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James E. Warren Murder Case
[Note: James E. Warren was a son of Drury Warren.]
[Note: Story Gathered from newspapers by Bobby J. Walker.]
MATHEWS IS BEING HELD AT WINFIELD.
Slayer of Jim Warren in a Waiver of Extradition.
NO CHARGE YET.
Prisoner Issues a Statement Through His Attorney.
Arkansas City Traveler, Thursday, March 3, 1932.
Winfield, Kansas, March 3—(AP)— R. C. Mathews, arrested Wednesday in connection with the slaying of Jim Warren, was in a hospital here Thursday under treatment for a bullet wound in the neck.
The bullet entered the left side of his neck, narrowly missing the jugular vein.
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R. C. (Shorty) Mathews, who fired the shot Wednesday that ended the life of Jim Warren, Silverdale ranchman, was brought to the Cowley County jail at Winfield late Wednesday after waiving extradition from Oklahoma.
Mathews went to Newkirk after the shooting, and was arrested in a doctor’s office where he had gone for treatment for a bullet wound in his neck.
No Charges Yet.
Up to noon Thursday no charges had been filed against Mathews.
H. S. Hines, retained as Mathews’ attorney, said his client would plead self-defense. Mr. Hines issued the following statement of Mathews’ side of the controversy.
“Mathews had resided in Warren’s place in Kay County several years. Warren had not re-rented the place to Mathews and Mathews was moving from the farm. Mathews claimed Warren owed him for stock feed, and was preparing to file a suit against Warren on this claim in Kay County, as the farm was located in the county. In fact, Mathews had gone so far as to send his written claim to Warren through the mails, on this alleged debt.”
Angered Over a Bill.
Warren had not paid Mathews for feeding cattle on his (Mathews) corn stalks for 1931 and this bill was the bone of contention. Wednesday morning Warren and his son, Joe, rode on horseback to the Mathews place, where Mathews was in the act of moving away. Jim Warren was armed with a rifle and the boy with a revolver. There Jim Warren and Mathews quarreled over the bill. Jim and Joe rounded up a number of head of cattle that belonged to Mathews and started toward the Kansas line at which Mathews protested. He followed the Warrens to a place across the line into Kansas. Mathews was carrying a pump gun and as he came closer to Jim Warren he demanded that Warren turn the cattle back south. At this procedure Jim Warren turned on Mathews and told the son to go on with the cattle, stating he (Jim) would settle with Mathews, now that he was in Kansas.
Says Warren Fired Three Times.
“Then,” Mathews contends, “Jim Warren shot at him three times with his rifle. Mathews returned the fire with his pump gun and fired once, as Warren turned his horse to ride north. The one shot took effect in Warren’s right side. Mathews contends that at that time young Warren turned on him and shot once with the revolver and that the shot pierced his neck.”
Hines said his client would demand a preliminary hearing provided charges are filed against him.
According to Joe Warren’s account, Mathews stopped them and said to the elder Warren: “Now, Big boy, get out your gun and start shooting. I’m going to get you.”
Wouldn’t Talk At First.
At Newkirk, where Mathews was found in the office of Dr. C. W. Richards, and where the wound in his neck was dressed, Mathews was questioned by Payne and Joe McFadden, deputy sheriff of Kay County, and at first refused to tell who shot him. He would not tell his story to anyone until he had an opportunity to see his attorney and Hines was sent for at his request. In the Kay County jail Hines and Mathews had a conference Wednesday night after which Mathews signed a waiver to return to Kansas. The wound in Mathews’ neck cut his wind pipe and he was unable to talk above a whisper. “Mathews is now under the care of a doctor at Winfield,” Hines said.
Funeral services for Mr. Warren will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday afternoon, in the church at Silverdale, it was announced Thursday. Rev. C. A. Kitch, Winfield, will officiate. Burial will be in the Silverdale cemetery, where Mr. Warren’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Drury Warren are buried.
Mr. Warren, a lifetime resident of Silverdale township, was a member of the Cherokee Strip Cow-punchers association and members of that organization will be pallbearers. He also was a member of the Masonic Lodge and the Modern Woodmen Lodges of this city and members of these organizations are expected to attend.
A. E. Morris, county coroner, Winfield, in the city Thursday to make an official investigation, announced no inquest would be held.
Slain Rancher.
