Served on
d<Aph °*
papers
i
Subpoena Served! on V. W. Keith, A!
ieged Head of Fairmont Kiavern, To
day-Required to Bring List of Mem
i bership and Records Pertaining to
Mike Lawson and H. L. TaMaferro—
Keith WiH be Put on by State in Re
buttal—Randolph Commanded to
Bring Letters and Telegrams Sent to
or Received From TaMaferro. .
t^IAL OF WOMEN FLOGGING
CASE MAY LAST ALL WEEK
Dafandants Brogden and Hedg
^eth Have Been on Stand and
a Cloud of Witnesses Appears
fpr Defense—Burglary Charge
i$ Abeyance — Mrs. Purvis'
Same as Told in Prelim
Hearing—Papers Served
;tomey F. D. Hackett of
Counsel for Defense to Produce
^Ufotes of Private Testimony of
Mrs. Watson as to Who
"Judge " Was Who Superin
tended Whipping.
A subpoena duces tecum v.as serv
ed about noon today in the court
houjte here on V. Keith, a Fair
ment attorney, aiieged head of the
Pairnbnt kiavern of the Ku Kiux
gian, to produce the roster of mem
bfrship of the Fairmont kiavern and
ail records pertining to Mike l^aw
son and the flogging of, women at
Prottorviiie, aiso aii records pertain
ing to H. L. Taliaferro, a!i"ged Ku
K!ux Kian detective, who is under
bond t<f answer to the charge of con
t-mpt of court in intimidating wit
nesses.
Kei,h remarked m passtng some
n4w. paper men just after court ad
ioutued for noon recess thaL they !
It tic have that correct.
Simitar papers have been maited
to E R. Randolph of Warsaw, atteg
ed grand ktatiff of the rcatm of
Nor! Carotin*, requiring him to ap
pear in court hoe at once wi'h a iist
"f th" membership of the Fairmont
Mavern and att tetters and telegrams
received from or sent to Taliaferro.
Keith will be put on as a State's
witness in rebuttat in the trial of B
M. Lawson, chief of police of Fair
moot, Jute Brogden and John Hod *
path of Proctorville, charged with
being leaders of a band of 18 hooded
and masked men who took Mrs. Hat
tit Purvis and Mrs. Mary Watson
from the former's heme at Proctor
vt!!e on the night of Aprit 11, car
ried them to a near-by negro church
bent them over a tog, putted up their
Presses and flogged them with
leather strap, playing * flash ligh'
on them the while and the band
looking on until the "judge" said *
was enough.
A similar subpoena was served this
pfternoon on Attorney F. D. Hackett,
of private counsel for the proscution,
requiring him to produce ntes of pri
vate testimony of Mrs. Mary Watson
as to identity of the man who was ad
dressed as "judge" during the flog
When court convened this
^ afternoon Jule Brogden the second of
the defendants to be placed on the
stand, was subjected to cross exami
nation at the hands of Mr. Stephen
McIntyre, who without remuneration
is assisting Solicitor T. A. McNeill in
the prosecution.
Direct examination of Brogden
was concluded at 14 minutes to 1
o'clock this afternoon and court took
recess until 2 p. m., half* an hour
rather than the UBual hour. It i;
thought that Lawson, considered the
principal defendant, will be put or
tMc stand next and that then a cloud
rf witnesses will be introduced to
prove an alibi. The State which rest
ed unexpectedly yesterday afternoon
after Mrs. f Parvis told her story
if- * .
...-—— . ----—
about the" whipping, which story was
in aii respects the Same as the story
published ih the Rdbesonian when
the pretinlihai*y hearing was held
early ih May, and her son Conrad
had given his testimony and testi
mony as to evidences of the whip
ping the women bore on their bodies
a week after the event had been in
troduced, wili put on additional wit
nesses in rebuttal.
