the home news
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WALTEK W. KAINEI, Ed. and rub
S*b*cript>on $1-00 per Year in Advance.
'^rril^Tsecond-class mat
ter August 26, 1915, at the post
office at McCrory, Ark., under
he Act of March 3, 1879.
HE ISSUED 40 BO
GUS DIVORCES
W. H. White, is Taken to Au
gusta as Witness Against
His Alleged Agent.
(From Arkansas Gazette, Mon
day, January, 22.)
After confessing to having is
sued about 40 fraudulent divorce
decrees, according to officers, W.
H. White, a negro stenographer,
905 West Ninth street, who was
arrested Saturday, was taken to
Augusta yesterday afternoon by
Deputy Prosecutor R. M. Hut
chins and Sheriff McGregor of
Woodruff county, where he will
appear today as a witness against
J. B. Conner, a negro, believed
to be one of White’s many ac
complices. The arrest of White
followed an investigation of Con
ner’s activities and his arrest by
Woodruff county officials.
In an examination yesterday
by Prosecutor M. E. Dunaway
and Deputy Sheriff James Drake
White confessed to many alleged
false divorce decrees he had is
sued, the officers say. The con
fession was more or less “piece
meal.” White is said to nave
made admissions on specific ques
tions, but volunteered no infor
mation. From correspondence
taken from his office, it is be
lieved that his activities cover
many counties, and may have
been carried on for several years.
Implicates Another Negro
The seal with which he stamp
ed the decrees, he said, was made
jn Little Rock. According to
the officers, he insists that anoth
er negro named Jones is implic
but nothing could be learn
e about Jones. Books in the
Possession of W. H. Alford, a
negro preacher near Scotts,
which were seized by the officers
shows records of about 35 cases.
ord admits thathe was White’s
agent, but he believed the de
crees were legal.
Operated Since 1914
Upon completion of White’s
testimony against Conner at Au
gusta today he will be brought
back to Little Rock to be prose
cuted on the charges of fraud,
obtaining money under false pre
tenses and other offenses.
White said that he had been
a stenographer in Little Rock for
14 years and had never before
had any trouble. It is believed
by the officers that his activites
extend as far back as 1914.
None of the evidence shows that
he made an attempt to imitate
the handwriting of the chancel
lor in whose district a client re
sided, but signed them all on the
typewriter. His seal, bearing
the words, “Seal of the Chan
cery Court,” applies equally to
all chancery districts, in that no
especial district is indicated.
Knew of Spurious Divorces
Deputy Prosecututer Hutchins
of Woodruff county, said that ef
forts have been made for some
time to unearth the fraud of
which White is said to be the
head.
“Lawyers in Eastern Arkan
sas,” said Mr. Hutchins, “have
known of these spurious divorce
decrees for some time, and all of
us have been trying to locate the
exact source and to get positive
information that would incrimi
nate the guilty parties. Some
time ago, possibly six months, I
wrote Judge Martineau that there
seemed to be so many negroes
who said that they had obtained
divorces in Little Rock that it
seemed to me that there was a
possibility that some unscrupu
lous lawyer was imposing a false
proof on his court. The judge
seems to have exhausted every
resource trying to locate any
lawyer who presumed to do that
character of business.
Bogus Decree In Pulaski County
“Just about two weeks ago I
located one of the spurious de
crees, which on its face was a
properly drawn court order, de
creeing divorce between one
Luny Smith and Elbert Smith
from the Jefferson Chancery
Court, which decree was given a
number, showed proper proof
signed in type by the judge,
Chancellor Elliott and attested
by the clerk and under a seal
which read ‘Seal of the Chancery
Court/ The clerk of the Jeffer
son Chancery Court advised that
no such case had ever been on
record in that county. I had a
negro to bring another in my
office about the same time, that
also was declared, not in exist
ence, by the clerk. Mr. Woods
had in the meantime secured a
certificate from the Pulaski
chancery clerk that no such cas
es as several he described had
ever been on the Pulaski docket.
It was then evident that all of
the work was fraudulent.
“Fifteen different negroes in
one negro settlement then ad
vised me through various routes
that they too had secured one of
these Little Rock divorces. On
examining these negroes, I learn
ed that a local negro, John B.
Conner, was the negro from
whom they bad secured their
divorces and that W. H. White
was the lawyer working with
Conner. I filed information a -
gainst Conner and he verified
the statements made by other
negroes and I filed information
against White and our sheriff
came after him, after having
wired officers in Little Rock to
hold him.
Many Have Mamed Again
“Negroes in our section very
naturally have taken the forged
decrees given them as being gen
uine and almost in every case
have re-married. The scope of
this scheme is well spoken in the
words of a negro in Augusta,
who said, ‘I know some of the
niggers who have been doing
this kind of business, and they
have just sense enough to know
that they could get the nigger's
money, give him a paper looking
like a court paper with a red
seal over some blue ribbon and
he would be satisfied. They have
sense enough to work all over
the nigger country, you can de
pend on that.’
“John B. Conner is a notary
public, a school teacher of 25
years experience, and is a smart
negro."
Trial at Augusta
While testifying Tuesday in
Augusta, in the preliminary
trial of J. B. Conner, alleged
confederate, White was charged
with prejury and will be brought
back to Augusta from Little Rock
to face that charge as soon as
the courts there release him.
The Rev. W. H. Alford, negro of
Scotts, arrested as a confederate
of Whited, was released on
$1,000. bond Tuesday. He told
officers that he had been con
nected with the system operated
by White since 1914. He said he
had kept a careful record of all
cases in a book and offered to
turn the book over to the officers
who are working on the case.
Conner was held to the grand
jury according to Sheriff 'Alex
McGregor and officers are puz
zled that none of the negroes,
illegally separated by White, has
appeared to seek advice for fu
ture procedure on present mari
tal status.
One Victim at McCrory
There are probably several
negroes at or near McCrory who
have been swindled by White or
Conner in the above line and we
have just learned of one victim
who lives here. Cashier H. W.
Jernigan informed us Wednes
day that Mary Brown, who cook
ed in his home had secured one
of the said divorces and had
since married a negro by the
name of Ed Johnson. If there
are any others we would advise
them as we are now going to do
Mary and Ed “See Mr. Hutchins
at once about getting a real gen
uine divorce.”
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