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

Aug. 21, 1922

WHERE ARE WE AT?

This memorable query of Jerry Simpson, the “sockless statesman” of Kansas in a day gone by, must be well applied to the democratic party of Oklahoma, according to Clark C. Hudson, capital correspondent of the Tulsa World, when he writes his paper, as follows: With two platforms and four or five campaign headquarters, the democracy of Oklahoma fares forth and shakes its gory locks, ready to devour whatever may come along next. In sooth, it will be difficult to tread ones way around without either stepping on a democratic platform or getting into democratic headquarters.

Following the remarkable convention held by the democrats of Oklahoma last Tuesday, at which an even more remarkable platform was constructed, at least three schools of opinion have emerged.

One element asserts that the platform is in alignment with the Shawnee program; another declares that it casts out the League devil while a third insists that the thing is a straddle, all “sound and fury, signifying nothing.” The majority seems to agree that it is not what the people who nominated Walton voted for, and that the candidate and the platform are incompatible.

Walton himself is greatly dissatisfied with the document, according to his league supporter’s so much so that he was constrained to come out two days after it was born and disown it.

A majority of the delegates to the convention were anti-Walton, having been selected at snap conventions where county seat machine politicians met by private arrangement and elected themselves, their purpose being to salvage what was left of the party and to prevent utter destruction of the old machine.

Therefore, it was not strange that the supporters of the Shawnee program, after a few rounds with the organization and its hand-picked experts at the stockyards coliseum last Tuesday, should have wondered if they had stumbled into a slaughter house by mistake.

As it turned out, the convention was much more of a Robertson affair than a Walton event. Instead of ratifying the new it ratified the old. As a matter of history, it may be stated that most of it was written by Baxter Taylor, appointee and chief exponent of Robertsonism in Oklahoma, the Shawnee platform at once lost its first plank, which treated of “graft in the state departments,” and in lieu thereof was inserted most of the governors speech to the convention in defense of his administration.

Taylor had been a member of the Oklahoma county convention committee on resolutions, which only a week before had declared that “we favor the state convention endorsing from start to finish the platform adopted by the Shawnee convention, dealing with state affairs.” He was not a member of the resolutions committee at the state convention; but wrote most of the platform nevertheless, as the personal representative of Governor Robertson, and it was accepted by a majority of the committee. In this performance, his “start to finish” seems neither to have begun at the start nor ended at the finish.

And while the governor, his eyes in fine frenzy rolling, was hurling anathema at his enemies in a vituperative speech before the delegates, Taylor was phrasing the platform behind the stage curtain where the committee on resolutions was listening to what it was about to write.

After the majority resolutions were read to the convention and had been adopted, they were returned to Taylor, who took them for two days before he considered them sufficiently harmless to release for publication.

Meanwhile, all inquiries as to the whereabouts of the precious document were parried at state headquarters by the statement that nobody knew where the platform was located, and this mystery prevailed until an enterprising reporter went to an Ouija board and worked it out.

The League adherents have discovered to their dismay that not only their exemption of $1,000 on personal property, and their state bank, but that others of their most important demands were confirmed by the convention. The tax proposed on “gross earnings” was changed to read “earnings,” which practically nullified the plan.

REPUBLICAN MEETING TO BE ON THURSDAY

A county wide meeting of “everyone interested in good government” was called for Thursday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock in the county room, by Mrs. Guy Steele, vice chairman of the republican committee, yesterday.

The purpose of the meeting will be to choose delegates to the state republican convention at Oklahoma City on Aug. 28, and Mrs. Steele said it is hoped that everyone in the county, democrat or republican who wants to see a new and a cleaner deal in this state will come to the meeting.

A number of prominent speakers will address the meeting, and the delegates will be elected from the county at large.

Mrs. Steele called up the office of the Free Lance this afternoon and said she wanted to impress upon the minds of the members of the party in Henryetta the necessity of their sending a good representation to the meeting. It promises to be of more than passing importance and every republican who possibly can do so should attend the meeting Thursday.

HABEAS CORPUS FIRES BACK IN ONE MANS CASE

There was a peculiar outcome to a hearing on a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the superior court. W. B. Collinsworth and W. V. Parsons, confined in the county jail at Okmulgee on charges of highway robbery and car theft, were brought here to have a hearing on the petition they had filed, seeking reduction of the amount of bail on which they were charged or to be released.

Assistant County Attorney Williams had no notice of the pending petition, or that it would be taken up for hearing, but the results following the action in the superior court did not really require his services.

Following the hearing, the order of the court was that the case against Collinsworth, as to robbery, was dismissed, but he was held in the car theft case in bail of $2,500.

On the other hand, Parsons had the case dismissed against him as to car theft but he was held in the highway robbery case and his bail fixed at $10,000 instead of $5,000, as it had formerly been made.

In default of bond both the defendants were recommitted to the county jail at Okmulgee.

There were two or three judgements rendered in this court suits on claims and accounts.

One divorce case was heard, the decree going to the plaintiff, Ethel Grant, who had sued her husband, Albert Grant.

RETURNS FROM CANADA AND CALIFORNIA

Judge Joseph P. Rossiter returned to Henryetta today from an extended trip to the west and northwest. He has been to Medicine Hat, in Alberta, Canada, and to Long Beach, Calif., where his family now is. He will return to Long Beach in a few days.

Judge Rossiter was a candidate on the democratic ticket in the Aug. 1 primary election for representative in the legislature from this county and although he was called away during the campaign he evidently knew his people and his friends and they voted for him in his absence and he was nominated with a goodly number of votes to spare.

While at Medicine Hat, Judge Rossiter visited with Mr. Swan, formerly of this city.

JEWELS VALUED AT $2,000 ARE LOOT OF THIEF

The loss of jewelry valued at $2,000 was reported to the police last night. Mrs. Guy Reynolds was spending the night with Mrs. Martha Reynolds, at her home, 304 West Trudgeon Street. She had been downtown and on returning home after dark removed her rings from her fingers and took off the other jewels she was wearing and put them in a stocking, preparatory to hiding them for the night. Placing the stocking on a case, she left the room for a minute and on her return the stocking and jewels were missing.

The officers are of the opinion that some thief was either looking through a window and saw her remove the jewels, or was hidden in the house or securing them, making a complete get away. Not a clue had been found by the police up to the middle of this afternoon.

MAN FROM LOST RIVER

When Frank Llyod, Goldwyn director, was assigned to make Katherine Newlin Burt’s story, “The Man from Lost River,” he was confronted with the problem of bringing together the giant redwoods of the forest and a motion picture studio. Practically every scene in the picture, which comes to the Cozy Theatre for two days, Wednesday and Thursday, had to have big timber atmosphere. A completely equipped lumber camp was put up on the shores of Huntington Lake. The buildings, being constructed of new lumber, had to be “aged” that is, sprayed inside and out with number, a greenish brown liquid, before any of the scenes could be taken.

Aug. 23, 1922

MAN TRIES TO SAVE WIFE BUT BOTH DROWN

Unable to loosen his wife’s arms from around his neck when he attempted to rescue her from deep water, Howard K. Hastings, 25 years old, was drowned with Mrs. Hastings, 23 years old, while swimming in Cimarron River near their home, four miles west of Perkins, Monday night.

Both could swim, the husband being considered an expert. Because of the swift current he attempted to help her. When recovered two hours later, the bodies were clasped together. They were buried at Stillwater Tuesday. Hastings’ brother and sister and others were in the swimming party.

Hastings was the son of James K. Hastings, a pioneer Payne county farmer. Both of the drowned had been students at Oklahoma A and M College. They were married at Stillwater March 10, 1922.