Oklahoma State Register. (Guthrie, Okla.), Vol. 25, No. 48, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 16, 1915 Page: 2 of 8
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|>AGE TWO
OKLAHOMA STATE REGISTER
GtTHKIE AMIS HAD A GREAT
TIME.
Ijster Sapper and an I m pro nipt*
rrograiu of 8|>eecl es, Music
and Irritations
Guthrie Local with Dave Sowers as
president, gave a very enjoyable oy-
ster supper and an entertainment
consisting of piano music, songs, rec-
itations and addresses in the Odd
bellows Hall, Tuesday evening. The
ntertainment program was entirely
poutaneous, picked from talent in
he audience. After an appetizing
rster stew supper and other good
hings, furnished on the ground by
.hef Burnett, at which the women
vere the guests and the Antis wait-
ed on tables, the company repaired to
the lodge room and had a really
neighborly time. Ye editor of the
Searchlight was forced into an im-
promptu master of ceremonies and
picked the talent from the audience,
each after his special fitness. Miss
Burke, daughter of J. D. Burke treas-
urer of the Antis, opened with a
piano solo. She was followed by Miss
Dorothy Friable, who also responded
to an cncorc. It was surprising how I
xnauy persons, when the company be-
gan to thaw out, were drawn into
surprising themselves and others by
what they could do. In quick succes-
sion, Miss Anderson gave a delight-
ful recitation, so did Mrs. Will Patter-
son, H. D. Stewart, the county treas-
urer, J. D. Burke, C. E. Friable and
Postal Carrier Norton. Judge John
D. Chappelle was present and the
master of ceremonies told the aud-
ience of his rare talent as a singer
and the greatly pleased the audience
With his surprising voice, while Mrs.
Cavolt played the accompaniments
on the piano. Ye editor himself, to
show he would not force others to do
■what he would not do himself, sang
a song, to the delightful dismay of
everybody. By this time Miss Mary
Wenner consented to make a very
tumorous recitation. Then the mas-
er of ceremonies introduced Wayn
fenkins, a member of the state execu-
tive committee of the Antis. who
made a very instructive address i n
some of the greatest benefits of the
Anti order—the protection to the
families of the members. Or. L. D.
(Browne 'made an adjdretis, asking
members to report lodge and neigh-
borhood news for the Searchlight.
The evening ended by the whole aud-
ience marching around the hall, to
the march music played by Mrs. Ca-
olt, and on out of the hall and home.
There were over one hundred pres-
nt, Antis, their families and visi-
ors, and all declared they had a
'ood time.
A SPLIT l.\ THE FftKD PARTY
tcMolutiou Airainst Preparedness is
0p|M>se4 by Some of the Pilgrims.
On' Beard the Steamship Oscar II
by wireless via steamship Noordam),
)ec. 13.—A resolution condemning
'resident Wilson s preparedness pol-
cy brought a protest from some of
he members of Henry Ford's peace
arty last night, when it was pre-
ented. The resolution was drawn
p by the Rev. Jenkin Jones and the
lev. Charles F. Aked and others, who
sked that it be signed by all the
members of the party as their plat-
orm.
More than a dozen members, in-
luding S. S. McClure of New York
end Judge Ben B. Lindsey of Den-
er, refused to sign, on the ground
hat the resolution was unpatriotic.
Some of them even threatened to
eave the party after it reached Eu-
ope if the proposed platform wus
ut through. Its supporters said the
opponents of the resolution failed
o understand the spirit of Mr. Ford's
nvitation.
Ford and twenty-one other peace
delegates signed the declaration. Nine
I ther leaders refused.
| Doctor Aked who was one of the
first to accept Ford's invitation to
make the peace trip, intimated very
plainly that those who refused to at-
ach their names to the resolution
#ould be unloaded at the first port,
"he voyagers who refused to sign
ushed to Ford to find out whether
)oetor Aked had authority for his
tatement Ford denied that they
vould be unloaded and asserted that
he ywould continue as his welcome
uests, despite their personal feel-
ngs toward the President's message,
ord, however, continued to support
he majority.
