NOTE: Revealed here for the first time in any publication is the complete story of a cause célèbre that won for the Medford Mail Tribune the coveted Pulitzer Prize for the year of 1933 for its reporting of this most unusual criminal case.--EDITOR.
   
    In 1926, there moved into Jackson County, Oregon--the richest fruit-producing and mining county in the state--Llewellyn A. Banks, a reputedly wealthy and experienced orchardist from Riverside, California. He first bought a large orchard, then, in 1928, purchased an enterprising newspaper, the Medford Daily News. By this time, he was being hailed as one of the leading citizens of the state. People, however, began to wonder just who this man was, when his editorials commenced to be tinged with more than just a trace of radicalism.
    By 1931, his newspaper was carrying to every corner of the state fiery denouncements of our government. He blasted the so-called moneyed men, the power interests, our courts and our elected officials. All were subjected to daily diatribes of vilification and abuse, and accused of charges originated from grounds wholly fanciful and fantastic.
    He used his newspaper as a medium to inflame the minds of malcontents. He harangued them, and all who would listen, until he made them think he was a martyr and they were being martyred with him. Thousands, harassed by the lean years of the depression, flocked to his side.
    During‘this period, there also lived in Medford, the county seat, Earl H. Fehl, editor and publisher of the Pacific Record Herald. Fehl also had long since been gathering editorial fodder from his opinion of the manner in which the affairs of the government were being handled. His writings had always been of a violent nature, often bordering on the very edge of criminal syndicalism.
    The two publishers, seeing in each other an ally, joined forces. And so was formed the team that, under the pretext of "fighting for the people's cause," was to make criminal history.
    By 1932, their followers numbering into the thousands and completely under their control, they decided the time had come to reap the financial harvest and make their bid for power by molding a solid organization from the masses. The organization was named the "Good Government Congress," a very disarming title, as we shall soon see.
    For officers this so-called Good Government Congress elected Henrietta Martin, a noisy agitator, as president; C. H. Brown, her father, secretary; and C. J. Conners, vice president and chairman of the secret membership committee. But they were only puppets. In a separate resolution, Banks was elected honorary president and given full general veto and dictatorial powers. Each member was to be assessed the "small sum" of fifty cents per month. Banks was fast accomplishing his end. Thousands of dollars a month would soon be pouring into his coffers--and he was now the "Dictator."
    This much accomplished, Banks stepped out to get control of every office in the county and set up his own domain from which he could spread over the entire country like a cancerous sore--through terrorism if need be--and still remain free from prosecution. In the elections of 1932, he set up his own candidate--who was none other than his fellow radical, Earl Fehl--for the important office of County Judge. For the powerful office of Sheriff, he sponsored Gordon L. Schermerhorn, for District Attorney, he sponsored M. O. Wilkins.
    No great amount of alarm over this was felt by the law-abiding citizens, however, for the incumbents in these offices were men of unimpeachable character, with years of faithful and meritorious service to their credit.
    But something slipped, Fehl was elected County Judge, and Schermerhorn was elected Sheriff. District Attorney Codding barely managed to hold his office by a slight margin, much to the displeasure of the Dictator. The position of District Attorney, however, was now a farce. He would have no Sheriff to entrust with important confidential investigations, serve warrants, maintain order, etc. Furthermore, he would be facing an adverse County Judge.
    The election of Fehl to the county judgeship put a powerful weapon in the Dictator's hands, and he did not hesitate to use it in the months to come. The county court then had charge of relief disbursements, could throw open the doors of the county commissary, had charge of roads, appointed election officials and fixed polling places, etc. But most important of all, he would occupy the bench to rule on the destiny of those brought before him for justice, to judge right from wrong, and an unlawful act from a lawful one.
    In the meantime, District Attorney Codding began receiving tips that all had not been as it should be at the election polls. In view of this, the incumbent Sheriff, Ralph Jennings, an upright and outstanding officer, decided to file suit for a recount in Circuit Court of the election ballots. On the face of the election count, he had been defeated by but 123 votes.
    The moment the suit was filed, the entire election took on a bad odor. Sheriff-elect Schermerhorn went into hiding immediately to avoid service and summons. After a long and unsuccessful search for him, it became obvious that he intended to remain in hiding until the date of assuming office, January 2nd, 1933. This would permit him to get control of the important and powerful office and hold same until such time as the suit could be acted upon by the courts. A lot could happen during this period. and, unfortunately, it did happen.
    At twelve o'clock midnight, January 1st, 1933, Earl Fehl automatically became County Judge. At six o'clock in the morning of the same day, there was a strange meeting at the Judge's house. Sheriff-elect Schermerhorn arrived from his hiding place in Northern California, accompanied by two carloads of men. He was sworn in as Sheriff by Judge Fehl and, in turn, he swore in his companions as deputy sheriffs. Promptly at eight o'clock, they marched on the courthouse to take the office by force, if necessary. The retiring Sheriff, however, was perfectly content to let the courts decide the matter, and they met with no resistance.
    The moment Judge Fehl settled himself in his high-backed chair, he made the announcement, "I am the duly elected Judge of Jackson County--Judge of all the people." Immediately, he plunged the courthouse and the entire county into a maelstrom of discord and strife. The building was continually jammed to capacity with loiterers and agitators.
    Court sessions became nightmares, and no official could perform his duties in the turmoil that existed. Judge Fehl seemed to be directing his entire efforts to building and enlarging the Good Government Congress. The courthouse auditorium was thrown open to weekly meetings of that organization. No words can describe the situation.
    Dictator Banks, as he was now being referred to throughout the county, was fast becoming drunk with power. He delivered speeches from the very steps of the courthouse, that were so violent they far exceeded the imagination of any clear-thinking people. He demanded that District Attorney Codding and Circuit Judge Norton, two of the most upright officials in the state, resign at once. They were the only stumbling blocks in his march to complete power. In open speeches to his followers, he encouraged them to seize these officials by force, tie them to whipping posts. If this didn't force their resignations, he suggested use of the hangman's noose.
    February 2nd, in a speech to his followers, the Dictator declared, "We have now come to the great showdown where blood will have to be spilled." In another on February 10th, he shouted, "The Good. Government Congress serves notice on Circuit Judge Norton and District Attorney Codding, that either you will destroy us or we will destroy you." Then, in a later speech from the courthouse steps, he announced to a howling mob, "I am ready to lead the field in open revolution."
    The situation was desperate--was fast reaching a climax. The county was rampant with hatred and distrust. People were disposing of their homes and businesses and moving elsewhere to seek peace and safety. Editors of other newspapers throughout the nation were warning the people to suppress this uprising. But the climax was yet to come.
    Perhaps the reader will wonder why the efficient Oregon State Police were not taking a hand in this vital case. The reason was a simple but binding one. We were not permitted to participate in disputes involving labor troubles or an election contest, except upon orders from the Governor of the State. Inasmuch as an election contest had been involved in this series of atrocities, we were prohibited by law from taking action.
    A ray of hope appeared on the horizon, however, when, on February 20th, Circuit Judge George Skipworth, occupying the Jackson County bench on the recount case after an affidavit of prejudice had been filed against Circuit Judge Norton, ordered that the election ballots be counted again the following morning in open court. By this time, many were certain that irregularities had existed in the election, and that a recount would automatically remove the radicals from control of the county affairs.
    Early on the morning of February 21st, I was startled from my sleep by the persistent ringing of my telephone. I was soon wide awake, however, as I listened to the excited voice of my caller. The most openly defiant and brazen act in the history of the state had been committed. The courthouse vault had been broken into, and the ballots, which were to have been counted before Circuit Judge Skipworth, had been stolen.
    This was too much. District Attorney Codding and Chief McCredie, of the Medford Police, had phoned long distance to Charles P. Pray, Superintendent of State Police, and requested our assistance, stating that the situation had now gotten completely out of their control. Superintendent Pray, after a hasty inquiry into the facts, immediately instructed my superior officer, Captain Lee M. Bown, commanding officer of District Three, to render the District Attorney and city
police any and all assistance they might require. I was immediately assigned to investigate the case.
    Arriving at the scene of the crime, I found that the window of the vault, which is at the rear of the courthouse building, had been smashed in, in such a manner as to permit the burglars to reach in and release the latch. An inventory revealed nothing stolen but ballot pouches. Of these, thirty-six were gone.
    A search for fingerprints was practically useless. Crowds had been in and out of the vault before my arrival, and, as usual, had handled and disturbed everything. I was fortunate, however, to find, clinging to a sharp corner of the window frame, a small piece of cloth such as that commonly used in the manufacture of men's pants. This tiny fragment of cloth was destined to become of great importance and give us our first break in the case. The information regarding this find was quietly given to state and city police officers present. They were told to mingle with the crowds and watch for some man with torn pants of the same material.
    Continuing the investigation, my attention was attracted to several significant facts. The steel shutters protecting the window through which entrance had been gained had been left open on the night of the theft. Also, Captain Bown and Chief McCredie discovered the tops of eighteen ballot pouches concealed behind an inspection door off the boiler room which is used to gain access to the plumbing under the building. Extinguishing the fires in the furnaces, we were further rewarded with the discovery of metal clasps and hinges from the tops of approximately a dozen ballot pouches.
    All of the aforementioned pointed to only one thing--an inside job. It could be no one except some person, or persons, who had access to both the boiler room and the vault. Conferring with County Clerk George Carter, custodian of the vault, we were advised that he had been assisted in the vault on the day of the theft by Mason and Wilbur Sexton, two brothers, aged twenty-one and nineteen respectively. They were fairly well known to the police, their most recent introduction having been gained through a brawl on New Year's Eve, in which there was supposedly a display and the use of knives, resulting in their arrest. After being confined several days, the grand jury, then in session, investigated their case and returned a "not a true bill." Instead of accepting release, however, the brothers remained at the courthouse, and roomed and boarded at the county jail. They were soon known to be circulating literature and ambitiously soliciting new members for the Good Government Congress.
    There had been considerable comment as to why the Sextons had been kept around the courthouse--perhaps for just such a thing as the ballot theft. In any event, we resolved to find out. Chief McCredie spotted Mason Sexton mingling with crowds in the courthouse. Maneuvering into the right position, the Chief's keen eyes quickly appraised Sexton's pants. He was wearing a pair of the same material as the fragment of cloth found on the window frame--and they were torn in the right leg.
    Following Sexton around the building, the Chief finally found an opportunity to arrest him and get him to the city jail without being seen. The arrest was handled in this manner, as we did not wish to reveal the trend of our investigation. An hour or so later, his brother, Wilbur, was similarly taken into custody by Captain Bown and myself.
    When Mason was brought into my office for examination, not a word was spoken as I removed the fragment of cloth from an envelope, matched it to his pants, clipped another small piece from, the trousers and subjected both to microscopical comparison end examination. The cloth was identical. Sexton paled as he watched these proceedings in the ominous silence that prevailed in the room. He knew he was doomed--doomed by a small shred of cloth.
    But it was not Sexton that we wanted. To send him to prison and leave the leaders free to continue their march of destruction would be accomplishing exactly nothing. For four days and nights, Mason and Wilbur were questioned by Captain Bown, Chief McCredie, Deputy District Attorney Neilson and myself. They were hopelessly trapped, they realized, but as to the leaders, they would not utter one word. When the conversation and questioning drifted into those channels, they would merely "clam up."
    It was obvious that they felt secure in the thought that they were backed by the strongest influences in the county, and that it would be only a matter of a day or so until they would be out again and free--if they just stayed "right guys." This much they practically admitted.
    However, as time wore on and no help was forthcoming, they began to wonder. Finally, in the early hours of the morning of the fourth day, Mason, tired, worn out and fighting mad at not being rescued by his cohorts, jumped from his chair and shouted, "I'll talk and talk plenty." We all breathed a sigh of relief, for at last we were going to get the whole story.
    The confessions of Mason and Wilbur Sexton consisted of fourteen full legal-size, single-spaced typewritten sheets, and contained revelations that left us stunned and shocked. The audacity and brazenness of the perpetrators of the bold theft was beyond comprehension. In their confessions, the brothers told how they had been given permission by Judge Fehl and Sheriff Schermerhorn to live at the jail. In return, they were to obtain new members for the Good Government Congress, etc., as related earlier in this story.
    Referring to the night of the ballot theft, they told of coming out of the courthouse auditorium, where a meeting of the Congress was being called to order, and encountering in front of the vault a group in serious conversation. In this group were County Judge Fehl; Chief County Jailer John Glenn; Deputy Sheriff Charles Davis; Walter Jones, Mayor of Rogue River and County Road Supervisor; C. J. Conners, Vice President of the Congress; Thomas Brecheen, Ashland ward leader, bond broker and claimant of seven years service in the United States Secret Service; and Milton Sexton, the youths' father, who was merely standing by as a listener.
    They were asked by Brecheen to join the men. Then, in the presence of the others and without any further ceremony, he bluntly asked them whether they knew the combination to the vault. When they replied they did not, he questioned them about the possibility of getting in through the rear window. They explained the setup inside, stating that there was a collapsible steel shutter inside the window which was not in use at the present time. Judge Fehl, after questioning them to determine whether they were positive in this respect, left to attend the meeting.
    The boys went on to relate that after the judge left, the rest of the group--with the exception of their father, who took no part in the conversation, and Chief Jailer Glenn, who had to return to his office--went to the boiler room and obtained a crowbar. Deputy Sheriff Davis then tried to pry the window open with the crowbar but found he could not budge it. They then returned to the boiler room and obtained a huge monkey wrench. Mayor Jones smashed the glass in the window, reached in and unfastened the latch. The window open, the rest of the mob swarmed into the vault and began hauling out ballot pouches.
    There were, the brothers estimated, about twelve or fourteen men engaged in the actual theft. Others were standing guard, armed with pieces of gas pipe, clubs, pistols, etc., in case any state or city police should happen on the scene.
    Some of the pouches were loaded into a Ford delivery wagon, owned and driven by E. A. Fleming, an active Congress member; others were put in a Willys Knight roadster, owned and driven by Arthur LaDieu, business manager of the Medford Daily News; and more yet were thrown in a Ford coupé, the identity of the owner not being known to the Sextons. In addition to those mentioned earlier as participating in the original plans to rob the vault, they were able to identify Wesley McKitrick, James D. Gaddy, R. C. Cummings, Earl Bryant and C. J. Conners, all active in the Congress, as having taken part in the bold theft.
    After the cars were loaded, the boys got in with the driver of the Ford coupé and drove out to the Bybee Bridge, which crosses the Rogue River. When they were pulling away from the courthouse with their load of pouches, they passed the Sheriff standing in the shadows of the trees on the back street where he had been watching the theft. As they passed him, he raised his hand in a signal of greeting.
    After dumping their load of pouches in the river, they returned to Medford and found that the mass meeting was over and everything quiet. Brecheen, however, was still loafing around, and, upon meeting them, he told them there had not been enough pouches stolen and instructed them to go back into the vault and take out fifteen or twenty more. He would go to the Medford Daily News office and get a car to haul them away. The brothers took out what they estimated to be about twenty pouches and carried them into the boiler room to await the coming of the car.
    After waiting nearly an hour, they became nervous and decided to burn the pouches in the fireboxes. They cut the tops off the bags and hid them behind a door, intending to dispose of them the next day. The sacks and their contents they burned. Finishing this, they returned to the jail and went to bed.
    The following morning, after the theft had been discovered, they met the Sheriff on the third floor of the courthouse and asked him what would be done about the recount now that the ballots were stolen. His reply was, "You fellows keep your mouths shut about the recount and the ballots being stolen. Don't say a word to anyone, not even to your own mother. If you do, you'll find yourself in serious trouble."
    When the confessions were completed, we realized for the first time what a deplorable mess the county had got into, and the magnitude of the situation that faced us. The Sheriff--the highest officer of the county--a County Judge and a Mayor were involved in the robbing of the building it was their sworn duty to protect. Surely, a lower and more despicable lot of public officials could not be found anywhere.
    Continuing our investigation, we located the crowbar used by Deputy Sheriff Davis in his attempt to pry open the vault window. We found that the prying edge fitted the marks on the windows to perfection. The monkey wrench, also recovered, was found, under microscopical examination, to contain flecks of aluminum paint and pulverized bits of glass. Sergeant E. E. Walker of the Game Division of the State Police, accompanied by Officers Roach, Malcolm and Levya, succeeded in retrieving four of the stolen pouches from the Rogue River.
    All this provided corroboration for Mason's and Wilbur's confession, and our case was beginning to shape up. District Attorney Codding immediately went before Justice of the Peace Coleman and obtained warrants of arrest, charging all the known participants in the brazen theft and five "John Does" with burglary. The stage was now set for the most sensational roundup in Oregon's police history.
    On the morning of February 25th, just four days after the crime, a group of picked and determined officers gathered at State Police Headquarters. Warrants were distributed, and we were told not to come back until we had got our men. But the arrests were to be made quietly and kept strictly secret until we were ready to announce our move to the public. This also had its psychological effect? on the prisoners, for several, languishing alone in cells, did not know that any of the others had been picked up and consequently believed that they had been singled out and "stooled" on by their former allies.
    The Sheriff had been lured to my office and arrested. by the Coroner, since no officer excepting the Governor or a Coroner has the power to arrest a Sheriff. Deputies were also lured to my office and the city police station on various pretexts, and, upon arrival, were served with a warrant.
    So quietly did we work, that no news of the arrests leaked out until the following morning, and by that time we had accounted for all except Judge Fehl, who, in some manner, had been tipped off and fled. We had one other regret. Dictator Banks, the most dangerous of the lot, was still free and at liberty. We had hopes that after the arrests, we might persuade some of the prisoners to talk and give us enough evidence to obtain a warrant for his arrest. But the farther we went, the more apparent it became that he had been his usual cagey self and had covered his tracks well.
    When the news of the roundup finally broke, it was blazoned across the front
pages of every paper throughout the state. Meanwhile, other things had been happening fast and furious, and the events of the day left the people dizzy and reeling. Their Sheriff, chief jailer, a Mayor and others equally as prominent, were all under arrest. The Dictator, suddenly taken aback by this move on our part, was fighting desperately to hold his mob together. Gangs of them were gathering everywhere. There were fights, sluggings, threats and every known form of violence
throughout the county. Sirens were screaming continually as heavily armed officers rushed out every few minutes to quell some new uprising. The city jail was fast filling.
    Leonard Hall. editor and publisher of another local newspaper which had been fighting the "Congress" to the limit and relentlessly exposing the true purpose and intent of this organization, was seized, in the center of the business district during the busiest part of the day, by C. H. Brown, the secretary of the Congress, and L. O. Van Wegen, an organizer. They pinioned his arms around a post and held him while Henrietta Martin, the puppet president, proceeded to lash him furiously across the face with a horsewhip. He was rescued by State Police Lieutenant Dunn and a squad of officers, and Henrietta and her two cohorts were clamped in jail.
    On the morning of February 27th, we were tipped off that Judge Fehl was back on the bench "meting out justice." Our informants went on to advise us, however, that the Judge had no intention of submitting to arrest. He was surrounded by a mob of his followers, we were told, and if need be, would declare his court in session continually. Then if we tried to serve him with a warrant, he would order deputy sheriffs to arrest us for contempt of court.
    This was another new one on us in the never-ending succession of surprises. District Attorney Codding was hastily summoned and advised of this new and baffling situation. He finally decided, however, that inasmuch as we were now armed with a warrant from another court ordering us to arrest the Judge, we would be in contempt of that court if we failed to carry out its order. It seemed we were in for it either way.
    Finally, City Officer Prescott, a veteran of over thirty years service and beloved by all who knew him, and myself, decided that we would serve the warrant on the Judge if we had to turn a fire hose on the mob. We further decided that no deputy sheriffs were going to arrest us until we had completed our mission, at least. Certain that if once we got through the crowd to the Judge we'd bring him out, we loaded our pockets with tear gas bombs and left for the courthouse.
    As we ascended the stairs, we could see the mob overflowing from the Judge's chambers far into the hall. We were met with scowls and threats, but we realized that to hesitate one moment would start trouble. Not so much as slowing our pace, we began shouldering our way through, and, in a few minutes, we were standing before "His Honor." The warrant was quickly read to him, and he was placed under arrest.
    When told to accompany us, he hesitated a moment as though deciding whether or not to give an order. It was a tense moment as every eye in that angry mob was focused on Judge Fehl--waiting. Officer Prescott and I gingerly fingered the gas bombs in our pockets and moved back against the windows. One false move from the crowd and the place would be a sorry mess. Judge Fehl apparently realized as much and finally arose to accompany us, ordering that room be made for our passage. This, I believe, was the first time a County Judge has ever been arrested while he sat on the bench.
    Judge Fehl posted bail, and, as we were planning our next move, startling information came to us that swung us into speedy action. The Judge was now planning another move that not only piled more surprises onto our already overburdened shoulders, but threatened to destroy everything we had accomplished so far. He was issuing writs of habeas corpus for every prisoner we were holding on the theft. This would compel us to expose every bit of evidence we had so far accumulated. Even this would do no good, for we well knew he would turn them loose regardless.
    Captain Bown, upon learning of this unprecedented move on the part of the Judge, quickly made up his mind what to do. We bundled all our prisoners into fast police cars, and, within forty minutes, they were safely lodged in a neighboring county jail and out of jurisdiction of Judge Fehl. This move was perfectly legal and was made just in the nick of time. However, the near disaster left us wondering what to expect next.
    Meanwhile, State Police Detective Sergeants Warren and Lumsden, two of the best interrogators in the entire state, and Deputy District Attorney Neilson, a tireless worker who possessed an uncanny ability to worm a confession out of the hardest of criminals, were questioning Wesley McKitrick, a lieutenant of the Dictator and known to be a member of the inner circle. After hours of grilling, he finally broke, making a nineteen-page confession. We were startled and dumbfounded when he revealed Banks' latest and most diabolical plot.
    Banks was going to order his Sheriff, who was now out on bail, to select 250 trusted members of the Good Government Congress and appoint them deputy sheriffs without salary. Thus, they could go about legally armed and make arrests. He had already selected an abandoned mining bunkhouse deep in the hills and strategically located to withstand attack. The building was solidly built of heavy logs and was practically impregnable. This was to serve as their jail.
    Then he was going to announce in his paper that detectives from San Francisco, who had been employed by the Good Government Congress, had been secretly investigating the entire case and startling revelations would be forthcoming. This was to be followed by the dramatic announcement that the entire plot was at last exposed, and that the whole thing was a scheme to overthrow the Congress. Circuit Judge Norton and District Attorney Codding were to be accused of being the leaders and of having had the ballots stolen. Investigating officers of the state and city police were to be accused of being their lieutenants. He would further claim that his detectives possessed sufficient indisputable evidence to more than ensure the conviction of the plotters.