It looks like the case will last out
practically the entire Week^ unless
some unexpected terhMaUoh of the
trial is reached,
The court room has been packed
every moment since the trial began
yesterday morning, special depu
ties being on duty. Every inch of the
ground is being closely contested by
Solicitor McNeill and Mr. McIntyre
for the State and Messrs. J. Dickson
McLean, T. L. Johnson and W. S.
Britt for the defense.
Judge N. A. Sinclair, has been on
the bench only six months, but he,
is conducting the case with the dis- {
ratch and precision of a veteran. He
has ruled repeatedly that questions
perlainin^ to the Ku Klux Klan are
competent as tending to show
whether or not the klan is connected
with the whipping in any way, de
spite the continued objections raised
hy counsel for the defense. His de
cisions are swift and without hesita
tion.
At 10:45 Tuesday morning Solici
tor McNeiil announced that the State
was ready for the trial of B. M. Law
son, Jule Brogden and John Hedg
peth on charges of secret assault,
kidnapping and assauit with deadly
weapon with intent to kill, the other
charge of first-degree burglary being
deferred.
Selecting Jury
In selecting the jury, Mr. J. A.
Campbell of St. Pauis township rais
ed his hand in answer to the ques
tion if any member of the jury as
it was then constituted was, or had
ever been, a member of the Ku
K!ux Kian. He explained that he was
a me uher of the Man in reconstruc
tion days. Judge Sinciair stated that
he couid retain his seat on the jury,
explaining that the organization
(hen and now were entirely different.
Mr. J. W. Bryant went to a lecture
by a member of the Ku Kiux Kian
and was excused by the court. In
tetiing of attending the lecture he
stated that he did not like the lec
ture and did not join the Kian. Mr.
Roy Townsend was excused on the
around that he had within the past
few days been riding with Mr. H. L.
^Taliaferro, alleged Ku Kiux Kian
detectiye, and had talked with him
^tinte he was summoned as a juror.
Mr. J. F. Lewis stated that he had
never joined the Ku Kiux Kian but
that he had given them $10 and had
attended three meetings. Attorneys
for the state were allowed to chal
lenge twelve jurors and exhausted
their entire quota, as did the defense,
which was allowed to challenge six.
The main questions asked by the
state to the prospective jurors were
relative to their connection with the
organization commonly known to
the outside world as the Ku Kiux
Kian and if they were related by
blood or marriage to the defendants.
The jury as it was empanelled is
composed of Gilbert Cox, W. R. Bax
ley, J. H. McLean, J. A. CampbeH
J. S. McQueen. J. D. Medlin. J. C.
Carlyle, F. K. Biggs, W. H. Prevatt,
J. H. Bass, E. C. Floyd and A. D.
Evans.
Mrs. Parvis' Story
Mrs. Hattie Purvis was the first
witness to take the stand. According
to her testimony she is 34 years of
age and has lived in the lower part
of Robeson county all of her life.
She*'was raised within 4 miles of
-_j '
Mike LaWsoti ahd hkS khown hint nil
heir life, beitig fdr some time a
schoolmate of hiS. Met atoty of the
affair as it occurred On the Right of
April 14th last is As follows:
"Just about first dark Hybert Leg
get, a epusin of mine, came to My
nous#. Mts. Maty Watson and her
two chiidren, Mdritte atid Nethelie,
were there also, NorinS and niy spn
ijonrad leaving fbr .a hieetihg df the
B. Y. P. U. jdst before Hybert capie.
In a little while, about 9 o'clock, Dr.
Ricks came to my house and told me
that he wanted to speak to me a
minute. We went into the parlor,
where he told me that a friend or
his and a friend of piine had told
him to notify me that the Ku Klux
were coming to see me that night.
I called Hybert, who heard what Dr.
Ricks said. I went back into the
other room after Dr. Ricks left and
told the pthers about it. Than I went
around the nopse and locked all the
doors and windows. Nbirine and Con
rad returned about this time from B.