[PHOTOGRAPH UNDERNEATH.]
Arkansas City Traveler, Friday, March 4, 1932. Front Page.
James E. Warren, noted Silverdale ranchman, killed Wednesday morning on his ranch in a gun battle with R. C. Mathews, a tenant. Mathews is being held. This photo, by Elwin Hunt, was one of the few Mr. Warren ever permitted to be taken.
No Charges Yet on Mathews.
Arkansas City Traveler, Friday, March 4, 1932.
Mr. Warren died Wednesday after being shot by R. C. Mathews, a tenant of Warren’s.
Mathews, with a bullet wound through the neck said to have been inflicted by Joe Warren, son of Jim Warren, is still in a hospital at Winfield. Charges have not been filed, but County Attorney E. T. Bloomer indicated he would file Friday.
Friends of the Warren family said Friday that Mr. Warren died without leaving a will. They said that recently Mr. Warren had a will drawn up and was asked Monday to sign the document, but he had put the matter off for a few days. Wednesday he was killed. The Warren estate is scattered in at least three states, all of which have different inheritance laws.
WARREN RITES HELD SATURDAY
Funeral of Slain Ranchman to Be in Silverdale.
Arkansas City Traveler, Friday, March 4, 1932. Front Page.
Funeral services for James E. Warren, prominent Silverdale ranchman, who died from a gunshot wound Wednesday, will be held at 2 o’clock Saturday afternoon in the Methodist church at Silverdale. Members of the Cherokee Strip Cowpunchers’ association to which Mr. Warren belonged, will act as pallbearers.
The Rev. C. A. Kitch of Winfield, district superintendent of the Methodist church and an intimate friend of the Warren Family, will officiate. Burial will be in the Silverdale cemetery. Active pallbearers will be Homer Hughes, Arkansas City, Phil Reed, Grainola, Oklahoma, Hugo Milde, and Ralph Graham, Kaw City; Mr. Brewster, Crescent, Oklahoma, and Claude Ledbetter of Brady, Texas.
“My Own Town”
By ELWIN HUNT
Arkansas City Traveler, Friday, March 4, 1932.
Sitting here in the quiet of our little office we ponder often on life and the mysteries that it brings, on death and what must be beyond. We have seen Arkansas City emerge from a sand hill to a teeming municipality, we have felt her pulse beat as she throbbed and grew, we have loved her in prosperity and adversity, in good days and bad. And always, right or wrong, we have been for her because she bears the magic name of “HOME.”
So many, so very many, of our acquaintances have gone out along the one way trail, and we, in our weak way, have striven to pay tribute to their memories, to tell a bit of the good that they did to their fellow men while here. Today the waters of sorrow choke us as we try to write, for tragedy has taken from us one of the finest, most gentle, lovable friends we ever knew—Jim Warren. It does not seem possible, for Jim was so full of life, so hard working, so energetic, yet only a few hours ago we saw his face, cold and still with the touch of the great silence, the rugged lines all smoothed away, the great brow white and very, very peaceful.
Jim Warren was the sort of man it is good to know—reticent when it came to his own adventures, yet willing enough to talk of others and the joyous days gone by. We had a hard time inducing Jim to give us his story. We are unable to locate that story now, for it is lost in the shuffle somewhere, but we do find the pictures taken then—good old Jim, Mrs. Warren and the house they built down on the ranch. Jim was mighty proud of that home. “’S too good for me,” he said then, “I’d just as soon camp in a dug-out.” He did not realize it, but an emperor’s palace would have been none too good for him, although doubtless he would have been most uncomfortable therein. We’re so glad we have that picture, and shall keep it always as a memento of Jim.
The Warren ranch was in the early days known as the Hume ranch, and it was there we visited on innumerable hunting trips. Jim took over the holdings of the Humes and added to them, later acquired leases on vast tracts in Texas. He had been a cowboy in his day, riding up the “quarantine trail” from Texas, herding into Caldwell, and he knew the cattle business as few men do. In years gone by he made and lost several fortunes, made them over again; and while the industry was at low ebb just at this time, Jim was getting by and left a considerable competence.