    At this stage, the mob of deputy sheriffs were to descend on the city and state police offices and arrest every officer they could lay their hands on. Then a favorable backwoods justice of the peace was to act as committing magistrate. The officers would be held in the abandoned mine bunkhouse.
    In the case of the arrests of District Attorney Codding and Circuit Judge Norton, however, it was to be an entirely different matter. They were to be quietly spirited away into the hills, hanged and their bodies disposed of where they would never be found. He would cover the "disappearance" of the Circuit Judge and District Attorney by crying long and loud in his paper that they had fled to escape prosecution, now that the whole plot was "exposed" and they knew that the detectives possessed concrete evidence against them.
    According to McKitrick, these plans were in the last stages and were practically complete. As a matter of fact, he had been busy for several days prior to his arrest, selecting members to be deputized. He, himself, was to be a captain of the organization when it was completed.
    No sooner had McKitrick completed his confession than we immediately began making plans to counteract this bold move. We hoped that we might be in time, but as matters now looked, wholesale bloodshed would be inevitable. For we were certainly not going to stop now and leave the citizens of the state to the mercy of this unlawful and ruthless mob, which would not hesitate to tear the county apart to satisfy the whims of the Dictator who led them around like a flock of sheep.
    Our first move was to throw a heavy bodyguard around District Attorney Codding and Circuit Judge Norton. Then the District Attorney hastily summoned a grand jury. The members were carefully examined as to whether or not they might have any connections with the so-called Good Government Congress. Thomas J. Bell, Jr., was chosen foreman, and they went into session at once. All the evidence in our possession was presented, and, on March 15th, 1933, they returned thirty-two indictments.
    All those already arrested in connection with the ballot theft were indicted. In addition, Henrietta Martin and her two cohorts in the public horsewhipping of Editor Hall were indicted--as were many other lesser lights--on charges ranging from riotous and disorderly conduct to criminal syndicalism.
    And finally the Dictator was reached. He was indicted with the others on burglary charges, as we were now able to show from the various confessions that he not only supervised the original planning to rob the courthouse vault, but also had prepared the alibis for his trusted lieutenants. But this was not all. He was also indicted on several charges of criminal syndicalism, which were more than well founded due to his blasphemous, fiery and threatening speeches and newspaper editorials.
    Hearing of the indictments, a huge mass meeting of the Congress was called by Banks. The leaders were now fighting with their backs to the wall. The Dictator was shouting encouragement to his followers. It was at this meeting that he roared, "I am ready to lead the field in open revolution." He climaxed his speech by stating that he would kill the first officer who tried to serve him a warrant. This he followed with a blaring front page announcement in his paper which stated, "I will spill the blood of any officer who attempts to cross my threshold with a warrant for my arrest." And, sadly enough, this was no idle threat.
    On the morning following the return of the indictments, when a cold wind was blowing off the Siskiyou Mountains, we made preparations to arrest the raving agitator, Banks. Detective Sergeants Warren and Lumsden were summoned and instructed to follow in a second police car and arrive at the back door of the Dictator's home at the exact moment City Officer Prescott and myself arrived
at the front to serve the warrant.
    We took these precautions because informants had tipped us off that Banks planned to kill whoever came after him, flee through the rear and escape to a mountain hideout. Then he was going to produce witnesses to prove that we attempted to "assassinate" him, and that he had had to kill in order to save his own life. His theory was "Dead men tell no tales."
    Just as we were preparing to leave, Prescott asked that I delay the matter long enough to permit him to run home and see his wife for a few minutes. She was bedridden, and a trained nurse was in constant attendance. The trouble and strife during the past months and the threats against the lives of the officers, were more than this kindly, motherly woman could bear. Her shattered nerves finally collapsed and she suffered a complete breakdown.
    And well that Prescott did spend those precious minutes with his ailing wife, for the endearing words he spoke in that short visit were to be the last he would ever speak to her. As I look back on the whole affair now, I cannot help but feel that he had a very definite premonition. Still he did not hesitate one minute to do his sworn duty. How different from the skulking rats we had been dealing with during the past months.
    When Prescott returned we left at once for Banks' palatial residence at 1000 West Main Street. It was a silent trip. Somehow we seemed to feel that either or both of us would not be coming back. It was definitely certain that the Dictator would attempt to make good his threats. He had gone too far to back out now, and he certainly had every advantage in his favor. He would be concealed behind the walls of his home and could shoot first. We were at the disadvantage that some officer, somewhere, has to face every day. He must first be baptized with gunfire before he can return it.
    But, we had a sworn duty to perform, even though it might be at the cost of a life. We saw Detective Sergeants Warren and Lumsden taking their places at the rear as we pulled up in front. We had got through this whole nightmare until now without a shot being fired, or a life being lost, and this was to be the last act. If it could only be concluded like the rest.
    As we mounted the steps of that gloomy dwelling. I was filled with a strange foreboding. When I knocked at the door, there came a faint noise from within--like that made by some one creeping. Tensely we waited, not knowing at what moment a bullet would come crashing through the door.
    After perhaps a minute, I knocked at the door again. This time it began to open slowly until it reached the length of the burglar chain. We were somewhat relieved to see Mrs. Banks appear at the small opening.
    Prescott greeted her. "I am sorry, Mrs. Banks," he said, "but we have a warrant for--"
    He never finished the sentence, for, at that moment, I saw Banks suddenly appear from behind a colonnade in the dining room with a rifle leveled directly at us. He shouted "all right" to Mrs. Banks, and I cried a warning to, my companion, seized him and started shoving him out of the line of fire. But I was too late. Banks squeezed the trigger, and the mushroom bullet struck Prescott first in the hand and then penetrated his body.
    The momentum of my body carried us both along the porch, finally falling directly in front of a large bay window. I managed somehow to keep the dying officer's head from striking the floor. As I tried to make him comfortable, he muttered two words, "Tell my--" Those were his last. The gallant officer, who had to give a despicable killer the first break, died with but one thought on his mind--his bedridden wife. At his feet lay the warrant for Banks' arrest--covered with blood.
    As I got up, I looked through the window just in time to see the grinning killer level his rifle at me. I jumped to my feet and pulled out my service pistol.
    At that instant, the great Dictator showed his true colors. Armed with a high-powered, accurate-shooting rifle, he had but one chance in a thousand of missing. He was afraid to take that chance against a small pistol, afraid that he might miss and himself feel the fatal impact of a bullet. He would kill, yes, but only from behind a woman's skirts. Upon seeing my pistol, he had jumped back behind the colonnade from which he first appeared to deal death.
    I walked over to the door, tried the latch, and found it locked again. Peering through another window at the other end of the porch, I still could see no one within. Taking refuge behind a pillar. I made the following, notations in my log book:
    The reason for these notations is obvious. Banks was still inside heavily armed and, should he succeed in completing his mission, my log book would serve as evidence.
    Meanwhile another scene was being enacted behind Banks' home. Hearing the shot, Warren and Lumsden, with drawn revolvers, crept closer to the back porch. Suddenly a man came bounding through the rear doorway and down the steps. Then, he froze in his tracks as he looked into the barrels of two revolvers in the hands of a pair of grim officers. He was E. A. Fleming, out on bail on the burglary charge, and had been discussing defense plans with Banks at the time we arrived. The two detectives handcuffed him to their car and continued their vigil, guarding the rear door and the garage containing Banks' powerful Cadillac coupé, which was ready for flight.
    I carefully considered my next move. Banks had killed a man, and we would be fully justified in blasting him out of the stronghold. Reinforcements, however, were needed for this. Knowing of a telephone in the hallway of a nearby apartment house, which I could use and still keep the front of the house under observation, I decided to try and reach it. I got to the phone safely and put in my call to Headquarters. Soon the sirens could be heard, and. in a few moments, the place was completely surrounded by fifteen grim-faced officers armed with submachine guns, rifles and tear gas guns.
    Banks, now realizing that he was hopelessly trapped, decided upon another move to save his cowardly skin. He phoned Captain Bown--who was just leaving to take command of the siege--and offered to surrender. As we were striving to get the fast-gathering crowd out of the line of fire, the Captain drove up, ordering all officers to stay at a distance and hold the crowd back. Then he ran up the steps of that house of death. Was he entering a trap? We felt none too sure as we watched the door slowly open and saw him enter the gloomy interior.
    Finally the door opened again and Captain Bown emerged, leading the killer. The latter threw out his chest and assumed his favorite pose for the admiration of his followers. But things had suddenly changed. Instead of his great crowd of followers to cheer and idolize him, he faced an angry, howling mob that suddenly broke through the police ranks yelling for a rope. He was completely overcome with surprise. Hearing the threats to hang him, he was glad to run to the car for the protection of the police, the men he swore to kill and one of whose number lay in death on his front porch.
    The situation was completely reversed. It now became our duty to protect the despicable killer from the very people we had been attempting to protect from him. As we strove to keep the angry crowd back, Banks was hustled into Captain Bown's car, which did not stop until it reached the Josephine County jail in. the neighboring county.
    Mrs. Banks was also arrested and hustled off to jail. Then, Detective Sergeants Warren and Lumsden and I began an investigation of the premises. The death weapon was lying on a card table in the dining room with the fired shell ejected and another in the chamber ready to deal death. The rifle proved to be a 30.06 Newton, big game rifle and was loaded with the dreaded soft-nosed bullets. Beside it was another gun, a .44 Smith and Wesson revolver with holster and a completely filled cartridge belt. In a hallway leading to the rear door, we found a suitcase fully packed with outdoor clothing, several boxes of ammunition and another gun, a .38 Colt automatic. This find bore out the information we had previously received as to Banks' plans when his arrest would be attempted. And, he was well equipped to continue his campaign of death.
    Upon examining his records, we were amazed at the calculating mind of the Dictator. He had planned to get full and complete judicial control of Jackson County, from which he could spread and envelop the entire country in his so-called Good Government Congress, and yet remain immune from prosecution.
    More worthy of note than the power he was attaining was the accompanying wealth. Each member was assessed the "small sum" of fifty cents per month. With a boasted membership of 15,000 after only a few months, this was a nice little racket, if nothing else. Had he gone no farther in increasing his membership roll, he would have a neat income of $90,000 per year. And the amazing part of this monetary plan was the provision made for its control. No payoffs for him or big salaries to henchmen. He was to have complete supervision and control and the only mention made of expenditure of dues was that the money was to be used as "working capital."
    Although there is much I am not at liberty to reveal regarding the examination of his records, I am firmly convinced the citizens themselves were financing a movement that, had it been permitted to continue a year or two longer, would have brought disastrous results.
    Our investigation in the Dictator's stronghold completed, we returned to Headquarters. But so enveloped had we been in the events of the day, we all but forgot the possible aftermath. If we thought things were bad before, we were mistaken. The whole county was in an uproar. Everything pointed to a general uprising. Was this killing going to render nil all our efforts to restore peace and
law and order? The situation was fast threatening to get completely out of control, and Captain Bown sent an emergency call to State Police Headquarters at Salem for thirty additional patrolmen. It was a county gone mad.
    In a few hours, state police officers began converging on Medford from all points. The whole third floor of the city hall was turned into quarters for the coming officers. State Police Sergeant E. E. Houston, speeding to the scene with siren screaming, suddenly saw a car dart out of a side road and directly into the path of the speeding police car. There was a screeching of brakes and the squeal of burning rubber; then a terrific crash. Carlos Masters, a Portland realtor, died from his injuries. He was not the last to die before the case was ended. A man upon whose shoulders rested the entire and final responsibility for bringing to an end this terrifying nightmare, was to one day walk out of the courtroom and never return.
    One thing we were definitely certain of, however, the Good Government Congress was finished. It was obvious that it was an unlawful organization, dedicated to an unlawful purpose, and its existence would no longer be tolerated in any degree if it took the last officer in the state to effect its end. Patrolmen now lost no time in cracking down on mobs gathering in the streets. Agitators were quickly clamped in jail without warrant, warning or ceremony. We were determined to clean it out to the very core.
    Sunday, March 20th, Officer Prescott was laid to rest. Heads were bowed in sorrow at the largest and most impressive funeral in the history of the state. Over 6,000 persons were in attendance, not counting those that lined the streets as spectators. The services were held in the State Armory. Legionnaires stood at attention the full length of the aisles all. through the service. The casket was placed on the stage, which was solidly banked with flowers. And covering the entire background of the huge platform was the thing for which this gallant officer had given his life, the American flag.
    We were now faced with the task of bringing the agents of destruction to trial. Not until such was done would the county be restored to peace, happiness and safety. So much depended on the outcome of these vital trials that District Attorney Codding, not wanting to leave any opening for claims of personal prejudice, appealed to Attorney General I. H. Van Winkle for a Special Prosecutor. After a careful study of his staff, the Attorney General appointed Assistant Attorney General William Levins to prosecute the murder and ballot theft. A more capable choice could not have been made, for Mr. Levins had long been known as one of the most noted prosecutors in the state, with a brilliant record of over twenty years' experience as a District Attorney and Assistant Attorney General.
    Upon arriving in Medford, he was faced with the seemingly impossible task of acquainting himself with all the facts and preparing the cases for trial in the limited time allowed. He would have hundreds of pages of reports, confessions, etc., to review, but he accepted his task willingly and without complaint.
    The leaders of the Congress, however, were still resting in perfect security insofar as fear of conviction was concerned. But we had not been idle in the meantime, and they were due for a jolt, a jolt that was to quickly jar them out of their indifferent, confident attitude and push them back against the wall in fear.
    On April 2nd, Wesley McKitrick, the once destined captain of the 250 armed deputies; C. J. Conners, vice president of the Good Government Congress; R. C. Cummings, its organizer; Deputy Sheriff Davis; Earl Bryant; James D. Gaddy, Mason Sexton and Wilbur Sexton, were all brought before Circuit Judge William Duncan for arraignment on the indictments charging them with the crime of burglary. As each in turn was asked what his plea would be, the answer was the
same--guilty. Passing of sentence was withheld pending completion of the remaining trials. This threw the leaders into complete disorder, for the pleas revealed that the prisoners had talked and were no longer co-defendants. Their testimony could now be used to secure convictions.
    On April 12th, Banks and his wife, Edith, were brought into court for arraignment, and it was a dramatic scene. It was to be the first appearance of the Dictator since the killing. Showman that he was, he entered the courtroom, eyes straight ahead, stopped and stood erect to receive the applause of a courtroom filled with his admirers. But there was no sound from the spectators' seats. Slowly he turned his head and gazed to the rear. There were less than a dozen people in that immense room. The vacant seats stared at him like ghosts from a long forgotten past. His empire had crumpled.
    Visibly shaken by the absence of his once faithful followers and seeing the chances of a "favorable" jury gone, Banks held a hurried conference with his attorneys. Immediately an application for change of venue was filed. The change was granted and the trial set for May 1st, at Eugene, Oregon, before Circuit Judge George F. Skipworth.
    The day before the date of the trial, Assistant Attorney General Levins announced that he was ready. By this time, he was plainly showing the strain of working feverishly night and day. He was fully cognizant of the vital responsibilities that were his. Should this scheming killer get free, he would renew his efforts to create a reign of terror.
    The trial of Banks and his wife, on charges of murder in the first degree, opened promptly at 9:30, May 1st. The defendants were represented by Attorneys Frank Lonergan and Joseph Hammersly, of Portland; W. A. Hardy, of Eugene; and W. E. Phipps and T. J. Enright, of Medford. Judge Sturgeon of Los Angeles was also present in an advisory capacity. The trial promised to be the hardest fought legal battle in the history of the state, for no stronger battery of defense attorneys could be found anywhere. Attorneys Lonergan, Hammersly and Hardy are unquestionably three of the best trial lawyers in the State of Oregon.
    The state was represented by Assistant Attorney General Levins, assisted by District Attorney Codding, Deputy District Attorney Neilson and Special Deputy District Attorney Ralph Moody. The latter was a valuable asset to the prosecution. He was the son of one of the pioneer governors of Oregon, and, after a brilliant career as an attorney, came to Southern Oregon to retire and enjoy a quiet and peaceful life. Instead, he found himself in the midst of the greatest turmoil it had ever been his experience to witness. Seeing the District Attorney taxed to the limit, he volunteered his assistance, which was accepted with great appreciation.
    Selection of the jury began. The state was under the unfair disadvantage of only one challenge to the two allowed the defense under Oregon law. Regardless of these and other odds against him, Assistant Attorney General Levins went ahead with his important and vital task. At the end of the first day, five jurors had been chosen.
    The second day the tedious task of selecting the jurors continued until the noon recess. Court convened again at 1:30, but Assistant Attorney General Levins was missing from his place as head of the Prosecution. Then a state police officer entered and whispered to District Attorney Codding. The District Attorney, visibly shocked, sat stunned and frozen to his chair. A moment later, he arose and walked slowly to the bench and whispered a few words to Circuit Judge Skipworth. The gravity of the situation was plainly noticeable as a strange quiet enveloped the entire courtroom.
    Judge Skipworth turned slowly to the jurors and bailiffs and instructed that they
retire to their quarters. Then he announced court adjourned for the day. Visibly shaken by the loss of a lifelong friend, the Judge retired to his chambers. Assistant Attorney General Levins was dead. Completely exhausted by overwork and worry over the weight of responsibility, he had collapsed after a hurried lunch. He was rushed to the office of a local doctor, but died of heart failure before medical aid could be administered. And thus ended a brilliant career. Another noble life sacrificed in the fight against Dictator Banks.
    Needless to say, the death of Assistant Attorney General Levins was a severe blow to the Prosecution. The State Attorney General now had charge of the case. The District Attorney could not again assume jurisdiction. Yet the trial had started and must go on.
    To assign another Assistant Attorney General to the case and expect him to acquaint himself with the mass of evidence within a few hours was out of the question. The bad luck that dogged us from the very start of this bizarre case seemed to have at last won.
    When everything seemed the blackest and we were discouraged to the point of discarding everything, a long distance call came from the state capital, instructing us to rush Special Deputy District Attorney Moody to the office of Attorney General Van Winkle. A fast state police car carried him the eighty miles in as many minutes. Three hours later he was back in Eugene, and in his pocket he carried his new commission as Assistant Attorney General for the State of Oregon. Upon being informed of this move by the astute Attorney General, everyone concerned with the Prosecution took on a new spirit of hopefulness.
    Although he was in no way prepared to try the case himself, Mr. Moody knew all the facts. He spent the entire night going over the files of the late Mr. Levins, and, by morning, the new Assistant Attorney General announced he was ready to proceed. The jury was not informed of the death of Mr. Levins, and, although visibly curious as to what had happened, they continued without this knowledge until the trial was over.
    A parade of witnesses marched to the stand and told of the innermost secrets of the Good Government Congress, the threats against the lives of the officers, the plans to develop a new form of government--in fact, everything that has heretofore been explained to the reader.
    I was the last witness to testify for the State. I spent a day and a half on the stand under direct and cross examination, and my testimony covered everything as related earlier in this story. Assistant Attorney General Moody brought my testimony to a dramatic finale by handing me a stained document and asking me to tell the jury what it was. My answer was: "That is the warrant for Mr. Banks' arrest which Officer Prescott and I were attempting to serve." Mr. Moody then asked what was the red substance with which the document was coated. To this I replied, "The blood of the dead officer, George Prescott."
    The state's case was complete in every detail. Premeditation was definitely established. We could see no possible defense.
    As Attorney Hammersly, who made the opening statement to the jury in behalf of the defendants, got into his speech, we began to see what the defense would be. Banks was going to use the same tactics he had used throughout his career in Jackson County. He was going to try and convert the jury to his principles and claim that due to his "fight for the cause of the people," the moneyed men had conspired against him and made plans to silence him by taking his life. Through knowledge of this, he was driven by indescribable fear to take the life of an officer in order to save his own.
    This mode of defense caused no little amount of consternation to the Prosecution. And why shouldn't it? Banks had successfully swayed thousands in this manner, a much greater task than that of convincing "twelve good men and true."
    Assistant Attorney General Moody centered his attack on Banks himself. In his closing arguments, he pictured him as a despicable killer, hiding behind the skirts of a woman to take the life of a gallant officer as he performed his sworn duty; an officer who left behind a broken, bedridden wife, who no longer could listen for his footsteps or have his kindly care.
    The trial was the most bitterly fought on record and ended May 20th, just one day short of three weeks. The jury retired to deliberate and I returned to Medford to await the verdict.
    As the hours passed and no verdict was forthcoming, Assistant Attorney General Moody and all the rest of us were becoming visibly worried.
    Saturday passed and Sunday dawned with still no verdict. Was this despicable killer, in spite of a preponderance of evidence, going to escape and again be turned loose on the people to continue his plundering and wrecking?
    At two o'clock Sunday afternoon, my phone rang. Eagerly I lifted the receiver and listened tensely as I was told the jury had reached a verdict. Mrs. Banks was acquitted as an accomplice. But the Dictator was found guilty of first degree murder with a recommendation of life imprisonment. From this there could be no escape--no parole.
    The following days saw speedy trials for those held for burglary of the courthouse vault. Defense attorneys fought long and bitterly to secure the freedom of their clients, but the mass of evidence now accumulated was too great. John Glenn was the only one to escape conviction when a jury on the Fourth of July, after being cooped up in the small jury room for two days and nights, found him not guilty. The rest were all found guilty, and the convictions automatically stripped them of their official status.
    Came the day of sentencing. Davis, Conners, Cummings, Bryant, Caddy and Mason and Wilbur Sexton, all received suspended sentences in view of their assistance to the State. McKitrick, however, although he turned state's evidence, had a past record that could not be overlooked by the Court, and he was sentenced to two years in the Oregon State Penitentiary. Arthur LaDieu, Banks' former business manager, received a similar sentence.
    All those indicted on the criminal syndicalism and riotous and disorderly conduct charges were handled by the District Attorney's office and dealt with accordingly. Some received prison sentences and others were put on probation.
    Then came the ringleaders of one of the most diabolical plots on record. Once defiant, brazen and drunk with power, today they stood alone at the end of the road, the ultimate end of all criminals--alone and beaten before the bar of justice they once so openly mocked. Thomas Brecheen, ex-Mayor Jones, ex-Sheriff Schermerhorn and ex-County Judge Fehl were all sentenced to spend the next four years behind the cold, gray walls of the Oregon State Penitentiary.
    On August 14th, after exhausting every effort to obtain a new trial, the once great Dictator heard the massive gates of the penitentiary close behind him, shutting him off from the outside world and the country that, in his greed for wealth and power, he sought to wreck and plunder. A very befitting end for one who left nothing in his wake but ruin and sorrow. And silenced forever was that organ of hatred and distrust, the Medford Daily News.
    Back in Jackson County, when it was all over, a strange lull and quiet prevailed as the people once again breathed the air of a free and peaceful land. Near the beautiful city park in Medford where happy people stroll once again, stands a grim reminder, the monument erected in memory of Officer George Prescott. A lasting tribute to a gallant officer who, knowing that he was going to face a blast of death, did not hesitate for one moment to do his duty.
True Detective, February 1940, pages 44-102


