The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-03-16
Topeka COlored Y. M. C. A.
Takes Up the Case.
LETTER FROM M'NEAL.
State Printer Recommends Case
for Investigation.
Lawrence Journal Makes a Bit.
ter Attack.

Announcement is made that the
parole board of the state penitentiary
will at it's April session hear the ap-
plication of William Herbert for a
parole. Herbert's parents live in To-
| peka, and for years have been making
| a strenuous fight to get him out Of
! prison.
Herbert is either most despicable
| criminal, or he is the victim of a
fr1ghtful conspiracy. He was sent UP
from Douglas county about eight
years ago to serve 21 years for at
tempting an assault on a young white
woman. At that time the Herberts
all lived in Lawrence, and Mr.. and
| Mrs. Herbert, the father and mother
| OF William, were very respectable
people.
The worst part of Herbert's record
is that he was sent up once before for
| assaulting a colored woman in Law
renee. He denied the first crime, and
his parents say he was at that time
made the victim of the dislike to 9TH
| er Lawrence negroes who thought he
was stuck up
The crime for which Herbert is now
in prison was committed a short dis
lance from where Herbert's folks
| lived in Lawrence. The home of a
| white family was entered at night,
and someone attempted to assault the
young woman. The man was inter-
| rupted by the girls mother, and the
| two women drove him from the
house. He carried off some jewelry.
Neither mother or daughter could
identify the man, or even tell wheth-
er he was white or black. Some time
| afterwards the jewelry was returned
at night to the front door of the
| house. The evidence against Herbert
was of doubtful character, and in
dications are that he was convicted
largely because of his bad reputation
and the intense public indignation
| rather than because of positive evil
| dence against him.
Herbert's parents claim that the
| crime was really attempted by
young K. U. student who had roomed
near the home of the white girl at
a previous time They say that some
of the young white mans influential
frienos Joined in a conspiracy to
| "swear off, the crime on Herbert, and
succeeded in this attempt.
]. L. Brady, in the Lawrence Jour
nal. denounces in most bitter lam
guage the attempt to get Herbert pa
rolled. Brady is one of the men ac-
| cused by Herbert's parents of at
| tenn pting to shield the real criminal.
| T. A. McNeal, state printer, has
written letter to the parole board
asking the board to investigate the
case, and If it seems advisable, to
grant a parole.
This case was up before Governor
| Hoch when l was his private secre-
tary." says Mr.. McNeal. ct told them
at that time that there was no use
asking for a pardon, and the governor
subsequently declined to take such ac-
ton. I do not now believe that par
| don should be granted. The colored
| Y. M. c. A. here in Topeka has taken
up the case, and promises to look out
for Herbert if he is pardoned, and
see that he gets employment. Under
such circumstances, it might be all
right for the parole board to grant
him a parole. I do not think he
should be pardoned. I know nothing
whatever about Herbert personally,
and the parole board would have to
| be the judge as to whether he was
| deserving of clemency."
The following is part of Mr.. Brady's
| article denouncing the proposed pa
role:
do you know what this means? 1t
means that T. A. McNeal is in mighty
small business in the first place. It
| with as cold blooded a brute as this
community has ever known. 1t means
that the sentimental people of Topeka
have allowed themselves to be hood
| winked into giving aid and comfort
to as vile a criminal as this communi-
ty has ever turned out.
What right has Topeka to try to
get our criminals pardoned out? What
1.-The people of this city will have
/ their protests in hand and appear be-
| fore the board at it's April meetings.
The people of Lawrence are not going
to let this brute be released without a
protest.
! Judge S. A. Riggs heard the case
When the jury had brought in it's YER
dict, he expressed his satisfaction with
it and declared that he had begun the
! trial believing that Herbert was inno-
cent. He declared that every step of
the trial went to convince him of the
guilt of the accused.
mo sooner was Herbert locked UP
than the mother began agitation for
his release. She could not do anything
i there and went to Topeka The Law
renee people refused to stand for the
release. Then she wrote vile and ter
rible letters accusing Lawrence peo-
pie.
Mrs. Herbert has made this fight
the worst weapons that anyone could
use. Herbert is all bad. He Is not a
good prisoner. He is degenerate
and the longer he is kept in prison
the better. He has made threats about
what he will do when he gets out. No
man who is a man will be scared off
in this way. No man who is a man
will acQuiesce in this pardon simply
because Will Herbert has made
threats.
will Herbert stands as a type of
the worst. The colored people know
what he is and are not standing for
him. He is the worst disgrace to their
race that there is in this town. The
fact that he has been sent to prison
twice, once for assaulting a colored
woman and once for assaulting white
woman, ought to show him up to ali
races
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