Y. P. U. Hybert left seon after they
came. About 10 or 10:30, after I had
taken down my hair and was getting
ready to retire, I heard someone on
the front porch. I said, "There they
are now'. I went to* the front door
and recognized Jule Brogden with
his face close to the dobr, holding
the Screen ddpf ba6k. Mg Was com
manding that.i Ppeh the dOof. i told
him th&t if hg Wdhtgd it Opeti he
woiild have to opgfi it. i then ediled
my son, Conrad, dust as i called him
the back door flew open, slamming
against the wall. Six or seven mask
ed and robed men came up the hall
lead by John Hedgpeth, whom^ I re
cognized on account of his pants and
shoes and walk. A big man whom I
recognized as Mike Lawdon follow
ed Jule Brogden in the front door,
as did some others, all robed and
masked.
i^awson had a pmtol and a police
man's c!ub. He was telling the other
men which ones to take. He hit
Nethelie Watson over the head with
the club as she screamed from fright.
The old lady, Mrs. Baxley, who has
lived with me for 20 years, fainted.
Mike told me that they were not go
ing to hurt me and not to. be afraid.
They then carried Mrs. Watson out
the front door and threw her into'
a waiting car. Then one took my
arm and carried me to the car and
threw me in Mrs. Watson's lap., Mrs.
Watson was asking t^tem not to
choke her and continued to beg them
until they nearly reached the church
yard, when one of the men stopped
choking her. She was pulled out of
the car and blindfolded. One of the
men pulled out a dirty handkerchief
and started to blindfold me. I asked
him not to use that dirty rag. I was
not completely blindfolded. They
lead us to the side of the church,
bent Mrs. Watson down over a log
that had been used to suport the
church which had leaned on account
of a heavy wind. They waited until
all of the 18 men were there. They
raised her skirt and began beating
her. When she started to scream,
Mike said 'Hold the gun on her'. I
then saw Mike raise his mask and
wipe his face with a handkerchief.
They told Mrs. Watson that she had
raised the biggest crook in that part
of the country. They would not let
her explain and further told her that
her daughter had caused Dr. Bidks
and his wife to part. She was also
accused of not treating her husband
right. A man standing looking on
was asked if that was enough when
they had beaten Mrs. Watson severe
ly. Then I was next to be taken to
the log. I begged them to tell me
just why they were beating me. They
then raised my skirt and I tried to
pull it down. I was told that Mrs.
Watson's husband had said that he
had seen men and women at my
house hugged-up and that I was run
ning a disorderly house. The blood
was beaten out of Mrs. Watson. We
were both black and blue from our
waists to our knees. The Ford in
which we rode out there had left. We
.started walking back to town. Mrs
[Watson stated that she did not be
lieve she was able to make it. Mike
said 'Don't you reckon a few more
licks would help you along?'. On the
*way back 1 told them I knew some
of them and Mike said that I had
[better not let anything ever be heard
[of this, that there was 10.000 Ku
^Xlux and it wouldn't be good for me.
iMe then told me that I was the brav
est little woman ha ever saw. I re
cognized Brogden by his hands and
eyes, Hedgpeth by ins trousers,
shoes and}walk and the way he *tood.
He Stopped right Under the haii light.
WneiT we left the house the car t?*nt
right through th* main part of town
and turned at the comer near Mr. 1.
P. Graham's house. Many men were
standing in front of W. R. Buries'
stores Sa niWatsoU, husband of Mrs.
Watson, ivas the chief of police of
Proctorviiie. the street lights were
on, when we went out but were out
when we returned, the Whipping
hurt me very badly. there is scars
on Mrs. Watson now ahd it is black
and Map on me in places."
She then told of showring her
wounds to Miss Elizabeth Frye,!
county welfare officer, Mr. J. A.
Sharpe, editor pf the Robesonlan.
