1
A
VOL 14 NO 50
OKEMAH OKLAHOMA THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 13 1917
$150 PER YEAR
1
i
i
'i
t
i
f
i
'i
f
FIRST DEGREE
MANSLAUGHTER
w Jury Leaves Penalty to be Fixed
’ By Court in Case of State
vs Ed Reeces
District court convened Monday
morniug at this place with Judge Geo
C Crump presiding - -
John Rose was excused from jury
service on account of having a con-
tract which he had to complete by Oc-
tober 1st or forfeit $10 a day
T W Blackman of Weleetka was
excused from jury service claiming
his exemption on the grounds of be-
ing over 60 years of age
J T Turner was excused from the
regular venire by reason of being en-
gaged in teaching School and having
an important position during the
county fair
R C Johnson was excused from ve-
nire temporarily on account of suf-
fering with an affection of the eyes
W M Keir was excised from jury
service on account of having the con-
tract for feeding the cavalry troop
Harry Flanders was excused from
the venire on account of being en-
gaged in the dairy business and hav-
ing no one who understood the work
to leave in his place
Judge Crump delivered an address
to the jury after which he dismissed
them till 8:30 Tuesday morning
After a few motions' were heard
and passed upon and demurrers ar-
gued the court took a recess until
Tuesday morning
Tuesday the case of the State vs
Ed Reece charged with the murder of
W A Reeves was “called
An extra venire consisting of 30 ju-
rors from different parts of the county
was issued Monday and most of them
were here Tuesday ready to answer to
their names
A jury was empanelled in the Reece
murder case after one man had been
disqualified and the State and defense
had each availed itself of eight per-
emptory challenges
The jury was sworn in and turned
over to a special bailiff at 11:45 Tues-
day morning after which the court
took a recess to 1 O’clock
Following are the names of the jur-
ors 4n the case of the State vs Ed
Reece:
J W Newton J M Bass F E
Luckett J L Conley G W Hudson
H L Booten 'R M Bowers A E
Collins J W Massey J J Whitson
F L Irick J W Carson
The first witness called by the State
was Mrs W A Reeves widow of the
man who was killed The witness tes-
tified that her husband was making
a share crop on the farm of W P
Reece father of the defendant On
the morning that her husband was
killed April 21st her two little boys
had been sent to the home of W P
Reece to get the team which they had
been using in the crop as they in-
tended to haul some wood and then
go to town for some supplies
Reece the witness stated refused
to let the boys have the team unless
they intended to use it in the field
The little boys returned home and
told their father of the refusal of W
P Reece to let them have the team
W A Reeves and his wife started
to the pasture to milk and just as they
got to the section line Charlie Snow
a young man who was working for
Reece came along with the wagon and
team which Reeves had intended to
use The young man turned out of
the section line into a road which di-
vided the land which Reeves waB tend-
ing from the part of the farm culti-
vated by the landlord As the wagon
turned up this road Reeves climbed
into the wagon and took the lines from
the boy telling him that he would
take charge of the team
The boy got out of the wagon and
went back to the Reece house and
Reeves and his wife went up to their
house The witness said that she went
into the hous'e and washed her hands
and was fixing to take the baby when
her husband called to her: “Come out
here mamma Ed Reece is coming
with his big gun”
The witness said she took up a 22-
calibre target rifle and loading it
went out in the yard Ed Reece was
coming on a horse in a fast gallop
with a gun in his right hand W A
Reeves threw up his hands and called
to Reece to halt and asked him not to
shoot
The witness stated that she threw
her gun on Reece who leveled his shot
gun at her She lowered her gun
when Reece directed the aim of his
gun from her to her husband The
woman then shot at Reece but missed
him and almost at the same time Ed
Reece shot her husband killing him
instantly
Mrs Reeves stated that her hus-
band had no gun or other weapon at
the time he was killed She said that
he had stooped down behind the wagon
and as he raised up Reece fired
' After shooting Reeves according
to this witness Ed Reece started to
leave' and after he had gone about a
hundred yards from the spot where
his victim lay' he turned and started
back like he was going to shoot him
again Mrs Reeves again leveled her
gun at Ed Reece who also threw his
gun on her again but finally rode
away
The cross examination failed to
shake the woman’s testimony
Earl Reeves the 14-year-old son of
W A Reeves who was an eye witness
to the killing of his father was called