    The writer was somewhat amused with the text matter in a column headed "Once in a While" and published by the owner of the Medford Daily News upon his first page. In this column he asks that all hypocrites stand up and be counted and vote against him at the fall election, at which time he will be an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate as an opponent to Senator McNary.
    In the course of the rambling editorial the writer dealt with everything from the Gold Hill dances and the conditions which he claims to have existed during a celebration in Medford to the gossip of the streets such as he might hear in any town in the United States.
    He states that America is suffering from a lack of respect of law and order such as it has never suffered before, and we are yet at a loss to decide whether he attributes this to the fact that he is not now Senator or to the fact that the 18th amendment needs repealing.
    He tells of many cases of drunkenness and disorderly conduct having been publicly flaunted in the city of Medford although his entire story is merely a series of aspersions and insinuations, written no doubt to lead the readers to the belief that some U.S. Senator had been drunk in Medford for several days to the extent that he could not properly conduct himself. We believe that the Medford writer is doing a great injustice to his city, its organizations and the public men who serve this state by merely dealing in generalities when discussing such items of scandal as he took occasion to fill his first-page editorial with.
    He charges that while a bootlegger was being arrested near that city that whiskey by the gallon was being dispensed by the leading public institution of that city. What is that institution? Is it the public library, the Chamber of Commerce, the Elks Club, the Methodist or some other church? Why didn't the Medford writer tell the whole story? Why did he leave so much to guess at? Is he afraid of the truth, or is his article composed of rumors and misstatements? Does not the text of the Medford writer's story incline one to believe that he too must stand up and be counted.
    Not content to revile the morals of the county seat, his home, Banks took occasion to tell of things he claims to have seen along the road between Portland, and evidently the nearer he got to Medford the worse the morals of the commonwealth seems to have gotten.
    He tells of finding three dances in progress, although he mentions only the location of two, and of cars parked along the highway. He relates having seen a young man supporting a very sick young woman who was endeavoring to relieve her system of the wicked bootleg whiskey her companion had given her. That piece of news might be refreshing. How does Mr. Banks know that the young lady had been drinking bootleg whiskey? Young ladies, we understand, get ill from other things than drinking bootleg whiskey, even in Gold Hill. Then, too, how does Mr. Banks know that the young ladies' companion furnished the bootleg, if that was what she had been drinking? And if he knew it was her companion who had furnished the liquor and that it was liquor that she had been drinking and in turn had made her sick why did he not do his duty as a citizen of the United States and of the state which he is asking support to be elected to the U.S. Senate, and have that companion answer for his crime? In all the vices that Mr. Banks tells of in his articles, we fail to find where he has at any time turned a hand to do other than criticize.
    Mr. Banks states that he is in favor of the repeal of the 18th amendment, but he fails to give a workable plan for handling the situation once the law is repealed. Does he contend that if it were made easy to obtain whiskey that the people would snub it because it is too common? If he does, we feel that he has another thought coming. Times have changed and so have moral persuasions since the days of the saloon and the passing of the 18th amendment. In those good old days even the young lady who might have been considered a trifle loose did not dance with young fellows who had been drinking, and now Mr. Banks says that an honest young lady is ostracized if she does not partake of the stuff. We size up Mr. Banks' article as a typical piece of political balderdash intended to poison the minds of his readers against his competitor in the race for the U.S. Senate. It borders too closely upon mud-slinging, and we have always noticed that in political fracases the one who sings the mud is usually doing so because he has a weak foundation upon which to stand.
Central Point Star, August 8, 1930, page 2


    After reading some of the editorial outbursts of Mr. Llewellyn Banks, independent candidate for Senator, we do not know whether he wants to go to the Senate in order to reform it or to get in on some of the easy "swag" which he seems to feel is floating about the antechambers of our legislative and administrative assemblies. After reading over Mr. Banks' platform we cannot see where he has offered the public anything to get excited about. True enough he suggests the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment and the farm relief measure and the tariff measure, but what good has that done the public. We were in that position a few months ago and things were not right then. What the voters of this country want is men with ability to handle great problems. What has Mr. Banks to offer. Suppose we repeal the Eighteenth Amendment. Then we may have the open saloon; a fine cartoon that would make of life's picture. If the farm relief act were repealed what would he substitute which would do any good for the farmer. How would Mr. Banks handle the farmer's problem. That ought to be easy for him; for is he not a successful farmer? Why don't he let the public know how he intends to meet these problems. If he can give the people a workable method of handling the ills of the social fabric of this nation, we do not believe he would have any difficulty in getting votes.
    He states that he believes this country has gone to hell. If this is hell we are living in today, it is hard to get any farther regardless of conduct, so why worry any more about it. He says he wants to help the nation out of perdition through the establishment of righteousness in government. But what is Mr. Banks' idea of righteousness in government? Does he think that a saloon on every corner would help? Does he believe that free advent of foreign produce and articles of manufacture into this country would be conducive of good times and high prices. Does he think that turning the farmer loose to individually work out the battle of supply and demand and the proper marketing of their produce is the way to bring to the farmer their independence? These things have all been tried and have been found wanting.
    Mr. Banks, before he derides and vilifies our present officials for their mismanagement of affairs, should work out a plan of his own for meeting the problems which face the nation and let the voters know how he would have them solved. The destructive type of criticism which he unloads upon the public is not the kind of reading the thinking man wants to read.
    More brains and less blooey is what the people want.
C. J. Shorb, editor, Gold Hill News, September 11, 1930, page 2


    Llewellyn A. Banks and I sat down together in his office at Medford recently and in answer to my questions he said:
    "Yes, I am an independent candidate for United States Senator. You are not the political editor of the Journal, so I do not suppose you would be interested in my views along political lines.
    "I was born at Catawba, Ohio, August 15, 1870. My father comes of Puritan stock, being a descendant of John and Priscilla Alden. My mother's maiden name was Laura Ann Moore. My father was Scotch-Irish and my mother was of French descent. When I was a boy my ambition was to be a school teacher, but after graduating from high school I had to go to work, so I went to Cleveland and landed a job as traveling salesman for a firm that handled fruit. My job was to sell oranges, lemons, bananas and other fruit to retail grocers.  After three years on the road I landed a job at the age of 20 as traveling salesman selling goods to wholesale grocers in Ohio, New York state, Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
    "You ask why I did not go to college and become a teacher, as I had planned. The reason is not far to seek. There were nine children in our family, and as my father was an orchardist we were as poor as Job's turkey. Father used to pack his peaches and ship them on the boat to Cleveland or Detroit, and the checks were pitifully small when the expenses had been paid. When I was 20 and went on the road selling groceries wholesale I went back to Catawba, Iowa, and established the first cash market for fresh fruit that they had there. When I was 22 years old I got married, quit the road and went into the wholesale fruit business at Cleveland. Today I own 736 acres of good orchard at Medford and 300 acres at Riverside, Cal. In 1923 I was farming 1700 acres of orchard. In California I not only grew fruit, but had a large packing plant for citrus and deciduous fruit. I could talk to you for an hour about the farm relief act and some of the reforms the farmer needs in legislation so there would be no need of farm relief, but I know neither you nor I have the time to go into the question."
Oregon Journal, Portland, October 5, 1930, page 10