Dr. E. R. Hardin, county health of
ficer, and her attorneys. She stated
that Mike Lawson toM her that this
Hogging was just a warning and
that she had ten days in which to go
to her husband, who, she explained,
is a traveling salesman out of
Rocky Mount. She stated that she
was living in Proctorviiie in order
that her children might finish the
year at the high school at Orrum
She also stated that Taliaferro, the
alleged Ku Rlux Elail detective, had
been to see her since the preliminary
hearing. Objections were entered by
the defense and Sustained by Judge
I Sinclair. Mrs. Watson was struck
: about 12 or 15 licks with a leather
strap about 4 inches wide, Mrs. Pur
vis said.
On cross exammanon Mrs. rurvts;
denied that she had ever had any
dancing in h@f house. She gave as
her reason fdr moving to another
house that the first house was not
targe enough to hotd the furniture
that she was moving from the o!d
fq?m house. She denied that she
knew that there was an automatic
switch on the power house and that
the tights were cut out in town at
the same time every night. She said
the reason the tights burned tonger
that night was because the majority
of peopte in Proctorvitte were mem
bers of the Ku Ktux. When she ,was
asked why she did not aak Hybert
Leggett to tet her go home with him
when she heard the K. K. K*. were
coming she said that she had chit
dren and the otd tady and she coutd
not carry them about. She ftatty de
nied that she was the cause of the
divorce of Dr. L .E. Ricks and his
wife, that she had been run out of
a hote! in Witmington or Wrights
viiie Beach on account of immora!
conduct, or that she had met Dr.
.Ricks in E!rod at different tim<#s
since the preiiminary. She aiso de- j
nied seeing Dr. Ricks in the Riff de
partment store at Fairmont up-!
stairs. The fact that she was denied
credit by John Hedgpeth when he!
was working for Mr. W. R. Suries!
was aiso denied by her and she ex-1
piained the matter by saying that}
she had not asked for credit or time
business since moving from the farm
and that Mr. Suries was not fh the
store at the time.
Conrad Purvis
Conrad Purvis, a son of Mys. Pur- j
vis, corroborated that part of bis j
mother's testimony regarding the,
men coming to the house except that
he did not recognize anyone except
Juie Brogden and John Hedgpeth.
He said that he saw the mea, carry
Norine and Netheiie Watson off
down the street and shove them to
ward home, and that when he tried
to foiiow his mother they shoved
him back into the house. When his
mother returned to the house about
11 o'clock she to!d them that she had
recognized Juie Brogden. John Hedg
peth and Mike Lawson. He denied on
cross examination that he had toid
Mr. Atkinson that Mr. Suries was
recognized by him that night.
Mr. J. A. Sharpe went on the stand
and testified that he was caiied to
the office of Solicitor McNeill when
the warrants were sworn out for the
men and was shown how badly the
women were beaten. He stated that
the flesh appeared to have been
severely beaten, was black and blue
and angry-looking and resembled
beefsteak which had been beaten
preparatory to cooking. Mrs. Purvis
told him that it was done by 18
masked and robed men and that she
recognized the three defendants.
Witnesses for Defense
At this point the state rested its
case. Twentyfive or thirty witnesses
for the defense were sworn. The first
of these to go on the stand was a
character witness, Mfs. Mary Suries,
who testified that Mrs. Purvis had
a bad, very bad, reputation. On cross
examination ahd was asked if she
approved of the whipping that was
given to Mrs. Purvis and Mrs. Wat
son. To this she replied that she did
approve of the whipping. Mrs. W. R.
BoHea was 6#Hed next and like the
other three female witnesses examin
ed Tuesday gave Mrs. Purvis a bad
reputation. She stated that she did
not exactly approve of the whipping,
bat that *be did not go to see if
either of the women was badly beat
en and that she didn't believe they
were, beaten as badly as they said.
