4 THE MORNING OREGONIAN, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1923 CHILD IS APED L FATHER IS SOUGHT Baby Is Taken Away Two Days Before Christmas. GIFT IS SENT MOTHER fx-Husband PuUs $10 In tetter Wishlngi Grief-Stricken Wo man Merry Christmas. This is a Btory of a man who kid raped his own daughter two days ibefore Christmas, vanished with her end sent the mother of his child, his divorced wife, a check tor $10 in a letter wishing her a merry Christ mas and a happy new year. The man's name is Lawrence House, a, salesman, until lately with the- Kerr Glfford company. His wife la Anna Rouse, an employs of Kwetland's. ltvini? at 525 Everett etreet. The child is Muriel, age 3. Her presents, three of them, are waiting for her now under a small hut very beautifully hung Christ mas tree at the Everett street ad dress, where she lived with her mother for a year. Police to Set Scenes. Dramatists would doubtless speak of the kidnaping, for so It is, as a crisis In a domestic drama of the garden variety. The denouement is yet to coma. Police will go to work this morning setting the scenes. But neither the crisis nor the de nouement compares to the series of situations which gave rise to both. On January 13 of this year a judge In Salt Lake City granted a divorce to Lawrence and Anna House. Muriel was given into the custody of the mother and Law rence Jr., 11, Rouse's son by a pre vious marriage, left with his father. Bouse was allowed to visit his small daughter between the hours of 11 nd 7 on Sundays and directed to .pay $20 a month for her support. Both were in Portland when the idecree was handed down. Regularly on Sunday Rouse went to see Muriel and took her to a home at 895 Wasco street, wheTe people cared for Junior while his father was on the road. Because it was holiday time, Mrs. Rouse al lowed her ex-husband, to take the child for a two-day period. Rouse promised, she said, to 'bring the baby home on Sunday night. Tree Awaits Return. A Christmas tree awaited Muriel's return that night. It still awaits her. Yesterday a letter came Juet as Mrs Rouse sat down to dinner. It said: "I am going away and could not - think of leaving either of my chil dren behind as they are both the pride of my heart. I am not satis lied that you would take proper care of Muriel and I am taking her with me; then 1 am certain she will have all the advantages in life and be happy as I will be with both my children each night. "It truly hurts me to do this just before Christmas but Muriel and Junior will have a lovely Christmas and receive many things their little hearts desire. Ruin in Business Charged. "You ruined me in business twice before; but my destination will for ever keep you from troubling me further. "I am not doing this to hurt you hut to keep you from ruining my -ife or my children whom I love so n.uch. "May your Christmas be very happy and the New Year awaken you to a new life where you will te very happy. "I am enclosing $19 for you to use any way you wish for your Christ mas." Mrs. Rouse notified police at once end today she said that she would wear out a warrant charging her tx-husband with kidnaping. She de clared also that the child is a ward of the local Juvenile court as the Jesuit of action taken a year ago by Jier mate and that he will be open to a charge of contempt. In tears, she said: "He wishes me merry Christmas and he takes my child. He says he loves her; so do I. I knew he loved her, thaf s why i let him take her for two days, fihe was very bitter. - Child Goes Home Crying. Two weeks ago little Muriel, wor ried In her small way as always by the strange and unnatural feeling between the two who had once been Just "papa and mama," came home from her weekly visit with Rouse cast down. When her father had left she cried, her mother recalled. And said: "Daddy's going to take me away from you. Why Is he going to do tnatr- On his return a week later Rouse denied that such was his intent He had never "put such notions In the child's head,"' he said. Mrs. Rouse said last night that her ex-husband had recently lost his position with Kerr, Glfford & Co.. and had given intimation that tie might go to New York. His statements that phe had ruined him In business Mrs. Rouse scouted. "I have garnished his wages for money he owed my father, that's alL He never even paid his share of Muriel's support. "What protection has a mother In a case like this?" she asked polioe yesterday. "A Salt