To the Editor:
    In reading your editorial "Mayor Walker Muffs a Great Chance," I seem to stumble and wonder whether my memory has failed to serve me in recalling one of the greatest episodes in the greatest drama of the world's history.
    In the first paragraph of your editorial you refer to Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, and fix the responsibility on the lateness of Blucher's arriving on the scene.
    I am not taking the time to refer back to the pages of history, but merely trusting my memory, which is frequently at fault, but as I recall this great event the great English general, the Duke of Wellington, was standing on the battlefield at Waterloo with his watch in his hand, and if I recall correctly, it was 3 o'clock in the afternoon when Wellington remarked, "Blucher or night." Either Blucher had to come up or darkness had to set in, otherwise Wellington would have been defeated--Napoleon would have been victorious and the history of the then known world would have been changed, but Blucher did come up, scattering Napoleon's forces to the four winds, and before nightfall the great Napoleon had given his last command when he cried out, "Save himself who can."
    If I am correct, this recalls another situation frequently overlooked or forgotten, viz: That in the previous great world war, the English and the Germans were powerful allies, fighting against the French--Blucher a German general; whereas, in the last world war, the French and English were powerful allies fighting against the Germans.
    If I am mistaken, I will be glad to have you correct me.
    Ed. Note.--Mr. Banks is correct. The error in Friday's editorial was corrected in an editorial Sunday morning--it was the tardiness of Grouchy, not Blucher, which resulted in Napoleon's defeat.
"Communications," Medford Mail Tribune, April 7, 1931, page 5


    Publication of the Daily News, morning newspaper, was delayed today, due to a "lockout" of union printers last night and a breakdown of the press this morning, when the edition was ready to print.
    It was expected to have the regular edition issued early this afternoon.
    The controversy with the printers has been underway since last Saturday when notices were posted that after September 1 the paper would be operated on an "open shop" basis, with a wage scale of $35 per week.
    Edward J. Pelkey of Seattle, representative of the International Typographical Union; James C. Murray, president of the local union, and L. A. Banks, publisher, had several conferences the past week, seeking an adjustment.
    Publisher Banks this morning issued the following statement:
    "Notices were posted August 15 in the back shop of the Medford Daily News, declaring that on and after September 1st the News would operate an 'open shop.'
    "A wage scale of $35 per week, to be effective after September 1st, was also posted.
    "A conference between Mr. Ed J. Pelkey, representative of the International Typographical Union, and the publisher of the Medford Daily News was held Thursday afternoon--resulting in Mr. Pelkey demanding a 'walkout' on the spot.
    "Local help was obtained to publish the Medford Daily News this morning, but upon starting the press it was found that it had been 'jimmied'--one of the rollers having been put out of order by a broken casting.
    "The latter has been repaired, and if nothing else develops, the News will be published before noon today.
    "The wage scale posted by the News is the same as is being paid in 59 cities throughout the United States, having an average population of 19,849.
    "All former employees in the back shop were permitted to remain on the News at the new wage scale, but refused to do so upon orders from Mr. Pelkey."
    James C. Murray, president of the Medford Typographical Union, issued a statement as follows:
    "Six journeymen printers and one apprentice were locked out of the Medford Daily News on Thursday, August 20.
    "This was the culmination of the declaration of the publisher, during the past year, that he intended to establish his paper on the so-called 'open shop' basis. The union printers were recently given notice that they must notify the publisher whether they desired to remain, and accept a $13 per week wage cut. Very naturally they rejected this proposal.
    "The wage reduction sought would have placed the Medford printers on the lowest wage scale of any of the 51 local unions in the Northwest, and below the wages prevailing in the industry in the United States and Canada.
    "Aside from the wage reduction, the 'open shop' demand meant that the union printers must sever their union connections, and sacrifice all old age pension, mortuary benefits and entrance to the printers' home for the aged and sick.
    "Every one of the News' former employees has families; most of them are home-owners.
    "At the request of the management, for the past six months these employees have been accepting 30 percent of their wages in due bills, and using their savings to live, with the understanding they would be paid September 1, with continued employment at the accepted wage."
Medford Mail Tribune, August 21, 1931, page 1

To the people of Medford:
    Report comes to the Daily News from a man who is willing to make an affidavit that he was offered $100 to "jim" the machinery in our mechanical department.  This is a fair sample of the policy being pursued by certain people.
    The above item appeared on the first page of the Daily News in its Sunday morning issue, and it is evident that the purport was to lead its readers to believe that "certain people" were members of the local typographical union, as it is the latest organization in Medford which the News is trying to disrupt.
    When officials of the local union interviewed L. A. Banks regarding the above item and wished to learn if the statement applied to the typographical union, Mr. Banks stated that the man who claimed he had been offered $100 to "jim" the machinery was intoxicated and that he placed no reliance in the truthfulness of the statement and would publish in the following issue a retraction or at least a modification in which the union would be exonerated. To date the News has not made the retraction, though the lying story was broadcast the length of the Pacific Slope.
    The man whom Banks described as the person who allegedly had been approached to "jim'' the News machinery is believed to be in the county jail on another charge, and an effort was made to have Mr. Banks go with the local union officials and identify the man, but so far he has declined to answer the phone andassist in the identification.
    This story adds one more myth to the inexhaustible number that the News claims are secretly attempting to undermine and ruin that publication.
    The story of the News controversy with the typographical union can be told in a nutshell. About the 15th of this month the News posted a notice in the composing room that after September 1st the wages would be $35 per week instead of $48, and that the union would not be recognized. All employees who intended to remain were requested to answer by August 20.
    E. J. Pelkey, international I.T.U. representative, was called to Medford and together with officials of the local union held a conference with L. A. Banks, who admitted he had no grievance with the local organization but wished to operate his composing room on a much cheaper basis, declining to consider any other attitude than the one he had taken. Mr. Pelkey suggested that as no satisfactory agreement could be reached and as the local printers were to be locked out September 1, that it would be best for all concerned to have the lookout effective instanter, which Mr. Banks indicated was satisfactory to him.
    As the lockout became effective immediately, no former union employees have been in the composing or press room since that date, so any intimations that machinery had been tampered with by the union workers is a silly, unfounded assertion. If the machinery has gone haywire it is chargeable to the incompetent and inexperienced workmen who succeeded the local printers.
    L. A. Banks had never intimated that the scale of wages was too high, but about seven months ago asked the employees to accept 30 percent of their salaries for the following six months in due bills payable September 1st. To this the employees agreed, and those who are locked out today are carrying from $300 to nearly $500 due bills in their pockets, patiently waiting for September 1st to arrive, hoping that then they will realize upon the sacrifices they made to assist their employer.
    The union's contention is that the scale of wages here is on a par with the scales throughout the United States and Canada, that experienced and trained union workmen at $48 per week will conduct the composing room as cheaply, if not cheaper, than a bunch of printing students can at $35 per week salary, and though Mr. Banks may never confess and the public will never know, the local union believes that the Daily News operating expenses are just beginning to soar.
    The News considers that $35 per week is sufficient salary for a craftsman who sacrificed five years of his life in serving an apprenticeship, but Mr. Banks boasts that he pays 28 fruit packers $44.25 per week, and it is asserted that the art of packing can be learned in two weeks tuition
Medford, August 28.    (Paid adv.)
Medford Mail Tribune, August 25, 1931, page 6


    District Attorney George A. Codding said this afternoon that a subpoena had been issued out of his office calling upon L. A. Banks, newspaper publisher, to appear before the grand jury which re-convenes tomorrow morning to present any and all evidence he may possess relative to alleged corruption in city and county affairs, miscarriages of justice, and other charges hurled in the past year. The newspaper publisher will be requested to present evidence upon which accusations have been made or sponsored by him.
    The subpoena was placed in the hands of Sheriff Jennings for service.
    During the past several months, a barrage of accusations has been hurled at county and city officials, particularly the district attorney, attacking his honesty, integrity and conduct of his office. The sponsor of the charges, in appearing before the grand jury, will afford that impartial body an opportunity to study and weigh the truth or falsity of the allegations and if the evidence justifies indictments, to return them.
    Josiah Hibbard of Butte Falls is foreman of the grand jury. The other members are Mrs. Anna Carley of Medford; Leo B. Williams, Medford; Howard A. Hill, Medford; Irving Porter, Ashland; William Barber, Ashland and Reed Charley, Brownsboro.
    It is doubtful if the Reese Creek still raid, during which Everett Dahack was killed, will be re-investigated, as a regular grand jury, a special grand jury, with a special prosecutor named by the governor, and special investigators, working secretly and named by the governor, have made a thorough inquiry into the case without definite action. It was also a factor in the Fehl-Parr libel suit and the last primary campaign.
    Calling of the petit jury is doubtful, owing to the docket being practically cleared. It was thought the petit jury would be called for next Monday, but unless there is an increase of cases this will not be done.
    Circuit Judge H. D. Norton will leave Thursday for Eugene, where Friday and Saturday he will hear a case in the Lane County circuit court.
Medford Mail Tribune, May 31, 1932, page 1


    Appearance of L. A. Banks before the grand jury was delayed this afternoon by finishing other matters before the body. Banks reported at 1:30 o'clock and was excused until further notice, which will probably be late this afternoon.
    L. A. Banks, newspaper publisher of this city, was scheduled to appear before the grand jury when it met at 1:30 today for the afternoon session, to present any evidence he may possess on his published charges of alleged "miscarriage of justice," corruption in city and county affairs, "whitewashing of the coroner's jury" in the Reese Creek still raid, in which Everett Dahack was slain, and any other evidence of alleged illegalities or wrongdoing in local government affairs.
    District Attorney George A. Codding said this morning that Banks would be requested to present "fully and freely, upon the entire field of his allegations, including charges pertaining to the Dahack matter."
    Transcripts of the testimony before the regular grand jury, the special grand jury conducted by a special prosecutor named by the governor, and the coroner's jury in the Dahack case, will be available. Banks charged Monday that the coroner's jury was a "whitewash" and that Ted Goetchen, Lee Smith and Raleigh Matthews of the Eagle Point district, found guilty of operating the Reese Creek still, were denied the right to testify.
    District Attorney Codding stated that the transcript would show that Smith and Goetchen were brought from the county jail to the coroner's jury and when called upon to testify refused, "I think, upon the advice of their attorneys." Matthews was at liberty on bonds at the time of the coroner's jury.
    District Attorney Codding further stated that at the conclusion of the coroner's inquest, a request was made that anyone present "who knew anything about the affair" come forward and testify.
    It is expected that Banks will be before the grand jury most of the afternoon and that the grand jury will conclude its present labors tomorrow noon.
    The morning session of the grand jury was devoted to hearing testimony in minor cases.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 1, 1932, page 1


    Due to the pressure of other legal business, hearing of arguments on the motion to strike certain paragraphs in the complaint of the libel suit of George W. Neilson, deputy district attorney, against L. A. Banks, orchardist, will be deferred for a couple of days.
    Banks, through his attorney, George M. Roberts, seeks to have stricken from the complaint sentences reading, "Law and order have broken down in Jackson County," and "inflaming the lawless element of Jackson County." The phrases were contained in articles entitled "The Two Georges," and others of the same trend.
    Neilson, in his complaint, denies a series of sensational charges, and claims the printed material impaired his civilian and official standing. He seeks $50,000 on five counts.
Medford Mail Tribune, July 20, 1932, page 3


    Under the caption "Will This Cure the Medford Cancer?" the Daily Courier of Grants Pass carries the following editorial on the attempt to recall Judge Norton:
    "Medford, once the metropolis of Southern Oregon, of late has fallen from her high estate, but something has happened in the Bear Creek city that very likely will ring the knell of Medford's troubles and start her upward again.
    "That something is the unwarranted, asinine and probably suicidal attack upon Circuit Judge H. D. Norton.
    "Here's the way we figure it: For many years Medford has been the city that grew and prospered and got the things she wanted. The method was to harbor no qualms over how she got 'em or what city she antagonized in getting 'em.
    "Then up rose Klamath Falls. Klamath Falls began to get things, railroads, mills, payrolls, population, highways. She got 'em by the other method, patting other cities on the back while getting 'em.
    "The first policy was bound to lose in the end, and the second was bound to win.
    "When Klamath Falls began to usurp Medford's place, Medford tasted the dregs, and seeds of discord sown through many years began to bear fruit.
    "Now the place has achieved statewide reputation for being all muscle-bound by warring factions to the point that nothing can be accomplished. Man after man in public life has been marked for attack and has been pulled down.
    "That is the stage setting for what may be the purgative, the latest and we hope the final attack, that on Judge Norton.
    "Norton is one man in a hundred thousand so removed from petty suspicions, so elevated in public esteem, so freed from any taint of unfair dealings of any nature that the attack can hardly help but be thrown back upon the attackers with maiming force.
    "If that can be the outcome, then it will be a cage of the maimers maimed. The cure of the harmful Medford situation will be on the way. The patient may be on the way to recovery.
    "Let's hope that it will be so. There will be mighty few, if any, signers of Norton recall petitions in Josephine County's borders.
    "If any can be found we will be glad of the opportunity to offer them the proper notoriety."
Medford Mail Tribune, August 11, 1932, page 6


    Suit was filed in circuit court this afternoon by James Hall of the Gold Hill district, against the Medford News Publishing Company, L. A. Banks, its publisher, and F. A. Bates, Gold Hill miner. It is the third suit to be filed within the past week against the paper, its publisher, and Bates. The James suit was filed at 2:37 o'clock this afternoon, the clerk's office said.
    The latest action is a companion suit to the one filed last week by Bob McManus, a Gold Hill district miner, also for $50,000.
    James based his suit on an article headlined "Miner Tells of Woe on Foots Creek," and alleges that it was "maliciously false, defaming and scandalous," that it impaired his standing in the community, and that the article "incited and inflamed the lawless element." A copy of the article is presented as "Exhibit A" in the suit.
    James asks $25,000 general damages and $25,000 punitive damages.
    Friday, Ted Dole of the Gold Hill district filed a $50,000 suit against the publishing company, Banks, Bates and the latter's daughter alleging "conspiracy."
    Guy Bates, named in one of the actions, is no relation to F. A. Bates.
Medford Mail Tribune, August 15, 1932, page 1


    Newspapers generally perform a useful service in their representative communities. They not only chronicle the happenings of the day but play a leading part in community progress, as well as in exposing corruption in office. Occasionally, however, newspapers become a curse rather than a blessing, by prostitution, perversion and abuse of their powers and so help to create an atmosphere of suspicion, distrust and hate fatal to the unity essential to progress. They degenerate into nauseous pimples erupting poison pus.
    Medford is at present the worst sufferer from journalistic gangrene. The city has two newspapers, one a weekly run by a perennially unsuccessful candidate for office, and the other a daily, whose publisher had hardly moved to Oregon before he became an independent candidate for the United States Senate. Each issue of both papers is filled with wild insinuations and intimations of graft, crookedness and corruption, though open charges are avoided. From a careful perusal of their contents over years, each editor seems to be suffering the delusion that he alone in this lonely world is honest--everyone else is a crook--especially if he is in public office. Neither publisher, it is unnecessary to state, is a trained newspaper man.
   As a result, Medford is torn by bitter factional fights, and infectious discord rules the erstwhile progressive city. Capitalizing on the unrest of the depression, blatant appeals to prejudice have replaced news, and vicious attacks on the honor and integrity of upright citizens are shouted from headlines and smear the front pages. Perhaps the papers have a nuisance value as community irritants, but that is all.
    Naturally, such journalism has brought the publishers into the courts for an accounting from those libeled, and as the result of violating the law, judgments against them returned. Consequently, the inspiration for the attempted recall of Circuit Judge Harry D. Norton, one of the fairest judges on the bench, by unsponsored parties is accounted for. And because all the members of the bar in Jackson and Josephine counties signed a resolution expressing their confidence in Norton's integrity, the lawyers find themselves under a barrage of poison gas.
    Such irresponsible, venal "journalism" as this threatens the freedom of the press more than all other causes put together.--Geo. Putnam in the Capital Journal.
Medford Mail Tribune, August 16, 1932, page 1


