Evening star. [volume], January 16, 1957, Page A-28, Image 28

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
A-28
♦♦K THE EVENING STAR, Washington, D. C.
WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 1«, 19ft7
msmmwmzm Jkm m
THE 83:11 STORY
Murderous Reign of 'King of Osage'
Broken by Bureau in Classic Case
By DON WHITEHEAD
| Banker William K. Hale re
turned home from the annual
Texas Pat Cattle Show to And
bis home town of Fairfax, Okla.,
gripped by excitement . . . and
fear.
As he walked up Main street
from the railway station, his
Ninth of o Serial
friends stopped to tell him the
Bews. A few people who hap
pened to be up and about at 3
i 'clock that morning had seen
sheet of flame engulf the Bill
mith home—and then heard
re blast that ripped the big
Quse &o&rt
. killed Rita and the maid
amd Bill's dying. . . . blew ’em
lb hell and gone. . . . not much
feft of the house but a pile of
kindlin’ wood.”
Craftiest Hunter
This was Osage County, Okla
homa, a dark and bloody hunt
ing ground if ever there was
fee. And the craftiest hunter of
them all in this oil and Indian
kingdom was William K. Hale,
banker, cattleman, merchant,
politician and killer-by-proxy.
Throughout the Roaring Twen
ties, there was no stranger case
than that of Hale, who became
known as “King of the Osage
Hills.”
Before the turn of the cen
tury, Bill Hale had left his
family’s ranch near Greenville,
Texas, and drifted into the "ban
dit hills” of Osage County.
He lived in a tent for a time,
scratching out a living by trad
ing with the Indians.
One day Hale went to collect
a small bill from an Indian cus
tomer, only to find the man had
just died. This wasn’t misfor
tune for Hale—it was oppor
tunity knocking for the first
time.
Deluge of Wealth
Hale saw a lawyer and ar
ranged to have a lien filed
against almost everything the
Indian had owned, including
land, cattle and household pos
sessions. It was sheer robbery,
but out of the badlands came
Hale's friends to swear the In
dian rightfully owed Hale the
money. There wasn’t a shred
ot documentary proof to support
the claim, but Hale won the
case.
After that it was easy. Rarely
did an Indian die that there
wasn't a claim of some kind
against his property, filed either
by Hale or by some other white
man.
Then came the deluge of
wealth for Osage County. Drillers
struck oil and almost overnight
the Osage Indians became the
richest people per capita on
earth. By reason of the “head
rights” granted by the Federal
Government to some 2,200 full
blooded Osage Indians, they
were eligible to share the royal
ties paid on each gallon of oil
pumped from their reservation.
When an Osage died, his “head
right” was passed on to his heirs.
Prospering King
Bill Hale prospered as the
Indians prospered. By 1920 the
one-time cowpoke had moved
from his tent in the badlands
into control of a 50,000-acre
ranch stocked with cattle and
THE GOLDEN YEARS
Retirement Formula
Elusive for Magnates
By THOMAS COLLINS
If you watch the financial
pages of the paper, here is a
facet of retirement you will see
repeated time after time:
A bank executive or a company
president will reach the retire
ment age set for everybody else
—usually 65—and will retire with
ceremony. Then down at the end
of the story it will say that Mr
Big is going to maintain his desk
at the office and will be available
for consultation.
Why, if retirement isn’t for
the birds, do they do this? They
are smart, successful, and they
know the ways of the world better
than most. Presumably they have
enough money to sip lemonade
and loaf on anybody’s patio.
Why don’t they give that desk
a shove with their two big feet
and go off and retire?
This question intrigued a man
named Edgar E. Forgan, who
probably should have been a Mr
Big himself. But at 62 he was
about halfway there ... a good
Job, comfortable home, but no
achievements anybody was likely
to write histories about. So his
thoughts turned to his retire
ment. And he became preoc
cupied with making sure it would
be a good one.