Mrs. Rachael Nobles, a resident of
Proctorville, swore that Mrs. Parvis
had a bad repatation. On cross ex
amination she stated that Mr. Sam
Watson and his daughter Nathalie
came to her house about 12 o'clock
on the night of the flogging and ash
ed her to go and see if she coaid do
something for Mrs. Watson. On ac
count of sickness she said she did
hot go. She stated that she did not
exactly approve of the whipping bat
that sometimes something has to be
done.
Woman Approves Whipping
Mrs. Geo. P. Branch gave Mrs.
Purvis a had reputation, saying that
it was 'bad. bad'. The witness pro
ceeded to interrogate Mr. McIntyre,
who was doing the cross examining,
asking him if he was a member of
the Ku K!ax Klan. To this he repiied,
in a loud and emphatic voice, "No,
mam, and 1 never will be if all the
rest of the world belongs to it".
When asked if she approved of the
whipping shte finally stated, after
Judge Sinclair had asked, "WaU,
yes". She first stated that she did
not approve of whipping good wo
men.
Mr?, w. A. uranam statea rnat
Mrs. Purvis' reputation was ba$J
She did not apM-ova of the whipping
the women received.
John Hedgpeth On Stand
John Hedgpeth then went on the
stand and stated that he had been a
member of the poMe? force of Proc
torvi!!e, an alderman of the town
and was now assistant postmaster.
He stated that he did not wear yel
!ow pants and tan shoes on the Sat
urday in question and that he wore
hiue trousers and black shoes. He ex
hibited the trousers. He went to the
funeral of Mr. Dock Bamee and re
turned to Mr. W. R. Surles' stone,
where he was employed, about 11
o'clock. He went to supper between
7 and 8 o'clock and returned to the
store, where he remained until 9.
Went home by way of postoffice, ar
riving home a little after 9 o'clock.
Sat up reading a book. Robert Byrd
came by and taiked awhile about
farming. He didn't leave home that
night, and had nothing to do with
the whipping. Heard it the next
morning at Sunday school. Went to
Watson's on way to tobacco patch,
and saw sister, who called him out
to a nearby ditch and told him about
it. According to his testimony, she
did not know who did the whipping
and she wished she did. He also
swore that she was complaining. On
Monday afternoon he was in Fair
mont.
He heard Mrs. watson. ms stater,
state in the court house that she did
not know who whipped her when the
preliminary was being held. He ex
plained that he wore brown trousers
on cold bad days. He also stated that
he had sold several pairs of the
trousers to people living in and near
ProctorviMe. On ct^ss examination
he was the subject of a furious at
tack by Mr. McIntyre, who had him
in very close quarters on several
occasions. He told the story of the
book he was reading, which was en
titled "The Seven Keys". When ask
ed if he turned off Sam Watson as
policeman after the flogging he rer
plied in the negative, admitting he
was an alderman at the time. He ad
mitted that he didn't try to find out
who whipped his sister because there
was nowhere to find out. He empha
tically denied knowing anything
about the K. K. K. but said he did
attend a lecture one time and was
unable to tell what it was about. He
recognized Mr. W. R. Surles present
at the meeting and that was all he
could remember. The meeting was
conducted by a Mr. Stephenson.
When he was asked about flogging
women he stated that he would not
whip anyone but that if he did be
would not deny it.
W. R Surles On Stand.
The first witness offered by the de
fense this morning was Mr. W. R.
Surles, a merchant of the town of
Proctorville, who testified that he
employed John Hedgpeth at different
times and that Hedgpeth worked for
him on April 14th all day except
while he was attending a funeral He
further testified that Hedgpeth wore
a blue suit that day. According to
Mr. Surles. Hedgpeth acted toward
his sister Mrs. Mary Watson as a
{brother and had at one time cared
ifor her furniture while she Was away
from homo * iong time. The sates
booh used by Hedgpeth was indenti
ned by him ss the owe he used on
Saturday, Apri! 14th, and it was
shown that he did not use it on the
following Monday. Didn't know that
anyone went into the Purvis house
that night. Streets lights went off
every night about 10:30 On cross
examination it was shown that Mr.