    A suit for $50,000 damages, based on alleged conspiracy on the part of the Medford News Publishing company, L. A. Banks, orchardist-publisher, F. A. Bates, aged Gold Hill miner, and his daughter, Mrs. Margaret Lund, was filed in the circuit court this afternoon at 1:45 o'clock, with Guy Bates of Gold Hill as the plaintiff. Guy Bates is no relation to F. A. Bates.
    Guy Bates alleges in the complaint that the defendants "connived, conspired and colluded to extort money from the plaintiff," and that as part of the conspiracy the newspaper published a report by F. A. Bates, headlined: "Miner Tells Tale of Woe on Foots Creek," "without investigating its truth or falsity," and that the same was "maliciously false and degrading," and "incited and inflamed the lawless element in the neighborhood of where the plaintiff lived."
    The plaintiff alleges that the article accused him of "robbing sluice boxes" and "dynamiting mine dams," and that blackmail threats were both written and spoken, and alleges further that threats were made against him and his family.
    The suit today is the fourth to be filed against the newspaper and its editor and L. A. Banks within a week, each for $50,000 general and punitive damages. Mrs. Margaret Lund is named only as a defendant in the two suits alleging conspiracy. The plaintiffs in the other actions are Hal James, Ted Dole and Bob McManus, all miners and residents of the Gold Hill district.
Medford Mail Tribune, August 16, 1932, page 1


To the Editor:
    The following communication was submitted to the editor of the Daily News, who refused to publish it. Would appreciate the Mail Tribune giving it space:
Editor Daily News:
    Up to a certain point I have been with you, especially in your stand on the Fehl verdict, which I think was an outrage, but why blame Judge Norton? If you had panned the jury which returned the verdict, you would have been right.
    Judge Norton is, without doubt, one of the best in the state and I have little respect for anyone who would sign a petition for his recall without some good valid reason.
    Now, when you attack the bar association, I think you will find yourself in the same position as the Irishman who got stewed and thought he could lick the whole county, but when he came to in the hospital and found out what it was all about, said he had taken in too d--n much territory
"Communications," Medford Mail Tribune, September 2, 1932, page 9


    Circulation of petitions against O. C. Boggs, attorney of this city, protesting against his conduct of the affairs of the Eagle Point Irrigation District, as a director, and against Ed Dutton, county road supervisor for the same district, have been reported in northern parts of the county the past week.
    Reports from the same section said that the next political turmoil in this county would center around County Engineer Paul Rynning, who has two more years to serve in the elective office of county engineer. It was reported that a campaign had been mapped against the county engineer with the objective of capitalizing [on] the discontent of the times.
    W. H. Brown, a merchant of Eagle Point, said today that the petitions against Boggs "had been around," and that landowners objected to "pushing them for payments for water and dues."
    One of the allegations against Road Supervisor Dutton was that the was "using county gasoline for private riding."
    Reports said that the petitions obtained "some names, but not as many as expected."
    Another report, fairly authentic, was to the effect that a "Citizens' Committee of 100" is being organized, and 27 members have been secured. The "Committee of 100," according to the report, would start functioning as the motive power of the county campaign, and would "keep a watchful eye on county officials in particular, and affairs in general, for the purification of politics."
    The above events are signs that the political pot has started boiling and will be popping furiously within the next two weeks. Most of the candidates have their cards in windows, and the first campaign dance will be held at Ashland next Tuesday, when the county Democrats open their campaign. There will be no charge, unless the voters care to dance after the oratory. 
Medford Mail Tribune, October 5, 1932, page 9


    A ban on political and religious meetings being held in the auditorium of the new Jackson County courthouse was announced yesterday by the county court, following sessions with several candidates for office and organizations of political nature.
   Meetings previously arranged will be held in the auditorium this week, Victor Bursell, county commissioner, stated, but after this week there will be no more meetings of political or sectarian nature permitted. The courthouse closes at 5:00 o'clock unless permission to use it after that hour is granted by the court.
    The auditorium was included in the building, Commissioner Bursell stated, to be used as a community center, not for the promotion of political or sectarian ambitions. Groups to be allowed use of the auditorium were not listed other than several clubs and patriotic societies. Reason for placing of the ban was not explained, but it is believed to be the result of the demands of the increasing number of meetings to precede the election.
Medford Mail Tribune, October 21, 1932, page 16


    Charges published Saturday that the filing of a personal tax execution against L. A. Banks, orchardist and publisher of the Daily News, last Thursday evening, were taken as "political reprisals" were branded Saturday by Sheriff Ralph Jennings as "baseless and unjust, not founded on fact, and the usual line of 'hooey' to arouse sympathy."
    Sheriff Jennings said that the personal tax execution was filed "when I learned that the mahogany furniture has been moved from Mr. Banks' office and that the water had been shut off. I then served the personal tax attachment to protect the county's interests, keep the records straight, and stop any cry that I had failed in my official duty and thus become liable to grand jury investigation. Mr. Banks is not being 'persecuted.'"
    The records of the county clerk's office show that two months ago the county court issued an order that all unpaid personal taxes be collected, or action taken. Advised of the action of the county, Banks requested and received from the county court a further extension of time. The matter then rested until the removal of the furniture was reported to the authorities.
    Sheriff Jennings said the Banks' personal tax "was in the neighborhood of $1200 and was for the last half of 1929, 1930 and 1931."
Medford Mail Tribune, November 14, 1932, page 6


    A petition seeking the appointments of a receiver for the Medford News Publishing Company, L. A. Banks, editor, was filed shortly before noon today in circuit court by H. T. Hubbard, bookkeeper of the concern, and one of the four employees discharged by Banks yesterday. Hubbard sets forth in the petition that he is acting in behalf of "himself and other creditor employees."
    Date of the hearing on the receivership plea is set for tomorrow morning at 9:30 o'clock before Circuit Judge Norton. Hubbard and other employees are represented by attorneys Kelly & Kelly, Frank DeSouza and Porter J. Neff. The appointment of a receiver pending the conclusion of the suit and a final decree for a receiver is sought.
    Hubbard sets forth in the petition that the News owes him $450 for services as bookkeeper and that other employees have due and owing in "excess of $6000" for wages.
    The petition further holds that the appointment of a receiver is necessary "to protect and conserve the assets and discharge the liabilities" of the paper.
    It is charged that the debts of the publication are in excess of $26,000 with assets of less than $20,000 and that the publishing company is now insolvent.
    The petition lists as debts of the concern, besides the $6000 assertedly due employees for wages, $6000 in unsecured open accounts, holders of which threaten suit for collection; $10,000 in promissory notes, long overdue, held by the owners, who threaten foreclosure; $2000 due on Linotypes, with suits for collection threatening, and $1068 in unsecured personal taxes of Jackson County for the years 1929, 1930, 1931 and 1932, for which legal action has been taken to collect.
    The order for the hearing of the petition for a receiver was signed Tuesday by Circuit Judge Norton.
    Banks, in today's issue, charged "Dastardly Plot by Manager to Wreck News Plant."
    The present legal action is the culmination of several months of financial difficulty.
Medford Mail Tribune, November 16, 1932, page 1


    The News Publishing Company, L. B. Tuttle, president, filed suit in circuit court this afternoon against the Medford News Publishing Co. and L. A. Banks for $11,571.79, assertedly due on promissory notes, and a chattel mortgage, issued in payment for the plant and equipment.
    The appointment of a receiver for the publication is also sought. The complaint cites that H. T. Hubbard and three other former employees of the morning paper previously filed a petition for a receiver, but the present plaintiff "holds superior rights." The receiver is sought "to take possession of and conserve the resources" of the paper.
    Foreclosure of the chattel mortgage and execution of judgment is also asked.
    The complaint recites that on September 15, 1929, L. A. Banks gave six promissory notes for $3,333.33 each in purchase of the newspaper plant, and that only three of these promissory notes were paid.
    The News Publishing Company was the founder of the News.
    Ten days ago H.T. Hubbard and three former employees of the News filed a petition for the appointment of a receiver for the News. An affidavit of prejudice was filed by M. O. Wilkins, attorney for L. A. Banks, against Circuit Judge H. D. Norton. Judge James T. Brand of Coos County was assigned by the state supreme court to hear the case. He is scheduled to hear it tomorrow.
Medford Mail Tribune, November 30, 1932, page 1


    The receivership petition of H. T. Hubbard and three other former employees against the Medford News and L. A. Banks, editor-publisher, was settled out of court, by stipulation. Notice to this effect was filed with Judge James T. Brand of Coos County in circuit court Saturday morning.
    Terms of the settlement were not contained in the legal documents, but it was said by attorney Porter J. Neff, and one of the former employees, that a "goodly portion" of the wages due had been paid, and that the balance was secured by nine-month notes, signed by Banks and his wife, Mrs. Edith A. Banks.
    The creditor-employees were represented by attorney Porter J. Neff, and attorney M. O. Wilkins representing the publication and Banks.
    The settlement came when arguments on a demurrer to the complaint had been finished, and the court at the Friday afternoon session overruled the demurrer. At the morning session attorney Wilkins informed the court that the publication and Banks were prepared to tender the $450 due Hubbard. At the morning session, Judge Brand sustained the demurrer on the grounds that the plaintiff had not made the allegations of insolvency to comply with the law.
    Proceedings in the receivership plea of the News Publishing Company, Lee B. Tuttle, against the Medford News Publishing Co. for the foreclosure of a chattel mortgage on the equipment and the collection of three promissory notes signed by Banks for $3,333.33 each, will be called Monday morning before Judge Brand. The News Publishing Company was the original founder of the paper, and sold it to Banks.
    The plea asks that a receiver be named to conserve the resources and pay obligations.
    Attorney M. O. Wilkins yesterday afternoon filed a plea in abatement to the action on the grounds that the News Publishing Company had no "corporate life," because of asserted technicalities. The News Publishing Company is represented by attorneys Gus Newbury and E. E. Kelly.
    In the Hubbard receivership action, attorney Kelly told the court that the action was instituted not to eliminate the News, but to ensure its continuance and safeguard creditors and the publication itself.
    Friday afternoon Judge Brand heard motions and demurrers in the four libel suits filed against the paper and L. A. Banks, F.A. Bates and his daughter, Mrs. Margaret Lund, by four Foots Creek miners.
Medford Mail Tribune, December 4, 1932, page 1


    An affidavit of prejudice was filed this morning against Circuit Judge H. D. Norton in the receivership petition of the News Publishing Company against L. A. Banks and the Medford News Publishing Company.
    The affidavit of prejudice was the usual formal document, asserting the defendant could not secure a fair and impartial trial before Judge Norton. It was filed by attorney M. O. Wilkins, representing Banks.
    Judge Norton said he would forward the matter to the state supreme court for assignment of a new judge to hear the case.
    On Monday an affidavit of prejudice was filed against Judge James T. Brand of Coos County, assigned to hear the case by the state supreme court. The defense has now exhausted the two affidavits of prejudice allowed by law in a single case.
    The proceedings will now mark time until a new judge appointment is made by the chief justice of the state supreme court.
    The receivership petition is based by the News Publishing Company against Banks and the present News corporation for the foreclosure of a chattel mortgage and the collection of three promissory notes issued by Banks for $3,333.33 each. The appointment of a receiver is sought, it is stated, to conserve the resources of the paper.
Medford Mail Tribune, December 7, 1932, page 1


    Notice of a demurrer to a separate and further reply to the plea for the abatement in the receivership suit of the News Publishing Company against L. A. Banks and the Medford News Publishing Company has been filed in circuit court by attorneys M. O. Wilkins and John Irwin of Klamath Falls, counsel for the defendants.
    The defense claims there are no grounds for denying the plea in abatement, and that the paying of the corporation tax after the filing of the receivership suit does not restore the plaintiffs' corporate being. The plaintiffs hold that the failure to pay the corporation tax is a legal infirmity that is removed by tax payments.
    Judge Lewelling of the Linn County circuit court, named Thursday by the state supreme court to hear the case when the defense filed affidavits of prejudice against Judge James T. Brand of Coos County and Judge H. D. Norton, is now expected to arrive to hear the case at the opening of court Monday. No definite time for the case has been set.
    Settlement of the second receivership move, in the same manner as the first one, was reported as broached by the defense. A defense attorney informed county officials and friends that $5000 was in a safety deposit box for payment on the approximate $11,000 sought, with promissory notes for the balance. No official public action to this end has yet been instituted.
Medford Mail Tribune, December 9, 1932, page 11


    Any further legal action in the recount petition of Sheriff Ralph G. Jennings against Gordon L. Schermerhorn, Democratic nominee, will be deferred until Friday, December 15. The 30 days allowed by law for filing a petition for a recount expired Friday.
    Attorneys for Sheriff Jennings will next move under the provision of the corrupt practices act, which provides that a recount can be ordered and called to determine the votes cast at an election. The action is not as bad as it sounds and is not impugning of the candidate against whom the recount is filed. It thwarts any attempt at an evasion of a recount in a close race and provides that a petition can be filed after assumption of office.
    Friends of Schermerhorn said he was visiting friends and relatives in Siskiyou County and that he was a frequent visitor in Yreka, Calif. He has been absent from his accustomed haunts in this city and county since the Saturday following Thanksgiving. The length of his absence from this county is not known. The matter of a recount hit a snag last month when it was discovered that Schermerhorn was out of the county and could not be served with a summons.
    Attorneys for Sheriff Jennings took no further action, being content to file the proceedings under another statute upon proof that Schermerhorn was not available for service of summons. This statute provides for recount after swearing into office.
    The official count gave Schermerhorn the election by a majority of 123. The petition filed by attorney Porter J. Neff asserts that Jennings, a "write-in" candidate, received a majority of 97 votes, and that a number of votes were not counted on technicalities.
    The general sentiment throughout the county is that a recount should be held to satisfy both sides. Certain political blocs and a few county precincts oppose any count of the official ballots.
Medford Mail Tribune, December 11, 1932, page 10


    A petition for a recount of the official ballots for sheriff in the last election was filed in circuit court this morning by Ralph G. Jennings, incumbent, against Gordon L. Schermerhorn, Democratic sheriff-elect.
   The recount contest, filed by attorney Porter J. Neff, is under provision of the Oregon law which provides that citations can be served for a recount with no time limit, and even after an official has assumed office.
    Bonds in the sum of $1000 were furnished to ensure expenses of the recount, the loser to pay the expenses.
    The petition is the same as filed in the first action, and is based on claims that 381 ballots in the 58 precincts were not counted for Jennings because of "erroneous technicalities." It is set forth that Jennings, "write-in" candidate of the "League of 7000," was elected by "not less than 97 votes." The official count gave Schermerhorn a majority of 123. A certificate of election was issued by the county clerk to Schermerhorn.
    The petition sets forth that Jennings' ballots were discarded for three main reasons, misspelling, omission of the middle initial, and writing only of the last name. The plaintiff holds that these technical defects are insufficient to nullify the vote and that the law specifically provides that a voter shall not be penalized because he is a poor speller.
    Sheriff-elect Schermerhorn has been visiting friends and relatives in Siskiyou County and is not expected to return until after Christmas. He has been away for about a month. Service in the first recount petition was not possible because of his absence.
    Under Oregon law, the recount must start no less than seven days after the serving of a citation. The circuit court judge presides, and he appoints a canvassing board to tally the official ballots. Counsel for both sides are present and present arguments on ballots in which doubt exists, and where the intent of the voter is an issue. The court rules on the validity, and count is then made accordingly.
Medford Mail Tribune, December 16, 1932, page 1


    Suit for foreclosure of mortgages on three alleged causes of action were filed in circuit court this afternoon against Suncrest Orchards, Inc., Llewellyn A. Banks and Edith R. Banks, by O. B. Waddell, acting for the Medford National Bank.
    The first cause of action is on a promissory note for $4500, issued January 23, 1931, and renewed March 18, 1932.
    The second cause of action is for $2,028.44, on a promissory note issued June 29, 1932.
    In the first and second causes of action, Llewellyn A. Banks, Edith R. Banks, Suncrest Orchards, Inc., the Peoples Electric Co. and the State Industrial Accident Commission are named as defendants. The Peoples Electric Company claim a lien for material furnished, and the accident commission a judgment for $283.31.
    In the above causes of action, the Suncrest Orchards, Inc., is offered as security by mortgagee.
    The third cause of action is based upon a promissory note for $4500, secured by a mortgage on West Main Street property.
Medford Mail Tribune, December 20, 1932, page 1


    An affidavit citing inability to secure service of summons on Gordon L. Schermerhorn, Democratic winner on the face of the official recount in the election contest and recount petition of Sheriff Ralph G. Jennings, "write-in" candidate, was filed today by attorney Porter J. Neff and Frank Van Dyke.
    An alias citation requiring Schermerhorn to appear in court within seven days and answer to the petition is sought to speed the recount.
    The affidavit sets forth that Coroner H. W. Conger, who acts as sheriff in the action, has been unable to locate Schermerhorn. Coroner Conger has visited the Schermerhorn home daily and his ranch on other occasions and looked for him upon the streets.
    Schermerhorn has been absent since November 27 and is generally reported to be visiting friends and relatives in Siskiyou county, California. He is expected to return next week. It will be necessary to for him to return not later than January 2 to take the oath of office.
Medford Mail Tribune, December 22, 1932, page 1


    An alias citation and order was issued out of the circuit court yesterday directing Gordon L. Schermerhorn to answer the petition of Ralph G. Jennings for a recount of the votes cast in this county at the last election for sheriff. Schermerhorn was directed to appear in not less than three days, or more than seven days. An affidavit was filed by attorney Frank J. Van Dyke setting forth that Coroner H. W. Conger was unable to serve the original summons upon Schermerhorn. Schermerhorn is reported to have been in Northern California for the past month. He is expected to return here sometime the coming week.
    Schermerhorn, by the official count, won the sheriff race by 123 votes and was issued a certificate of election. Jennings claims that 381 "write-in" votes cast for him were thrown out and that he was elected by a majority of "not less than 97 votes."
Medford Mail Tribune, December 23, 1932, page 7