and in the main supported the evi-
dence of the former witness
W M Brown a negro was the
next witnesns Browri testified that
he was at the home of W P Reece
when the two little Reeves boys came
for the team When Charlie Snow
took the team and wagon to go to his
place after a couple of cotton plant-
ers he got in the wagon and rode to
the place where Reeves took posses-
sion of the team He still remained
in the wagon after Reeves took -possession
of it and rode to the house of
the man who was killed
This witness testified that he saw
Ed Reece coming on a horse in a gal-
lop When Ed Reece got to within
about fifty yards of the house Reeves
waved his hands to him and ordered
him to halt and drop the gun Ed
Reece paused morhentarily and then
advanced Reeves called to his wife
who was in the house saying: “Old
woman Ed Reece is coming with his
six-shooter Come out and see what
happens”
Brown states that Reeves was in
the wagon when they first saw Ed
Reece cohiingS Reeves according to
the testimony of this witness put one
hand in his hip pocket and the other
hand to his breast Witness did not
see him get out of the wagon but
afterwards saw him squatting down
behind the wagon Mrs Reeves shot
at Ed Reece with a target rifle and in
about a second Reece shot Reeves just
as he raised up frombehind the wag-
on Witness saw no gun or other
weapon in the hands of Reeves at any
time
Archie Reeves the 12-year-old son
of W A Reeves was put on the stand
and in all essential details supported
the evidence of his mother and bro-
ther Daisy Reeves the 16-year-old' dau-
ghter of the man who was killed was
an eye witness to the shooting Her
evidence coincided with that of her
mother and two brothers
R H McKinnon who was deputy
sheriff at the time the killing oc-
curred testified that he searched the
body of the dead man and found no
weapon One of the little boys
brought a small calibre revolver out
of the house which he examined It
was not loaded and did not appear to
have been fired recently
The State then rested
The defense put on a number of
witnesses from the vicinity of Beggs
the former home of W A Reeves
These witnesses testified that they
were acquainted with the reputation
of Reeves as to being a turbulent vio-
lent dangerous man and that it was
bad On cross examination they could
name no specific act of which Reeves
had been guilty which would justify
such a reputation with the exception
of writing a threatening letter to one
of the witnesses The letter was not
produced It did develop however
that Mrs Reeves had made some kind
of a gun play while the family lived
in that neighborhood
The defendant Ed Reece testified
in his own behalf He stated that he
was sent by his father to get the team
which Reeves had taken from Charlie
Snow He took a shotgun with him
because he was afraid of Reeves He
examined it and saw that it was load-
ed because he had no use for an emp-
ty gun He cocked both barrels before
he reached the place where Reeves
was standing behind the wagon Mrs
Reeves shot at him then Reeves
raised’ up from behind the wagon and
sticking both hands above the edge of
the jvagon bed fired a revolver at
him Defendant said he then shot
Reeves
Frank Dougigss assisting prosecut-
ing attorney opened the argument for
RUNAWAY GIRL
RETURNS HOME
Young Woman Who Disappeared
From Home at Mason Found
by Searching Party'
Beulah Bogges or Mrs Beulah But-
ler the 19-year old girl who disappear-
ed from her home neat' Mason on
Monday of last week was found Fri-
day at Walter Rhea’s place “a few
mils south of Okemah where she had
applied for work and had been em-
ployed to cook for a number of hay
hands'
The young woman ''had left her
home after a slight altercation with
some member of the family and for
several days nothing was known of
her whereabouts She had been mar-
ried and had one child about two
years old She and her husband had
separated and she was living with her
father Jim Bogges
The young woman left home afoot
wearing her everyday clothes and a
sunbonnet which she had discarded
some time before Her family and
friends became uneasy over her ab-
sence and a reward of five dollars was
offered for information which would
lead to discovery of her whereabouts
The amount of the reward was final-
ly raised to $5000
The young woman was traced to the
Ryan home just north of Okemah
where she stopped for a short t’me
but from that point no further trace
was discovered until Friday when a
searching party of the girl’s relatives
and friends was organized The
party left Okemah going scuth and
spreading out over the country and
some members of the party finahy
found the missig girl at Walter
Rhea’s
When found the young woman was
ready and willing to return to her
home and her baby
OKEMAH MAN DARK MANAGE!
