The north Mississippi herald. (Water Valley, Yalobusha Co., Miss.) 1888-1929, 1923-08-31
THREE MEMBERS
OF XII KLUX KLAN
ENTER GUILTY PLEA
Confess Participation in Flox-
ging Party and Accepts Two
Year Term.-First Instance
on Record of Klansmen
Confessing of Mob Violence.

on Record of Klansmen
Confessing of Mob Violence.
Tulsa, Aug. 23.-Coming as a cli-
max to the tenth day of Adjutant
General Bard H. Markham's investi-
cation of floggings in Tulsa coun-
ty, Ben F. Sykes, Grover Sykes and
Earl Sack Of Broken Arrow, self-con-
fessed members of Ku Klux Klan
pleaded guilty tonight to rioting
charges before District Judge W. B.
Williams and were sentenced to serve
two years each in the state peniten-
tiary.
First Instance on Record
This is the first instance on record
in which Klansmen have confessed
in court that they were members of
flogging party and the first ii;
sentence has ever been passed in the
entire country on a Klansman for
participation in a mob outrage, state
officers here believe.
The Sykes brothers and Sack were
brought before Acting County Judge
Lutcher Lane and waived their ar
raignment and preliminary hearing.
Thirty minutes later they had en-
tered pleas of guilty before District
Judge Williams and were sentenced
after Ed Grassland, their attorney
and Assistant Attorney General c..
W. King, recommended they be given
the minimum punishment-two years.
The maximum is 10 years.
Others Pleaded Not Guilty
Simultaneously in the county court
A. M. Galloway, w. NJ Ellis, Avery
Barbour. 7. v. Venator and w. M.
Lewis were arraigned and pleaded
mot guilty on information charging
them with participating in the flog-
ging to which the Sykes brothers and
Sack admitted they were parties
that of B. F. Wagner, a German
farmer, near Broken Arrow.
Informations also were filed against
Hal Benson, Dick Fisher and Har-
vey Akers but they had not been ar
rested in time to be arraigned with
Galloway, Bills, Barbour, Veator and
Lewis. The preliminary hearing for
these men was set for September
4th and their bonds placed at 81 500.
! According to Assistant County At
torney Tom Wallace and Attorney.
Ed Grassland, the three men senten-
ced tonight signed confessions ad-
mittng their own part in the Wagner
flogging and duplicating those for
whom informations were filed today.
Will Be Used as Witnesses
The Sykes brothers and Sacks will
not be taken to the penitentiary i'm
mediately but probably will be kept
here to be used as witnesses against
the others charged in informations.
By court agreement, they were turn
ed back to military authorities by
Sheriff Bob Sanford Immediately af-
ter sentence was passed and for the
present are to be kept under mill
tary guard at the armory.
Wagner, a slight man about so
years of age, has wife and eight
children. He owns an entire section
of land four miles southeast of Brok-
en- Arrow. According to his story
and the confessions of the Sykes
brothers and Sack, was flogged by
band of about 20 men wearing the
fun Ku Klux Klan regalia, on a
corner of his own land on the night
of October 2S, 1922.
Conditions ''Very Bad
Austin, Texas, Aug. 2S.-Gov.
Neff announced today that Rang
Capt. Frank Hamer had reported to
him that conditions of lawlessness
rounding the recent flogging Of e. +
Mcdonald. at Amarillo. "were very
bad"
He also announced that report al
the flogging Of Mrs. L. Jackson, wif
Of minister at Cross Plains, Cal
houn county had been made to him
by the sheriff and county attorney
of the county.