We liked so much to meet and argue with Jim. A life long Republican he was, or so he asserted, drifting from the fold, and we never came across him on the street or in the bank without arguing that over. Just the other day he was in The Traveler office for a visit with the boys. We came along and Jim said, “Where’s my quail?” We asked him what quail, and he said, “I want all you get from over at Pratt.” We answered that they were Republican quail and would not do a Democrat any good. Jim said, “Well, I reckon maybe if they lived on my place awhile, I could argue them into being Democrats.” We phoned Grant Acton to make sure Jim’s name was on the list, and Grant said it was. Jim was a charter member of the Southern Cowley Fish and Game association and an ardent sportsman. On his Texas ranch are innumerable deer, and he never failed to bring us a slice of venison in season. The last time he came to the house with his gift, we showed him our curios, and Jim said, “Well, if you run out of a job, you can start a road show with that outfit.”
No man ever loved his family more deeply than Jim Warren. He was so proud of the marksmanship of his youngest son, and told us all about it. “I can’t do anywhere as good myself,” he said, “but I wouldn’t let the kid know it.” His thought was always for his loved ones and their welfare. Next to that came his loyalty to his friends. He was one of the best known cattlemen of the southwest, and the men he had helped in the days gone by could be numbered by the thousands. Everyone liked Jim Warren, and the fact that an enemy bullet laid him low but proved that statement. No real man ever is without at least one enemy.
Years had mellowed those hard-riding, straight-shooting days when Jim and his fellows surged along the cattle trails; he was taking it a bit easier, leaving the management of his holdings more and more to “the boys.” He never would have been content to rest by the fire, that was not his way, but he did love peace and quiet, the enjoyment of his own fireside, time to visit with his neighbors and associates. Yet if you had asked him, he would have chosen to go in his prime rather than to be sick and suffering or aged and feeble.
There is a veil no man may push aside. Beyond it lies the sun-kissed valleys and the snow capped mountains of a land where memories abide, where friend meets friend, where there is no more parting and no more tears. Over there we will understand all the things that are hidden from us now, our eyes will not be blinded by the petty worries and troubles that infest this world, and we shall dwell always in the kinship of brotherly love. Once again we’ll meet and walk and talk with those who went before us, know intimate companionship with the dear ones who for so long were a part of our existence. We like to think of that great company waiting there, and right out in the forefront, with that firm warm handclasp of other days we’ll surely find plain, old fashioned Jim Warren of the golden heart.
No Charge Has Been Filed Yet In Slaying Case.
Arkansas City Traveler, Saturday, March 5, 1932.
No charges have yet been filed against R. C. Mathews, Slayer of James E. Warren, Silverdale ranchman.
The wound in Mathews’ neck, received during the fatal altercation, is more serious than was at first believed, it was said Saturday. His windpipe was cut by the bullet, and he has been unable to talk above a whisper since the shooting.
County Attorney Bloomer and Sheriff Henderson have interviewed relatives and friends of Mathews, in an investigation of the circumstances leading up to the shooting.
Funeral services for Mr. Warren were held at 2 o’clock Saturday afternoon in the little Methodist church at Silverdale. Rev. C. A. Kitch, Winfield District Superintendent of the Winfield district of the Methodist church officiated. The Grant Funeral Home was in charge.
“My Own Town”
By ELWIN HUNT
Arkansas City Traveler, Saturday, March 5, 1932.
Our friend, Jim Warren, so we are told, may have neglected to make a will. It is said he has considered the matter, but in his slow and careful way put off signing the document. Many men do that, and there seems to be a sort of popular and most unfounded belief that making a will is unlucky. No man can know when his time may come, it may be ten minutes from now or at many years, and it is always well to be prepared, particularly if you have loved ones to protect. Whether you have much or little of this world’s goods you worked for them and would like to see them properly disposed of, something that you can best do by making a will. There is not any such ting as an unbreakable will, but at least you have done your share in leaving a valid instrument. The ordinary will is simple, it does not require a master legal mind—we can draw one ourself and we’re no lawyer—and is the best protection for your relatives. Don’t put off making a will until it is too late.
Travelettes
Arkansas City Traveler, Saturday, March 5, 1932.
A. H. DENTON will arrive in the city Saturday morning for a few days’ business visit. Mr. Denton was called home by the death of Jim Warren.
Murder Charge To Be Filed Against Slayer.
Arkansas City Traveler, Monday, March 7, 1932.