Retirement Quest
I ran into him at a wild West
type of motel, with steers' heads
and all the rest, at—of all places
—Charleston, W. Va. He was on
a 500-mile-a-day vacation in
search of retirement's paradise 1
When I talked to him he was
up to age 64. For two years he
had been studying retirement
like a biology freshman studies
tadpoles and on week ends and
vacations had been running his
car ragged. With his wife always
along.
Here is what he had decided'
at that point:
“1. The Mr. Big who keep a
desk in their office after re
tirement became a success be
cause they fused their lives to
their business. And they fused
them good. If they break away
they break up. A man who
reaches the top in business nowa
days has to shut out everything
else. So when retirement comes
t£e only thing that will sweetfn
u „ fKr. * ■'"* 1
> y|B *jh mT’M w
is.
.
I B v ii I
I
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K- JB
KING DEPOSED—WiIIiam K. Hale, pictured above
with his wife and daughter, reigned as “King of
the Osage Hills” for years. A wealthy Oklahoma
banker, Hale’s downfall was brought about by the
work of four FBI agents who slipped into his home
town of Fairfax, Okla., and exposed him as the
mastermind of a plot to rob the Indians of millions
by thievery and murder.
fine horses. He controlled a bank
in Fairfax, and owned part in
terest in a mercantile store and
an undertaking establishment.
Whenever a full-blooded Osage
died. Bill Hale prospered in some
fashion.
Then the “King of the Osage
Hills’’ got the most brilliant idea
of his life.
Old Lizzie Q. was a full
blooded Osage worth maybe
$330,000. That old squaw had
three “head rights" herself: and
her daughters held one and one
sixth “head rights” each.
Now, Hale mused, suppose old
Lizzie Q. should die. And Just
suppose that two of her daugh
ters, Anna Brown and Rita
Smith, should die along with
Rita’s husband. Who would in
herit all that money, maybe a
half a million dollars or more?
Mollie Must Die
The answer was simple. The
fortune—most of it. anyway—
would go to the third daughter,
Mollie. And Mollie was married
to Hale's nephew. Ernest Burk
hart. Then if Mollie should die,
there would be no trouble han
dling Ernest. He was a weak
willed chucklehead anyway.
Hunters found Anna Brown's
decomposed body in a ravine.
She had been shot in the head.
his coflee is business. He holds
on ... a brilliant success to 65,
a failure forever more.
“2. The most valuable single
investment in retirement is one
person ... a woman for a man,
a man for a woman .. . who will
supply companionship and con
versation you know. From Cali
fornia to Florida I have seen
nothing sadder than people past
65 who are alone.
"3. Climate is nonsense. -You
can argue the virtues of spring
and fall, and the virtues of con
stant sunshine, until you die. You
are happiest where you have
friends. I’ve come to the conclu
sion you can make a friend eas
ier in an open-neck sports shirt
than you can in snow boots.
“4. I don’t think children are
neglectful, despite what you and
everybody else say about them.
What did you rear them for—
to sit at your feet paying tribute
or to fly away and find their own
worms?
Little Men Retire Easily
“5. I have learned without a
doubt that the little people retire
much better than the important
people. The people who made S9O
a week are delighted to get away
from it all. And they have a
kinship with the no-responsibili
jtles. the no-pressures, and the
no-honors that retirement is. The
successful man is a misfit with a
pension.
“6.1 have learned this: A man
or a woman must do something,
even if it’s wrong, when retire
, ment comes. The most tragic
people I have seen in the last two
years—in New York State and in
| Florida—are retired people who
I do nothing. The happiest'ones I
i have seen are busy. The happiest
; single man I have seen in retire
ment was one who was raising
, Christmas trees in Minnesota, on
the small scale of three acres
The next happiest was a man in
Texas who was making n Federal
' case out of tracing his family
' history and writing down in pen
I and ink what he found.’’
, Take Mr. Forgan's advice for
, what it's worth to you. It's not
. bad.
I Copyrlfht IBS*. Oenerel Ve.turrt Coto.i
* The Golden Year* column appeals
i each Wednesday,
TOMORROW;
The FBI Story
Tells How
John Dillinger
!
