Mangum Weekly Star. (Mangum, Okla.), Vol. 28, No. 32, Ed. 2 Thursday, January 27, 1916 Page: 1 of 8
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Ki^ingum Weekly Star.
VOLUME XXVIII.
EIGHT PAGES
MANGUM, GREER COUNTY, OKLAHOMA, JANUARY 27. 1916.
EIGHT PAGES.
NUMBER 32
JOE BURTON KILLED
VIRGE W. HEATLY
MRS. H. M. MALOY
VICTIM OF ACCIDENT
One of the boldest and most brutal The old, old story of the accidental
murder® In the history of Greer coun- discharge of a gun In the hands of an
ty occurred in Mangum last Saturday inexperienced owner la the story of
afternoon when Joe Burton fired four the shooting of Mrs. H. M. Matoy, on
shots at Virge W. Heatly, three ol Tuesday morning Just before noon,
them taking effect, and from which Mrs. Maloy received two bullet
Heatly died in the Border Hospital wounds from a 25 automatic, neither
early Sunday morning, without ever of which are serious, however—mere-
regaining consciousness except for a | ly flesh wounds. One bullet struck
few brief moments at a time. |the thumb and fore finger of the
The shooting occurred at the north [right hand, while the other lodged In
west corner of the square. In a crowd the right limb, near the thigh. Dr.
"DAD" BOWMAN
MET TRAGIC DEATH
WOULD BE HUBBY
IS IN TROUBLE
estimated at from 100 to 250 men—
one of the busiest corners of Mangum,
and In full view of hundreds of citi-
zens standing along the business
streets.
Heatly was horseback and rode
up Into the crowd where Burton was
standing and was looking at some cot-
ton that was offered for sale; Burton
-was standing close to him, and ac-
cording to bystanders, asked Heatly:
"Virge, are you looking for me "
thereupon Heatly answered, "No,
you're too damned sorry for anybody
to look for;" Heatly had no more than
said this when Burton began to fire
at him.
In all, four Bhots were fired, three
of which struck Heatly; one shot
went through the right arm. Just
above the elbow; another entered the
right side, about the eighth rib, and
ranged upwards; the third bullet en-
tered his back, the right side, and
ranged upward through the body, and
Is probably the wound that caused
his death. The fourth bullet struck
the saddle horn and apparently was
Reflected upwards into the air.
The cause of the trouble leading up
to the shooting Is not very clear, ac-
counts varying; some reports are that
the two men had qnarrelled over a
game In which they had participated,
and In which Heatly is said to have
forced Burton to give back some mon-
■ey, and that this was the real source
of the trouble.
The friends of Heatly say this was
not true, however; their explanation
Is that Burton was sore at Heatly
because he had not been friendly with
him as he used to be, and Jumped on-
to Heatly one day last week bemean-
lng him for the way he was mistreat-
ing him In not being friendly with
him an inviting him up to his office;
It It paid that on this occasion Burton
drew a gun.
Saturday morning Heatly met Bur-
ton on the north side of the square
and asked him if he had a gun; he
placed his hands around Burton's
pockets and felt to see If he had a
gun, and finding none, told him that
It would be a good time to settle their
trouble for neither was armed; he
told Burton further that he had taken
advantage of him when he had a gun,
w-ereupon Burton told him he had
not drawn a gun on him. Heatly
threatened to whip him, whereupon
Burton told him he was sick and was
not able to fight.
Finally the quarrel ended without
any fighting and Heatly went off;
some of those overhearing the quar-
rel, It is said, heard Burton tell
Heatly he was going to get his gun
and kill him. This was about 9:r0
or 10:00 o'clock. The shooting
curred about 1 o'clock.
The two men, In daya gone by, bad
been partners In Altus and other
places and were the best of friends;
Burton has not been In this country
much until recently; he came here
about a month ago to visit his par-
ents, Mr. and Mrs. J. T. Burton, liv-
ing west of Mangum, on Vinson Star
Route. He Is known as a pro-
fessional gambler, and It Is said this
\ias been his iprlnclpal occupation
since young manhood.
Burton was arrested by Constable
A. C. Watt, assisted by Special Dep-
Oty Sheriff Morgan, and Jailor Don
Counts and rushed to the court house
and to the Jail; when first command
ed he refused to give up his gun, say-
ing he was willing to go with the of-
ficers but didn't want to be murder-
ed while he was on the road to the
court house; apparently he was
afraid someone was going to kill him.
Border was called and dressed tho
wounds and said they were not likely
to'cause any serious complications.
