miscounted. Miss Alice has the assurance of thousands of old friends that she shall get her wish. Her opponent will wonder, tomorrow, where that cyclone came from. He need not wonder, either. It comes from homes where Alice Robertson’s name has been cherished for years and years.

The ballot shortage is being ascribed by some Walton men as a trick against their candidate. Democrats as to put out of all proportion the number of Democratic ballots required. No thoughtful person believes that all the people now registered Democratic will vote that ticket in November. Thus it is that the feeling finds lodgment in the minds of the Walton people that the shortage is against their side. The example set by Denison people today is catch

The example set by Denison people today is catching. The whole country will applaud, and if the people all over the nation had taken that means to end strife and trouble at the beginning the great railroad strike would have been settled long ago.

BALLOT SHORTAGE

After all the years of experience in holding elections, the old cry of ballot shortage was raised here before noon today.

Both state and county ballots were short. The letter could be mended by procuring additional supplies from Okmulgee where the ballots were printed. Chairman Bob Whitenton personally brought more than five hundred extra county ballots to supply the shortage in this city.

Appeals came to Free-Lance to print state ballots, but the time was too short and the thing was utterly impossible, impossible to supply the ballots in time to do the voters any good.

People immediately suspected trickery, but it could not at once be decided in whose favor such a thing would be. If the shortage had been local, then it might be explained soon. The local shortage, however, was soon remedied, and thus the matter stands. The entire shortage might be due to inefficiency rather than any intent to put anything over.

It does not strain, however, that with all the facilities for printing there should not be enough ballots for the voters to all get a ballot.

GIRL SUES TO RECOVER LARGE ESTATE

A charge that she was defrauded out of an estate and proceeds from it amounting altogether to at least $50,000 is made in a petition filed yesterday in district court by Martha Daniels.

The fraud is charged on the part of Richard H. Hill, her guardian, who says “violated his oath as a guardian and his honor as her guardian.”

Martha, who is a African American girl, formerly Martha Birney, says that Hill had her sign a warranty deed transferring all her possessions to his wife, when she did not realize what she was signing, and that she was kept in ignorance both of the value of her estate and of the fact that she had signed it all away, until her suspicions were aroused, she does not say by what or whom, about sixty days ago.

Martha asks for the return of the estate and for an accounting of all the rentals and proceeds for the land naming Mr. and Mrs. Hill and Hill’s sureties, H Garwood, Wash Adams, J. C. Lunsford, and A. Dubose also as defendants.

She claims that while she was away at school her guardian wrote often to her, with instructions to destroy all correspondence, she said believing that he knew right, and when he sent to her a paper to be signed she did so without questioning.

The paper, she says, she found later to be a warranty deed in which she conveyed her property to Mrs. Frances Hill for almost nothing. The suit was filed by the law firm of Spears, Franklin and Chapel, of Tulsa.

BASED ON “JOHN DOE” WARRANT

The strong point made by the defenders of the Volstead act is that it absolutely protects the home. It provides that no search warrant shall ever be issued on information and belief but that commissioner from whom the search warrant is asked shall examine the witnesses under oath and that the application for the warrant shall forth the name of the person owning of occupying the premises proposed to be searched and that the evidence presented to the commissioner shall be positive before the search warrant shall be issued. Many cases against persons charged with violation of the prohibition laws failed by reason of defective search warrants.

It has been the practice, not only in Oklahoma, but in other states, to take any kind of a search warrant, on any kind of a presentation and invade homes in violation of the constitution of the United States. One was issued a few days ago in Henryetta, by a justice of the peace against “John Doe” and a “3–room house on Broadway.” This search warrant was used to invade the home of a man whose name was not “John Doe” and some “choc” was found there. The man entered a plea of guilty in police court and paid a fine of $50. Had the case been contested it must have failed in any court of record as the search warrant was defective and was issued on information and belief.

Damage suits have been expected along the line and one has been instituted.

Carolina Nobliski has filed suit in the superior court against Walter Brown, as principal and M. C. Walker, Everett Circle, D.M. Davis, Tom Jackson, C.L. Nelson, Jim Key and C.V. Boots as sureties, to recover damages in the sum of $1,000.

The plaintiff alleges in her petition that on July 15, 1922 she was at her home in Coalton, at about 4 pm in the afternoon, when the defendant Walter Brown, a constable of Schulter township came to her home, entered it and showing her a John Doe warrant demanded that he be allowed to search her house, which she alleges he did, finding nothing; that he was accompanied by Tom Miller, and that after the house had been searched by the constable, the said Miller started to go to her cellar and she tried to prevent him so doing as she had her money hidden there and was afraid he would find and take it.

Then she alleges that the said Walter Brown, acting in his capacity as constable, jerked her baby from her arms and threw it on the floor; that he then punched the plaintiff with his fist in the abdomen and stomach; that he jerked her out of the house and out of the yard, taking her before a justice of the peace where she was fined $1 and costs amounting to $18.40; that she has appealed from the finding of the justice and such appeal is now pending.

She alleges that she was hurt, bruised and injured and has been damaged in the sum of $1,000 for which amount she asks judgement.