Information charging first degree murder will be filed in the city court here against R. C. Mathews, charged with firing the shot that killed Jim Warren, Silverdale ranchman, last Wednesday, according to a statement made by County Attorney E. T. Bloomer. Late Monday the complaint had not been filed here, however. It is expected that Mathews, who is in a hospital at Winfield suffering with a bullet in his neck, would not be able to come here for arraignment for a week or ten days.
LAST RITES FOR JAMES WARREN
Ranchman’s Funeral Services Draw Hundreds.
Arkansas City Traveler, Monday, March 7, 1932.
Funeral services for James Edman Warren attracted a group of friends and relatives numbering 650 to the little Methodist church at Silverdale at 2 o’clock Saturday afternoon. Only about one half the number in attendance could be crowded into the small building and the rest were compelled to remain outside. Rev. C. A. Kitch, Winfield, district Supt. Of the Methodist church, officiated. Mrs. Ellis Billings and Mrs. W. E. Hall sang, with Mrs. C. C. Breon as accompanist. Most of those in attendance passed through the little church and viewed the body of the well known ranchman.
Pallbearers, all members of the Cherokee Strip Cowpunchers’ association of which Mr. Warren was one of the organizers, were Homer Reed, Grainola; Hugo Milde and Ralph Graham, of Kaw City; O. E. Brewster, Crescent, Oklahoma, and Claude Ledbetter, Brady, Texas. Honorary pallbearers were Dr. H. M. Stricklen, W. L. Huffman, Charles Hill, Foss Farrar, W. F. Shea, and William Bunnell.
Many Floral Offerings.
Burial was in the Silverdale cemetery, where Mr. and Mrs. Drury Warren, parents of James Warren, who were pioneers of that locality, are buried. Many beautiful and costly floral offerings were in the church—some of them coming from Oklahoma and Texas. The Grant Funeral Home was in charge.
Mathews Arraignment May Be Held Saturday.
Arkansas City Traveler, Tuesday, March 8, 1932.
Arraignment of R. C. Mathews on a first degree murder charge in connection with the death of James E. Warren will be held in city court Saturday if Mathews is able to leave a Winfield hospital, where he is recovering from a bullet wound in his neck.
The complaint against Mathews has not yet been filed in city court, although it has been drawn up by County Attorney E. T. Bloomer.
Travelettes
Arkansas City Traveler, Wednesday, March 9, 1932.
A. H. DENTON will leave tonight for Washington to resume his duties as a member of the United States Shipping Board. Mr. Denton will return to Arkansas City in the spring, at which time he will be accompanied by Mrs. Denton, who probably will remain at their home here for at least a portion of the summer.
Mathews Arraigned. Bond Set At $15,000.
Arkansas City Traveler, Monday, March 14, 1932.
R. C. Mathews, charged with the slaying of James E. Warren, rancher, was arraigned in city court Saturday afternoon and date of preliminary hearing set for 10 o’clock Saturday morning, March 19, 1932. His bond was set for $15,000. On failure to post bond he was returned to the county jail at Winfield.
Mathews, who has been in a Winfield hospital for treatment of a bullet wound received in the shooting fray between James Warren, his son Joe, and Mathews, Wednesday, March 2, was dismissed Thursday.
Mathews Case Begins Monday.
He is Charged with Murder of James E. Warren.
Arkansas City Traveler, Saturday, March 19, 1932.
R. C. Mathews, Kay County farmer, will go to trial in district court at Winfield Monday, charged with the murder of J. E. Warren, prominent Silverdale cattleman.
Mathews, who was a tenant on one of the Warren farms, is alleged to have shot Mr. Warren the morning of March 2, 1932, following an altercation over his being evicted from the farm. Mathews was arrested later in the day in a Newkirk doctor’s office. He waived extradition and pleaded self defense.
About 100 witnesses have been subpoenaed for the trial and it is expected that additional jurors will have to be called in after the present panel of 34 is exhausted. In addition to the County Attorney’s staff, Earl M. Knight and W. L. Cunningham are serving as special prosecutors in the case. Mathews is being defended by H. S. Hines.
Note: I got two microfilm rolls from the Public Library March 13, 2000, which only ran through May 31, 2000. Trial activities did not start until June. I have to return these tomorrow. Really do not have time to look for dates on another roll. MAW
JURY IS NAMED FOR MATHEWS MURDER TRIAL
State Begins Testimony in Death of Jim Warren.