Was Stalked and Finally
Slain by Agents
■
Her estate was worth SIOO,OOO.
Old Lizzie Q. died two months
later, apparently of natural
causes: her estate was divided
between Rita Smith and Mollie !
Burkhart. And just as the verse
said, now there were only two
little Indians. J,
Anna Brown had a cousin—a
picturesque full-blooded Osage
Indian named Henry Roan Horse
who liked to wear his hair down
his back in plaits. Roan Horse’s:
body was found outside Fairfax,
FAMOUS FABLES
By E. E. EDGAR
SIGNATURE: When actor
Raymond Massey was playing
Abe Lincoln on Broadway some:
years ago, he became so absorbed
' in the role that he practically
• assumed the character.
, One night, as he was leaving'
| the theater, he was surrounded]
, by a horde of autograph hunters.;
1 One youth in the group ap
’ parently had larceny on his;
, mind. Instead of handing the;
t actor a scrap of paper to sign,
he handed him a blank check,
i Sure enough, in the confusion,
! Massey signed it. A friend who]
] was standing nearby had wit
, nessed the incident. He dove into]
• the crowd and collared the youth. I
He took the check and was
1 about to tear it up when he
happened to glance at it. It was
; signed “Abraham Lincoln."
1 UNFINISHED: Author G.K.
. Chesterton refused to get en
- thusiastlc about a young writer
; who had created a sensation with
i his first book.
: “What don't you like about
him?" he was asked. "You must
( 'admit he writes well."
"Yes, he’s a good writer,” ad
t mitted Chesterton, “but not yet
) a finished one. He is like the
i Venus dc Milo—what there is of
t him is admirable, but so much is
. missing!"
J
! Harvard Club Elects
1 Henry W. Clark, class of '23,
has been re-elected president of
1 the Harvard Club of Washing
' ton. Other officers elected at the
1 annual meeting are William F.
“ Brooks, '32, first vice president;
: Charles R Weaver. ’44, second
: vice president; Patrick Hayes,
j '29, third vice president; Arnold
| Levy, '35. fourth vice president;
_ John Orindle, Jr„ '39, secretary;
" Martin T. Fisher, 'l3, treasurer,
• and Malcolm R. Rudolph. '46,
, treasurer.
i Refugee Statistics
(I BERLIN, Jan. 16
munist East Berlin claimed to
day it received 15.307 refugees
r and returnees last year from
1 West Berlin and West Oermany.
i Refugee camps in allied-occupied
' West Berlin gave haven last year
n to 156.377 persons fleeing from
Communist East Oermany. t
slumped in the front seat of his
car. Henry’s brains had been
blown out for reasons known
best to Hale.
Two months later, while Hale
was at the Texas Fat Cattle
Show, Fairfax was shaken by
the explosion which killed Bill
and Rita Smith and their maid.
After this, there remained only
one little Indian—Mollie Burk
hart.
FBI Moves In
But the blast that shook Fair
fax also shook the Osage' Tribal
Council to action. In desperation,
the Indians appealed to Wash
ington.
The appeal was relayed to the
FBI and the order went out
launching an investigation that
was to last for three years and
become one of the classic man
hunts in FBI history.
No one in Fairfax paid any
particular attention when four
strangers drifted into town one
by one, a cattle buyer, an in
surance salesman, an oil pros
pector and an Indian herb doc
tor. They went about their busi
ness minding their own affairs.
Weeks passed without a break
in the case. But then a signal
was passed and the four stran
gers met one night in the bad
lands to pool their information
and plan their next moves. The
“cattle buyer” was the oldest,
and he was the FBI agent in
charge for this special detail.
Wall Crumbles
The four strangers often met
under the stars in the Osage hills'
to exchange information and
each time they met they had a
bit more information. Gradually
the picture was taking form And
the man in the picture was Wil
liam K. Hale. Finally the agent
In charge told his men: “Hale
is our man without a doubt. He
had a $25,000 insurance policy
on Henry Roan Horse's life. And
it looks as if he was working to
get the estates of Lizzie Q and
jner daughter centered in the
: hands of that nephew of his.”