Lake court decrees that he shall pay ali mony. He doesn't do it and I can't Ket action because of all the red tape to go through. Then he makes trouble for me by having my child Tnade a ward of the court here and now he takes her. I'll get her back if I have to go to the ends of the earth." MURDER WITNESS FOUND (Continued From First Page.) communicative. The chief operator of the federal agents carried a large portfolio wnicn, tne klansmen be Jieved, contained evidence against those Implicated in the kidnaping and murder of. jc. w. Daniels and T. F. Richards. Murder Plot Reported. Falling to get a line on the in Vestlgators, klansmen deliberately plotted to kidnap them, seize their portfolio containing evidence and give them the same klan dose that was given to Daniels and Richards, it is said. The two federal investigators an nounced that they proposed to f,o to Monroe on a certain train. Then the klansmen got busy. A plot was laid to take them from the train at Collinston, a hot bed of klanism, eight miles south of Mer Rouge and about the same distance from Bastrop. Collinston i a junction point of two lines of the Missouri Pacific railroad, with several high way centering thate, and la tie most accessible place In Morehouse parish. Signals were transmitted to klan "terrors" by telephone and runners were sent out in automobiles to summon enough men to assemble at Collinston at a designated hour to kidnap the two men and seize their evidence. Plans Snddenly Changed. While the klansmen were doing this they were unaware that the de partment of juMice had secret serv ice men in this and adjacent par ishes who were operating under cover. The under-cover men quick ly caught on to the plot and notified the two men who were working In the open of their danger. , . Quick changes in the plans of the open operatives followed, lhey boarded another train, took another route, and were not molested. The hooded mob assembled according to orders, however, but the band was foiled. The under-cover detectives had thwarted their plans. Discovery of this plot furnishes one of the explanations of the ac tion of Governor Parker in order ing troops to Morehouse Parish. Naturally the governor reached the conclusion that men who kidnaped and murdered Daniels and Richards and plotted to kidnap and kill two government agents who were assist ing the state would commit any kind of a crime. He therefore had ample reason for placing the state militia in the field. Members of the Ku Klux Klan in this section of the country have claimed, as justification for the acts of the black-hooded mob in kid naping and murdering F. L. Daniels and T. F. Richards, that conditions around Mer Rouge were so intoler able that violence was necessary to clean things up. Moonshlning1, bootlegging and concubinage, ac oordlng to statements from klan sources, have been common prac tices. . Violations Jfot Great. , Cltliens of Mer Rouge assert that these oharges were wildly exagger ated and that the conditions that existed In this town and the sur rounding oountry did not justify mob violence. There was some moonshlning, bootlegging and oonoublnage, they say, but no more than in other sections of the United States. The constituted authorities of ths par ish, citizens here deolare, oould have stopped these law violations at any time if they had done their duty. Charges are made by responsible oltisens of Mer Rouge that the Ku Klux Klan made raids only on those who were not members of the klan, and that klansmen who, according to authentlo reports, are guilty of moonshlning, bootlegging and con cubinage, were not molested. Well-known cltliens here are au thority for the statement that they know personally men who are boot leggers and who have had unlawful relations with negro women that have not been raided or harmed. These men, they say, are known as klansmen. Monopoly Thought CleWi Cnly one explanation of this sit uation can be given, these citizens assert, and that Is to give boot legging klansmen a monopoly of the bootlegging business. Boms of the federal agents oper ating on the Ku Klux Klan case in this section are as noted for their marksmanship with firearms as they are for their ability of ferret ing out orlme. One of the operatives lor the state has a record Jin the United State a a sharpshooter. It Is said that he can shoot the eye out of a squirrel In the top of the tallest tree In Louisiana. The federal operatives hsfve a man with them equally as expert with weapons. While practicing this optratlva tied a thread to a cartridge, hung It to the limb of sapling, stepped off 25 paces, took aim with his pistol and out the thread with the bullet that he fired. 