The minority carried Ford's mes-
age back to Doctor Aked. The con-
ersation veered from acrimonious
ebate to violent altercations in
.'hich the language became not only
xtremely personal, but occasionally
rofane.
Fearing that a wide split might en-
anger the success of the peace mis-
ion, some of the cooler heads are
ttempting to reunite the two fac-
f.ons. Thus far they have met with
ittle success. They are proposing as
compromise measure that the peace
dvocates adopt a resolution opposing
ompetitive armaments, but avoiding
pecific reference to President Wil-
on's preparedness plea.
Negro Bookman First Flectric Chair Victim.
May Decrease Mob Hangings
nor Lee Cruce's objections in its use, j
the death penalty has been totally
abondoned during the past four
years.
Twenty-three persons were sen-
tenced to die during the administra-
tion of Governor Cruce, but only one
of them was executed. That was at
the beginning of the Cruce adminis-
tration, before he had announced his
definite policy of opposition, when
Frank Henson, a negro, was hanged
at Tulsa for the murder of Charles
McAlester, Dec., 10.—At 12:42 shipped, if not, buried in the Potters
o'clock tihis morning a silent signal field. Sixty-eight witnessed the elec-
was given, a hidden hand behind a trorutioo.
drawn curtain pulled a lever in the E. H. Hardin and Daley Hardin of
switchboard and 2,500 volts of elec- Fame, Okla., McIntosh county, sons
tricity shot through the form of Heuiy of Bookman's victim, accompanied by j stumper at Dawson. The punish-
Bookman, the McIntosh county negro Beven farmer boys from near Fame, I niei1.^ °f °^er 22 was commuted
who was sentenced to death for the arrived late tonight to attend the to imprisonment,
murder of llicih Hardin, a white farm- electrocution. Daley Hardin with 0> Mothe for ( rime.
er, April 2 last. At 12:43 tue prison four other boys from Fame were re-L. mo^ve ^or ki"in8 of Rich
physician pronounced Bookman dead fused admission to witness the elec
and Oklahoma's first victim of
tlocution had passed into
Two shocks from the electric switch- yelled "kill .him, kill him," then stood
board were required to complete the over him while a horrible, tearing,
electrocution. Alter a first applica- grinding wrenched his whole body
Lion of ten seconds Bookman still jh&unted Henry Bookman all Wednes-
fi.iowed signs of lite. His eyes slowly (jay night, the last full night he was , , throaton™! w
opened, the pupils rolled 111 their t(, h.lve chance to rest. Bookman1 threatened his
! Hardin, for which Bookman was sen-
of elec- trocution because they are under age. J ,('n' ('d to he electrocuted, has ever
<>iornitv i, o ... . ,, , been discovered, although the testi-
, «W rr;\"!s, °f, * ,tftI . ? anJ J/h0, roony in Bookman's trial at Eufula
mony
indicated that it was a premeditated
and unusually brutal assult.
Bookman himself, testifying in this
own defense, declared that (Hardin
life, that the
' • io nave a einance 10 rest, nootuuuii , ,,hiiu u,wl uui him
I',"1 roHu<!^ told the World correspondent today. S, tf ZS uZ
through the gaping insertion in tue The condemned negro didn't sleep
death mask. A second shock of 17 .much but awoke with revived spirits
seconds and Bookman's body was ly
ing limp in the chair.
A half hour beforo the time set for
the electrocution, a corps of six news-
paper men wero permitted to visit
Bookman in his death cell. "I'm
ready," he said. "I'm going' to walk
rigat in aud walk right through It
like a man. Ain't that the way to
do it?"
When the bars of the death cell
swung open, however, Bookman's legs
were wobbly, he walked steadfastly
into the death chamber, slowly mumb-
ling a prayer, but the prison chaplain,
A. B. Johnson, aud Night Sergeant
Charles Campbell had to sustain him
on each side. Two seconds later he
was strapped into the chair. "Be
good, boys,'' Bookman said to the
crowd as the straps began to tighten
about him. Then he dropped into a
mumbling prayer of "Oh Lord, ihave
mercy on my soul,'' the sound slowly
dying out until his lips moved in
prayer.