SON TO STAND
Joe Warren Testifies as to Shooting of March 2.
Arkansas City Traveler, DATE UNKNOWN.
Winfield, June 20, 1932. Cross examination of Joe Warren occupied much of the afternoon session at the R. C. Mathews murder trial. R. S. Hines, attorney for the defense, conducted a vigorous and at times bitter cross-examination of the youth, but was unable to shake his story as told in direct examination.
Arkansas City Traveler, DATE UNKNOWN.
By Staff Correspondent.
Winfield, June 20, 1932. The trial of R. C. (“Shorty”) Mathews on a charge of murdering James E. Warren, Silverdale ranchman, the morning of March 2, 1932, got underway Monday morning after a jury had been selected in a remarkably short time considering the publicity given the slaying on the Warren ranch.
Only about 20 veniremen were examined before the following jury had been accepted: W. F. Brown, Dexter farmer; R. H. Bruce, Winfield garage man; Oscar Connick, Winfield post office custodian; John Cochran, Winfield retired; C. A. Fulghum, Winfield carpenter; E. C. Hoyt, Dexter laborer; Frank Hadley, Arkansas City real estate dealer; W. M. Hooker, colored, Arkansas City barber; Curt Ess, Winfield carpenter; H. W. Hopkings, Winfield laborer; John R. Jordan, Winfield electrician; William Sailing, Winfield salesman.
C. D. McCord of Burden was excused as a juror when he said he thought he might be a relative of Mathews.
At the counsel table were E. T. Bloomer, County attorney, three special prosecutors—W. L. Cunningham, Earl Knight, and D. Arthur Walker—and the defense attorney, H. S. Hines.
Lays the Groundwork.
In his opening statement Mr. Cunningham laid the groundwork for the state’s case against Mathews, who had been a tenant on one of the Warren ranches at the time of the fatal shooting.
“Joe looked around,” Mr. Cunningham said, “and saw Mathews on his horse, armed with a shotgun. Jim had been shot in the back from a distance of about 30 feet. The shot severed a large artery and Mr. Warren had no chance, but Mathews still held his gun on him. Mr. Warren tried to shoot, but as he was swaying in his saddle his bullet went into a tree.
Then Joe Fired.
“Mathews shot a second time and missed, hitting a tree. He rode by Joe and fired a third time as he went by. Joe shot him in the neck with his pistol, disabling him, and he dropped the gun.
“Jim Warren stayed in the saddle for about 100 feet, but fell off unconscious.
“Joe’s horse had run away while he was looking after his father, and he rode Jim’s horse to the ranch, calling a physician, and ambulance, and asking central to call the police.
“Joe Warren and his mother, the prosecutor continued, took Mr. Warren to town, and he died within about an hour.”
The first witness was Dr. H. M. Stricklen, who testified that he asked Warren in the ambulance: “How did it happen Jim?” He said Mr. Warren replied: “It must have been ‘Shorty Mathews.” “Where was he?” Dr. Stricklen said he asked the wounded man. “I didn’t see him,” he quoted Warren as saying.
Fired 25-35 Feet.
Dr. Stricklen said the shot severed the abdominal artery, and tore a huge hole internally in the wounded man. He estimated from his knowledge of hunting and weapons that the shot was fired not less than 25 feet nor more than 35 feet away. Pictures of the wound, and Warren’s clothing, were introduced as evidence.
The only question asked of Dr. Stricklen in cross examination was a request for a repetition of his interview with Warren in the ambulance.
C. D. Grand [?Grant], funeral director, testified as to the wound, his testimony being along the same line as that of Dr. Stricklen. He estimated the hole torn in Warren’s abdomen as being four inches wide and six inches long and said he thought the weapon had fired a No. 6 shot.
Joe Warren Takes the Stand.
Joe Warren was on the stand when noon recess was taken. His testimony followed the lines already quoted in the opening statement of the prosecution. He said he and his father had thought Mathews either had left or was about to leave his house; that when they found they cattle, they drove them along Grouse Creek toward the timber; that he noticed a movement in the woods and heard Mathews’ threat: “Get to shooting, big boy,” followed immediately by a shot.
Warren testified that after Mathews had fired again, he fired his pistol twice at Mathews, one shot taking effect. He said his father sat in his saddle for a time, then slumped and fell off his horse.