'Gosh,' said a cltlsen, who wit nessed the performance, "I wouldn't like for that fellow to shoot at me with a gun, even If I was five miles away." Mrs. Susan E. Horton Dies. Funeral servloes for Mrs. Susan B. Horton, 67 years old, who died at the home of her son, Gilbert H. Horton, 1252 East Seventeenth street, Saturday night, will be held from the Holman & Pace mortuary in Oregon City at 10:30 o'clock Wednesday morning. Mrs. Horton was the widow of the late George Horton, who served as postmaster of Oregon City and West Linn in early days. She is survived by two sons, Gilbert H. of Portland and Eugene B. Horton of Bull Run, and brother, Theodore Eyestone of Matinsburg, la. Mother-in-law Is Slain. JACKSONVILLE. Fla.. Dec 2S Claudius F. Gibson, 33, staggered into his home tonight where his family and relatives made merry around a Christmas tree, fired five times at his wife and killed instantly ms motner-in-iaw, Mrs. Agnes Gore, aged 65, according to the police. VriDson was subdued by members of the family and taken to the city jail. DALLY METEOROLOGICAL. REPORT PORTLAND, Dec. 25. Maximum tem perature, 52 degrees; minimum. 47 Je- green. River readlmr. 8 A. M S O ft- change In last 24 hour, 8.1 foot rise. Total rainfall (5 P. M. to 5 P. M., .05 inches; total rainfall since September 1, 1922, 15.68 inches; normal rainfall since September 1, 17. 8S Inches; deficiency of rainfall since September 1, 1922, 2.20 Inches. Sunrise 7:52 A. M. ; sunset, 4.81 P. M.; total sunshine 1 hour 42 minutes; possible sunshine 8 hours 89 minutes. Moonrlse, Tuesday, 12:23 P. M.; moon set, Tuesday, 12:18 A. M. Barometer (reduced sea level), 5 P. M., 80.08 inches. Relative humidity, 5 A. M., 88 per cent; noon, 7T per cent; 8 P. M.. 80 per cent ' THB WBATH3P. Wind. ST AXIOMS. Weather. Baker 2(1 3810.001. .IB Cloudy Boise 180 7610.00 . . SB Cloudy Boston ...... 4010.00 12 N Cloudy Calgary .. 22 4 2 0. 00. . SW Pt. cloudy Chicago ,. 82 440.00il8S Clear Denver ...40 B0l0.00!22iNW Rain D. Moines. I 82 52 0.00 . .iSW Clear Bureka ...i40 68iO.OO;10iSW Cloudy Galveston, j. . . I 6t0.0012iSFl Clear Helena ... 40 44i0. 001.. ISW Cloudy Juneaut 84 ..I Kan. Ctty.. ... 60!0.00.. S Clear L. Angeles 40 60J0.OOI.. SW Pt. cloudy Minn'polis 82 62i0. 00114 NW Cloudy Marshfield 4S 64(0.20 . . NW Cloudy N. Orleans... 78i0.00.. SW Pt. cloudy New York. ... 40I0.00I18IE Clear North Hd. 4(1 4810.10I30S Rain Phoenix .. 40 68W).00..W Clear Pocatello . S2 40V0.OO). . NE Cloudy Portland .. 47 62k.0M12S Cloudy Rosoburg . 44 M'O.OOL.ISW Cloudy Sac'to .... 42 480.28 .. NW Cloudy St. Louis... 40 W0.00 18S Clear Salt Lake.. 30 84I0.S2I..E Cloudy San Diego. 48 62NJ.0O . . NWlClear San Fran.. 48 480.1410N Clear Seattle ... 44 50IO.04I12IS Cloudy Sltkat ....... 8 I Spokane .. S3 4210.00 ,. SW Cloudy Ttcoma 5210.08 . .ISW- Cloudy Tutoosh L. ... 480.03.. SB Rain Valdest 28 W. Walla.. 44 B2K.0O..SE Cloudy Wash'ton .... 5010.00 15 K Cloudy Winnipeg . 28 8fiK. 10 10 W Clear Yakima. ... I 82 EOiO.OOj. ? Cloudy tA. M. today. P. M. report preceding day. FORECASTS. Portland and vicinity Tuesday occa sional rain: southerly winds. Oregon .nd Washington Tuesday en ssslenat rata; fresh to strong southerly winds, HH SLAUGHTER NfllED Conviction of Mine Murder ers Held Unlikely. SENTIMENT FOR DEFENSE Many Thrilling Stories Related of March to Death Toward Cemetery of Town. BY C G. MARSHALL. (Copyright, 1823, by The Oregonlan.) MARION, 111.. Dec. 25. (Special.) The state has completed its case against the first five men accused as perpetrators of the Herrin mas sacre. Every man of the five has been Identified. The prosecution claims it has shown that each of the de fendants had a hand in the slaugh ter of one or more of the 23 victims who met death, some begging vainly for mercy, on that bloody June day. Yet, the feeling is general that there will be no convictions, that the -jury, made up mostly of farm ers and miners, will allow itself to be "persuaded" to accept the de fense viewpoint that Williams coun ty arose to the defense of its homes and by this act of self-defense served notice on American gunmen and those who would employ Amer ioan gunmen that this was not a safe place in which to send hired murderers." When the trial Is resumed