An old-time negro melody, "I am
Going to Meet My Jesus Over There,"
he told the newspaper men, was his
favorite song. He sung one stanza
and chorus in a quavering and plain-
tive voice, then stood in his cell and,
hands with the entire bunch of visi-
tors.
Under the shock of the electric cur-
rent, Bookman's body stiffened sud-
denly, gripped hard as if -holding onto
life, then relaxed. The seeming grip-
A CAMPAIGN FOR POM>
BUILDING,
Game Karden Joihn Ghenoweth will
Inaugurat a campaign for the build-
ing of artificial ponds and reservoirs
in Oklahoma. In a letter to President
Frank Gault of the board of agricul-
ture he asks the co-operation of that
department through the state agricul-
ture schools, extension and farmers
Sihort courses and other agencies and
that the federal farm demonstration
agents be urged to join in the cam-
paign, which suggests should be push-
ed In advance of the building of Okla-
homa's first fish hatchery this winter
and the federal distribution of fish for
the year. ,
"The state law exempts from tax-
ation lands used for ponds," says Mr.
Chenoweth. "The value to live stock
and benefits to drouth conditions is
inestimable. These ponds would con-
tribute to the propagation of game and
insectiverous birds whose value to
cotton raisers in the destruction of
bool weevil is estimated toy Prof. Nice
already to be over one hundred mil-
lions annually. Trees will soon fringe
these ponds and the improvement will
be wonderful. If every farm not al-
ready supplied with running water
had ponds or reservoirs well stocked
■with fish their food value would soon
mount into millions. These induce-
ments properly presented should re-
sult in the building of thousands of
(ponds in Oklahoma this winter."
CHINA AGAIN AN K.HP1KE.
Peking, Dec. 11.—Yuan Shi Kai,
president of the Chinese republic has
accepted the imperial throne of
China tendered to him by the coun-
cil of state.
Acting as a parliament, the coun-
cil of state today canvassed the vote
on the question of a change in the
form of government of China to a
monarchy and found that the votes
of 1,993 representatives out of 1,043
qualified to vote on the proposition
were favorable to change.
The council of state immediately
sent to Yuan Shi Kai a petition urg-
ing him to accept the throne. He
declined at first, but when the pe-
tition was forwarded to him a sec-
ond time he accepted with the pro-
viso that he would continue to act
as president until u convenient time
for the coronation.
WILL ENTERTAIN COUNTY
CHLLBKEN.
The Retail Business Men's Asso-
ciation af this city has leased two of
the leading thearers for Saturday, Dec.
18. and will give Christmas parties
for the school children of the county
on that day. There will be a Santa
Claus, Christmas speeches, moving
pictures, vaudeville, a treat of candy
and a present for every county
scholar, all of whom have been furn-
ished free tickets. Grown people and
town scholars can not get in at any
price.
NICK STEVENS' SALE.
Wednesday. Dec. 29, Nicholas Stev-
ens will hold an auction sale at his
farm, 2 miles east and 3 miles south
of Logan County Bank corner, com-
mencing at ten o'clock.
Nick Stevens is recognized as one
of the most progressive farmers in
the county, formerly being in the
employ of the Government as farm
demonstrator for Logan county.
Hence, without doubt all of the hor-
ses, mules, cows, hogs and poultry he
will sell will be of high grnde and
good quality. He will also sell some
farming implements, a lot of feed,
farm seeds and household goods—
everything goes as Mr. Stevens is re-
tiring from the farm.
There will be a free lunch but in-
asmuch as "Nick" is a widower, he
may undertake to do the cooking. In
that case, we make no guarantees.
Anyway, you'll be welcome.
this morning, ate heartily of breakfast
and dinner and talked freely and even
happily at times, though in a wheez-
ing, husky voice, barely audible be-
cause of the condition of his throat.
"Ain't Afraid to Die."
"Nab, 1 ain't afraid to die." he said.