Mrs. Maloy was over at the home
of her mother, Mrs. Isler, who has
been ill for the past several days; J.
C. Pemberton and wife make their
home at the Isler home and Mr.
Pemberton recently bought a 25 auto-
matic for his wife's protection, he be-
ing away from home a great deal of
the time; Mrs. Pemberton was show-
ing the gun to Mrs. Maloy and ex-
plaining its action, and while doing
this the shooting happened; there
were only two shells In the chamber,
or doubtless the shooting might ha've
been more serious.
As stated before, the shooting was
purely accidental and is regretted by
all parties and none more than Mrs.
Pemberton; Mrs. Maloy's wounds
are not at all serious and she will
likely recover completely within a
few days, so It is very fortunate that
It was not more serious.
mains were Interred In Riverside
cemetery a large crowd of friends
accompanying the remains to their
last resting place.
Heatly was well known to all the
old citizens of Oner county, he hav-
ing lived here for about 26 years;
two yasra ago he was a candlate for
tax assessor of Greer county and poll-
ed a very creditable vote; in recent
yean he has been engaged in the cot
ton business, and bad offices in the
Opera House building.
Besides the brothers, Ralph, Sid,
Lee, Homer and Travis, all of Man-
gum, and three sisters, Mrs. Tobe
Delhi, of Dodsonvllle, Texas; Mrs.
Ellye Marvin, of Illinois, and Mrs. R.
D. Hillar, of Mangum, he leaves a
wife and two children, Roy, aged 14,
and Morton, aged 11. He had a host
of friends scattered all over Greer
county and Southwest Oklahoma, who
join The Star in extending sympathy
to the relatives In their hour of grief.
Burton was indicted by the grand
Jury in session here Monday and
Tuesday, the indictment charging
him with murder. He has retained
H. H. Edwards, of Mangum, and S.
B. Garrett, of Altus, as his counsel,
and it may be that his case will come
up for trial at this term of court
Doubtless it will be unless it Is con-
tinued on his motion, or the condit-
ion of the court found is such that
the expense of the trial cannot be
paid.
The affair is a deplorable one from
every standpoint; a home is bereft
of a hnsband and father, and Bur-
ton's actions will bring trouble to his
aged parents.
LATER:—Today Just before going
to press, Attorneys Edwards and
Garrett, representing Burton, filed a
motion In district court to quash the
Indictment against Burton, alleging
several grounds; one of the chief
grounds relied upon was the charge
that I. N. Wellman was not court
clerk of Greer county on December
18th, when One E. Daws a deputy
under Wellman, and Sheriff Henry
drew the list of names for grand Jur-
ors; therefore Daws could not In fact
be a deputy court clerk under Well-
man for Wellman himself was not
court clerk.
The records show that Wellman's
bond as court clerk was made out
on November 3 and filed on Novem-
ber 4th and that no other bond has
ever been filed; the records show fur
ther that he was not appointed court
clerk Until December 6th, and the de
fense contended he was not legally
After starting from the court house holding the office of court clerk be-
t
*
to t!io Jail he asked the officers to
let kiia have a gun. saying he was
nfra'd he would be mobbed.
Ho said he shot Heatly and hopod
that he would die; that the officers
could do anything they wanted to
with him—take him out and shoot him
If they wanted to, but he hoped that
Heatly would die.
Ueatly's funeral was held at the
family residence Monday afterno m,
cause his bond had never been filed
and approved.
Had the contention of the defense
been sustained, It would have meant
that another grand Jury would have
to be summoned to re-Indict Burton,
and that all the work of this term of
court wherein either the grand or
petit Jurors had any ipart would have
been Invalidated. Judge Clay over-
ruled the motion to quash and some
a afternoon will set a date tot
Mangum people were shocked Sat-
urday morning just befqre noon when
news spread over the city that W. A.
Bowman—more genera'ly known, as
"Dad '—had been killed in an acci
dent in the local Bock Island ia'I-
way yards.
The accident happened about 11:05
o'clock and occurred Just west of tho
Texas Oil Company station, on the
main line of the railway. The body
was badly mangled, the car wheels
having passed over the neck and com-
pletely severed the head from the
body; also one of the hands were
crushed and one foot was likewise
crushed.
Mr. Bowman was an employee of
the Mangum Mill ft Elvator Co., and
together with C. C. Tillman, they
started to unload a car of coal when
it was on one of the side tracks; Just
about time they had begun work, the
switching crew came along to move
some cars; rather than leave the car
and then hunt it up again after they
had finished switching, the men re
malned on the car; after they had
made several switches, the train crew
took this car and another one or two,
and backed them Into another string
of cars on the main line, making
what is known to railroad men as a
"flying switch."