E O Dexter formerly connected
with the White City at Chicago and
who has been ' connected with the
amusement features of most of the
expositions in the United States has
been engaged to manage the River
View Park in Miami Mr Dexter has
had many years experience along tiis
line having managed the arrfusements
advertising and concessions for coun-
ty and state fairs His courteous
treatment to the public his business
ability and experience should insure
for the management of River View
Park success both as a financial Mil
amusement enterprise that will blL
credit to Miami and surrounding comP
try All amusements and concessions
will be selected with care and nothing
but the very best and strictly moral
will be allowed within the gates of
this park thus insuring an amuse-
ment feature for Miami and the
general public of the highest class
and where it will be perfectly safe to
take your wives mothers and sweet-
hearts— Miami District Daily Herald
the state reviewing the evidence at
great length and making a strong plea
for conviction
C T Huddleston attorney for the
defense made an exceptionally able ar-
gument He reviewed the evidence
to the minutest detail and laid great
stress on the evidence which had been
introduced to prove that Reeves was
a turbulent violent overbearing and
dangerous man
T S Hurst county attorney closed
the argument for the state He com-
pletely reviewed the evidence in the
case and laid great stress on the law
of mutual combat which he contended
formed the vital issue in the case
The case was given to the jury at
3 o’clock Wednesday afternoon
The jury was out all night
Wednesday night and Thursday
morning returned a verdict of
manslaughter in the first degree
leaving the penalty to be fixed by
the court The minimum penalty
for first degree manslaughter is
four years in the penitentiary and
the sentence may be for life
Judge Crump will pass sentence
at 1 o’clock this afternoon
FIRST BALE AT WELTY
Welty got its first bale of cotton
Tuesday morning The cotton was
raised by a Mr Jones on the farm of
Hiram Curry one mile north of Welty
The cotton was bought by Seth Bar-
rett of the Welty Gin compuny and
brought ? l-2c per pound
McKEOWN WINS
FOR FARMERS
Congressman Makes it Possible
for Farmers Who are Drafted
to Gather Their Crops
Washington Sept 13 — Congress-
manrMcKeown hus won a victory
which not only clears up a situation
with certain of the conscripted men
in this country but which reflects
credit on the Representative from the
fourth Oklahoma district
About ten days ago Mr McKeown
personally came across two cases
which very much appealed to him
One was that of a young farmer who
had been drafted and who asked no
exemption but whose farm needed at-
tention so far as harvesting the crops
was concerned and who desired if it
could be ananged that he be given
sufficient time to attend to those mat-
ters and sell his farm and stock be-
fore joining the colors To abandon
his location meant ruin to the crops
and a heavy loss to him and yet his
patriotism was sufficient to allow him
to make the sacrifice if necessary
Another case was that oLtwo young
business men both drafted who had
recently established themselves in a
store and were doing a growing and
promising business Both were wil-
ling to take their chances in the
trenches and were rather enthusiastic
over the opportunity but there was
the store and the stock on hand with
no one to care for it and no time to
arrange for its disposal in a proper
manner
It seemed to Judge McKeown that
to make temporary regulations to ad-
mit of settling these situations would
be only right and reasonable and it
was fair to assume that throughout
the country there would be a number
of bright and patriotic young men in
the same situation Thereupon the
congressman took the matter up with
the president at some length and from
the White House it was referred to
the Secretary of Warfc who agreed
that some relief was necessary and
in conference with the Provost Mar-
shal General an order was made and
is now in effect allowing a reasonable
time for men in this predicament to
make necessary arrangements before
reporting for duty
It is beyond question of a doubt that
Congressman McKeown’s interest in
this matter has brought about ease-
ment for hundreds of young men and
their families and it speaks well for
the ability of Mr McKeown not only
size up a situation quickly but act
iJmnptly and with a spirit which
brings results
1 1 ’ ' 1 1
DREADED A JAIL SENTENCE
Sunday Deputy Sheriff R I Lyles
