Palatka daily news. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1919-1994, 1922-05-21
EKUX KHAN HAD
|IID N BRINGING
|lNAN To JUSTICE

DeLanu, HAeJ
bteresting features in connection
- tbe case of Mrs. Alice Shields
hnrged with murder as a result Of
shooting to death of her husband
r;ll;am A. Shields, near here the
~ If February 6, last, was the
,,rt played by the Ku Klux Khan
mich led to the arrest of Mrs.
p,;lods Several stories of the par
;,;r.tion of the Khan have been told
nd the different versions have re-
,,,sd in misunderstanding of the
supported facts
Mrs. Shields was to have been
n,,cad on trial at DeLand last Mon
d,v but with the work of selecting
he Jury virtually underway it was
discovered two of the states princi-
Dal witnesses, Mrs. Lillian Terrell, of
Fan Vlaire, Wis, and 81. L. Berry,
n Waycross, Ca, had not been sub
poenaed and had returned to their
homes. State Attorney George A.
DeCottes as a consequence moved for
continuance of the trial until the fall
term, a request which the court
granted.
Mr.. DeCottes explained to newspa-
per men the Ku Klux feature in de-
tail in order to get that angle of the
case cleared up. Mrs. Shields was
arrested at St. Cloud some time af-
4 ter the death of Shields and after As
4 sistant State Attorney R. S. Mott
had been piloted there by an uniden-
tilted member of the Khan.
After the arrest of Pete Smith, a
negro, as suspect, and Mrs. Shields
charge that Smith had killed Shields
and attempted to assault her, Mrs.
Shields went to St. Cloud to the home
1 Of her father, L. S. Davis, a Union
army veteran who had settled in St.
Cloud about fifteen years ago. From
there Mr.. DeCottes said Mrs. Shields
wrote letter addressed to "The
Leader of the Ku Klux Khan" in At
lanta, Ga. She declared she was be-
ing prosecuted and needed help and
asked that Klansman be sent to see
her. The letter added that while she
knew many men in this section were
Klansmen she did not know them and
if a member were sent to her, the let
ter she had mailed to Atlanta could
be exhibited as means of identifi-
cation. Headquarters of the Khan in
Atlanta ordered that the local Khan
send a member to Mr.. Shields and
the letter, as she had instructed, was
given the messenger as credentials
Mr.. DeCottes said. Mrs. Shields was
interviewed by a Klanman and the
/ interview resulted in the mailing of
communication from the Khan to
Mr.. Mott.
The Klan's communication signed
Committee of Investigation, Knights
Of the Ku Klux Klan," informed Mr..
Mott that if he wanted to learn the
purported facts surrounding the kill
ing of Shields he must meet in a no.
tel in Orlando at a designated time a
messenger unknown to him but who
knew the assistant attorney by sight
Mr.. Mott followed instructions and
upon meeting the messenger was pi-
IOted to St. Cloud.
At st. Cloud the assistant attorney
In the presence of three strangers,
but whom he was informed were
Mansmen, obtained lengthy state
ment from Mrs. Shields. The state
ment typewriter, was signed by the
Nansmen, as witnesses, on the lower
left hand corner of the last sheet
Then the Klansmen tore their sigma
lures out Of the sheet, retaining the
bit of paper containing them. Mr.
Mott declares he does not know the
identity of the witnesses and the
statement, in the files of the State
Attorney, has large section of the
last sheet missing, the missing bit
bearing the names Of the Klansmen
The Klansmen gave to the Assis-
tant State Attorney the letter Mrs
Shields wrote to the Atlanta head
quarters and it is understood if it is
found necessary to disclose the iden-
lty of the witnesses to the statement
obtained from Mrs. Shields by Mr.
Mott the Klan may do so. Mrs
Shields was ordered arrested anc
charged with murder by Mr.. Mott
because he said the statement was Sc
widely at variance with her previous
stories Of the killing.