The Detroit tribune., August 01, 1936, Page 1, Image 1

About The Detroit tribune. (Detroit, Mich.) 1935-1966

Image provided by: Central Michigan University, Clark Historical Library

                
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NEWS
; STANDS
VOL. XIV NO. 20
DID THE LEGION KILL BAILEY?
Bailey’s Widow and Orphans
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—— *'
MBS. Ll(’Y BAILEY, and
three small children—widow
and orphans of the late James
Bailey, of Ecorse. Bailey was
mysteriously burned to death
In Ills home, February 19, 19.34,
and detectives are imestlgut-
Intended Victim
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—Photo by Theus
CLARENCE OLIVER, prom l
ii<*iif Eeorse civic leader, whom
»lh ired members of (lie lllaek
Legion sought so kill in March,
because of Ills political
activities. A bullet was fired
through a window of Ills home
and he narrowly escaped death.
Benjamin Pelham
Back On The Job
CONGRATULATED BY FRIENDS
AFTER SUCCESSFUL OPERATION
DETROIT, Michigan— (CNS)—
Benjamin B. Pelham, who recently
underwent a major operation at
the Mayo ('linic in Rochester, Min
nesota. has returned to the city.
Ills first official duty on his re
turn, called him to the closing ses
sion of the Annual Equalization
Session of the Board of Supervi
sion of the County of Wayne. The
Board took notice of Mr. Pelham's
return as follows:
“Today, returned from the sha
dows of a serious illness, this friend
and counselor, Benjamin B. Pel
ham, Clerk to Ihe Committees of
this Board, is with us again in his
accustomed seat, and if it is fitting
at this time that we felicitate him
upon his recovery, and record our
happiness that he is back with us
again.”
And upon motion of Supervisor
Ely the following resolution wns
unanimously adopted hy the 127
supervisors present:
“Therefore, Be It Res.lved, That
this Board of Supervisors hereby
congratulates Benjamin B. Pelham
upon his return to health and to
his fruitful and well appreciated
labors, and wishes him many long
years of continued success in his
public service.”
The Legal Record, of Detroit, a
newspaper “dedicated to the in
terests of the legal profession, ’’ in
its issue of July 16, 1936, In ItSi
30 ctro f Qriri b unc
LEA PI N O NEOKO WRIV OF MICHIGAN fhffi}
CLIFFORD 2924
—Photo by Theus
ing to learn if hooded terrorists
killed him and burned his
home. From left to right, the
children are—Annie Mae, aged
7; James, Jr., 4; and Lucy, ag
ed 6. The family Is now re
ceiving welfare aid.
Legion Victim
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—Photo by Patrick
KI) ARMOLR. Ford employ,
ee of Eeorse, Mich., and his
wife and little daughter, in
front of their home on Fif
teenth street. Mr. Armour
was shot and seriously wound*
ed by members of the hood*
ed order on a ntyrht in Febru
ary, UKbN as he returned home
from work.
column “Detroit Sidelights,” by
Lee J. Smits, has the following to
say of lien Pelham:
“They’re coming faster than
ever over at the morgue—got to
have a temporary relief driver.
They should have a couple of ex
tra doctors and some relief for the
clerks.
There is but one person in Wayne
County to whom this appeal can
effectively be addressed, and that
is Ren Pelham. It is up to the
auditors to give the order, but be
fore the order issues, Ren Pelham
; is called upon for information ns
,to how it may legally be carried
1 out.