"Everybody's got to die." When I'm
dead I'm dead, that's all."
Bookman was baptised shortly after
being .brought to the prison. For the
past several days he has spelled out
passages from a little Bible the
chaplain had given him and he says he
has made his peace with God.
But Bookman persists that he can't
remember having killed Hardin. He
professes not even to have known the
white man.
"Nah, I ain't guilty. I never done
nothing to be killed for. Don't know
why they going kill me less it is
because they got me in here. All I
want is for you to send me home. My
folks might want my body, though
don't know as anybody cares about
me now.
Bookman's mother lives in Chico,
Texas. His father is somewhere in
Oklahoma. Four brothers and two
sisters are living.
The hour of electrocution was
fixed at 1 o'clock so as to avoid pos-
sible trouble with prisoners. There
was no demonstration this evening as
the prisoners marched to their cells.
The electrocution of Bookman not
only marks the beginning of the use
ping was repeated at the beginning of I of lhe electric cJiair as a means of
the second shock then the whole form
collapsed.
Bookman's body will be held by a
local undertaker until word is re-
ceived from his mother in Chico,
inflicting the death penalty in Okla
ham a, but also marks the revival of
capital punishment as a penalty for
crime. Capital punishment has never
been removed from the statute books
Texas. If she wants it, it will be | of Oklahoma, tout,, because of Gover-
If You Don't Want To Store
Your Cotton We'll Buy It
CASTORIA
For Infants and Children
In Use For Over 30 Years
Always bears
Signature of
GEO. GAFFNEY
& P. LONG
Auc t ion eers
Sales made anywhere. Write or
phone for open dates.
tiUTllltlE, OKLAHOMA.
In our recent letters we have discussed the proposition of
leaving cotton out in the yard where it is liable to damage from
fire or weather. Therefore, we leave this matter of storing your
cotton entirely with you. Believing after careful consideration,
that you would not consider leaving it out in the weather or even
storing it in your barn or granary on account of the risk of fire.
IN REGARD TO MARKETING COTTON.
We believe if you will refer to our letter of August 12th in
which we advised you in our judgment we would see much higher
prices for cotton and one of the things that would bring this about
would be the proper marketing of the crop. It is true that the
decree in acreage has had a great effect in bringing about higher
prices. While in the eastern states on account of the low price
that prevailed for cotton through last spring they were unable
to buy fertilizer which they are compelled to use in Alabama,
Tennessee, Georgia, North and South Carolina. These states
especially have to use fertilizer in order to get anything like a
yield per acre.
After having traveled the past two weeks through'portions
of Texae, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabam, North and
South Carolinas the writer is convinced that the crop is going
to be a little larger than the recent report by the Government.
But this would not necessarily have broken the m rket as it has
been in the past two weeks. Our idea of this is on account of the
very good weather that has prevailed over the entire cotton belt
for the past three weeks and the rush of cotton to the market is
altogether responsible for the break in price of more than one
cent per pound. And we believe if the farmers would only stop
rushing in on the market and would store up a few bales that be-
fore the first of March they would be well paid for the trouble and
expense they have gone to to store or warehouse this cotton. And
if this is done immediately and stop rushing the cotton on to the
market you will find there would be an advance of 1 to IV2 cents
per pound within the next two or three weeks. We cannot urge
you too strongly to store your cotton for the present.
If you do not care to put it in the warehouse and pay stor-
age on it, we have a proposition whereby we will take the cotton
into our mill, work it up and give you a receipt or due bill for
same. This will relieve you of any expense whatever and when-
ever you are ready to sell the cotton we are ready to buy it. Of
course we get the use of the cotton until such time as you want to
sell it. We have a great number of customers who have been
delivering us their cotton for the past three or four years on this
kind of a deal and we believe any of them that you will talk to,
will tell you it is entirely satsifactory.
So if you do not wish to sell your cotton now and do not care
to go to the expense of putting it in the warehouse bring it to the
mill and we will give you a receipt or due bill for it giving you
the privilege of selling any time you desire.