The cars came together with such
force as to cause "Dad" Bowman to
lose his balance, and fall backwards,
or partially so. falling under the mov-
ing cars. He was sitting on the end
of the car at the time of the Impact,
and Mr. Tillman was sitting at tho
other end.
Someone in a wagon nearby- saw
Mr. Bowman fall and called to Mr.
Tillman to "look out for the old gen-
tleman." He jumped off the car and
ran around to where he bad fallen,
but he was too late, the car wheels
having already passed over him, al-
most severing the head and bringing
death instantly.
While It may be only a co-incidence,
yet it would seem that Mr. Bowman
had a premonition that he might be
called soon, for It was only a few
•lays ago, In conversation with his
son-in-law, Chas. Teague, that he gave
directions for his funeral and general
Instructions in case he should die. In
view of what happened, it would
seem that he felt something might
happen to him.
Though he had reached the advan
ced age of 78 years, "Dad" led an ac
tive and useful life; he had been em-
ployed by the Mangpm Mill & Eleva-
tor Company for fifteen yeans, and
was one of its most valued and trust-
ed employees, commanding the res-
pect and confidence not only of his
employers, but of his fellow employes
and everyone else with whom he cam j
in contact.
While the grief of friends and asso-
ciates because of the untimely end
of this good man Is great, the be
reavement falls mos|t heavily upon
the aged wife and family of six chil-
dren; for forty-six years Mr. and Mrs.
Bowman had trod the paths of life
together, sharing equally the joys
and hardships of life,, and the loss of
the loving care and protection of her
husband will fall heavily upon Mrs.
Bowman. The children of whom six
are living are Messrs. Jone, Will apd
D. O. Bowman, Mangum; Miss Bessie
Bowman, of Mangum; Mrs. C. H. Tea-
gue, of Mangum, and Mrs. Ona Fran-
cis, of Vinson.
Funeral services were held at the
First Baptist church Sunday after
noon at three o'clock, Rev. Holmes
Nichols In charge, after which the re
mains were laid to rest In Riverside
cemetery; large numbers of friends
from Mangum and surrounding coun
try were present to pay their Ir.st res
pects to their deceased friend.
Representing the unanimous senti-
ment of the people of Mangum ana
friends all over Greer county. The
Star extends condolences to the be-
reaved wife and children, and we
trust that their grief may be temper-
ed by the consciousness that their de
parted husband and father lived a
useful and upright life; that he com-
manded the respect and confidence of
all who knew him, and that he so
lived a Christian life as to richly mer-
it a home In that Home of homes,
where life Is everlasting; peace Is
eternal; happiness supreme, and
where death never enters.
In the mind of Jimmy Davis, w'nobe
home Is at Chattanooga, Oklsnoma,
this is doubtless a cold, cruel old
world and the Greer county officers
afe heat less, for on Tuesday of this
week he applied for and secured ed. Judge Clay instructed the grand which had been excused to report on
marriage license here to wed Miss Jurors to Investigate thoroughly anyone 24th, was empannelled and Judge
GRAND JURY IN
SESSION TWODAYS
DISTRICT COURT
STILL IN SESSION
The grand Jury, which was sum- District court re-convened Monday
moned to report here on Monday, Jan- morning and has been grinding away
uary 17, and which was postponed till' this week on civil cases. The grand
Monday of this week, reported Mon-|jury, which had been summoned to
day morning; after being empannell- report on the 17th of January, and
Dora Neill, of Sayre, after having
sworn that she was eighteen years of
age; the officers thought his actions
were suspicious and Sheriff Henry
got in touch with the girl and ques-
tioned her closely; after a few ques-
tions she confessed that she was only
sixteen years of age, whereupon she
was taken in charge by Sheriff Hen
ry and Davis was placed In jail.
Sheriff Henry called her father,
Henry Neill, a farmer living three
miles west of Sayre, who said the
girl was only fourteen years of age
and asked the officer to hold both
the parties until he could arrive here,
saying that he would prosecute Davis
to the limit.
The young people came to Mangum
In a buggy, driving across the coun
try; the buggy was hitched to the
chain on east side of the square, the
young lady remaining in the buggy
while Davis secured the license;
Davis secured the license but before
he returned Sheriff Henry went to
the buggy and began questioning her,
and learned that she was under ago.