Suries did not get up and investigate
when he saw several hooded and rob
ed 'men parading in the streets of
Proctorviiie that night. He stated
that they went toward Ms store and
the bank of which he was an officer.
He was iater toid by Mr. Waiter
Nance that the K. K- K had visited
Mrs. Purvis, and iater told by Mr.
Nance that it was a mistake. He ad
mitted teiiing Mrs. Purvis that he
thought it best for all concerned that
she ieave the community and go to
her husband in Rocky Mount.
He stated that Mrs. Purvis toM
him that Dr. Ricks was coming now
just for spite and he, advised her
against that. He admitted that he
toid her that those who went to see
her were possibiy her friends end
didn't mean any harm about it. He
further admitted that he went on the
bond of the men after the preliminary
hearings and gave his reason for do
ing so that he did not believe them
guiity of the crime with which they
were charged. Admitted aiso that he
had attended s lecture of the Ha
Kina Klan but denied any affiliation.
Ha sew in the haii at the iectnre
aopm *o men, among wnom ne
was C C. Fennei, Jos. A. Nye, John
Hedgpeth and KeUy Baas. Ha stated
that ha saw H. 1* TaMafesro, Ha
Khm Kian agent, there after the pre
liminary and that the agent went
with him te the house vacated ty
Mrs. Parvis. Ha said he went te the
house to tee if the locks were brok
en, explaining that he was a part
owner of the hgoae. He said that
some one was an the porch the night
before he went to tb+*)u*e and that
he could gat tei! wheitwas. Whaa
taveetiMte the
said that when ha looked at the ioeha
in the house they were not broken.
Retahted Wataen as* PoHcemaw.
Mr. K. Atkinaen went, on the stand
and corroborated the testimony of
Mr. Suries as to the whereabouts of
Mr Hedgpeth on April 14th and the
charge hooks. On cross examination
he admitted that he was an aiderman
of the town of Proeterviiie and that
he was still retainingrSam Watson as
policeman. He said he inquired about
the whipping but that he did not
make a thorough investigation. He
emphatically denied membership in
the Ku Kiux Kiaa.
Mr. Robert H. Byrd testified that
he was at the home of John Hedg
peth from 9:45 untii 11 o'clock on the
night of the whipping and that he and
the defendant talked about tobacco
plants and farming in general, Croee
examination confused the witness fo^
some extent when it was found thafw
he did not have a watch that night
Wanted to Ran from Kluxers.
Mr. H. W. Hudson testiCed ^hat ne
was a re!ief agent at Proctorville at
the time of the whipping and that ha
met Robt. Byrd coming from the
direction of John Hedgpeth's hoasa
about 11 o'clock On cross examina
tion he stated that he was afraid of
the Ku K!ux and that he wanted to
run from them.
Mrs. John Hedgpeth, wife of the
defendant, corroborated his testi
mony as to where he was during the
day and night of the 14th. She said
that she had asked Sam Watson to
he!p her get ready to come to Lum
berton. She aiso corroborated the
testimony regarding the clothes that
her husband wore that day and night.
Brogden's Story
Brogden's story on direct testimony
was as follows: On the night of April
14 he left his garage about sunset,
went to his home, washed, changed
clothes, went to the * barber
shop, got a haircut and shave; thence
to Mr Haynes Barnes' store, where
he bought flour and cigarettes. Went
to Mr. Geo. Branch's store and from
there to the post office and then on
home after talking with Mr. C. C.
Burns Only stayed at home a minute.
Returned to a store and bought some
eggs, returning home afterwards. He
testified that he had not joined the
klan and that he did not have any
thing to do with the flogging. He said
that the grease had been thoroughly
washed from his hands and face. He
admitted having been arrested In
Proctorvilie about 18 months ago
charged with using profane language
and he paid the costs in the ease.