    Suit for strict foreclosure was filed in circuit court Saturday against Llewellyn A. Banks by T. E. Pottenger and wife and Elmira W. Wilcox for $15,538.48, possession of the building on West Main Street occupied by the Medford News and attorney's fee for $1000.
    The suit is based upon a contract entered into August 28, 1929 between Pottenger and Banks for the purchase of the property at 117 [sic] West Main Street jointly owned by Pottenger and John W. Cox, deceased. The purchase price, the complaint recites, was $28,000.
    The terms of the sale, the complaint sets forth was $1000, cash in hand, $9000 in 30 days, and $5000, payable on September 28, on each of the next four years.
    The complaint alleges that Banks was delinquent in his payments for three years, and on May 25 last, Banks agreed to pay all arrearage prior to September 28 on that date.
    On September 28 last, an agreement was made whereby Banks was to pay $60 on Thursday of each week. The complaint alleges he defaulted in this, too.
    It is further alleged in the complaint that Banks is delinquent in tax payments, failed to keep up the insurance policies, and that he has allowed the roof to deteriorate, causing the rear of the building to be water-soaked.
    A strict foreclosure differs from the ordinary foreclosure in that the usual year's exemption is not allowed ere judgment is entered. Pottenger asks that foreclosure be for a limit of 60 days.
    Attorney W. E. Phipps appears as counsel for the plaintiff.
Medford Mail Tribune, December 25, 1932, page 9


    Jackson County's political unrest flared again the first of the week when Judge Earl Fehl, who took office Tuesday, challenged the appointment last week of R. E. Nealon by Judge Lamkin, as his first official act.
    Nealon is successor to John Barneburg, holdover member of the county court, who resigned last Saturday. Fehl claims the appointment was irregular and that Nealon should have no voice in transacting county business.
    He bases his contention on the fact that records of Barneburg's resignation and of the appointment of Nealon were entered and signed by the old county court, Tuesday, January 3--after their terms of office had expired.
    In the first meeting of the court Wednesday morning Fehl challenged Nealon's rights, and then adjourned the session subject to call of the county judge, pending decision of the district attorney in the matter.
    This decision held that Nealon's appointment was legal and valid, and that the morning's adjournment was invalid. In accordance with this decree, the county court took steps Wednesday afternoon to hold a session, under the clause of Oregon law that provides a majority of the county court could act on county business.
    County Judge Fehl contended that Nealon's appointment was invalid, and proposed that he and Commissioner Ralph Billings transact pending emergency county business. This plan was rejected when the district attorney ruled it would not be binding. Judge Fehl said the grand jury had OK'd this action.
    Commissioner Billings then took the initiative, and ordered the county clerk to appear to record the meeting, and made ready to hold a session and end the stalemate.
    Commissioner Billings refused to sign a resolution agreeing to transact county business without Commissioner Nealon.
    The two commissioners firmly held that the interjection of a technicality should not hamper county affairs.
    Another county officer whose status is still undetermined is Gordon Schermerhorn, who assumed duties of sheriff Tuesday, pending outcome of a recount of votes. Ralph Jennings, whom he succeeds, was write-in candidate last fall, and if many discarded votes for him are considered valid when the recount is held, it is likely he may retain office.
    Schermerhorn temporarily appointed Phil Lowd, Medford; John Glenn, Ashland, and Amos W. Walker of Central Point as deputies Monday.
    Other new faces in the courthouse are George R. Carter, succeeding Delilia Stevens Meyer as county clerk, and C. R. Bowman of Talent, who follows Superintendent of Schools Susanne Homes Carter.
Gold Hill News, January 5, 1933, page 1


    As highly exaggerated as many of the other claims made by editor L. A. Banks of Medford, the much advertised March-on-the Courthouse scheduled for today resulted in a scattered group of crusaders numbering probably 200 of the crowd of about 600 that gathered on the courthouse ground and nearby streets, according to local people who were at the county seat today.
    Instead of the indignation march demanding the resignation of County Attorney Codding and Commissioner Billings, which was to have included 3000 people of the county, a comparative handful gathered and with no organized demonstration, presented petitions bearing 887 names, asking Codding and Nealon to resign.
    A few of the group yelled derisively from time to time and some called out asking for justice, but on the whole the group was orderly.
    Two speeches, one by County Judge Earl Fehl and one by editor Banks, were made, each more or less resorting to the familiar phrases of the election campaign and the editorial columns of the Daily News. Banks also denounced Codding in no uncertain terms and fairly screamed when he asked that he resign.
    The whole affair is the outgrowth of the mixup since Judge Fehl refused to accept the appointment of R. E. Nealon to the county court after the eleventh-hour resignation of Commissioner Barneburg. Awaiting the decision of County Attorney Codding, Fehl refused to conduct the regular county business, and when it was found that Codding upheld Nealon's appointment, supporters of Fehl started petitions asking for the resignations.
    On Monday rumors of the proposed march were about, and it was said that Lowell Zundell, candidate for county sheriff on the independent ticket--supported by the Daily News--would be the leader. Zundell denied this emphatically yesterday, however, and Banks stated in his editorial columns that if no one else would he would.
    The American Legion issued statements that they would stand ready for any emergency, but the march proved only a farce and with the very evident lack of leadership and unity, no guards or patrolling were necessary.
Gold Hill News, January 12, 1933, page 1


    Llewellyn A. Banks' answer to the Legion-sponsored mass meeting last Thursday to refute his "false propaganda" was a lengthy resolution drawn at the "Good Government" Congress at the courthouse Monday night. The resolution called for
all legal proceedings in the circuit court to be held in abeyance until constitutional rights of citizens can be upheld, and also asked for removal of Circuit Judge Harry D. Norton and District Attorney Geo. Codding.
    The resolution also accused Codding of protecting unlawful, slanderous and libelous publications (referring to the Jacksonville Miner, which has recently started a heavy attack on Banks).
    According to reports about 750 people crowded to the courthouse for this meeting and organized the Good Government Congress, which is reputedly for the purpose of restoring law and order to the county.
    Two speakers who addressed this group, Mrs. Henrietta Martin of Central Point and Roy Chandler of Medford, had acted as hecklers at the Legion-sponsored meeting.
    At last Thursday's gathering more than 1400 fair-minded people heartily cheered speakers who upheld the existing government, county officers and court officials, but booed Chairman E. E. Kelly, when in a moment of exasperation at Chandler he told him he could get out if he didn't like it.
    The theme of the meeting was that the existing government should be respected and that statements in the Medford Daily News should not be taken as absolute fact without careful investigation.
    Hearty applause greeted declarations that the office of district attorney had never been better conducted than under District Attorney George A. Codding; that in the court of Circuit Judge Harry D. Norton no one could truthfully say they could not receive a fair trial, and that County Judge Earl Fehl would make an excellent official if editor L. A. Banks of the Daily News would just "commit suicide."
    The speakers, who included members of the Southern Oregon Bar Association, a Medford minister, Raymond Reter of the Medford Fruitgrowers association, and H. D. Reed, Gold Hill justice of the peace, who handled the famous Bates case.
    Speakers pointed out that Banks had attacked practically every organization in the county, including the Ministerial Association, the Jackson County Civic League, the Medford Chamber of Commerce, the Merchants' Association, the old Traffic Association, the Fruitgrowers' organization and the medical men's society, as well as numerous individuals of Medford.
    They also brought out that Mr. Banks, who owns considerable valuable property, has paid no real estate taxes since 1929, and that he has repeatedly dodged foreclosure by his creditors on the grounds that he could not get a fair trial, even after a judge from another district was called on the case.
    Banks' paper was denounced emphatically by Chairman E. E. Kelly, who said it should not be allowed in the U.S. Mails, and this statement was challenged from the floor as infringing the rights of freedom of speech and of the press.
    Banks has since attacked the Jacksonville Miner, however. He is also continuing his attacks on the county government, the courts and the bar association.
    A second "Good Government" mass meeting to be held before the grand jury reconvenes has been announced by Mr. Banks, but no date is set as yet.
Gold Hill News, January 26, 1933, page 1


    Expressing the opinion that theft of the ballots held for recount in the Jennings-Schermerhorn sheriff dispute was an inside job, authorities at Medford reported important progress Wednesday.
    The theft occurred Monday night when a basement vault was entered and the ballot pouches opened and about 10,000 ballots taken, many of which were burned in the courthouse furnace. Officers state that they think the vault window which was broken was just a blind and that the work was done from the inside. A hammer believed to have been used to break the window has been found.
    Two men whose identity has not been revealed are held for questioning, and it is reported that a third who has been a constant loiterer about the courthouse has been missing since the robbery.
    Conflicting attitudes are being taken by the Medford papers, the Daily News contending that the purpose of removing the ballots was to make it unnecessary to appear before the supreme court to explain how the boxes had been previously tampered with. Schermerhorn in answering Jennings' suit had maintained that ballots had been changed. The Mail Tribune, however, stated that foes of Jennings stole the ballots.
    The theft brought an immediate dismissal of the recount proceedings due to lack of evidence.
Gold Hill News, February 23, 1933, page 1


    Warrants for arrest have been served on the following residents of Jackson County in the political turmoil:
    In connection with the ballot theft--
    County Judge Earl H. Fehl;
    County Sheriff Gordon L. Schermerhorn;
    T. L. Brecheen, organizer of the Good Government Congress;
    John Glenn, county jailer;
    C. W. Davis, county machinist;
    Walter J. Jones, mayor of Rogue River, and recently appointed district road supervisor by Judge Fehl;
    Arthur LaDieu, ex-advertising manager of the Medford Daily News.
    C. W. McKitrick, alleged leader of the Green Springs mountain boys, reputed body guard of L. A. Banks, former editor of the News, and also for LaDieu;
    Virgil Edington and J. Croft.
    County officers are holding warrants for six others in connection with the robbery.
    Four are charged with horsewhipping editor Leonard N. Hall of the Jacksonville Miner.
    They are--
    Henrietta B. Martin, president of the Good Government Congress, who wielded the whip;
    Her father, C. H. Brown, secretary of the congress;
    L. O. Van Wegen and L. E. Fitch.
    Saturday, February 25, was a red-letter day for developments in the political turmoil prevalent in Jackson County for several months, and brought to a head by the theft of sheriff-recount ballots Monday of last week.
    It saw the arrest of County Sheriff Gordon L. Schermerhorn for the ballot theft; the reopening of the much-publicized Dahack case; the dispossession of L. A. Banks, fiery editor of the Medford Daily News, of his plant; and the horsewhipping of editor Leonard N. Hall by Henrietta B. Martin, president of the Good Government Congress.
    Close on the heels of these events followed the arrest of County Judge Earl H. Fehl in the ballot theft, along with other county employees, and several members of the Good Government Congress, whose names are listed above.
    Thursday morning papers  confirmed the rumor that Virgil Edington of Gold Hill is one of the youths involved. He has been employed by L. A. Banks as a paper carrier, and later is alleged to have done bodyguard duty for him and J. A. LaDieu.
    Mrs. Martin and others held in the horsewhipping matter were arraigned for hearing before Justice W. R. Coleman Wednesday afternoon. Trial was set for Friday morning at 10 a. m.
    Latest developments in the ballot theft was the issuance of writs of habeas corpus for five of those arrested, namely, C. W. Davis, T. L. Brecheen, Virgil Edington, J. Croft and C. W. McKitrick.
    Judge Fehl issued the writs for the first four and the question has arisen if he has authority to hear the case, being himself a defendant in the matter. Also two of the prisoners, Davis and Brecheen, are held in the Josephine County jail, and there is doubt as to the power of the county judge over the sheriff of another county.
    The writs of habeas corpus demand the appearance of the prisoners at a given time to show cause of their detention.
    The reopening of the Dahack case came as somewhat of a surprise move, but is being made in the hope that another phase of the unrest in the county may be cleared up. Officer Joe Cave is held charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Everett Dahack, allegedly killed by a bullet from Cave's gun fired during a raid on a Reese Creek still November 14, 1930. The matter has been investigated by two other grand juries, but the hesitancy of three men held for operating the still to testify prevented a true bill being returned. They have since served their sentences and last week were willing to talk.
    Cave's indictment charges "that said Joe Cave in the commission of a lawful act, but without due caution or circumspection, fired a rifle in the proximity of Everett Dahack, causing his death."
Gold Hill News, March 2, 1933, page 1


    Constable George D. Prescott of Medford is dead and L. A. Banks, fiery editor of the Medford Daily News, is charged with murder as the climax of the political upheaval in Jackson County which resulted in the stealing of ballots in the sheriff recount three weeks ago.
    Constable Prescott was killed at ten o'clock this morning on the front porch of Banks' home when he and Capt. Bown of the state police went to serve a bench warrant on Banks, charging him with complicity in the theft.
    The warrant was the outgrowth of grand jury proceedings yesterday, when indictments were returned against about 20 men in the ballot affair. Previously, Banks had not been arrested in this case, although his business manager and several of his close associates are out on bond, charged with burglary not in a dwelling.
    In the grand jury indictments the charge read "conspiracy to commit a felony," and involved more than the fifteen persons already arrested on the burglary count.
    It was in accordance with this latest indictment that Constable Prescott was serving papers on Banks. A group of four state police went with Prescott to Banks' home well armed but hoping to avoid trouble, although Banks had repeatedly stated that he would resist arrest, and it was known that his house was barricaded.
    According to reports, Mrs. Banks came to the door, which was secured with a chain and could be opened only a few inches. The officers asked for Banks and when he appeared he shot almost without warning and Prescott fell dead with a bullet wound in his heart.
    Arrested a short time later, Banks was rushed from Medford to an unknown destination for safekeeping. Speeding police cars passed through Gold Hill headed north about 11:30 this morning, presumably with Banks in charge.
Gold Hill News, March 16, 1933, page 1

    Five men, of the twenty-one indicted for the theft of ballots from the courthouse vaults February 20, all active members of the Good Government Congress, pleaded guilty before Circuit Judge W. M. Duncan, Tuesday.
    They are C. Jean Conners,  vice-president of the congress, arrested in an abandoned mine shaft near Gold Hill two weeks ago; Wesley McKitrick, alleged guard of L. A. Banks, slayer of Constable George Prescott; R. C. Cummings of Wimer; Wilbur and Mason Sexton, brothers, the first arrested in the ballot case, and known as "courthouse boarders."
    It is expected that others indicted will also plead guilty. It is understood that sentence will not be passed until all have come to trial.
    L. A. Banks and Mrs. Banks were arraigned before Judge Duncan Tuesday in connection with the murder of Constable Prescott. Only a small group was present, the time of the hearing not having been made public to prevent unnecessary disturbance. They were given until April 10 to enter their pleas on the case.
    Attorneys Joseph L. Hammersly of Portland, brother of John Hammersley of Gold Hill, and a former resident of the city, will defend the Banks, aided by attorneys Phipps and Enright of Medford. A brother, W. A. Banks of Tujunga, California, came this week and will aid his brother during the trial.
    Banks is one of the 21 indicted in the ballot case, also.
    Sensational evidence in the ballot theft was brought out last week during the hearing of the plea to remove Sheriff Gordon L. Schermerhorn from office. Officials also admitted that at least a dozen signed confessions had been secured.
    Details of what happened the night the ballots were taken continue to come to light. Latest disclosures are that cheers of the Good Government Congress group,
in a meeting at the courthouse that night, drowned the noise made when the window was broken through which the thieves gained entrance.
    It is said that L. A. Banks was making a speech, and as he made an especially sensational statement, leaders of the applause group stamped their feet and cheered. At the same time a Ford car was started back of the courthouse and the combined din drowned the sound of the breaking glass.
    In another speech made later, Mr. Banks raised aloft his fountain pen with a match stuck under the clip, forming a crude cross. Although those not "on the inside" wondered why this caused so much commotion, it has been revealed that it was a prearranged signal indicating that the ballot stealing was in progress.
Gold Hill News, March 30, 1933, page 1


    Temporary suspension of Gordon L. Schermerhorn from his office of sheriff of Jackson County is recommended by Judge W. M. Duncan in a report to Governor Meier this week. Duncan was appointed by the governor some time ago to investigate charges of inefficiency made against Schermerhorn by members of the county court, and in a petition backed by the Committee of 100.
    Duncan recommended that Schermerhorn be suspended for a period not to exceed 90 days, or until the peace officers of Jackson County and the state of Oregon are able "to cope properly with this deplorable situation."
    It was reported that Governor Meier will not act on Duncan's report until he has conferred with Attorney General I. H. Van Winkle.
    Schermerhorn is charged with being involved with the faction that has been charged with the ballot stealing, and in the hearing it was alleged that he had shown favoritism in handling prisoners, and that he had "otherwise obstructed enforcement of criminal laws."
    It is believed that the governor will appoint a successor during the period of suspension, after which Schermerhorn can be reinstated unless he is found guilty, or otherwise disqualified. He would draw his regular salary while suspended, under the Oregon law.
    Other developments in the sheriff case this week were the withdrawal of his bonding company of the $15,000 in bonds which covered his duties as tax collector. Previously the bonding company which held the $10,000 bond for fulfillment of his duties as sheriff canceled its obligation.
    Cases against those indicted for the ballot theft are being held in circuit court as quickly as possible.
    The case of State of Oregon vs. L. A. Banks and Edith R. Banks for the murder of Officer Geo. Prescott, who went to the Banks home to arrest Banks on the ballot charge, is set for April 10. It is thought his attorneys may plead insanity, but it is understood that he prefers to maintain that he was "defending his home."
    Affidavits of prejudice have been filed by Judge Fehl, Walter J. Jones of Rogue River, Henrietta B. Martin and her father, C. H. Brown, against Judge W. M. Duncan. Fehl and Jones are allegedly involved in the ballot theft, and Mrs. Martin and her father are held on a disorderly conduct charge in connection with the horsewhipping of editor Leonard Hall, as well as other charges growing out of the county political row.
    Virgil Edington of Gold Hill, who is charged with aiding in the ballot theft, pleaded not guilty last week.
Gold Hill News, April 6, 1933, page 1