! The wall against which they
had pounded so long crumbled
slowly but steadily. From the
badlands came a tip that a con
vict In the State penitentiary
knew something about the mur
ders. The convict, who hated
Hale, said. “Go see Ernest Burk
hart. He will tell you everything
you want to know."
Hale’s nephew was the weak
link. He broke and told the
agents how Hale had domin
ated him all his life. He named
the killers.of Henry Roan Horse
and the Smiths; and he said his
uncle had plotted the murders.
One by one the killers con
fessed. In each case they pointed
the finger at Hale. Hale was
convicted and sentenced to life
imprisonment. It was January
26, 1929. (Hale was paroled in
1947.)
The bloody reign of the “King
of the Osage Hills” had ended.
The FBI had closed one of the
most fantastic cases in its files.
Copyright 1957 by Don Whitehead
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|j^ONPj|
FAMILY COUNCIL
Girl Driven
To Secrecy
By Mother
THE PROBLEM
MRS. K. V.—My daughter is
sneaky.
SANDRA V.—Mother is always
against me.
TIIE DETAILS
Mrs. K. V.—l am a widow with
i four children and I am doing my
best to bring them up right, but
my oldest daughter is a terrible
problem. I can't seem to manage
her at all and she is very sneaky.
Sandra is now 17 and I know
for a fact that for the past two
years she has been smoking in
secret although she made me a
promise never to smoke.
Then, she started going steady
with a boy two years ago. I told
her she must break it up be
cause she was much too young.
The Family Council consists ol a judge, '
a psychiatrist, three clergymen, a
newspaper editor, a women's editor
and two writers. Each article is o'
summory of an actual cose history.'
The council reports on problems that
have been dealt with by responsible
agencies and counselors.
but she continued to see him
anyway. After a while I got to
know this boy and I saw that
he was very nice and I didn’t
mind Sandra’s seeing him.
Then Sandra took a part-time
job. At this place she met a man
she likes and she wants to give
up this very nice boy. I told her
she is being very unfair toi
Johnny, who is really in love with
her and wants to marry her.
She pays no attention to me and
has been going out secretly with;
this new man about whom I
know nothing. I just don’t know
what to do with her. She is so
headstrong.
Sandra V.—l guess my mother
is right. I’m just headstrong,
jit’s true about the smoking. I
made my mother a promise, but
all my friends smoke and I
wanted to try it too. I've only
done it a few times.
She’s right about Johnny too.
I know I’m being unfair, but I
can’t help it. When I started
going out with him, I had a
very good time, but now I don’t
enjoy it any more. He’s really
such a kid. At the factory where
I have been working I met older
boys and I like them much bet
ter. The one I have been seeing
is 23 and is the nicest fellow I
have ever known.
I don't want to be sneaky, but
it seems as though my mother is
always against me. She didn't
even want me to take the part
time job, but now she sees that
the extra money is a big help
to all of us. My mother is very
nervous and always thinks I'm
going to do something terrible,
but I have never gotten into any
trouble and have done nothing
very wrong—even though I don’t
always tell the truth.
THE COUNCIL’S VIEW
{ Sandra seems to have a rea
sonable point. Her mother is too
nervous and has too many fears
for her welfare. She sets too
many rigid rules and Sandra
is forced into being “sneaky” by
her need for experience and in
dependence.
Mrs. K. V. relied too strongly
on her rigid rule against smok
ing. She should, instead, have
discussed the general problem
of smoking and its relation to
Feature Page
How to
STOP KILLING
YOURSELF
By DR. PETER J STEINCROHN
'Fallen Stomach ‘ Is Not Serious
“Dear Dr. Steincrohn: I am i
an interested reader of your 1
column in the Washington
Evening Star and enjoy it very ‘
much. May I ask you to please )
write a column soon for people
who suffer from fallen stomachs. 1
I am one of those afflicted per- ]
sons and this condition seems to ]
bring many other ailments such i
as constipation, indigestion, etc. '
It
and an ‘all in feeling.’