arrested W N Barnett and Pearl Cot-
ton both colored o na charge of man-
ufacturing and dispensing Choctaw
beer The man and woman live near
Dripping Springs near the county line
about 10 miles northeast of Okfuskee
The officer captured a keg of Choc
with the prisoners
Monday Barnett was taken before I
County Judge Huser where he entered
a plea of guilty The judge fined the
pris’oner $50 and sentenced him to 30
dyps in jail The negro took the fine
cheerfully but when the judge said
30 difys in jail the prisoner fell on his
knees and prayed earnestly vehem-
ently and vociferously to be delivered
from the jail sentence He presented
both a ludicrous and pitiful spectacle
as he detailed the long string of ca-
lamities that would befall his family
if he had to go to jail
Judge Huser told the negro to with-
draw his plea of guilty and sent him
back to jail with the advice to employ
a lawyer to look after his interests
MORE TOWNSHIP ORGANIZED
Morse township was organized
Thursday night under the couifty
council of defense There was a good
crowd present consisting largely of
people but the older ones who were in
attendance tobk an active interest in
the meeting
The meeting was addressed by Leon
C Phillips and Ben Ballard of Oke-
mah who explaied the aims and ob-
jects of the organization after
which a permanent township organi-
zation was effected
Gene Moon was elected chairman
and Jim Summers secretary
S L Armstrong of White Rose
was in Okemah Monday on his way
home from Grayson county Texas
where he had been visiting relatives
STANLEY WILL BE GOOD
Fort Worth Texas Sept 1 — Stan-
ley J Clark prominent socialist who
had been held in jail at Wichita
Falls for three weekd in default of
a $15000 bond upon uterances
against the government was brought
to this city late today by Deputy
United States Marshal Robert Good-
fellow United States Commissioner Mit-
dhell reduced the bond in the case to
$5000 which was made and the man
wasreleased Mr Mitchell said to-
night that the bond was reduced in
consideration of a promise made by
the accused that he would not deliver
any speeches reflecting upon the
country during war imes or at-
tempt to obstruct the operation of
its laws
Clark declared that he had never
made such uterances and that he is
pro-ally Sureties on the bond were
T N Haney of Vernon John Beat
J L Sullivan Ernest Bogt and B
C Ellis all of Wichita Falls
CAVALRY BOYS
TO FT WORTH
"
Officers and Men of Troop A
Entrain for New Camp On
Tuesday Morning
I
Troop A Oklahoma cavalry which
since August 5 has been stationed at
Okemah entrained Tuesday morning
at 3:27 o’clock for Ft Worth Texas
The orders from the war depart-
ment for the troop to proceed to Ft
Worth came Saturday and were read
to the members at retreat roll call at
5 o’clock The orders were greeted
by the soldiers of the troop with long
and enthusiastic cheers
Many of the soldier boys improved
the time between Saturday evening
and Tuesday morning to pay a last
visit to friends and relatives Several
members whose homes are at Henry-
etta went over to that town Saturday
night
An immense crowd of people not
only from Okemah but from other
points in the county were present at
the depot to bid the soldier boys good
bye and cheer them on their way not-
withstanding the inconvenient hour at
which they were forced to entrain
Tuesday the News received a postal
card from Ear' McNally a member of
the troop which said:
“Arrived in Crowder Oklaho-
ma safe The people of Crowder
gave Troop A breakfast and it
was sure a fine one too Fried
chicken potatoes jelly hot bis-
cuits and coffee Leave here at
noon”
It is not known how long this com-
pany will remain at Ft Worth The
other cavalry troops of the state were
ordered to that camp at the same time
and if they are all as well drilled as
Troop A it is probable that they will
be ordered to Europe in the near fu-
ture The movement of this troop will be
anxiously watched by the people of
Okemah and surrounding country as
they have left relatives and friends
here but wherever they are sent in
the discharge of' their duties and in
the service of their country they can
be depended upon to give a good ac-
count of themselves
CLOWERS CASE TRANSFERRED
The case of the State against C F
Clowers was called in district court
Wednesday Attorneys Prueitt and
Patterson on behalf of the defense
filed a motion to transfer the case toi
Hughes county The motion was sus-
tained by the court and the case was
set for hearing in the district court
at Holdenville on September 18 at 9