The girl stated that she had advised
Davis against trying to secure mar
riage license, and that he knew she
was under age; Davis himself admit-
ted he knew It
While Greer county officials are
cottrteo js and obliging to customers
from other counties, yet Greer county
is not a desirable place in which to
seeurs marriage permits if you have
to tswear falsely to procure same; it
botii. the applicant and the girl are of
lsjal age; officers here offer no dis-
couragement; however, before the
applicant swears to the facts in the
application to secure a license he had
better be sure they are true. One
man has Just been sentenced to the
reformatory for making false affida
vit, and now comes Davis, who if he
should be prosecuted, will doubtless
secure a term In prison.
and all evidences of crime they might Clay gave them their instructions,
unearth in the county. jThe Instructions were of a general
Judge Clay called the grand Jury'nature, such as usually given to grand
to convene only after a petition sign- Juries.
Gasoline, oil® and everything for
the motor car at Mangum Auto &
Supply Co., north side Bquare.
31 tf adv
RAILWAYS SEEK
TO RECOVER TAX
A cony>lete line of tires, casings,
Inner tube* and all klnda of aatomo
The railways of Oklahoma are con-
testing the right of townships and
cuuucies to collect taxes assessed un-
der the terms of the road law passed
at the last legislature; the law au-
thorized townships to levy a tax of
$1.50 per thousand in addition to all
other taxes levied for the purpose of
grading roads, and this is the tax the
railway companies are kicking at.
Both railways In Greer county, tho
C. R. I. ft P. and the Wichita Falls
& Northwestern, recently paid the
first half of their taxes, but paid this
portion of the tax under protest; this
week suit was filed in the district
court of Greer county testing the val-
idity of the law under which the tax
es were levied.
That portion of the taxes being paid
under protest, they are held by the
county treasurer In trust, pending the
final outcome of the suit; should the
validity of the taxes be sustained,
they will be apportioned out to the
townships to which they belong;
should the contentions of the rail-
ways be unheld. they will be return-
ed to the railway companies.
The amount involved is not great,
the Rock Island's amounting to
$2M.07, and tho Northwestern's
amounting to $247.82. The following
townships have taxes affected by the
suits: Granite, Mangum, Quartz and
Willow Townships.
Railways all over the state are fil-
ing suits to recover the taxes collec-
ted under this law; citizens who pay
♦his portion of the taxes under pro-
test may recover same In case the
railways win the suit. When you go
to pay your taxes, file your written
protest and you will prcservo your
right to recover In case the suits
should be determined In favor of the
railway companies.
ed by one hundred taxpayers asking
him to do so, had been filed witn
him, and undtr the law it is his duty
to call a grand J'iry when a petition is
so filed.
The grand Jury got down to work
quickly and summoned a number of
witnesses before it to give testimony;
after working until Tuesday morning,
the jurors ended their labors, return-
ing two indictments; one of these
charges Joe Burton with murder and
the other charges Combs, a ne-
gro, with assault with a deadly
weapon. Not finding anything justi-
fying further attention, they prepar-
ed their report and asked Judge Clay
to be excused from further service,
and their request was granted. Fol-
lowing Is a copy of the report they
filed in court:
To The Hon. T. P. Clay, District
Judge:
We, the grand jury <ynpannelled
at this, the January Term of the Dis-
trict Court, 1916, beg to submit the
following report:
First: We have diligently Inquired
into all offenses against the law
coming before us, and have presented
two indictments for felonies.
Second: We have examined the
county Jail, and find that It is being
kept In a clean, sanitary manner, and
that the prisoners confined there, are
properly cared tot.
Third: We find that there was no
especial reason for the calling of this
grand jury, that the county attorney
is doing his duty faithfully, honestly
and conscientiously; That the law is
being impartially and rigorously en-
forced; That all the county officers
are doing their duty faithfully and
honestly.
Fourth: Having no further busi-
ness coming before us, we respectful-
ly request that we be discharged.
Respectfully Submitted,
J. LEADBETTER, "Foreman,
J. H. SIMPSON,
R. A. SMITH,
H. MATHBWSON,
H. P. PEEVEY,
J. C. WOODY.
R. C. CLARKSON,
R. E. TERRY,
W. E. KELLY,
W. C. NORRIS,
R. V. SHORT,
C. A. McALISTEIt.
Several civil cases have been dis-
posed of, among them the following:
O. C. Frost vs. W. B. Eastham and
C. W. Culwell, judgment for plaintiff
for $412.95; C. E. Simmons vs. First
State Bank, judgment for plaintiff for
$132; B. O. Gardiner vs. K. C. M. ft
O. Ry. Co., judgment for defendant;
Susie L. Chaney vs. F. B. Feike, et al,
Judgment for defendants; W. D. Daw-
son vs. First State Bank, non-suit
In addition to these cases tried be-
fore juries, numbers of other cases
came up for trial, some of which
were disposed of just before entering
trial.