We would be glad to have you come to the mill and talk this
matter over with us if you are interested in the prposoition.
THE PIONEER COTTON MILLS
By J. E. Douglass.
when tiheir tinal trouble began and
that, as a means of protecting him-
self, he had wrestled a shotgun from
Hardin's hands and used it upon his
assailant.
The killing occurred at the ihome of
George Booth, a negro farmer for
whom Bookman was working. Ac-
cording to the story of Lizzie Booth,
George Booth's wife, Hardin had
come to their house for the purpose
of buying an old buggy wheel with
which to replace one that had broken
down. Botii Booth and Bookman
were in the field at the time. With-
in a few minutes after Hardin
rived, Bookman appeared at the door,
explaining that he was sick and
wanted tae negro woman to prepare
him some medicine. She went into
the next room to get the medicine but
before she crossed the room &he heard
two shots in quick succession.
When she left the room Hardin
was sitting just inside the door and
Bookman was standing .in <the door-
way, above which a double-barreled
shotgun was resting. When she ran
back to the door both men were
standing and Bookman was beating
Hardin over the head writh the shot-
gun and Hardin, with hands uplifted
was attempting to ward off the blows.
The negress cried to Bookman to stop
his attack, but failing to gain his at-
tention, she ran out into the yard,
crying for help. Hardin emerged
from the front door a moment later,
ran ten or fifteen steps, then fell to
the ground face downward. Book-
man, following, struck the white man
several time over the head after he
had fallen.
After the killing Bookman at-
tempted to leave, but the negro wom-
an, with the aid of her husband, who
arrived soon afterward, forced him to
remain.
Mob Went After Him
The killing occurred in Che after-
noon of April 2 this year. On the
night of April 3 a mob of farmers
"went to Eufaula, wiheTe Bookman
was confined in jail, intent upon
lynching the black man. The McIn-
tosh county sheriff spirited his pris-
oner away, however, and brought him
to the state penitentiary for safe
keeping. To prevent further attempts
of mob violence District Judge
W. Higgins made a special setting of
the case for May 21. On the twenty-
ninth of that month a jury in the dis
trict court returned a verdict of mur-
der. fixing Bookman's penalty at death
in the electric chair.
Judge Higgins first set the date of
electrocuton on August 6, :but, pend
ng the action of the state court of
criminal appeals, to whoh appeal had
been taken, the date was extended to
October 6. A further stay of exe-
cution was granted at that time, since
the court hadn't yet acted upon the
cause, and when the judgment of the
trial court was affirmed October 11
the date of execution was finally
fixed as December 10. Friday of last
week Gov. R. L. Williams announced
that he would not interfere with the
mandates of the state court.
Seven Since Statehood.
With the electrocution of Bookman
the number of persons who have been
legally executed since statehood is
reased to seven. The five who were
executed during Governor Haskali's
administration were: Frank Ford, a
negro. executed at Frederick for the
murder of his wife: John Hopkins, a
white man. who killed his sweetheart
Lena Craig, near Miami; Will John-
son, negro, twice convicted of the mur-
der of Mary Cuppy, an aged white
woman; Alf Hunter, negro, who was
hanged in Blaine county for the mur-
der of Sheriff George W. Garrison of
Oklahoma county; and John Black
negro, who was executed at Holden-
ville for the murder of J. M. Stephens
Was Senator For 30 Years
Francis Marion Cockrell Washing-
ton's Most Popular Senator.
Washington, Dec. 13.—Francis Mar-
ion Cockrell former United States
senator from Missouri, died here to-
day.
Old age and infirmities caused his
death,
As a mark of respect the senate
adjourned today to noon Thursday.
Francis Marion Cockrell served
Missouri in the United States senate
thirty years. When Roosevelt
carried Missouri in 1904 and the
state swung into the republican col-
umn, the senator was succeeded by
Col. William Warner, but the new
president promptly appointed Cock-
rell a member of the interstate com-
merce commission.