| On the searing forenoon when
the morgue emergency was put up
to Ren, he started the machinery
in motion at once, setting the pro
blem before John Cowan, auditor
making a suggestion or two, then
stepping aside while John Cowan
proceeded to get swift nction. Ren
Pelham has been referred to, not
I entirely in jest, as the ’czar of the
I County Rullding.’ The title is
highly inaccurate. Ren makes no
nttempt to exercise authority, he
is simply the man who knows all
there is to know’ about the County’s
business. He knows whether a
thing can be done, whether it
should be done, how to proceed
(Continued on Page 8)
DAYTON DEAN TELLS
HOW ED ARMOUR
WAS SHOT BY CULT
Police Probe Death
Os James Bailey
Who Died In Flames
Another Black Legion crime a
gainst a Negro, In addition to the
fiendish “thrill" murder of the De
troit war veteran, Silas Coleman,
in May of 1935, was revealed Sa
turday to Prosecutor Duncan Mc-
Crea’s office and detectives of the
Homicide Squad of the local Police
Department, by Dayton Dean, cold
blooded executioner of the hooded
order.
Dean’s confession was in con
nection with the attempted assas
sination of Ed Armour, 34-year-old
Ford employee, of 3983 Fifteenth
street, Ecorse, on a night in the
spring of 1935.
At the time when Armour was
shot and seriously wounded in the
right side, as he was entering his
home about midnight, after return
from work, it was not known that
the assailants were members of
the Black Legion and the crime
remained a mystery, until last Sa
turday, when Dean confessed that
he and Charles Rouse were with
Harvey Davis, when the latter shot
Armour.
Bean’s Story
According to Dean’s story, the
thret men had driven to Ecorse for
the purpose of killing Clarence
Oliver, of Tenth street, an active
colored leader who had offended
the Black Legion by campaigning
for Mayor William W. Voisine,
whom the hooded organization op-
After driving througK*the streets
of the’colored residential section
in a vain effort to find Oliver, Dean
stated that Harvey Davis ordered
them to drive down another street,
and try to find some other Negro
to kill, just so it was a Negro.
The three legionnaires on their
mission of death, then turned into
Seventeenth street and Dean stat
ed they saw a lone man approach
ing on foot in the distance. They
called to him, but he did not stop.
Dean and Davis got out of the car
and walked after him. When the
man, with his metal kit under his
right arm, arrived at his home,
then, at 3846 Seventeenth street,
and stood ringing the bell with his
left hand, Davis fired at him at
close range, the bullet penetrating
the metal lunch kit, ploughed
through the fleshy tissues of his
right side and embedded itself
near tho spine.
Armour Interviewed
Mr. Armour was interviewed at
his home Sunday, by representa
tives of the Tribune, and his story
corroborated that told by Dean, in
all essential details. His state
ment was as follows:
"I was coming home about mid
night on the night of the shooting,
and was near my house, when I
saw* a car approaching. As it drew*
near, the lights were turned off
and a man in the car called out
to me three times, saying “Come
here. Kid’.
“I first thought he was saying.
‘Come here, Ed’ and I might have
stopped, but I soon realized I did
not know them. I took them for
a bunch of drunken whites and
walked on and rang at my door.
Two of the men, one tall and the
other Rhort. got out of the car and
walked behind me. When I reach
ed my door, the tall man fired. If
I had not had the metal lunch kit
under my right arm, the bullet
which struck the kit would have
gone straight through me.
“After firing at me, the two men
hurried back into the cnr and sped
away.
“I went into the house and told
my wife I had been shot. We tried
to locate Dr. Milton and another
colored physician, but failed to find
them. We then called the local
police department and they took
me to a hospitnl. I remained in
the hospital several days. It wan
three weeks before I was nble to
return to my work at Ford’s
Plnnt.’’
Mr. Armour was born in New Or
leans and has been at the Ford
Plant for fifteen years. He has
been married for two yenrs, nnd
has a little daughter. Dottle, about
a year of age. He is an Elk nnd
a member of the First Rnptist
Church, of Eeorse.
Mr. Armour’s wife is 22 years of
age and is a native of Georgia.
Volslne Pushes Probe
Mayor Wiliiani W> Voisine, when
interviewed by the Tribune Tues
day, stated that, now that Armour’s
A Non-Partisan Newspaper
DETROIT, MICHIGAN, SATURDAY AUGUST 1, 1936
shooting has been cleared up. every
effort will he made by the officers
of the law in Ecorse to clear up
other unsolved crimes in that com
munity, to ascertain if they were
committed by members of the Black
Legion.