    Probable change of venue to either Klamath Falls or Grants Pass was the new development this week in the coming trial of L. A. Banks and his wife, Edith R. Banks, charged with the slaying of Officer George Prescott.
    The change was asked by the defense, after the appointment of Judge G. F. Skipworth of Lane County to succeed Judge W. M. Duncan of Klamath County
appointed earlier to hear cases at this term of Jackson County court. Judge Skipworth will hear the trial wherever it is held, unless a second affidavit of prejudice is filed. This is not thought likely.
    Both Mr. and Mrs. Banks entered pleas of not guilty before Judge Skipworth Wednesday morning. They are charged jointly with the murder, but whether they will be tried jointly rests with their counsel to decide.
    Officer Prescott was killed by a shot from a gun in the hands of L. A. Banks, March 16. Mrs. Banks held the door open through which her husband fired the shot, and it is alleged that she is also guilty of crime.
    Prescott had gone to the Banks home in Medford to serve a warrant for Banks' arrest on a charge of having aided in the ballot stealing early in February. Mrs. Banks came to the door in response to his knock, but refused to accept the paper or allow it read, and was about to close the door when Banks called a warning to her to "duck" and fired, killing Prescott.
    It is understood that the twenty men charged with the ballot theft will not be tried until the murder case has been tried.
Gold Hill News, April 13, 1933, page 1


    Tension of waiting for their trial at Eugene Monday, on a first degree murder charge for the slaying March 16 of Constable George J. Prescott, has started to tell upon both L. A. Banks, agitator and former editor and orchardist, and his wife Edith Robertine Banks.
    Banks spent a sleepless night Tuesday, according to jail attendants. Yesterday he had a three-hour conference in his cell with his counsel and devoted all his waking moments to study his own defense plans.
    Mrs. Banks, according to her keepers, has started to lose the cheerful confidence of the early days of her incarceration, despite the purchase of two new hats, for wear during the trial.
    Circuit Judge George F. Skipworth, who will hear the trial at Eugene, has ordered the drawing of a special Lane County jury venire, to report Monday for trial.
    The drawing will probably take place Saturday morning, in the presence of counsel for both sides, and under the direction of the court. The present jury list was excused yesterday from further service, according to reports from Eugene.
    Selection of a jury to decide the fate of the accused pair is not expected to require over a day and a half.
    No inkling has been forthcoming as to the nature of the defense, but it is hinted it will be a a "two-ply," based upon self-defense and insanity, and that three witnesses will be introduced to allege that the slain officer made threats against the slayer. The state has witnesses to refute this claim.
    In an insanity defense, under the Oregon law, the burden of the proof rests with the defense, and it must be beyond a reasonable doubt. To be legally insane, in this state, a defendant must be unable to distinguish between right and wrong.
    The state will contend that Banks was rational before and after the killing, that he dictated intelligible letters and transacted business up to a few minutes before the murder. His statement, when arrested, claiming justification, with the statement that "I shot him the same as I would any other burglar, and would do it again." The state will also contend that "exaggerated ego," "morbid propensities," "delusions of grandeur," and "tendencies to utter homicidal threats and boasts" do not comprise insanity, under the legal description of the term.
    Documentary evidence of the state will include photographs and maps of the murder house, letters written by Banks, and the indictment for ballot theft, and the blood-soaked warrant Constable Prescott held for service when murdered. The state will also hold that Constable Prescott as duly elected, qualified. and acting officer of the law, and possessed of a legal process was within his rights and duties, whatever may have been the attitude of Banks towards its service.
    Mrs. Banks appears as an accessory to the murder, and the law makes no distinction between an accessory and the actual slayer.
Gold Hill News, April 27, 1933, page 1


    Defended by an imposing array of legal talent, L. A. Banks, former editor and orchardist of Medford, went on trial Monday at Eugene for the murder of Officer George Prescott.
    A jury of six men and six women was completed Tuesday evening, and the trial progressed yesterday with the opening statements of prosecuting and defense attorneys, who outlined the points they will seek to prove to win their respective cases.
    The death Tuesday afternoon of Prosecuting Attorney Levens, who was handling the state's case, interrupted progress of the trial until Wednesday afternoon, when it was resumed with Ralph E. Moody of Medford, former United States Attorney, as chief counsel for the state. He received his appointment from Governor Julius L. Meier.
    Banks' attorneys revealed Monday while questioning prospective jurors that they would seek to prove that the killing of Prescott was the climax of long persecution endured by Banks, and that the act was the result of "persecution to the point of desperation."
    The state proposes to prove that Banks was a "fanatical rogue" and that the murder climaxed his attempts to gain political power by stirring up farmers and others in the Rogue River Valley.
    The defense maintains that on the morning of the shooting Banks was preparing to go to the mountains for a rest, following his many financial difficulties which resulted in civil cases causing him to lose his newspaper and much orchard property.
    They stated that he was taking with him his rifle and revolver and that when the officers arrived to arrest him he snatched up the rifle and fired at the men who personified the troubles that had hounded him for months.
    E. A. Fleming, one of his followers who was in the home at the time, quotes Banks as having said that "Warrants have been issued for me, but no officer will take me. If they try it, I will walk out over their dead bodies."
    The defense holds that this was a statement of a man persecuted beyond endurance, while the state will seek to show that Banks had planned the shooting and had fortified his home until it was a veritable arsenal for just such an occasion.
    With the presenting of evidence under way Wednesday afternoon, the first witness, County Clerk Geo. R. Carter, introduced the blood-stained warrants taken from Prescott's body soon after the shooting. The warrants, together with copies of an indictment for ballot theft, were admitted as evidence over protests of the defense. Paul B. Rynning, second witness, presented a map of the commodious Banks home showing the positions of the principals in the murder and other important physical aspects.
Gold Hill News, May 4, 1933, page 1


    After winning many contested points, and introducing much damaging evidence during the week, prosecuting attorneys in the case of the State versus Mr. and Mrs. Llewellyn A. Banks will rest their case today, with the defense preparing to present their case tomorrow.
    The statement, "We did it," alleged to have been made by Mrs. Banks when asked by Tommy Williams, truck driver, who had killed Constable Prescott, was one of the strongest bits of testimony against her, individually, brought out during the trial. Mrs. Banks called Williams to the house shortly after the killing, to deliver a note to police.
    Mrs. Banks is also quoted as saying to state policeman Clyde Warren, "Prescott was trying to break into our home. We had to shoot."
    A mysterious note which has often been referred to, but whose contents has not been revealed to the jury, has figured prominently this week. It was found in a pocket of a coat belonging to Mr. Banks when the house was searched, and is to "Daddy," and signed "Mother." The defense contends that the state has not proved that the note really belongs to the defendants.
    Other notes addressed to police, stating that if they sought to arrest Banks there would be bloodshed, were admitted.
    It has been hinted that the mystery note refers to the Banks policy in resisting arrest, and that the best place to make their "stand" was at home.
    The prosecution scored heavily Tuesday when the court admitted as evidence a pistol, cartridge belt, holster and shells found hidden under a woman's coat on a cot in the Banks home, during the close search of the house on March 16, the day of the murder.
    Ralph Moody, state's attorney, contended that the presence of the revolver at the scene of the crime tended to show the existence of a conspiracy, backed by a deliberate and premeditated plan, in which both defendants took part.
    The court held that as the defendants are charged with first degree murder, the state must show premeditation and deliberation, and that this paraphernalia, although not directly connected with the commission of the crime, "were competent as evidence to show the intent and preparation of the defendants."
    Thirteen witnesses are to be called by the defense, which has hinted through a spokesman that insanity will be included in the plea for Mr. Banks. His attorneys state that they have a very strong case and are confident that they can prove Mr. and Mrs. Banks are not guilty of the murder as indicted.
    They seem to be "leery" of the so-called "mystery" note, however, and have stated that they will do all in their power to suppress it.
Gold Hill News, May 11, 1933, page 1


    The Banks case will go to the jury about Saturday noon, it is predicted in dispatches from Eugene today.
    The defense opened its case last Saturday, and during the week has endeavored to show that Banks was in deadly fear of officers and political enemies, and that Prescott had often made threats against his life. Witnesses for Banks have testified that a gun fell from the officer's hand when he was shot by Banks, but the state claims that Prescott's gun was taken from its holster at the undertaking parlors.
    Defense alienists who heard Banks testify have stated that he was temporarily insane. The state scored, however, when they forced the alienists to admit that he was not insane when he prepared for the coming of officers by fortifying his home.
    A variety of character witnesses took the stand, those for the defense having nothing but high praise for the defendant's truthfulness and high moral standing, while state witnesses were just as certain that his reputation was poor, and that he was a consistent troublemaker.
    Many and varied predictions are being made as to the jury's decision, ranging from acquittal to life imprisonment or hanging for Banks, while Mrs. Banks is expected to get a light sentence, if any.
Gold Hill News, May 18, 1933, page 1


    Llewellyn A. Banks drew a life sentence, and his wife, Edith Robertine Banks, was acquitted Sunday, when the jury returned its verdict in their trial of Mr. and Mrs. Banks for the murder of Constable George J. Prescott, at Eugene.
    The jury found Banks guilty of second degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence, under the Oregon law.
    In a statement issued Monday, Banks said that he would appeal, and his brother-in-law, George Moran, of Cleveland, Ohio, declared that they had only begun the fight for Banks' freedom.
    In the meantime, steps are being taken to prosecute for perjury, four witnesses for the defense, who had testified that they were eyewitnesses to the shooting, that they had heard Prescott threaten Banks when he tried to enter the house, and that they had seen a gun drop from the officer's hand when he fell on the porch at the Banks home.
    The state consistently proved that there was no one besides the officers in the street near the Banks home at the time Prescott attempted to serve Banks with a warrant for his arrest in the matter of the ballot stealing last January. State witnesses also testified that the four self-styled eyewitnesses had been in far-distant places at the time of the shooting.
    Constable Prescott was shot to death last March 16 when he went to the Banks home with State Policeman O'Brien to arrest Banks. Mrs. Banks came to the door, which was secured with a chain, and refused to accept the warrant or let the officer in. Then Banks appeared, and with a sharp warning to Mrs. Banks, fired through the narrow opening to kill the officer.
    The trial has held the interest of the state for the past three weeks. It is the forerunner of several cases which are the outgrowth of the political turmoil in Jackson County since last fall. In a short time the ballot theft cases will be opened, involving about twenty residents of this county, most of them members of the Good Government Congress, organized by Banks.
Gold Hill News, May 25, 1933, page 1


    With Assistant Attorney General Ralph Moody and Circuit Judge George F. Skipworth presiding for the state, the trials for stealing ballots from the Jackson County courthouse last February 20 will get under way Tuesday of next week. These are the same two men who were in charge of the trial of L. A. Banks, former Medford editor, charged with murder, who is now under life sentence for killing Officer George J. Prescott when he went to the Banks home to arrest Banks in the ballot stealing case.
    Twenty-two men, including County Judge Earl H. Fehl and former County Sheriff Gordon L. Schermerhorn, are involved in the ballot stealing, which according to authorities, took place during a meeting of the so-called Good Government Congress.
    They state that it was while L. A. Banks was delivering an address to the congress that he held up his pen with a match in the clip in the sign of a cross, and made a few apparently meaningless remarks, which were greeted with noisy and prolonged applause. This has since been interpreted as a sign to those "in the know" in the audience that the ballot stealing had been started, and the resulting applause was to help hide any noise that the thieves might make.
    The ballots were stolen on the eve of a recount which had been called by defeated Sheriff Jennings, who was a write-in candidate, as there had been considerable misunderstanding about the proper way to write in his name, and because his margin of defeat was very small.
    It is not likely, officials report, that the defendants will ask a change of venue, as all must sign such a petition, and several have already pleaded guilty.
    As soon as the ballot cases are disposed of, the state plans to take up the case of Henrietta B. Martin, president of the so-called "Good Government Congress" and aide to Banks in his agitation moves. She is indicted for riotous and disorderly conduct, as the result of an attack with a buggy whip on Leonard Hall, editor of the Jacksonville Miner, February 17 last. Indicted as aides of Mrs. Martin are L. O. Van Wegen and E. L. Fitch, reputed "congressmen."
    C. H. Brown, secretary of the "Good Government Congress," and father of Mrs. Martin, indicted for "slandering a bank," is also scheduled to be brought to trial as soon as possible.
    Criminal syndicalism charges, growing out of the Banks-stirred turmoil, will be heard after the above matters have been concluded.
    A syndicated letter from Salem the past week contained the information that Governor Julius L. Meier had detailed undercover agents to report to him on conditions in this county. They have been working for a couple of months, unbeknown to the general public, it is reported.
Gold Hill News, June 1, 1933, page 1


    Arthur LaDieu of Medford, Walter Jones of Rogue River, and John Glenn of Ashland are the first of twenty-two men to go on trial for stealing Jackson County ballots last February.
    LaDieu's trial opened in Medford at 9:30 this morning before Judge G. F. Skipworth of Eugene, with attorney Ralph E. Moody prosecuting.
    Separate trials have been granted for LaDieu, County Judge Fehl, former County Sheriff Gordon L. Schermerhorn, Jones and Glenn and former county jailer Joseph Croft.
    Preliminary hearing for LaDieu was held Tuesday morning, and he entered a plea of not guilty. All the defendants in the ballot theft case were in the court room for his arraignment.
    The same day attorneys for Fehl and Schermerhorn filed motions asking permissions to inspect confessions which have been secured by the state from several who are indicted for the ballot thefts.
    This request was officially denied late Wednesday afternoon.
    Attorney Moody has actively resisted this move, contending that "it is unheard of to expect the state to reveal evidence on which the state relies for conviction."
    Another development of the week was the affidavit filed by Judge Fehl, stating that the late Assistant Attorney General William S. Levens had assured him that he (Levens) believed Fehl was being framed. This was backed by an affidavit by Attorney Hough of Grants Pass, defending Fehl, who quoted Attorney General 1. H. Van Winkle as having learned the same from Levens.
    A telegram received from Van Winkle Tuesday, however, stated that he had not seen Levens alive after his purported talk with Judge Fehl, and that Levens had not reported that he had reason to believe Fehl was framed.
Gold Hill News, June 8, 1933, page 1


    Six days additional time for filing a motion for a new trial in the case of L. A. Banks, convicted of murdering Constable George J. Prescott, has been granted Banks' attorneys, Judge George F.  Skipworth of Eugene said Tuesday.
Gold Hill News, June 15, 1933, page 1


    Trial of Walter J. Jones, mayor of Rogue River, second defendant in the ballot theft cases, begins today.
    Thomas Henderson of this city was excused from jury duty yesterday. Josephine Coda is the only other Gold Hill member of the venire.
    After a trial which was outstanding for the minimum of delay allowed by Presiding Judge Allison Skipworth, Arthur LaDieu, former managing editor of the
Medford Daily News, was convicted last night of "burglary not in a dwelling" for his part in the theft of general election ballots last February. The crime carries a sentence of 2 to 5 years imprisonment.
    The ballots were stolen to prevent a recount asked by former Sheriff Jennings, who was defeated by a narrow margin by Gordon Schermerhorn. It was intimated in the trial that County Judge Fehl, as well as Schermerhorn, did not desire a recount, and helped plan the theft.
    Among the most important witnesses of the trial was Virgil Edington of Gold Hill, who testified that he, with LaDieu and Wesley McKitrick, took six of the stolen ballot pouches to Rogue River and burned the ballots at the home of McKitrick's parents. Then, he stated, they drove to the mouth of Galls Creek, just south of Gold Hill, weighted the empty bags and threw them into the river.
    Edington took the stand as a state's witness, having made a full confession in the weeks following the theft. He was indicted with 22 others, but charges against him were recently dismissed.
    While on the stand Edington involved L. A. Banks, former editor of the Daily News, now under life sentence for the murder of Constable Geo. Prescott when he sought to arrest him on the ballot charge. Edington stated that alibis were framed at the Banks home two days after the theft.
    The state contends that County Judge Fehl, suspended Sheriff Schermerhorn, Walter Jones, jailer Glenn and Thomas Brecheen, Ashland politician, conspired to steal the ballots after the court had granted a recount, and that the other indicted men carried out their plans.
    The story of the theft, as pieced together from the testimony, is as follows:
    During a meeting of the "Good Government Congress" last February, two brothers, Mason and Wilbur Sexton, gained entrance to the ballot vault by breaking an outside window. The brothers had been held in jail on petty charges and jailer Glenn had offered them "$10 and good jobs" if they would aid in the theft.
    Mason Sexton testified that Glenn was the superintendent, Brecheen the assistant superintendent, and Mayor Jones the boss of the stealing.
    Jones gave the signal for smashing the window, after instructing R. C. Cummings, county truck driver, to race the motor of his Model T Ford. Cheering of congress members in the courthouse auditorium also helped drown the noise.
    C. Jean Conners, vice president of the organization, helped remove the ballots from the vault, handing them to others who put them into waiting cars, one of which belonged to LaDieu. LaDieu, according to other testimony, later borrowed Deputy Sheriff Lowd's car to carry the ballots to Rogue River. LaDieu told Lowd that he and some of the boys were going to "stage a party, and maybe do a little ballot stealing." Lowd testified that he considered the latter remark "only idle talk."
    Mason Sexton and Cummings took the other load of ballots in Cummings' car and dumped them into the Rogue River at Bybee bridge.
    He stated that Brecheen left orders to take all the ballots as they didn't want them to count a one, and with the statement that he was going to the News office to get the gang, left but did not return.
    Mason's younger brother Wilbur testified that he was present in the courthouse corridor when Judge Fehl said in a joking manner, "I'd hate to see you boys break into the vault." Fehl then left to attend the congress, and the theft was committed.
Gold Hill News, June 15, 1933, page 1


