The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-06-16
Convict SobS MY Baby as
He Clasps Daughter in
His Arms.
FIRST VISIT IN DECADE
Mrs. Brehm Given Letter
Jackson Which Admits
Her to Penitentiary.

Armed with a letter from Gov
ernor Ed Jackson, the former wife
of D. @. Stephenson, Mrs. Nettie
Stephenson Brehm of Oklahoma,
visited the former Klan leader and
political czar at Indiana State pris-
on at Michigan City Tuesday.
There she had the supreme sat-
isfaction Of having him acknowledge
Florence Catherine, II, as his
daughter.
Deputy Warden H. H. Claudy
today confirmed the fact of the
visit and the giving of a letter to
Mrs. Brehm by the Governor, on
which she was admitted to see
Stephenson.
The Governor started for the
northern part of the State the
day before Mrs. Brehm saw Ste
phenson.
The interview between Mrs.
Brehm and her former husband
was conducted in one of the small
offices with Claudy standing in the
background, but not near enough
to listen to the conversation.
Meeting Is Dramatic
Mrs. Brehm is in the city to prose-
cute her claim against Stephenson
for support of the little girl. The
meeting, as described by her, was a
dramatic one.
Stephenson threw his arms around
the 11-year- girl, drew her to
him and sobbed, my babyl My
baby!" and then began an opti-
mistic promise of what he would do
for her when, as he put it, he was
released.
HE promises me a German police
dog" said Catherine.
But as he talked with his arms
around the girl, ne gave utterance
to the wish that he could take the
little girl and board some ship and
sail for twenty-five years"
He promised, when he obtained
control of any of the money which
he asserts is being withheld from
him by his former friends, to do all
that he could to make reparation
for the years when he forgot the
child and was building himself into
the political dictatorship of Indiana.
Cast Doubt on Child
The interview between Mrs.
Brehm and Stephenson and the un-
usual fact that she entered the
prison with a letter from Governor
jackson is the latest development Of
the Stephenson scandals.
When he filed his petition with
the Governor for parole, Stephenson
cast some doubt upon the claims Of
the little girl and of Mrs. Brehm,
declaring that her suit was the re-
suit Of a conspiracy on the part Of
Hiram w. Evans, Klan imperial
wizard, to ruin him.
That petition stated that 100000
was raised at a meeting at the Lin
coin Hotel to spread hatred against
him and that part of the money
was used in fine -combing the entire
southwest to find a woman to bring
a suit as petitioners former WIFE"
More Than Money
"When Steve threw his arms
around Catherine and called her
my baby it meant more to me than
any money" said Mrs. Brehm. "I
have no hatred against him. I
would do anything in my power to
secure his release. do not believe
that he is guilty Of murder.
"His visions might have led him
to do other things, but not that I
am fighting for my little daughter"
Mrs Brehm says that she was
married to Stephenson at Tishi-
mingo, Okla, when both were %.
At that time he worked as a lino-
type operator.
"But saw him as a man with a
great future" she said. "He had
the flash Of a genius. I believed in
him."
Then after a couple of years the
baby was born and when Catherine
was two months old, Stephenson
went hunting for a better job. Tie
wrote for time, most discourage
ing letters. Then no more letters
came. She obtained divorce after
time and remarked.
Before Murder Arrest
She asserts that her suit to make
him support the little girl came be-
fore, not after his arrest, for the
murder of Madge Oberholtzer.
One day. some time after Steph-
enson had broken with Hiram Evans
and was ousted from the Klan, a
man came to her and gave her the
information that her former hus-
band was powerful and rich in In
dianapolis.
He represented himself as an in-
vestigator of Government insur-
ance at Washington. Mrs. Brehm
says that she is sure he lives in
Washington She is not so sure now
about the Government taking an
! s.-k L.. Cfnv1hnVa-