His Father Never Advanced.
“Was there any time,” the witness was asked, “when your father turned and advanced toward Mathews?”
“No. Not even when he returned the fire. He merely turned around in the saddle.”
Cross-examination of Warren was to begin Monday afternoon. Mr. Cunningham said the state would prove that Jim Warren and his son, Joe, were out the morning of March 2, looking for cattle, Jim armed with a rifle and Joe with a .22 revolver as was their practice when on the ranch. “They thought,” the prosecutor said, “that Mathews had moved off the ranch in pursuance to orders from the ranch owner.
Found Mathews’ Cattle.
“About 10:30 that morning,” the opening statement continued, “the Warrens came past the Mathews house and later found some of Mathews’ cattle in a field belonging to the Warrens.” He said they started to drive the cattle away to impound them for trespassing. Within a mile of the Warren house, the prosecutor said they heard Mathews come up and say: “Stick ’em up big boy; I’m going to shoot.” Then, the statement declared, he fired at Jim Warren without warning.
MATHEWS CASE TO JURY AFTER FINAL APPEALS
Arkansas City Traveler, DATE UNKNOWN.
DEFENSE WAIVES RIGHT OF ARGUMENT; JURY REPORTS PROGRESS.
NO SELF DEFENSE
COURT RULES OUT PRINCIPAL PLEA BY DEFENDANT’S ATTORNEY.
Winfield, June 22, 1932. R. C. Mathews was convicted of first degree murder at 3:50 p.m., Thursday afternoon, for the slaying of J. E. Warren.
The jury deliberating the fate of R. C. Mathews, charged with the murder of James Warren, Silverdale rancher, was still out late Wednesday afternoon. At 1:30 p.m. the court called the jurors into the court room for further instructions on penalties it might assess. No indication of how the twelve stood in their deliberations was given.
The state’s case against R. C. (Shorty) Mathews, charged with the murder of James E. Warren on the Warren ranch near Silverdale March 2, 1932, was given to the jury at 9:20 a.m., Wednesday morning after the defense had waived its right to final argument.
Hines Keeps Cunningham Out.
County Attorney E. T. Bloomer gave the only final argument, as the waiving of the right to argue, made by H. S. Hines, defense counsel, automatically deprived W. L. Cunningham, special prosecutor, of the privilege of ending the state’s interpretation of the evidence.
Mr. Bloomer ridiculed the defense theory of the shooting, declaring that it was evident Jim Warren couldn’t have been shot as he was shot if he had been turning in his saddle to fire left-handed at Mathews.
Bloomer likewise brought up the defendant’s past record, citing his arrest, and quoting from testimony of witnesses who testified to threats made by Mathews against Warren.
Will Prosecute Witness.
The state will prosecute John Fleming, one of the defense witnesses, for perjury because of testimony Tuesday in which he said he had never been arrested, whereas he had been arrested on a liquor charge.
Percy Hunter, another witness for the defense, who was arrested on a perjury charge after he had testified to Mathews’ peaceable and law-abiding character, has been released from custody.
Following a turbulent session Tuesday afternoon, in which the two witnesses were arrested, Judge O. P. Fuller instructed the jury that Mathews by his own testimony had deprived himself the right to plead self-defense.
Court Uses An Admission.
The testimony on which the court based its instructions came during a rigorous cross-examination of the defendant by Earl M. Knight, special prosecutor. Mathews admitted under questioning that he had followed the Warrens in order to get his cattle back; that he knew there might be trouble; and that he had taken his gun with him for that reason.
Judge Fuller told the jury that three verdicts were possible in the case—first degree murder, second degree murder, and acquittal.
Motions by Mr. Hines to include four degrees of manslaughter and to give the defendant the right of self-defense were overruled.
Much of the afternoon was devoted to testimony concerning the character of the defendant. Hines’ attempt to put seven witnesses on the stand to prove his contention that Warren was a “turbulent, quarrelsome man,” was blocked when Judge Fuller sustained the objection of W. L. Cunningham, special prosecutor, to the opening questions asked the first two men.
Attorneys explained that testimony relating to the character of a slain man is not admissible unless self-defense is being proven and the court had already ruled that Mathews was deprived of this right. Mr. Hines said he would take the case to the supreme court, if on this point alone.
