The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-03-06
UPHOLD LAW
 PLEA IN MOREH0USE
Jurist Tells Grand Jury, Men and Not Organizations Are Upon Trial - Members Asked to Enforce the
 States Laws

BASTROP, La, March 5.-tBy As sociated Press.)-Thc Morehouse par ish jury was drawn today and charged by District Judge Fred NJ. Odom.
 Judge Odom supplemented the pre- Eared charge with a few extempoI | remarks and continued:
 There is only one law and tha. is the written law. If you should find that anybody has violated the law. punish him"
 The judge Tn referring directly to the ku Klux klan in his charge, said:
 The violation of the law tol which l have called your special at tention has been laid at the door al the ku klux klan. Whether thatI organization is responsible for these outrages or not, is a matter which does not concern you Tn the slight est. You are not here to unmask Klansmen or to disrupt the ku kluX Klan as an organization. Tou are to present and indict criminals without regard to their affiiat tions.
 Deal With Men.
 Before the law all men. whether they be members o1 the Ku klux Klan, the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Columbus, the BNai B'Rith or the Methodist church. stand precisely upon the same plane; they are all equal. You are to deal with men, not with organizations, societies or fraternities.
 If in your deliberations you be- come convinced that certain cti- zen has violated the law, it would never occur to you that you should then inquire whether he was of the Christian or Hebrew faith or wheth CT he was Mason or a Woodman of the World, and if such course should be suggested to you. you would feel insulted. Why, then should you be concerned over the question of whether these crimes were committed through the klan as an organization or by klansmen as individuals?
 T make these suggestions, gen tlemen, in the hope that may inn press upon you the fact that it is| your sworn duty to help enforce the laws of the state regardless of sen timents and regardless of the af filiation or creed of the individual who violates them"
 Organized Bands Scored.
 The judge arranged those groups of men who take the law into their own hands.
 AS concerns us," he said, If We have reached that state or condi ton of society where men may or ganize into bands or groups and condemn and punish citizens when and as they see fit without regard ha To ba lo,, r,1 Ina tablished rules of judicial procedure, tEen gentlemen. the day of our doom is upon us. We have seen the end of civilized, organized society. The laws of civilized government must be enforced otherwise civilization could not survive"
 State Attorney General A. V. Coco expects to appear tomorrow and submit evidence obtained at the open hearing here in January into kid napings, floggings and other activi- ties of masked bands, which the state charges were composed of will ask for from 30 to 50 indiet- battery To murder. the last in con nection with the Kidnapping anal staying of Watt Daniel and NJ. il. Richard of Mer Rouge, last Aug ust 24
 Names of Jurymen.
 From the panel of 20 summoned for jury duty Judge Odom selected J. .. Evans. of Okrdge. farmer. as foreman. Tke names of his III associates as drawn from the jury box follow:
 C. R. Tallman. Mer Rouge. farm ar nf farmer G. A, Allen of Bonita. mer- chant; D. B. Williams of Oakridge, farmer; J. H. Jordan of Collinston, George Hayden of Bas- trop. farmer; T.. N. White of Mer Rouge. farmer; R. E. Bramlett of merchant; F. NJ. George of Gillou. farmer; Frank Hope of Bonita. farmer; B. U Hood of Bas- trop, oil well worker.
 Estimates out of the number of klansmen on the jury run as high as six, but this feature did not seem to be regarded as of import ance since the attorney general had stated that he would be willing rol place the evidence before the jury composed entirely of klansmen if they would only discharge their duty as sworn officials of the court.
 B. U. Hood, one of the jurymen, was called as a witness. It developed he was at work in distant part of the parish the day the Kidnapping oc- cured and knew nothing of it until the next day.
 Expect Few Indictments.
 Nothing concerning it's inquiry IS expected from the jury until itI makes it's final report to the court It is believed it will be ready to report within week or ten days.
 The state will present q brief of the transcript of the testimony taken at the open hearing and it was hinted today that 1t might call one or two witnesses who testified then in order to clear up for the jury several features of the case.
 Citizens of Bastrop who have been on the outcome of sthe jurys inquiry into the masked band activities seem to agree on twol points. that there will be no more than dozen indictments. and that none of them will charge murder.
 Judge Odom's charge to the jury was in two parts, first an exteR poranecus address along routine lines and later lengthy written
 lContiaued on Page FourteenD