It will be recalled that an at
tempt was made on Mayor Voi
sine’s life, by members of the hood
ed cult, according to Dean’s testi
mony at previous examinations. A
bullet was also fired through a
window into the home of Clarence
Oliver. It embedded itself in an
opposite wall, narrowly missing
members of the Oliver family. i
Mrs. Oliver was interviewed by
the Tribune Sunday. She pointed
out the place in the window and
wall where the bullet pierced.
Two gold fish glided about in a.
glass bowl near the corner of the
room where the Black Legion bul
let penetrated, and two of the
three small Oliver children played
on the floor, throughout the inter
view, entirely unaware of their i
parents’ narrow escape from death,
on the night of the shooting.
The Bailey Case
Another unsolved case in Ecorse, |
which the Dean confession has re-'
called to the attention of the law, I
concerns the death of James Bail- I
ey, another political campaigner
for Mayor Voisine, who was burn- 1
ed to death in February, 1934, when j
his home was mysteriously des-,
troyed by fire. Bailey had just left 1
a political meeting and was alone
at home. At the time, the tragedy
was attributed to an over-heated
stove, but detectives are investigat
ing tp fipd out if Bailey was sur-'
prised and murdered by legion
naires and fire set to the house
to cover up the crime. |
Mrs. Lucy Bailey, widow of the
dead politician, has three small
children and is receiving welfare
aid, she revealed to the Tribune
Tuesday. They reside on Seven
teenth street, near the house in
which Armour resided when he
was shot.
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DUNCAN C. McCRAE, prosecutor of Wayne
County, who signed warrants for the five legion
naires indicted for the slaying of Silas Coleman.
On Prosecutor’s Staff
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ATTORNEYS JOHN GRAHAM and CHARLES
JONES, two star assistants on the staff of
Prosecutor McCrea. Attorney Graham has been as
signed to the Black Legion case.
*
MAYOR WILLIAM W. VOI
SINE, whose probe into Black
Legion activities in Ecorse,
resulted In the bombing of his
home ami nearly cost his life.
MISSOURI JUDGE UPHOLDS
UNIVERSITY’S JI M CROW
BAR AGAINST LAW STUDENT
Columbus, Mo.— (By Elizabeth
Cobb for ANP) —Judge W. M.
Dinwiddle, sitting in the Boone
County Circuit Court, last week
upheld the University of Missouri’s
Jim Crow rule, which denied
Lloyd L. Gaines, colored St. Louis
student, the right to enter the
Wayne County
Prosecutor
Wvafk
ub
Mayor of Ecorse
He is still investigating un
solved crimes In his communi
ty. Mayor Voisine is n candi
date for the office of lieuten
ant governor, on the Democrat
ic ticket.
University’s law school. Gaines,
through his counsel, had brought
a mandamus suit against the uni
versity board of curaters to force
favorable action upon his applica
tion for entrance, Gaines’ conten
tion being that the curators have
denied him his rights under the
14th Amendment in thus discrimi
nating against him.
Appeal bond was fixed as S3OO,
and the student’s attorneys now
have ten days in which to file an
appeal, taking the case to the
Missouri state supreme court. No
early decision of the case is ex
pected, as under normal conditions
it would not be reached by the
state tribunal for a year and it
may be two years before a deci
sion is handed down. Both parties,
according to reports, have indi
cated that they will not be content
with the state supreme court’s rul
ing in the case and that eventually
it will be carried to the United
States Supreme Court.
Judge Dinwiddle’s opinion in
effect held that the laws and con
stitution of the state of Missouri
provide separate educational in
stitutions for whites and Negroes
from the primary schools, through
high schools and universities, with
higher educational facilities offer
ed colored students at Lincoln
University, Jefferson City, Mo.
