San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-01-24
MARTIAL LAW
|NMOREHOuSE
IS THREATENED
Coco to Ask Indictment for
Murder Against
Skipwith.
FIND MYSTERY WITNESS
Traveller Who Saw Murder
Truck" En- Route to
Hearing.
FIND MYSTERY WITNESS
by the Associated Press.

made against any of the states wit
nesses between adjournment OF the
Morehouse open hearing and trial OF
persons to he indicted for alleged par
ticipitation in outrages by hooded men
in the parish, it was learned today on
good authority.
| Attorney General Coco said today
that he would attempt TO obtain an in
dictment against Captain J. h. Skip
with, head of the MorehOuse parish hu
Klux Klan, when evidence obtained at
the hearing into conditions of the par
ish is placed before the grand jury.
Leon l.. Jones of Moselle, Miss, re
garded as the mysterious witness"
was en- route here today TO testify at
the open hearing. Jones is said TO be
the owner of the broken down automo-
bile parked near Lake Lafourche on the
night of August "a.
l 1t is said that he saw black
hooded band having Watt Daniel and
T. +. Richard as prisoners, arrive at
the lake. The bodies of Danie and
! Richard were found in Lake Lafourche.
Car Broke Down.
| Jones, it was stated, was travelling
! through this section of Louisiana. when
| his automobile met with a mishap near
j the banks Of the lake. Almost ma
tion-wide search has been conducted by
agents of the Department of Justice for
him. He was located recently in the
Mississippi town.
Jones, on August %, was taken from
his stranded automobile and carried 10
a railroad point. While en- route to
this station. he told Marshal Mott,
student at the University of Mississippi,
that he had seen an automobile truck
hauling two blind-folded men TO the
lake. He said that a short time later
the truck returned without the men. He
said the truck was followed by an au-
tomObilc filled with masked men.
| II. II. Riordan. general manager Of
the Monroe district of the Southern Car
bon Company, was the first witness to-
day in the hearing into the activities of
masked men in MOrehOuse parish. He
was questioned concerning time-books
and records of the plant at Spyker, from
which Harold TeegerstrOm, the time
keeper, disappeared. December 20.
TecgerStrOm' time-bOOk and other
documents were brought into court by
Mr.. Riordan and were placed in evil
dencc
Under the date of August -. there
appeared in the time-book check mark
indicating. according TO the witness.
night Waterman that night.
Erasure Is Noticed.
But there also appears disturb
ance or an erasure on this line. Can
IyOu explain how that occurred" Rior-
dan was asked.
=, Il cannot"
Burnett, who has been identified by
several witnesses as a member OF the
hooded band which kidnapped Watt Dan
icl and T. f. Richard on August n,
and who is now at liberty on $4,000
bail on murder charge in cOnnec-
ton with their deaths, was an emplOye
at the Spyker plant and, according to a
previous witness, was on duty that
night.
The payroll of the Spyker plant was
placed IN evidence. This payroll cover
ed Il time period from August III to
I August 81. The witness said it was
made out by TecgerstrOm.
On sheet No. 10 there appeared the
, name Of Burnett and under the head
{, ing Of the number Of the hours worked
} there appeared 100. The time-book
] for that period showed total of AZ
, hours for Burnett.
Can't Explain Discrepancy.
"Can you explain why there is a
, discrepancy between the time-book and
the payroll?" the witness was asked.
Il cannot"
? Has there been any explanation Of
the discrepancy offered to you by Tee
gerstrom or Burnett"
There has not"
- There appears to be some erGsure on
this payroll opposite Burnett's name,
don't you Think
1T appears that it is"
. "HEere are no erasures alongside the
name Of others on the roll?"
NO, sir. don't see any"
L Burnett'S pay for the period in
: question. according to the time-bOOk
e amounted TO $j5.3S. The amount due
Q him, according TO the payroll was
o SG240. The Cancelled pay checks next
II were introduced in evidence and that is
= sued to Burnett was for S62.4O, cor
d responding with the payroll.
The witness consented to place the
! time book. payroll and checks in the
n custody of the court.
Tom Robinson, a farmer of More
house parish. was the next witness.
Have you been waited on by thu
Ku Elux Khan or any hooded band?'
Yes, by band of hooded men,"
when did this happen"
"On the 18th Of June, 1922"
where were you when this hap
pcned?"
Il was at the Sunrise church jus
before the congregation had begun Il
gather. was then with my 15.year
old niece and one Of my children.
was the song leader in the church an,
was expected to get there early"
Threatened With Hanging.
"Thc little girl was playing the or
gan and | was making preparation
for the service. | heard a car com
ing. 1t turned out to be the Ku Klux
crs. They stopped ut the church. On
fellow walked up on the church steps
gun in his right hand. and he mo
toned me TO come TO him. He mo
toned me to get in the car. The,
blindfoded me and drove off. The,
took me off to administer the punish
meBt.'
How many men were thcrc9r
Between - and 80"
after | got 10 the scene I hear,
some one say Where do Won wan
himT the witness continued. The 70
ply was Across that log They whipped
me. Then they asked me il | couId