Senator Cockrell was born in John-
son county, Missouri, October 1,
1834, was admitted to the bar in
855 and opened a Law office in
Warrensburg. When the war be-
tween the states broke out he enlis-
ted in the confederate army and rose
from the rank of captain to brigadier j
general.
Saved Girl's Life
"I want to tell you what wonderful benefit 1 have re-
ceived from the use of Thedford's Black-Draught," writes
Mrs. Sylvania Woods, of Clifton Mills, Ky.
"It certainly has no equal for la grippe, bad colds,
liver and stomach troubles. I firmly believe Black-Draught
saved my little girl's life. When she had the measles,
they went in on her, but one good dose of Thedford's
Black-Draught made them break out, and she has had no
more trouble. I shall never be without
THEDFORD'S
BLack-Dra( gHT
in my home." For constipation, indigestion, headache, dizzi-
ness, malaria, chills and fever, biliousness, and all similar
ailments, Thedford's Black-Draught has proved itself a safe,
reliable, gentle and valuable remedy.
If you suffer from any of these complaints, try Black-
Draught. It is a medicine of known merit Seventy-five
years of splendid success proves its value. Good for
young and old. For sale everywhere. Price 25 cents.
THE "GREEN BI G" APPEARS
AGAIN.
Measures Hecoiiuneiided by the De-
partment of Agriculture to Mini-
mize Danger of Serious Out-
break in <'oiiii"g Spring.
Office of information, U. S. Dept., of
Agriculture.
Washington, D. C., Dec. 14.—The
"green bug," otherwise known as the
spring grain aphis, has made its ap-
pearance in Tennessee, Texas, Okla-
homa, Kansas and New Mexico. Farm-
ers are urged by the United States De-
partment of Agriculture to watch
their fields carefully for spots where
the pest is abundant and the wheat
plants change to a red or yellow
or If straw is abundant, this should
be spread over the spots and burned.
The danger of a serious outbreak in
the coming spring will depend upon
weather conditions between this and
April 1.
PREVENT WAR OF AGGRESSION*
Washington, Dec. 11.—Senator Owen
fo Oklahoma would have the Federal
Constitution amended to prevent any
war of aggression by this Nation with-
out approval by the popular vote. The
Oklahoma Senator will press a resolu-
ainendment to the Constitution:
"No war of aggression shall be
waged by the army or navy of the
United States, except upon a declar-
ation of war by Congress, ratified and
approved by a majority of votes cast
color. Such spots or areas should be in a majority of the congressional
immediately plowed under and rolled,districts of the United States."
THE GUTHRIE HOSPITAL AND SANITARIUM
One Block Eisl ol the C«urt House
The Guthrie Hospital is one of the best equipped Hospitals in the State, alsc
equipped to give steam baths, massages a nd electric treatments, the mineral water
Is used in Hospital. .The Hospital is open to all reputable Surgeons and Physlc-
ans and we are extendng every courtesy, consistent with good business methods
to ♦.hem and their patients.
GUTHRIE HOSPITAL AND SANITARIUM, Guthrie, Okla.
W. M. Bkonson, Preiident
L. D. bronson, Sec. and Trea
Oklahoma Mortgage and Trust Co.
FARM LOANS
Lowest rates. Interest and principal payable at our < ffice.
Phone 306 108 W. Oklahoma Ave. GUTHRIE, OKLA
the:
fiRSi National Bank
Special Attention Given to Small Ac-
counts, and those not in the habit of
Keeping a Bank Account.
Total resources over one and a quarter
million dollars.
We invite applications for loans both large and
small.
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HcAiester,
Canon City
Wier C ty,
Piedmont,
Montreal,
Anthracite.
COALI
J. B. FAIRFIELD
TRANSFER, COAL and STORAGE
ESTABLISHED 1888
OFFICE AND YARDS 407 W. 1IAURIS0X AYB,
k
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Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Golobie, John. Oklahoma State Register. (Guthrie, Okla.), Vol. 25, No. 48, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 16, 1915, newspaper, December 16, 1915; Guthrie, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc169520/m1/2/?q=%22dewey+redman%22: accessed July 18, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.