The Washington times., 1923-03-09
SECRECY Wells
STATE PROBE
Of KHAN
Hooded Mob" Prosecutors
Spring Surprise Witness at
Staying Hearings.
BY VIM. X. HUTCHINSON.
international News Service.


COURTHOUSE, BASTROP, La,
March Am element of mystery
was given the grand jury investiga.
ton Of hooded mob murders in
Morehouse parish today when the
State of Louisiana sprang a "sur.
prise" witness at the secret inquiry
The witness was Eugene Vaughn,
farmer of Mer Rouge, whose
name had not previously been con.
nected with. the case. Vaughrl's
story was closely guarded and off.
GERS refused even to intimate the
nature of his testimony. Vaughn
was the first witness summoned be.
fore the grand jury who was not
called at the open hearing in
January.
The spotlight OF publicity, which
marked the open hearing stage OF
the States investigation of hooded
mob outrages in the parish. cul.
minating in the murders Of Watt
Daniel and Thomas F.. Richards,
has been replaced with a veil OF
secrecy. The attitude of State of.
ficials in guarding Vaughn's con.
nection with the case only reflected
their efforts at secrecy in all other
phases of the investigation.
The parish, meanwhile, goes con.
tentedly on its way, paying less at.
tention to the murder Investigation
than to rumors of an oil strike a
few miles south Of Bastrop. Local
attorneys, who 'lived" the case Gay
and night during the open hearing,
are now involved in writing oil
A stranger walking down Bastrop's
afNAA 1wx
bottle of crude oil caused a mild
sensation. while the arrival OF wit.
nesses for the grand jury pro.
ceedings went unnoticed
Khan Still Active.
Behind this seeming apathy, both
the State, and Representatives of the
Ku Klux Khan, openly accused OF
completely In q reign Of terror
throughout the parish, are actively
seeking new testimony. The klan's
investigators declare theya have
proven by actual tests that bodies
could not remain unmutilated In
Lake La Fourche. 1t was their
purpose to destroy State evidence
showing the bodies OF Daniel and
months before being cast up by an
explosion of dynamite last Decem.
Der. ~
The klan's test was made with
the body of a COW, it was declared.
. The carcass was weighed and
thrown into the lake in Januory
and withdrawn last month, twenty.
two days later. According to khan
spokesman, only the skull and a
few bones remained. The rest of
the carcass having been eaten by
turtles and fish. Evidence Of tkis
test. it was said, is being saved
by the khan investigators for use
II any khan defendant is brought to
trial. to attack the States proof
Of corpus delecti."
Although Vaughn was the days
surprise witness, Harold L. Teeger.
strom shared the spotlight. Teeger.
strom resumed the witness stand to.
day to complete a story begun late
yesterday when he was unexpect.
edly smuggled into the grand Jury
room by State officials.
BY Teegerstrom testimony, the
State hopes to break down the abb
Of T. JEFF Burnett, one of the two
men now charged with murder in
connection with hooded mob out
RACES. At the same time, Burnett's
friends said the youth would cub
stantiate his alibi Teegerstrom
was an employe of the Southern
Carbon Company, where Burnett
stated he worked the night of the
murders
Probe Goes Slowly. -
Other witnesses called to the
grand jury room today included the
Rev. L. N. Holmes and ]. M. Keen,
both Of whom were used by the
State at the open hearing to smash
the alibi of Newt Grey, Mer Rouge
farmer. who wRs identified as q
member of the murder mob.
The investigation proceeded slow.
ly, with indications it would not be
completed before next Wednesday.
While State authorities were hope
full of obtaining indictments, the
preponderance of public opinion
holds the grand jury will take no
action.