The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-01-19
CALL IT A "HOAx"
Washburn SsRed" Story May Be
Only Student Prank.
Two Girls and Two Professors
Receive Letters.

Police and federal authorities,
trailed by the entire Washburn school
of journalism, were today investigat-
ing the receipt by two college profess
sors and two girls of the journalism
class of several letters alleged to have
been written by Communists in To-
peka, and threatening their lives.
The letters were received by Prof.
William Irwin, head of the department
Of economies; Prof. William Morgan
and Miss Mabel Taylor and Miss Lacey
Herrick, who loom at 1885 Mulvane
street.
The letters are regarded by the po-
lice and federal authorities as a hoax
Many of the Washburn faculty mem
bers regard them in the same light.
At 9:10 o'clock Tuesday night the
two girls received a letter warning
them to be at the south side of the
Central Park school house, Fifteenth
and Buchanan streets, at 1880 o'clock.
The girls went to the rendezvous and
a squad of detectives were detailed to
watch the place.
After waiting for fifteen minutes,
however, the detectives gave up look
ing for anyone. Just at this time two
men in a Ford coupe drove slowly
past but the detectives were in plain
sight and when the men in the Ford
observed them they speeded up and
got away.
prank to me-" said W. o. Rigby, post
master, this afternoon, when asked if
the postoffice department had been
called on to make an investigation.
TT was called to my attention for
the first time Wednesday afternoon"
continued Rigby, land we are today
making an investigation. When the
matter was reported to me 1 said it
appeared like a prank having it's ORR
gin in some fraternity house but, of
course, We are going ahead with our
investigation just the same. A spe-
cial delivery letter which was deliv-
cred to some person in connection
with the case is being looked into by
an inspector this afternoon"
W. w. Harvey and A. H. Skinner,
assistant United States district attor-
neys, said at noon today that the mat
ter had not been reported to that Of
flee.
Chief G. A. Swallow said he had
read some of the letters two OF three
days ago, but was not convinced that
they were or were not written by some
one playing a prank.
Professor Burch today admitted that
it is entirely probable that students
wrote the letters as a prank or as a
means of putting over" a big story.
He personally believes there is moth
ing to the threats.
There is a feeling on the part of
President Womer of the college that
the letters are from student sources.
In a lecture to his class in abnormal
psychology this morning at the col
lege, DR.. Karl A. Menninger branded
the story as a disgrace to the journal
ism fraternity. He stated that the alb
sence Of facts was most noticeable and
that the entire situation was absurd
and ridiculous
A. NJ. Rock, 1926 Mulvane street,
l,.,e lit
literature to the address of Miss Lacey
Herrick and Miss Mabel Taylor. He
said the literature included several
editions of THE Voice of Labor" a
magazine printed in Chicago, and the
Official organ OF the Study Club" an
| organization attended on several oc-
| casions by the two girls.
"Why didn't you send the matter
| thru the mails to the girls, instead of
delivering it yourself?" Rock was
asked.
Because I didn't think it was nee
| essary," was the reply.
was that the only 'reason?"
well, not entirely. One night I
was distributing some of the literature
on the steps of the Unitarian church.
land Homer Holtz, a member of the
Laymen's League of the Unitarian
church told me it contained l. w. w.
| propa ganda, and that would be liable
| if caught with it with me. 1 am also
| a member of Inc Laymen'S League
do you think it does contain any
propaganda that could be guilty of
BolsheVik tendencies?'' he was asked.
mo, 1 know it doesn't Rock re-
piled.
| Rock was emphatic in his state
! ments that neither himself nor any
| of his cohorts delivered the anonymous
| letters of a threatening nature re-
| ceived by the two girls.
| 'T certainly didn't deliver them my
self, and 1 don't think any of the boys
| did. In my opinion it was joke per-
! petrated on the girls by some MEM
| Der of Washburn college. It would be
| very easy for some mischievous boys
| to overhear the conversation of the
| girls in the College Inn or some place
1 at Washburn, then formulate the idea
| OF giving them a scare"
This year 127 persons have lost their
ives in climbing the Alps. 1t is explained