next week, after the Christmas recess, the defense will have the oppor tunity to introduce witnesses to give testimony in supposed Justifi cation of the murders, to show many acts of brutality culminating in the "ruthless murder" of three union miners. Alibi,, Hardly Possible. The defense has announced it will call between 300 and 400 witnesses. It can hardly hope to establish alibis, as ft intended, even for Pete Hiller, about whom the prosecution had some doubt, since William Cairns, one of the survivors, picked him out in the courtroom as the "big, husky, mean-looking guy" who shot down one of the victims at close range aa he stood helpless against a tree. Hiller was pictured by the state's attorney's deputy aa one of the most fiendish types of a murderous crew. throat-outter, a killer of the worst order. Yet state's witnesses who showed astonishing memory for de tails of the massacre, gulped once or twice and. then did not seem to recall having seen Hiller in the crowd. Hiller was married in Jail last Monday to pretty 18-year-old Anna Campbell of Marion, but after entertaining the bride and groom at a wedding supper, Sheriff Galli gan announced that the honeymoon would have to wait until Hiller got out. Many thrilling stories have been told about that last march of death toward Herrin cemetery. Four who survived that fearful ordeal have related all they oould remember, but those of them who were not too terribly wounded to recall the worst of it were too busily en gaged in saving their own lives to observe what waB happening to the others. Donald M. Ewing, a Chi cago newspaper man, reached the scene just in time to see It. One Kicked to Silence. Leaving hie car, Ewing made his way to the center of the mob and found six strikebreakers lying in the road. They were hatless, bare footed and some had their shirts and trousers partly torn off, so their tormentors could tell whether they were really dead. Three were dead. One was drawing his last breath. Two were conscious and in great pain, crying feebly for water. Ao cording to the testimony, Bert Grace, one of the defendants, stood over them, gun In hand, and kicked one to silence as he 'pleaded for water. This poor fellow, Howard Hoffman, for the murder of whom the five are on trial specifically, was wounded in the abdomen and his throat had been cut. The other man, Joseph O'Rourke, was wounded likewise, but lived to show the scar on his neck to the jury. Ewing told how he hurried to a farmhouse and brought back a lard bucket full of water for the two wounded men. "Clear out of here, damn you!" Grace swore at Ewing, the latter testified. "You can't give them any water!" (XRourke could identify none of his assailants because his hair was matted with blood and Ms glasses had been torn away. O'Ronrke's Throat Cut. "I opened my eyes once," 'said O'Rourke, "and I saw a man bending over me with a knife. Then I felt my" throat cut. I realized that I was terribly thirsty and remember saying. 'If there is a Christian in the crowd, give me a drink of water.' I do not remember whether I got it or not." How Hoffman died was related dramatically by Dr. O. O. Shipman of Herrin. "The prisoners were marched op the road between two files of armed men, he said. "They were bloody, ragged, bareheaded and seme were in stocking feet. One man was hold ing his hand to keep the blood In a wound at his waist. Another was holding one forearm which was soaked in blood. Leva Mann (one of the defendants) gave orders to swing arms. The man holding his forearm did' not swing his arms and some one reached out and hit him. "A man came running down the street and directed the prisoners toward the country road. They stopped at a corner near a woods. Someone asked one of the wounded men it was Howard Hoffman if he wanted to talk. 