o’clock
J C McMillan a prominent farm-
er of the White Rose neighborhood
was in Okemah Tuesday taking in the
fair Mr McMillan is one of the most
progressive farmers in Okfuskee
county and takes a lending part in
all movements for the betterment of
the country
J W Reed a prominent farmer of
the Prairie View neighborhood
brought his family in this week to at-
tend the county fair Mr Reed says
that the boll worms have damaged the
cotton in his neighborhood badly in
fact to such an extent that it looks as
if there was veiy little cotton left in
most of the fields
Charlie Reed deputy sheriff at
Hickory Ridge was in Okemah this
week attending the county fair
SUICIDE OF
YOUNGFARMER
Hanford Woods After Drinking
Carbolic Acid Ends His Life
With a Shot Gun
Hansford Woods a youg married
man who lived about three miles
northeast of Okemah shot himself in
the head with a shotgun Friday even-
ing about six o’clock death resulting
instantly
Woods it is believed placed the
muzzle of the shotgun against the side
of his head behind his right ear and
pulled the trigger with his thumb The
entire back part of his head was blown
off
There were no witnesses to the act
as Woods was in the hones alone at
the time His wife had left the house
a few minute before the act was com-
mitted started to the pasture to milk
Wocds and his father who lives with
him were in the yard when the woman
left the house The young man was
holding the baby in his arms Soon
after his wife left the eider Woods
states the young man went into the
house and placed the baby on the bed
In a minute the young man’s father
heard the report of the gun and run-
ning into the house found his son ly-
ing on the floor with his head liter-
ally blown off and his brains scattered
over the walls and ceiling
No motive but insanity can be
assigned for the rash act Woods had
once before attempted to end his life
About a month ago he drank a quan-
tity of carbolic acid but as a doctor
was summoned immediately and the
quantity he had swallowed was small
he recovered
It is probable that Woods’ own fam-
ily did not realize his condition but
the neighbors had for sometime no-
ticed that he was not in a normal con-
dition of mind and some of them had
made up their minds to report his case
to the authorities so that his mental
condition could be inquired into but
they did not act in time to prevent the
tragedy
From some acts of the young man
it is now believed that his mind has
been unbalanced for months It is al- '
so said by some that there is an in-
herited strain of insanity in the family
No particular cause for the mental
derangement of the young man can be
assigned He was not in financial
straits as it is said he was out of debt
and had money in the bank When he
first attempted suicide it was thought
that he had been worrying over the
war A few days before his last rash
act it is said that he worried over the
ravages of the boll worms in his cot-
ton and his neighbors say that they
could get him to talk of nothing else
The day before the tragedy he was
seen by one of his neighbors who says
that he could not engage him in con-
versation on any subject
The deceased was a son-in-law of
W I Dodson a well to do farmer of
this community
ARRESTED FOR TRANSPORTING
G A Stout foreman in the office of
the Hcnryetta Free-Lance was ar-
rested Thursday night on a charge of
transporting liquor
Mr Stout had motored over from
Henryetta bringing with him the
mother and sister of one of the soldier
boys beloging to Troop A He had al-
so put in the car a couple of quarts of
Choctaw beer After he had put the
car in the ' garage a member of the
troop took the two bottles of Choc
which were wrapped in a budle out of
the car Lieutenont King saw the col-
dier with the bundle and made him un-
wrap it thus discovering the two bot-
tles of booze This led to Stout’s ar-
rest Stout spent the night in jail and a
charge of transporting was preferred
and his car was confiscated He
agreed to plead guilty and was re-
leased on his jwn recogizance
CIItRGED WITH ADULTERY
Jim McAlester went over to Ok-
nulgee Sunday and brought back to
Okemah O '' H Lauglilin w'’o is
charged with 'adultery The prisoner
was arrested at Okmulgee and held
for the officers front- this county
A warrant was issued several days
ago for the arrest of Laughlin J E
Pharr being the prsoecuting witness
It is alleged that Laughlin who is a
married man had been living with the
wife of Pharr near Okfuskee in this
county
The woman in tile ease has not been
arrested
i
1