The probabilities are that court will
adjourn early next week and that an
adjourned term will be held sometime
in April to try those cases in which
Judge Clay is disqualified.
LEE JOHNSON TO HOLD SALS
On another page will be found an
announcement of a public sale to b«
held at the Lee Johnson farm, near
Bla,e, on Saturday, February 5th; Mr.
Johnson is going to offer some good
cattle and farm work stock or sale,
together with some high grade hogs;
those interested in anything of this
kind should read his announcement
on another page.
SCHOOL CHLDREN INCREA8E
The number of children of school
age within the city of Mangum shows
a substantial Increase over the num-
ber found by the enumerator here last
year; the enumeration in the entire
district, comprising the city of Man-
gum proper and the outlying terrl
tory, last year amounted to only
about 1300, while this year the num-
ber within the corporate limits of
Mangum alone is 1,300. Jack Sim-
mons, who Is now engaged In taking
the census of the school children,
says he is confident that the number
of school children, within Mangum
school distric will reacn 1,600.
Not only is the population of Man
gum Increasing according to the
enumeration report, but the popula-
tion of the country districts too is in-
creasing, as shown by the reports be
ing filed with County Superintend-
ent Miss Kate Terry.
J. Leadbetter, manager of the Okla-
homa Home Lumber Company, Is
♦•"ansactiiig business In Kansas City
this week. He will return about Sun-
day.
W. P. Houck, one of the substantial
farmers of Jester community, Is serv-
ing his country as a Juror In district
court this week.
THEWEETSeWRT
HOUSE HAPPENINGS
Greer county school districts will
shortly receive the largest appor-
tionment of state school funds even
distributed in the history of the state,
when teh districts will receive $1.50
per head for every child of school age
within the district; in this connec-
tion it behooves every district to see
that every child of school age la
found by the enumerator, for the ap-
portionment of school funds for th«
next year will be based upon the
number of children in the district as
shown by the enumeration of 1916.
County Assessor Overall Is this
week spending his time In Hester,
Consolidated No. 2, and City View
precincts where the taxpayers are to
meet him and render their personal
property for taxation for the year
1916. His dates for next week are aa
follows; Ladessa, Monday. January
31st; Wild Cat, Tuesday, February
1st; New Hope, Wednesday and
Thursday, February 2nd and 3rdg
Gyp Hill No. 1, Friday, February 4th;
Gyp Hill No. 2, Saturday, February
5th. Let every taxpayer remember to
meet the assessor on the dates he Vs
to be at your precinct and save trou-
ble later.
The Greer county Jail has more
guests at present than it has had in
many a day; on Wednesday there
were seventeen guests; of these, four
were charged with murder; seven
with violation of the prohibitory
laws; three with assault with a deaiy
weapon; one with perjury; one in-
sane patient, and one who was being
held only temporarily.
Five new suits have been filed In
the office of Court Clerk Wellman
since our last report, as follows: Com-
mercial National Bank vs. Christo-
pher Press Controller Co. and P. F.
Slaton, suit on note; T. J. Bennett
vs. L. A. and J. A. Futch and Guar-
antee State Bank, money demand;
W. D. Dawson vs. First State Banic.
replevin suit; C. R. I. ft P. Ry. Co. vs.
G. W. Hall, refund of taxes: W. F. ft
N. W. Ry. Co vs. G. W. Hall refund o»
taxes.
Four marriage permits have been
Issued as follows: Wardle Derrick,
McLean, Texas, and Belle Gault, Sad-
die Mountain, Okla.; Henry Hart,
Wichita Falls, Texas, and Mrs. M. L.
Hart, Mangum; Jimmy Davis, Chat-
tanooga, Okla., and Miss Dora Neill,
Messrs. Oscar Smith and Wm.
Adams are here this week arranging
for a big sale of high grade cattle
which they will have here on Tues-|Sayre, Okla.; Arthur C. Barnett and
day, February 1st; the cattle are of Mrs. Bessie AUsup, both of Blake,
the very best grade, many of them
registered, and those interested In
kl cattle will do well to
Lsw&Wfc
Let us sell you tires and \rvn-
tubes tor your car. A complete stop*.
Auto * Supply
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Wileman, Herbert. Mangum Weekly Star. (Mangum, Okla.), Vol. 28, No. 32, Ed. 2 Thursday, January 27, 1916, newspaper, January 27, 1916; Mangum, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc285310/m1/1/: accessed April 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.