'If you want to talk you had better do it Quick; you have not long.' Prayer la Suggested. "They were marched a little farther and came to two parked au tomobiles. One man got a rope from an automobile and put it around Hoffman's neck. He began to loop it around the others, but it was too short and someone called for a piece of chain or barbed wire to piece it out. "While this was being done a fel low in the crowd yelled to the pris oners: 'If you have never prayed before in your life, you better pray now!' A boy in an automobile hol lered, "Nearer. My Cka, to Thee.' 2 Green Chile Cboesa The rope was tied and they marehed down the road again. Soon after wards the shooting began and the prisoners fell In a heap. There were 10 or 20 fellows shooting and I rec ognized four, Joe Varnaghi, Leva Mann, Percy Hall and a man named' Oalligar. (The first two are now on trial.) ' "A man I had never seen who was doing most of the shooting shot Hoffman. He shot round after round, borrowing guns from those around him. A email boy gave him cartridges. He lifted Hoffman's head up slowly and shot him again. The bullet split his scalp. Hoff man said: 'Oh, men, men, what are you doing?'" One Saved by Agility. On of the little band marching down the road to their doom owes his life to his agility. He escaped without ever being wound ed. He is Robert Officer, book keeper at the Lester mine and a Uni versity of Pennsylvania graduate. We were marched a ways and lined up before a barbed wire fence with the crowd behind us. Officer testified. "Someone shouted: We are going to give you a chance, and the firing began. I fell on my face and went under the barbed wire, taking to the woods." Some of th other prisoners did the same thing. Some escaped. Bernard Jones, another survivor. and William Goodman, a farmer, also testified to that effect. "You don't know this scab breed like I do! The only way to atop the breed is to kill them," said Jones and Otis Clark, one of the defend ants, who is charged with Inciting the crowd to violence. Then the march of death began. Before it had gone far C. K. Mc Dowell, superintendent of the mine, began to play out. as he could not move fast with a wooden leg. Some one in the mob punched him in the back with the muzzle of a pistol and said to his companions: "He's given out. No use to go any further with him." .' - Sentiment for Accused. Let George Nelson, an eye-witness, take up the story. "A man with a revolver opened a way and two men went south with McDowell. Otis Clark was one of them and he had hold of McDowell's arm to keep him from falling. An other member of the mob told me to get into my house, which I did promptly. Soon afterward I heard shooting." Later Nelson went down the road and found McDowell's body under a Ciump of bushes. If the five men on trial are ac quitted in the face of the testimony the prosecution admits that it will te useless to try any of the 200 others who have been indicted for murder. The sentiment of the community Is overwhelmingly In favor of the accused, not that the horrors are denied, but because it is felt that the murders were justified. TAXATION CHIEF TOPIC MICHIGAN SOLONS TO DEAL WITH MANY REFORMS. Gasoline Tax for Highways and Iilterary Teste for Voters Will Be Proposed. , LANSING, Mich., Dec. 2. Enact ment of legislation to remodel the, state's taxation system, cut down the cost of state government, de velon the state as an agricultural center, tighten the "blue sky" laws and broaden women's rights will be asked, along with other proposed changes in the laws, of the Michigan legislature when it convenes in reg ular session in January. Outstanding in the prospective legislation are the following pro- potrals: To provide a gasoline tax to finance highway development and maintenance withe ut a real prop erty tax. To make more compact the cen tralized state government which was inaugurated two years ago, by cur tailing and combining departments, To make the furnishing of poison- ens liquor punishable as man slaughter. To tighten the motor vehicle laws, by prescribing more specifically the lighting equipment on automobiles and increasing the penalties lor spbeding' and reckless driving. To delegate to the state agri cultural college much of the work drne by the state agricultural de partment. To provide what amounts to a literary test for voters. " To provide a bill of rights for women, which will put them on an equal standing with men in business and welfare matters. To enaot a land certification law whioh will enable non-residents of the state to invest in Michigan's un developed lands and to provide that the state encourage reforestation of idle lands not suited to agriculture by reducing taxes. The reapportionment of the state legislative districts which comes be fore the legislature by virtue of the 1S20 federal census, stands hie-h in of Men's jjy Note: Men's Store Opens at 9:15 A.M. ""CT ' . Meier 4 Prank's: Third Floor. (Mail Orders Filled.) Take Any Elevator or Escalator GiCSESEiseS We opened our Dress and Coat De partments so late in the Fall that every single garment in our