Arizona republican., 1920-12-17
Murder Of White Grocer Precipitates Outbreak Be- tween Whites And Blacks In Kansas City
POSSEMEN CAPTURE
 ALLEGED MURDERER
But He Is Unmolested In
 Jail--Crowd Not Bent On Lynching Negro Is Be lieved Responsible For Trouble ss
IRepubIlean A. Q. Leased WlreI

INDEPENDENCE, Kan, Dec.t 1s. A white school boy and a nesre sezar 2 killed and four white men yEaszl 4sfis1 1 three possibly fatally, tonight in ts4 race riot incident to the sI1Iifug e43s morning by g negro of R. R " na keJ. white grocer. The trouble xfnlch. bs gan shortly after o'clock tan1glzt. avs not halted until two hours later. when officials. assisted by members of ths home guard and local American legion post, succeeded in forcing the combat ants off the streets Meantime, 9 re- quest for troops was sent by local al~ thofities to Governor Aliens office in Topeka Whether the troops would bs sent, despite the fact the situation was practically under control, has not been learned
 The killing of Wharton took piace when the grocer opened his store. Reh- bery is supposed to have been ths mo- tive A butcher in the store ran up while the negro was rifling the cash register after he had shot Wharton. The negro ran and the butcher pursued him several blocks
 Butcher Identifies Negro l Late today Noble Green. negro, was captured by a posse near here end l brousht to the local jail. He was iden- tified by the butcher as the man who shot Wharton.
 This evening crowd of armed ne-
 groes was seen on the streets by au-
 thorities, who urged them to go home- The negroes, according to the autiiori- ties, refused. At that junctuTe a group
 of whites approached and surrounded Ithe negroes A shot was fired which killed Lawrence CIennan, white boy-
 According to witnesses, Arthur TIar- Iper, negro. fired -lse first shot Harper
 was promptly shot dead. A fusitlade of shots followed and endorsements for both sides appeared as if by magic. The firing continued for some time and lthe authorities, seeing the situation was beyond their coalrol sent emergency calls for the home guard, American legion members and national guards- linen. The streets were cleared after lmuch difficulty and the injured sent
 to hospitals. late tonight the town
 was quiet Theaters were closed, pub lie gatherings prohibited and al. per
 sons told to keen off the streets
 At no time during the trouble was
 ary attempt made to obtain possess 'cn
 Of Green, who IS far as could be learned tonight, was still confined in tthe county jail.
 Negroes Sought Achievements While the trouble was at it's height.
 American legion members and home guardsmen were used to guard the prisoner
 According to information made pub lie tonight. a number of local negroes. anticipating trouble this afternoon 3 l telephoned Coffeyville for reinforce
 ments Coffeyville authorities, how 7 ever. obtained knowledge of the al- legged plan and prevented any negroes leaving town.
 Independence is in the Kansas oil 2 district It has a population Of about | 15,000 of which about 1,eoo are ne- , groes
 . The negro. Green. was captured st . his home while in bed with his clothes s on, the authorities said, tonight A I posse arrested five other suspects. All . but Green were released. 1 shotgun t containing one empty shell was found
 in a barn behind Greens house. off ' cials said.
 ;, Late tonight, it was said that tho : three seriously wounded white men f were not expected to live. The white n men are.
 n Fred Kelley. a barber. who has a r bullet wound in one hip; Albert w. e Mibeclz a jeweler. and F. z. NcHenryr ; a baker both shot in the back. Nor @ man Dickens received a slight bullet
 wound in the head.
 t Seventy-five men from Neodoshs v post of the American legion arrived e shortly after midnight to assist in pa- @ trolling the streets.
 Major Robert Lewis a veteran of z the world war, organized 15o members
 of the American legion here as soon
 as word was received from Topeka
 that no state troops would be sent here