Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1911-11-16
MAN CHARGED
WITH EARRING
GIRL ON TRIAL
Effort Made to Have Case
Against Men Charged
With Indignity to Teacher
Removed from District.

Lincoln Center, Kas., Nov. 10
Charging that County Attorney Nc
Canless had conspired to spread er'
roneous reports of the tarring Of Miss
Mary Chamberlain, attorneys for the
nine defendants, accused of being
members of the ''tar party" today filed
with Judge Grover an application Tor
a change Of venue %
McCanless is accused of having
caused Edward Ricord, the barber who
betrayed Miss Chamberlain to her
enemies, to be brought out Of jail for
the sole purpose of compelling him to
give an interview to a metropolitan
newspaper reporter and Of having him.
self interviewed regularly by night
in his office in the court house,
Other details regarding the pub
licity given the tarring of the young
Shady Bend school teacher, which
has convulsed four counties and
aroused storm over the entire state
as stain upon the honor Of Kansas,
are given as reason why the nine
prominent citizens charged with the
tarring could not expect fair trial IN
either Lincoln, Ellsworth, Ottawa, or
Saline counties.
tE Tarred Teacher in Court.
Miss Chamberlain, dressed In black,
appeared in court today and was
closeted several hours with Attorney
McCan1ess and Assistant Attorney
General Hawkes.. She refused to give
out any statement further than to say
that at the conclusion OF the criminal
hearings she intends to institute suits
againset six of the defendants for per-
sonal damages.
Arguments on the motion for a
change Of venue were set for toner
row. The defense has twenty witnesses
to offer in support of its contention.
while Attorney McCanless has a dozen
[affidayits to show that the citizens
could expect a perfectly fair trial II
Lincoln county, where the tarrine
took place
Miss Chamberlain appears entirely
recovered from the effects of the
frightful torture she underwent last
August, when under the pretense OF
taking her for drive, Edward Ricord
took her in buggy to a lonely spot
on the country road and delivered her
over to a mob waiting behind the
fence with the hot tar prepared.
Ricord, who was the first man ar
rested, is believed merely to have been
the tool Of other prominent men In the
county, among them Everett G. Clark,
the Shady Bend miller, and a number
of wealthy farmers. The defendants to
be tried at this time besides II arett
Clark are Jay Fitzwater, Wilson
Scranton. Sherill Clark, John Schmidt,
ND
Delbert Kindelsparger and Edward
Ricord.
Edward Ricord, who is in jail
awaiting trial on an appeal from a
Justice court sentence of year In
Jail for completely in the tarring. later
in the day asked to be taken before
Judge Groves to enter plea of gull
ty. His sentence was suspended un'
til after the trial of the other defend
ants.
Defense Wins First Blood.
First blood went to three of the di-
PENDANTS when Judge Grover in the
distract court quashed on technical
ity the information on which the men
were arrested. E.. .aa.-
Before the three defendants-Ever-
ett G. Clark, the miller at Shady Bend;
J. Fitzwater and Watson Scranton,
farmers-could leave the court room,
however, they were re-arested on
new information furnished by the
county attorney and their hearing will
be resumed today
Stain Upon Kansas.
Then the defendants announced ap.
plication will be made for change of
venue on the ground that a fair trial
cannot be had for the accused men in
either Lincoln, Ottawa, Ellsworth or
Saline counties, because of an organ.
lied movement which has character
lied the tarring as a "stain upon Kan
sas.'
Miss Chamberlain while driving on
the night Of August IL, last, with an
escort, was taken from the vehicle by
a body of masked men at lonely
point in the road near Shady Bend.
She was carried to a nearby field
where her clothes were torn from her
body and while the leaders command
ed her to leave the nefghborhood, hot
,,;tob u,oc noured over her hodv