The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1917-11-01
.PAC|F|ST BEATEN U.
BY WHITE CAPS
n. S. BigeloW Seized in Kentucky
and Lashed With Whip.
STRIPPED OF HIS CLOTHES
Punished ain Name of Poor Belgian
Women and Children" Says Men,
Der of "ku Klux Klan"-Re-
moved to Hos5itaI.

Cincinnati Ote. 30.-Herbert S.
Bigelow, pacifist leader, who was
whisked away by HIS white clad cap
tors, was located near Florence, Ky.
He had been taken into wood near
that place, his clothes had been re-
moved and he had been thrashed with
biacksnake whip. The party of men
that administered the chastisement was
dressed In "long white robes resem-
bling those described as being worn
by the renowned Ku Klux Klan," ac-
cordiag TO telephone message from
newspaper man at Florence.
In Name of Belgium.
Previous to "l2 lashes being applied
to his back" one of the party, accord
ing to the report, raised his hand com
handing silence, then read from u pa
! per he held as follows:
I'm the name of the poor women and
children of Belgium this man should be
whipped.
After the lash was applied Bigelow
was turned loose and directed toward
CINCINNATI. He lost his way, however,
and wandered In the woods until he
found himself in Florence
The first intimation of the kidnapping
came in report by. farmers along the
Lexington Ny) pike that Is or 20 au-
tomObiles with occupants dressed in
white had been seen passing that way,
and that 1t was supposed that Bgelow
| was prisoner in one of the cars.
After the beating his kidnapers in
structed him to go to a certain house,
Bigelow said, but fearing "more" was
In store for him he went in the oppo-
site direction and finally made his way
to the office of DR.. j. III. Grant of Flor
| the night.
BigelOw returned to Cincinnati and
was in consultation with his attorneys.
Wore White Masks.
The story told by Bigelow rivals
those of Civil war days.
1.-THE men wore white masks and
white aprons. They reminded me of
the Ku Klux figures / saw in The
Birth of Nation
After / had been seized and hand
/ cuffed l was taken out into the coun-
! try. /.
"a sack was thrown over my head
My feet were tied. 1 Had no notion
! of either time or distance. l could
! tell only that we were going over
| rough roads and smooth ones. Moth
ing was said.
AT last we came to d stop. I was
! lifted out of the automobile and the
sack was taken off my head.
They led me up hill to school
! house and took me to tree where
they tied me.
OF With His Clothes.
"'Off with his clothes! someone ex-
claimed.
MY clothing was taken off my back
and they dashed me ten or twelve
times. They cut off some of my hair
and then poured something out of
bottle on my head. l judged it was
crude oil.
'"The men then left me except two.
who remained to guasd me. One had
q revolver.
when the others were gone con-
siderable time my guards also left me.
telling me not TO go away for ten min.
utes.
ut occurred to me that the crude
oil had been poured on my head so
that might be identified at the house
to which | had been directed.
al came across an automobile stand
ing at the side of the road. There
were two young people i'll 1t. I no.
ticed they were spOoning. asked
them where i was and they gave me
directions"
Rushed Away From the Hall.
As Bigelow stepped from his auto
mobile in front of the hall at night
four men rushed up TO him. III
curing as to his name. ana be-
| fore his friends could interfere WAS be-
I ing speeded away to an unknown des-
tination. He was spirited away so
quickly that it was impossible to asccr-
tain whether he was under formal ar
rest or was the victim of kidnapping
plot, as his friends contend. Fed
eral authorities declined to comment.
Bigelow has been prominent in Ohio
! politics for several years.
5igeIow Removed to Hospital.
Herbert S. Bigelow, who w2s kid
mapped and hOrsewhippcd, was removed