The perjury charges followed the testimony of five witnesses from Kay County regarding Mathews’ character. The accused men, John Fleming and Percy Hunter, Kay County farmers, both testified that Mathews had an excellent reputation as a “peaceful, law abiding citizen.
Cross examined by Mr. Cunningham, both men admitted they “had heard” of Mathews’ conviction at Newkirk on a charge of liquor possession, but that this fact had not altered their opinion of him. They denied knowing of Mathews’ other legal difficulties, and were unable to answer Cunningham’s request for specific information which they had received from neighbors which might constitute a “reputation.” Fleming also denied that he had ever been arrested.
Reasons for Perjury Charge.
The perjury charges were based upon the testimony that Mathews was a law-abiding citizen when the witnesses knew he had been arrested and convicted for a crime. Fleming also was held because of his statement, that he had never been arrested.
Fred Page, former constable and deputy sheriff at Hardy, Oklahoma, testified later that he had accompanied federal officers to Fleming’s farm, where the witness and his son had been arrested and taken to Enid. “The son was convicted,” Page said. A still, mash, and whiskey were found on the farm.
Other character witnesses for Mathews were Richard Grell and Mrs. Fleming. Both testified that Mathews had had a good reputation when they knew him. They denied knowing of his arrests.
Evidence in Pantomime.
In his cross examination of the defendant, Mr. Knight had Mathews come down from the witness stand, and from a position in a chair, demonstrated how he claimed Warren had shot at him. Mathews, holding the slain man’s rifle in his left hand, twisted to his right to simulate the manner in which he asserted Warren had turned to fire upon him. Knight then asked him to explain how, if Warren were in that position, with his right side almost directly facing the spot from which Mathews had fired, the witness could have shot him in the middle of the back. The defendant said that conditions were not the same in the chair as on horseback, and that he could not show exactly how Warren was turned in that manner.
He admitted biting a man’s ear in a fight in Osage County a few years ago and being arrested and held in jail at Newkirk on a liquor charge in 1926. He denied ever attempting to hide from the Warrens when he was following them.
Explains Old Charges.
Mr. Hines then took the witness, and brought out that the embezzlement charge against Mathews in Missouri had been dismissed; that the assault charge in the same state was brought about as the result of Mathews having spanked a boy for attacking his daughter; and that in the liquor case Mathews had paid a fine.
Mathews also reversed his testimony of the morning session and denied authorizing Hines to make the statements quoted in the Traveler of March 3, 1932, and introduced by the prosecution during the defendant’s cross-examination.
Mrs. Mathews Testifies.
Mrs. Mathews, who had sat by the side of her husband during the second day of his trial, sometimes being accompanied by their infant son, told of Jim Warren shaking his gun at her and telling her to go back in the house when she remonstrated with him for taking their cattle.
The witness testified that when her husband returned and she told him of the incident, he did not appear aggravated. He did not ask her of the Warrens were armed, she said. Mrs. Mathews denied that her husband, on an occasion on which she was alleged to have been present, had threatened Warren’s life to McGlothern. Mathews, in his rebuttal testimony, denied making all three threats claimed by the state.
Dr. C. C. Hawke, the Winfield physician who had treated Mathews following his arrest, described the defendant’s wounds. Above the bullet wound in his neck was a slight abrasion of the skin, which Dr. Hawke said probably but not necessarily was caused by a second bullet. The defense contended Mathews was shot twice by Joe Warren.
Children Also on Stand.
The testimony of Nellie Mathews and Kenneth Mathews concerned mostly the condition of the horse which their father was riding at the time of the shooting and which the defense claims was struck by two bullets from Warren’s rifle. Miss Mathews also told of going to tell her father of the Warrens driving their cattle away and of Warren’s alleged remark to her mother.
The state attacked Mathews’ information of Warren’s shooting at him from a left-handed position. Mrs. Warren, Joe Warren, Ward Warren, and Ralph Warren all testified that Jim was right-handed and that they never had seen him shoot left-handed.
The court room was crowded again Tuesday and about 60 persons were standing along the wall at times during the afternoon. Judge Fuller rebuked the spectators severely after a ripple of laughter had swept over the room at some incident in Mathews’ testimony, ordering the bailiff to bring before the court the newt person who laughed.
TWELVE BALLOTS BY MATHEWS JURY
BUT IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF THE DEGREE OF GUILT.
