Imperial Valley press., 1935-08-30
Ply EUGENE S. PULLIAM
United Press Staff Correspondent

United Press Staff Correspondent
MICHIGAN CITY, Ind, Aug. 80.
d. G. Stephenson, former Ku
Klux Klan dragon, whose efforts to
gain his freedom from the state
penitentiary here have rivaled those
of Tom Mooney, is preparing a
final effort to obtain his release.
Stephenson will go befort the La
Porte, Ind, circuit court early in
September with a plea for a writ
of habeaS corpus. The former Klan
dragon, who once held absolute
sway over Indiana politics, will at
tempt to introduce new" evidence
at the hearing, which he contends
will show he was framed" by Re-
publican and Klan politicians and
is being held as political pris-
oner."
Stephensons final fight clip axes
a career that rose and desc Ided
with startling abruptness. At the
height of his power, Stephenson re-
putedly was able to elect or dispose
of any political officeholder in
Indiana. A few months later he
was in the penitentiary, shorn of
his political power and sentenced to
life Imprisonment for the murder
of Madge Oberholtzer.
Taking over the reins of the
weak Klan group in 1921 when he
was not yet 80, Stephenson made a
meteoric rise until the Klan claim
ed nearly half a million members
in Indiana and had great political
power.
According to dispositions given by
Stephenson after his conviction, the
Klan was directly responsible for
the election of Gov. Ed Jackson in
1924, spending more than $4,000 in
the campaign.
Stephenson stated that he made
approximately $1,800,OO0, receiving
one-tenth of the fees of Indiana
Klan members. In addition, he as
serted the Klan engineered numer-
Gus acts of violence in PennSylvan-
ia. Ohio and Indiana.
Fess Refused Support
Efforts were made to enter ma
tional politics and gain control
there also. Simeon D. Fess, Repub-
lican leader, was one of the men
approached, according to Stephen
son, but Klan efforts to enlist his
support and later to end his politi-
cal life failed.
Stephensons active connection
with the Klan ended in 1923, he
asserted. In April of 1925 he was
held for the murder of Madge OBJ
erholtzer. Charged with the as
sault and abduction of the girl on
a party which started in Indianap-
oils and ended in Hammond, Ind,
the trial was one of the longest in
the records of the state. The ap-
peal to the state supreme court
alone dragged over two years.
Held in the little town of Mobiles
vile, Ind, on a defense change of
venue, the trial was one of the most
sensational and bitter in Indiana
history. 1t took more than two
weeks to obtain jury and at one
time the case was halted by the
nervous breakdown of Judge Fred
Hines who presided.
Girls Statement Read
The prosecution read into the
evidence statement signed by Miss
Oberholtzer which stated that Ste
phenSon attacked her while enroute
to Hammond and that the next day
she procured the poison and swal-
lowed it. According to the state
men, Stephenson then brought her
back to indianapolis and kept her
there for several days in living
quarters in his garage. Then she
was returned to her home. She
died a little less than a month af-
ter the alleged attack.
Stephenson entered the state
prison here in November. 1925, OBJ
viously believing that his stay
would be short. Prison officials re-
ported that he refused to obey
rules at first but after an investi-
cation on charges of prison cruel
ty, he withdrew his complaints and
became a model" prisoner.
He continued, however, his cease
less efforts to gain his freedom.
Several times pardons for him from
Gov. Ed Jackson, whom he main
tains he helped elect, and Gov.
Harry Leslie were said to be immi-