    L. A. Banks, who was convicted of the murder of Constable George Prescott, in a trial at Eugene last month, has filed a motion for a retrial, on the grounds of irregularities in court proceedings, and errors in law, misconduct of Prosecuting Attorney Moody, and insufficient evidence to warrant the verdict of guilty.
    Banks is still in the Pacific Hospital at Eugene, recuperating from a recent operation. He will be there three or four days yet, physicians say. Mrs. Banks is in Eugene, also.
Gold Hill News, June 22, 1933, page 1


    The state built up a strong case against Walter J. Jones, mayor of Rogue River, during his trial for ballot theft this week, but in testimony from the stand Wednesday, Jones has made a sweeping denial of any part in the robbery perpetrated last February.
    Jones has been pictured as the boss of the stealing by the Sexton brothers who entered the vaults in the courthouse and took the ballot pouches. They testified that he gave the signal for breaking the vault window after instructing one man to start the engine of his car, to drown the noise, and that he stood around all evening with a hammer up his sleeve, to prevent anyone "on the outside" from disturbing the proceedings.
    He is also alleged to have arranged with Mrs. Henrietta B. Martin that the Good Government Congress, in session in the courthouse auditorium, cheer loudly at a given signal, to help drown the noise made by those entering the vault.
    Further testimony, given by Virgil Edington of Gold Hill, stated that he, Wesley McKitrick and Arthur LaDieu, the latter convicted last week of the ballot theft, took six of the stolen pouches to the Jones home near Rogue River, where Mr. Jones instructed them to take them to the home of McKitrick's parents across the river and burn them. Both McKitrick and Edington said that Jones told them to get some pitch to make the ballots burn better.
    McKitrick and another man--now said to be Jones' son-in-law, Lee Hugg--got the pitch from the Jones woodshed according to these state witnesses.
    Mrs. Jones, her daughter, Mrs. Hugg and Mr. Hugg, have all denied that the men came to their home, stating that they are light sleepers, and that they would surely have heard them if they were there. The parents of McKitrick have admitted that the ballots were burned at their home, and that pitch was used.
    The defense is basing its case on the argument that Jones was outside of the courthouse to prevent threatened disturbance, as word had reached them that Leonard Hall, editor of the Jacksonville Miner, had offered two boys $1 apiece to throw a gas bomb into the Good Government Congress meeting.
    Defense attorneys are also seeking to refute evidence of the Sexton brothers by statements of character witnesses who maintain that the boys' reputation for truth is very bad. They are former residents of Coos County, and Sheriff Hess of that county has testified that they have been in his custody many times.
    The case will probably go to the jury tomorrow.
    The trial of John Glenn, assistant jailer, is the next scheduled in the ballot theft case, for which 22 are indicted.
Gold Hill News, June 22, 1933, page 1


    A change of venue for Judge Earl H. Fehl, and the four other defendants remaining to be tried in the Jackson County ballot theft cases, was granted Tuesday of this week by Judge Allison Skipworth, who gave as his reason that selecting a jury for the several cases is becoming a battle of wits between opposing attorneys.
    Klamath County has been chosen for the trial, and Judge Skipworth has been appointed by the state to continue as presiding judge.
    Although it was at first thought the change of venue might result in declaring mistrials for the cases already heard, late reports state that it will not affect these, and that the conviction of Arthur LaDieu, Mayor W. J. Jones of Rogue River, and ex-Sheriff Schermerhorn will stand unless reversed, when and if appealed.
    Ex-sheriff  Schermerhorn was convicted of participating in the theft when the jury returned its verdict late Sunday afternoon. This is the third conviction won by the state in four trials.
    The defense has been urging a change of venue for Judge Fehl for some time, arguing that newspapers of the county were prejudicing the minds of the people. Judge Skipworth twice denied the motion on the grounds that equally prejudicial articles had appeared on both sides of the case, Judge Fehl's paper, the Pacific Record-Herald, doing as much damage as other papers of the county.
    The defense has become especially desirous for a trial outside Jackson County, however, since the conviction of Schermerhorn, and finally won out Tuesday.
    Meanwhile, Jackson County has had another problem to solve--that of who shall be sheriff.
    With Sheriff Schermerhorn's six month's suspension up the 8th of July, he hopefully went about securing bonds to reinstate himself in office, in spite of the fact that he was on trial for theft of the ballots. After his conviction he presented his bonds to the county court, but they were refused, and Acting Sheriff Walter J. Olmscheid was duly appointed. County Judge Fehl, however, did not concur with the other two members of the court in this action.
    Now Schermerhorn's attorneys say they will move for a new trial for their client, and in the meantime, the private bonds he has secured have been presented for approval, in the event that he becomes qualified to resume his office.
Gold Hill News, July 20, 1933, page 1


    Alleging that County Judge Earl H. Fehl and Tom L. Brecheen got into the county clerk's office, shortly after the general election last November, and tore off stickers on ballot pouches in order that they might claim the votes had been tampered with, and thus prevent a recount, the state opened its case against Fehl in Klamath County courts Tuesday, confident that it will prove that Fehl was the brains behind the subsequent ballot theft in February.
    The state will seek to prove that Fehl from the very first did not want a recount of the votes, not only because he did not wish Schermerhorn to be ousted as sheriff, but because he feared a change might result in other offices as well.
    Prosecuting Attorney Moody, in his opening address to the jury, stated in part as follows:
    "The evidence will show that to cover up the sticker removal act, Fehl called the attention of members of the grand jury, particularly the foreman, to the missing stickers, and Fehl was in confidential communication with the grand jury foreman, and carried information gained to other persons interested," Moody said.
    "The state will further show that Fehl asked several people if the removal of ballot pouch stickers was sufficient to prevent a recount, and when told it was not, declared some other way will be found, and further said there would be no recount, and that Ralph Jennings will never be sheriff," the prosecution said.
    The state attorney said the state would prove that Fehl opposed the appointment of a night watchman for the courthouse following the robbery; that Fehl had attempted to issue warrants for the arrest of officials actively engaged in ballot theft investigation, and was halted by a court injunction; that Fehl was around the courthouse all evening while the robbery was in progress; that Fehl's associates acted as guards and that Fehl attended a meeting in the county judge's office late in the afternoon of the robbery date, when plans "for getting rid of the ballots" were discussed.
Gold Hill News, July 27, 1933, page 4


    With Judge Earl H. Fehl taking the stand in his own defense Wednesday afternoon as the last witness in his trial for alleged participation in the ballot theft last February, it is expected that the case will go to the jury not later than Friday.
    The state has presented a strong case against the judge to prove their contention that he was the brains back of the theft. Evidence that had not been revealed in the four previous trials has been disclosed, and several surprise witnesses have given startling testimony concerning the judge's activities before and after the robbery.
    The state has hinged its case on evidence which tended to show that Fehl was much opposed to the recount of the general election ballots which was granted the day preceding the robbery; that he took pains to point out the stickers on the ballots had been removed, and that this should automatically prevent a recount. (One witness testified that Fehl and Tom Brecheen had themselves removed the stickers in the hope that this would prevent a recount being granted.)
    Other witnesses brought out that Fehl had been very active about the courthouse the night of the robbery, and that in a speech before the Good Government Congress in the courthouse auditorium he had bitterly denounced the recount, saying, "We won't have a recount. The recount decision was crooked."
    The state also contended that secret meetings were held in Fehl's office repeatedly before and after the theft, that Fehl sought to hamper police investigation of the case, and that he refused to consent to placing a night watch in the courthouse after the theft.
    He is also credited by various witnesses as having approached them, prior to the robbery, propositioning them as to whether they would like to "help steal some ballots." It is further alleged he told the Sexton brothers who did the actual stealing that "I would sure hate to see you boys break into the vault."
    The defense made a broad denial of the state's allegations, but conflicting evidence given by their witnesses, and admissions made under cross-examination by Prosecuting Attorney Moody, resulted in favorable evidence for the state's case, according to dispatches from Klamath Falls Wednesday.
Gold Hill News, August 3, 1933, page 1


    L. A. Banks, former Medford publisher who was convicted for the murder of Officer Prescott of Medford, and who has been supposed to have been confined to the Eugene jail pending his appeal for a new trial, has been enjoying too many liberties, according to Ralph E. Moody, assistant state attorney general, who acted Monday morning to curtail the murderer's liberties.
    Reports have been percolating through grapevine channels for several weeks that Banks was given unusual liberties. One report was that he had been seen on the Eugene golf course, enjoying a pleasant game of golf with some associates, apparently without any worry about the life sentence that was meted to him or without any restrictions, despite the fact that he is a convicted murderer.
    Another report was that he had been seen frequently driving about the city in company with his wife, and attendants of course who always went with him, and another that he had been allowed to attend moving picture shows.
    Prosecutor Moody Monday morning phoned to Sheriff Swarts of Lane County, notifying him that Banks must be kept in the jail without being given these unusual liberties unless he was given a court order to do so. The sheriff is reported to have stated that he had extended these liberties to Banks upon the statement of a physician that Banks would probably go insane if cooped up constantly in the jail cell.
    Despite this, Prosecutor Moody informed the sheriff that he had no right to extend this freedom and these liberties unless such was approved by the court. The indication is that hereafter no grapevine reports concerning these antics will be heard here.
Gold Hill News, August 3, 1933, page 4


    Disposal of the cases arising out of the theft of the general election ballots last winter, and dismissal of several indictments against lesser figures in the crime this week, practically cleared the court docket of these cases.
    County Judge Earl H. Fehl, who was this week succeeded by Earl B. Day of Gold Hill, faces a four-year term in the state penitentiary for his part as the "brains" of the theft. It was brought out in his trial that he and Llewellyn A. Banks, former Medford editor, now convicted of killing Constable Geo. Prescott when he attempted to arrest Banks on a ballot theft indictment, were leaders in the plot.
    Gordon L. Schermerhorn, ex-sheriff, received a 3-year sentence. It was because former Sheriff Ralph G. Jennings, a candidate against Schermerhorn in the fall election, had asked for a recount of the ballots that they were stolen.
    Arthur LaDieu, former business manager of Banks' paper, the Medford Daily News, and one of his right-hand men, is to serve not to exceed four years. He aided in the theft and destruction of the ballots, driving a car to the mouth of Galls Creek near Gold Hill and dumping the ballot pouches into Rogue River.
    W. H. Jones, ex-mayor of Rogue River, who superintended the stealing and gave the signal for entering the vault, received the same term as LaDieu.
    Tom Brecheen of Ashland, a close associate of Fehl who also helped plan the theft, was given 18 months. This leniency was in recognition of the fact that he pleaded guilty and saved the expense of the trial. The court also stated that Brecheen was not an habitual trouble maker, as were some of the other participants
    C. Jean Conners, a young man who had been active in the "Good Government Congress," the organization which spread much of the political unrest, was sentenced to 3 years, but was paroled to attorney Von Schmalz of Burns, a member of the defense counsel throughout the ballot trials. Conners pleaded guilty to help steal the ballots.
    Mason and Wilbur Sexton, two youths who did the actual stealing, entering the vault and passing the pouches out through the window and later helping to destroy them, were sentenced and paroled. Mason's sentence called for not to exceed three years in prison. His younger brother, Wilbur, was given one year. Both were paroled to County Engineer Paul Rynning.
    Wesley McKitrick, known as "captain of the Banks guards," was sentenced to one year. He assisted with the theft and destruction of the ballots.
    R. C. Cummings, employee of ex-Mayor Jones, and Earl Bryant and James D. Gaddy pleaded guilty to minor parts in the theft. They were each given two years and paroled to Colonel E. E. Kelly.
    Virgil Edington of Gold Hill, a former Banks follower, who accompanied LaDieu on his ballot-destroying expedition to the mouth of Galls Creek, was freed and the indictment against him dismissed early in the cases, when he turned state's witness.
    Criminal libel and criminal syndicalism and ballot theft indictments against L. A. Banks were dismissed by the court as were a criminal libel indictment against Leonard Hall, editor of the Jacksonville Miner, and criminal syndicalism indictments against a number of "congressmen."
    The ballot theft indictment held against C. W. Davis was ordered in abeyance pending the result of grand jury action on the death of Joseph B. Johnston after a street fight with Davis last Saturday.
    The district attorney's office refused to dismiss the charges against Henrietta B. Martin, president of the congress, for riotous conduct in the horse-whipping of editor Hall and against her father, C. H. Brown, congress secretary, charged with slandering a bank.
    Otherwise, the political turmoil in Jackson County is practically a thing of the past.
Gold Hill News, August 10, 1933, page 1


    Llewellyn A. Banks, convicted of murder in the second degree and awaiting sentence in Lane County prison, has written a book. This was better employment than brooding darkly. It lifted the mind of the prisoner out of the abyss, and though in all likelihood the volume is not a contribution to letters, its preparation was important to the well-being of the author. And to his credit it should be said that the book does not treat of his own troubles.
    Yet the obsession which drove Banks the editor to murder, until he becomes Banks the criminal, is evident in the brief review of this work that thus far has been afforded us. From his cell, as he did in the sunlight when he was free, Banks believes he perceives the world to be decadent and doomed. The messianic delusion persists, we may safely assume. And how the author reconciles his own disregard for authority and order, which culminated in the worst of crimes, with his opinion that he alone knows what is amiss with humanity, does not appear. These zealots that deal in confused and epithetical generalities, assailing things as they are on the theory that whatever is, is wrong, do not regard themselves as under least obligation to be logical. For illogic to them is logic of the first water, lucent, irrefutable. Thus Banks in his book, as in his sad life.
    The book is called "Weighed in the Balance," meaning of course that our civilization has been weighed and found wanting. Poor fatuous scribbler. There is much amiss with the world, and a deal that might easily be righter, but it wasn't the world that was weighed and found wanting. It was the zealot who, without sufficient intelligence, or the requisite information, convinced himself that he was a man with a mission, and drummed up a following of unwisdom, and pursued his conceit to an end bitter as gall and wormwood. Words were the undoing of Llewellyn A. Banks. The orotund, ponderous sound of them.--Oregonian.
Gold Hill News, August 10, 1933, page 2


    The county audit completed this week has revealed that the sheriff office "mishandled" accounts to the extent that 50¢ cannot be accounted for, and that the clerk's office is short five cents in the three-year period covered by auditor Haines. The check of records covers all offices and funds, and shows that the total amount handled for the three-year period was $5,472,259.38.
    It cost Jackson County $2500 to find out that her officials kept careful records, in spite of repeated rumors to the contrary. Serious allegations had been made by L. A. Banks and former County Judge Earl H. Fehl that the funds of the sheriff and clerk's office were "mishandled," and their hints and veiled accusations gained such strength in the rural districts that the audit was finally ordered to clear up the situation.
    The opening paragraph of the 153-page report reads:
    "I hereby certify that in my opinion, with the exception of minor errors, discrepancies, and omissions reported hereinafter, all monies collected during the three years ending December 31, 1932 for taxes, fines, and bail forfeitures, fees, licenses, amounts due from other incomes have been deposited with the county treasurer in accordance with statutes in effect, and have been disbursed on authorized vouchers, or remain on hand."
    Auditor Haines further stated, "In my opinion, the discrepancies found are no different than those to be found in any other counties, and not as bad as in many."
    Auditor Haines further said the "errors, discrepancies, and omissions" were "clerical errors," such as appear in any business, and could be easily rectified.
    The report contains no sensational or unusual matter, and none of the charges and accusations hurled by Earl H. Fehl and L. A. Banks against the handling of county affairs are supported in the audit. Fehl in "congress" meetings in rural areas frequently voiced serious accusations, and Banks repeated them in his newspaper.
    The report shows that the sheriff's office under Ralph G. Jennings handled $1,444,686.03 during the three years period, and the recorded cash receipts of the office show a 50-cent shortage. Fehl and Banks hinted in their allegations that the sheriff office funds were "mishandled."
    The clerk's office, another point of veiled attack by Banks and Fehl, handled $18,858.39. The audit shows the clerk's accounts were off a nickel during the regime of Delilia Stevens Meyer.
    The audit shows that the county offices handled in 1932 the sum of $1,432.361.07; in 1931 the sum of $1,929,187.98 and in 1930 the sum of $2,110,710.33. The total amount for the three-year period was $5,472,259.38.
Gold Hill News, August 24, 1933, page 1