“I am surf many others be- |
sides myself would appreciate !
an article of the do’s and don’t
on fallen stomach. I have had ,
mine for years and I wear a ■
special girdle. Is there anything '
else to do?
'
“It seems after I take a mild j
laxative it seems to help for a ■
few days—then I am back where
I started again. Same thing over
and over—not feeling well?
Answer: Both patients and
doctors years ago used to make
much “to-do’ about “fallen
stomachs.” If we did a fluoro
scope or took an X-ray and
found that the stomach was
idown near the pelvic space we
solemnly pronounced it as a
“stomach condition” that need
ed correcting.
Then we came to realize two
important facts: (1) That it
health and Sandra's general
welfare. If she understood the
reasons why her mother is op
posed to smoking, Sandra would
probably have been much more
inclined to accept her mother’s
point of view as her own.
The rule against going steady
was also too rigid. Now Mrs. K.
V. sees there was little harm
in ‘ Sandra's dating, but she
wants to hold her down to a
pattern that she now sees was
safe. Sandra has, however, quite
naturally outgrown both this
stage and her boy friend. Mrs.
K. V. should accept that as na
tural and should ask to meet her
daughter's new boy friend. In
this way she will be able to in
fluence and guide Sandra.
Sandra is basically neither
headstrong nor sneaky. She’s
just a normal girl growing up
and her mother should view each
stage with interest rather than
alarm. If she knows she can ex
pect friendly interest from hei
mother, Sandra will begin to
tell the truth.
iCopvrilht 1957.
General Features Corn)
Tomorrow: Wife vexed by husband’s
lack of business sense.
-MU. Mla.M, ,o
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THE HECHT CO.
wasn’t serious. (2) That there
was little we could do for it.
Those findings remain un
changed today. Gastroptosis is
fairly common in people who are
itall and thin (ectomorph types).
We also see the condition in
those who have too rapidly lost
weight. The symptoms are con
stipation. indigestion and tired
ness. All that I have ever sug
gested for such patients is wear
ing a suitable girdle and taking
an occasional mild laxative.
“Dear Dr. Steincrohn: I have
been having much itching lately.
Is there a good remedy for it?
Thank you. Mr. B. V. W ”
Answer: That’s like asking
somebody to hit a bull’s-eye
without telling him where the
target is. The relief of your
itching will depend upon where
it is and what is causing it.
Some people itch all over; others
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Lutz and Five Others
Installed by K. of P.
Deputy Police Chief Clarence
H. Lutz was one of six chancellor
commanders installed at recent
Knights of Pythias ceremonies in
the Burlington Hotel.
Chief Lutz was installed as
head of the Syracuslan Lodge 10.
Other chancellor commanders
i installed were Hyman Mallach,
Franklin Lodge 2; Morris Katz
off. Mount Vernon Lodge 5;
John Hilbert, Calanthe Lodge
II; Harold Williams, Hermione
Lodge 12, and Milton Frierberg,
Columbia Lodge 26
The installation was under di
rection of Harvey Goddard,
grand chancellor of the District
,of Columbia. Guests included
Louis J. Barnes, grand chan
cellor of Maryland.
!in “just a certain spot.” I can
tell you about it in a general
[ way. Itching can be treated by
; applying a local drug, by treat
‘ ing an underlying illness or by
. using some sedative agent.
For example, some local ap
. plications are: hydrocortisone
, ointments or lotions; boric acid
jwet dressings, menthol solutions
.or Burrows solution. For sys
’ temic use: ACTH or cortisone
i drugs; antihistamines like be
nadryl, pribenzamine or phe
, nergan. Sedatives used are drugs
t like phenobarbital or chloral
i hydrate. But remember this.
• Don’t treat yourself.
, ißeleased by The Bell Syndicate. Inc )
Tomorrow: Be as good a wife as you
> were a secretary.