stocks is of new and popular style. The de partment has steadily gained in popu larity because the garments are so Of Pol ret TwllL the uneven hem line and scallops braid outlined and individual sleeves make this distinc tive. Formerly (19.50. - Now 21.75. Consider this smart coat of eott pile wool fabric, silk lined throughout, with Its big fur collar. Formerly 137.60. Reduced to (28.75. state Interest. Other measures in clude provision for a eugrenlca law; to devise ways and means of raising; money to retire the $61,550,00 state bonded indebtedness without adding to the tax burden on real property, and to make insanity grounds lor divorce. An attempt may be made to revive the income tax, which was initiated by the 1921 legislature and defeated by the votersi Kelso Tract Is Sold. KELSO, Wash., Dec. 25. (Special.) David Wilson, a prominent realtor of Spokane, purchasd what is known as the Island, formerly owned by the Wallace. Land company, from J. S. Robb this week. The plaoe contains about S5 acres and adjoins Long's Clothing; Begin at 9:15 A. jttw Ths Quautv Stors hi or Portland Clearance of Berg's New Coats and Frocks Drastic Reductions FROCKS Such variety of style, excellence of work manship and moderateness of price are seldom combined. Every frock new, desir able and greatly reduced! One Group formerly $12.75 Wool eponge and jersey frocks in several smart styles and a variety of colors. $29 to $32.50 Wools or Silk Frocks of silk, and lace combined, Can tons with faggoting and very smart Poiret twill frocks. $47.50 to $52.50 Values at Charming Cantons, Velvets and Crepes in every new and wanted style. Many with the new Bertha collars so smart! $75 to $79.50 Models for Included are exquisite chiffon velvets, flat crepes and novelty silks. And ' handsome flare skirt Poiret Twills. COATS There's a certain smartness about Coats in Berg's that distinguishes them instantly. All these are now offered at reductions! To $19.85 Utility & Sports Coats The sort of value that doesn't come often in the coat season. Sports and general utility models. To $29.50 Coats Reduced to Bolivia and other woolen fabrics, lined with satin de chine. Some with embroid ery on sleeves. Others with fur collars. To$37.50FurTrimm,dCoats Normandy and bolivia coats, plain tai lored or with braid trimming. Many nutria collars. Full lines. To $95 Models Reduced to The most amazingly good-looking coats at this special price. Handsome deep pile fabrics with squirrel and wolf collars. wJ3joiir Ttormwtu fcncwm eMorwon STWaT-nasr addition to Kelso, to plat it Mr. Wilson plans Autoist Hnrt in 200-Foot Dive. LOS ANGELES, Dec. 25! A man believed to be Henry Otterbein was injured probably fatally today when the automobile he was driving, after a collision with another ma chine, fell 200 feet over a cliff in Elysian park. Kelso Mill Stock Bought. KELSO. Wash., Deo. 25. (Special.) Glenn Burch last week purchased the 40 shares of stock of the Cres cent Shingle company owned by the Joe Tardy estate. The par value of this etock Is $200, but it is said to be worth several times that amount. M. Today Take Any Elevator or Escalator . carefully chosen and prices are so moderate. Despite these facts, how ever, we are compelled to make room for incoming merchandise which is about due from the east hence these drastic reductions for immediate clearance. $7.45 $24.75 $39.50 $59.50 $9.85 $19.75 $29.75 $59.50 hosier? at Lwtnotil Offcc Owoairt i The company is a co-operative one, the number of shares being- limited I D N I G H T MAT N E W Y E A R S EYE NOW ffS 0i - 1? wWk MARY PICKFORD The World's Sweetheart" In her own brand-new version . of a world clanslc "TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY" The Crowning Achievement of Mary Pickford's Career as New as It Is Beautiful NOTE I By special arrangement with Mary Plokford (herself) we are showing this - "Picture Wonderful" at our regular evening; prices EVERY DAY AD ALL DAY Portland's Only Independent First-Run Theater 1 I The lovely laoe Bertha of Venise pattern, the soft Drown chiffon vel vet, the entirely new and smart style combine to make this becom ing. Formerly $49.50. Now 39.50. This handsomedeep Site coat with its eautiful wolf col lar and rich satin lining; is Indeed a remarkable ex ample of reduc tions! It was J95 now 59.50. to 40 to an individual. 16 shareholders. There are Shows Starting 11A.M., 1,3, 5, 7, 9 P.M. EARLY SHOWS ADVISABLE Adults . . t'hlkiren All Pay 20c