Court Passes
Sentence Upon
Husband Killer
Mrs. Leota Davis, who changed
her plea from “not guilty*’ to
“guilty”, in the slaying of her hus
band. Ervin Davis, well-known
Brush Street busines man on the
morning of April 21, was sentenced
last Thursday hy Judge P. Scallen
in Recorder’s Court to a term of
from one to fifteen years in the
Detroit House of Correction.
Mrs. Dnvis changed her plea on
her own free will, she told Judge
John P. Scallen in Recorder’s
Court before whom the trial was
heard on July 2. Sh£ was to have
been sentenced on July 12. but ow
ing to the fact that Judge Scallen
was nway on his vacation the sen
tence date was set for July 22.
Mrs. Davis has been under a phy
sician’s care since the trial start
ed. She was represented by Attys.
Elisha Scott of Topeka, Kansas, and
Snmuel Weller of Detroit.
John K. Graham and Charles W.
Jones, ace member of Prosecutor
Duncan C. McCrea’s Staff handled
the case for the state.
2146 ST. ANTOINE ST.
'FIVE BUCK LEGIONNAIRES
FACE MURDER TRIALS
IN DEATH OF COLEMAN
Dean Interviewed
By Tribune Reporter
Last Friday
(By Sinn' Reporter)
Harvey Davis, and the four oth
er members of the Black Legion
under indictment for the “thrill”
murder of Silas Coleman, 42-year
cld colored World War veteran,
May 25, 1935, were bound over for
trial without bail, in Judge Ed
ward J. Jeffries.Court, Tuesday, at
the preliminary examination. The
four other indicted men are John
Bannerman, Ervin 1). Lee, an and
James Hoy Lorance and Charles
House.
Dayton Dean, the "trigger man
who implicated the five members”
of the hooded cult in the Coleman
murder, testified at the examina
tion that prior to the brutal mur
der of Colemun, Davis came to him
and said: "We’re going to have a
little party out at Hush Lake. We
want to have a little excitement.
Get hold of a Negro—any Negro, so
long as he s black."
Dean further testified that Rouse
designated Coleman as a suitable
victim. The witness confessed that
he assisted in luring Coleman to
Rush Lake, where he was turned
over to Davis and other members
of the party, whom Dean stated
took the unsuspecting victim to a
lonely marshy spot near Pinkney. !
Michigan, and shot him to death. j
The courtroom was tense with
drama when Dean pointed out each
of the five accused Black Legion
members at the examination and
identified them.
Other important witnesses at the
examination were Edmund Haines,
of Pinckney, who discovered Cole
man’s body in the marsh; Dr. H.
L. Sigler, who performed the autou
sy which disclosed five bullet
wounds in the victims’ body, four
of which had entered from the
back; Claude Rounsville, coronor
of Fowlerville; and Mrs. Eula
Coleman, frail widow of the slain
war veteran, who testified that she
last saw her husband two days be
fore the murder, and that she later
identified the body at Pickney,
three days following the tragedy.
Prosecutor Duncan C. McCrea
was present in person at the ex
amination and took an active part
in examining the witnesses. The
five indicted legionnaires were re
presented by their defense coun
sel. Attorney Bernard Cruez.
Since the examination, addition
al Information bearing on the case
has been secured by Detective
Ifarville, of the Homicide Squad,
and associate detectives. They lo
cated and secured testimonies
from Thelma Robinson, a friend
of Coleman, who saw and talked
with him on the night of the mur
der and described the clothing he
wore. It was the same clothing
found on the dead body. Other new
clues are being investigated.
DEAN INTERVIEWED
Last Friday afternoon, through
the courtesy of Prosecutor Dun
can McCrea’s office, Dayton Dean
was interviewed by a Tribune rep
resentative and several pointed
questions were asked.
Dean is of rather swarthy com
plexion, about five feet and seven
inches tall, has high forehead with
hair thin in front, sharp eyes, and
Program Planned
For Musicians Meet
Through the combined efforts of
three local music clubs affiliated
with the National Association of
Negro Musicians, Inc., and the ef
ficient Citizens’ Committee, under
the leadership of Mrs. F. G. Mc-
Broom, plans are carefully being
completed for the seventeenth an
nual convention of the N. A. N. M.,
which will convene in Detroit. Aug.
23 to 27, inclusive.
Among the new features to be
inaugurated will be the National
Auditions nnd Scholarship Awards,
which will be a pre-convention
program, under the direction of Dr.
J. W. Moore, of Flint, Mich., na
tional chairman of scholarships.
This part of the program ii! be
held at Bethel A. M. E. Church.
Friday, August 21.
Sponsors also nnnounce that
Florence Cole Talbert, prima don
na soprano, will be in attendance,
I « _ON ALL
NEWS
! STANDS
5 CENTS A COPY
speaks with the accent of a South
erner- slow, and drawling.
Question 1, by Tribune represen
tative: Mr. Dean, you told the
Prosecutor’s office something to
the effect that there are probably
several other Black Legion vic
tims at the bottom of Rush Lake,
where Silas Coleman was murder
ed. Were any of those unknown
victim Negroes?
Dean: Well, I don’t know. I
was only told by Colonel Harvey
Davis, of the Black Legion, that
there were several more bodies in
the sink holes, out there at Pinck
ney. I don’t know these things to
be true, but Harvey told me so.
Question 2: In your own words,
tell me what you think of the Black
Legion, as it is to-day, since the
whole world is shocked by the ac
tivities of the organization in Mich
igan.
Dean: lam glad to help break
up this dangerous organization, and
help Michigan to get rid of it. I
am going to devote the rest of my
life, to help break it up and give
all the information I know.
Question 3: How does it feel to
kill a Negro or any other human
being?
Dean: I can’t say.
So ended the Tribune’s interview
with Dayton Dean, former klans
man and chief executioner for the
Black Legion.
o
Unidentified Man’s
Skull Is Fractured
An unidentified man was found
unoonaoious on Hastings and
Farnsworth, Saturday morning.
Police believe that the man fell
and struck his head on the side
walk, while drunk. He was taken
to the Receiving Hospital where
it was reported that he was suf
fering from a fractured skull.
o
Cutting Affray
Ends Argument
Harry Fields, age 34, of 2148
Maple street, was taken to the Re
ceiving Hospital from 1443 Sher
man street, where he was cut on
the right cheek by Ossie Wesley
Wesley was arrested by Detective
Perry Moore of Hunt Street Sta
tion. He is being charged with
felonious assault.
o
Tribune Sponsors
The Joe Lou is
Good Luck Club
The Tribune wishes to thank the
many merchants and citizens of
Detroit for their hearty response
to the Joe Louis Good Luck Club.
The aim of the club is to encour
age Joe by showing that his home
town friends are wishing him good
luck in his future fights; also to
increase the patronage of member
merchants of the club, as well as
to help consumer members to se
cure discounts on their purchases.
Read about the club on page 9
of this issue and join the organiza
tion.
| information to this effect having
Just been received in a ronmt let
ter from her. in which she writes:
"I anticipate a pleasant visit in my
native city, since it has been sev
eral years since I was there.”
Detroit is endeavoring to make
this one of the outstanding ses
sions in the history of the con
vention.
Sunday, Aug. 23, “Donor's Day,’’
will be combined with the opening
mass meeting at Second Baptist
Church.
Tuesday, Aug. 25, the junior ses
sion will open at ?'3G p. m., at
People’s Baptist Church.
Another feature planned will be
the presentation of Detroit’s most
outstanding and prize-winning tal
ent, in a gigantic benefit perfor
mance with Gloster Currents’
Symphonic Orchestra, in the audi
torium of the Lucy Thurman Y.
W. C. A.