only tends to prolong this inquiry. I solemnly protest against the admission of anything of that sort. The CHAIRMAN. It affects the weight to be given to the testimony, but it does not affect its competency. You may proceed. Senator KING. I suggest that you bring the witness down to the issue you want to prove. Mr. NICKELS. Whether you call it a conference or any other sort of meeting, on the occasion you spoke of, what was said? Mr. JETT. I can not give you what was said there, but I can give you what brought out Senator KING. Answer the question, and then stop. Mr. NICKELS. What were the circumstances? Mr. JETT. That Mr. Evans give Furney a memorandum for $25,000 to be turned over to this Texas delegation to be used to educate the klansmen to write Senator Mayfield's name on the ballots, to send men to the different little klans-you know, there are a lot of little klans in Texas, maybe not a hundred men. They had to go there first and tell them to put his name, a stamp-that was, the imperial council, that was Mr. Sutherland at that time, held that you could stamp Senator Mayfield's name in with a rubber stamp, and Mr. Clarke and a number of the officials were all of that opinion, that you could stamp the name, and the first thing we figured was to stamp the name, Senator Mayfield's name, on the ballot. After that we found out they could not do it, and then they had to get some money and send it to Dallas 66, that Mr. Butcher and Mr. Marvin and a number of others I forget now, that they were to send them out over Texas to what Evans termed to educate klansmen to write the names in on the ballots. That is all that I know anything about. The reason I know that, I am Mrs. Tyler's ex-son-in-law, and she tried to get Mr. Clarke to send out, and Mr. Clarke turned it over to Mr. Evans in order to clear his own self when they were asking to get the klan into politics. Mr. NICKELS After the memorandum was given to Furney by Evans, what did you and Furney do, if anything, in connection with the memorandum? Mr. JETT. Got onto a car and went to the bank: which I stayed in the automobile, he went into the bank. He came back and went in to Mr. Evans' desk, where there were several men, and laid the little handbag, the money handbag, which we carried every morning, on the desk. Mr. Evans taken some money out of that bag and wrapped it up in paper. That is all I know about it. Mr. NICKELS. You do not know how much it was? Mr. JETT. No, sir; I only know how much Mr. Furney said it was. Mr. NICKELS. Did or not Furney make a statement as to the amount, in the presence of Evans? Mr. JETT. No, sir; I would not say he did. The only thing he tried, told me about, that this "butting into politics" was ruining us; what I mean by that, losing a lot of good money and maybe not accomplishing anything. We figured if we had a Senator up here who was an active Ku Klux, it would be a great thing for our propagation department. Mr. NICKELS. Repeat, as nearly as you can, what, if anything, Doctor Evans said in connection with that money, either at the time immediately before you went to the bank, or immediately after you came back from the bank. Mr. JETT. I could not do that. Mr. NICKELS. Do you know what happened after Doctor Evans took the money and wrapped it up in the paper? Mr. JETT. He and a number of men who were supposed to be from Texas, and I think Jim Bracewell, and a few more of them there, went off, and they were gone about a week. Mr. NICKELS. Do you know Jim Bracewell? Mr. JETT. I sure do. Mr. NICKELS. Do you know where he lives? Mr. NICKELS. At that time. Mr. JETT. He was supposed to come from Texas. He lived around there in an apartment house right back of the Palace most of the time. Mr. NICKELS. State whether or not during the primary campaign in the spring and early summer of 1922 you were present and participated in any conversation in which Doctor Evans and Mr. E. Y. Clarke participated with reference to that campaign, and money? Mr. JETT. This happened when Doctor Evans and Mr. Clarke both, and in fact, all of them, was trying to convince Mrs. Tyler that it would be Senator KING. What was the question? (The reporter read the question.) Mr. ZUMBRUNN. Do you mean the primary campaign? Mr. NICKELS. Yes. Mr. JETT. This was along in July. Senator NEELY. Were you or not present? The CHAIRMAN. That is, were you present at such a conference? Mr. JETT. At one; yes. Mr. NICKELS. When? Mr. JETT. I think it was along in July. This happened in the Flatiron Building, in the propagation offices. Senator NEELY, What year-1922? Mr. JETT. Yes, sir. Mr. NICKELS. Who was in charge of these offices at that time? Mr. JETT. Mrs. Tyler and E. Y. Clarke. Mr. NICKELS. What, if anything, was said about the Texas senatorial campaign? Mr. JETT. There was not anything said about Mr. Mayfield, in regard to that. He wanted Mrs. Tyler to donate $100,000, which E. Y. Clarke was willing to, but Mrs. Tyler had a half interest in it. Without she agreed, it could not be done. Mr. McLEAN. Mr. Chairman, he used Mayfield's name, so that the inference would be that Senator Mayfield did it. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Mayfield was not present, was he? Mr. JETT. No; just the office force in Mrs. Tyler's office. Senator KING. Mrs. Tyler? Mr. JETT. Yes. Senator KING. You are her son? Mr. JETT. No; ex-son-in-law. Mr. ZUMBRUNN. Evans was not present, either? Mr. JETT. Yes; Evans was doing the talking. Senator NEELY. What do you mean by "ex-son-in-law"? Mr. JETT. Divorced. Senator NEELY. You have been divorced from Mrs. Tyler's daughter? Mr. JETT. Yes, sir. Mr. NICKELS. What, if anything, did Evans say? Mr. JETT. He told Mrs. Tyler it would be worth $100,000, that she could afford to give $100,000 from the propagation department to bring about the election of a Senator, where Texas was the only chance of electing a Senator and have him up here in Washington. Senator KING. I do not know what the other gentlemen think, but I think that is wholly irrelevant and immaterial. Mr. NICKELS. Yes; I think it is. Confine yourself in your answers to what was said about the Texas election. Did you or not see George Butcher or Z. E. Marvin from Dallas in that conference? Mr. JETT. I would not swear that they were in that one, no sir. Mr. NICKELS. Did you or not during the period of the primary campaign in 1922 participate in any conference or conversation in which Doctor Evans and Butcher and Marvin took part-or Clarke? Mr. JETT. No, sir. I did not hear any conversation like that, only that we all Senator KING. Answer the question and then stop. Mr. NICKELS. State whether or not anything was said in that conference about using the imperial tax, what is called the imperial tax, and other revenues ordinarily coming to the imperial palace from Texas, in that campaign? Mr. JETT. Whom do you mean me to answer if I heard say that? Mr. NICKELS. Mr. Evans? Mr. JETT. No; but E. Y. Clarke Mr. NICKELS. What did Mr. Clarke say about it? Mr. ZUMBRUNN. To that we object, for the reason that Mr. Clarke has never been testified to be in conference in any of these different conferences that the witnesses heretofore have related to have occurred in the State of Texas, and it is rank hearsay. The CHAIRMAN. The objection will be overruled, because the testimony shows that Mr. Clarke was a man high in authority in the organization. Mr. NICKELS. What, if anything, did Clarke say? Mr. JETT. He said he turned over to Evans all the Imperial funds that would come to incur from Texas, except as his running expenses, for use in this campaign. Mr. NICKELS. That is all, for the present. The CHAIRMAN. I will ask you one question. Mr. JETT. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. When you spoke of a conference with regard to the putting of Senator Mayfield's name on the ballot, am I right in understanding you that all you meant was that in that conference they were discussing as to how Senator Mayfield's name could be put upon the ballot, in view of the Corsicana legal proceedings, and in that discussion it was suggested that his name might be stamped on, and then it was later decided that it could not be stamped on." Mr. JETT. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. And they later agreed that they would send some people out? Mr. JETT. Yes, sir; send some people out to teach The CHAIRMAN. To notify all members of their organization how they might vote for Mr. Mayfield if they wanted to? Mr. JETT. Yes, sir. Senator KING. You interrupted the Senator, I thought, and said "send people out to speak." Mr. JETT. No, sir; send them out to inform them in the different klans how they might vote for Senator Mayfield. Mr. ZUMBRUNN. We would like to have this witness held here. We are not ready to cross-examine him. Mr. NICKELS. I was going to say to the committee that we want to use him on some other issues, but we do not want to examine him further now. We do not want him to be excused. The CHAIRMAN. We do not want to interfere with the procedure of counsel on either side. He may be held and cross-examined on the completion of the direct examination. The direct examination ought to be completed before the cross-examination is required. The Chair will state that the committee will take no steps towards enforcing the rule as to the absence of witnesses from the hearing room unless one side or the other suggests it. Mr. ZUMBRUNN. At some opportune time we would like to have an executive session of the committee with counsel. There are matters that we want to bring up this morning that we would like to bring up in executive session. Senator KING. You mean after we get through with this witness? Mr. ZUMBRUNN. Yes, sir; or any time this morning that is convenient to the committee. Mr. NICKELS. Do you want this witness excluded? Mr. ZUMBRUNN. I think you had better send him out, under the rule. We have not finished with him. TESTIMONY OF J. E. McQUINN Resumed Mr. NICKELS. Mr. McQuinn, you testified before, that as an employee of Ernst & Ernst you helped to make an audit of the KuKlux books and records? Mr. McQUINN. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Is that the national organization? Mr. McQUINN. Yes, sir. Mr. NICKELS. State whether or not as a result of that audit it became necessary to adjust the accounts of the Ku-Klux Klan on their own books, or whether that was done, within your knowledge? Mr. McQUINN. No, sir. Mr. ZUMBRUNN. What do you mean, "No, sir?" Do you mean that it was or was not? Mr. McQUINN. There was no adjustment made. Mr. ZUMBRUNN. That is it. Mr. NICKELS. Now, please refer to the bottom of the page at the end of the entries made on July 31, 1922, in the cash receipts' journal which you have before you. Senator KING. Mr. Nickels, did you use the word "adjustment” as the equivalent of reconciliation of accounts? Is that what you meant by it? Mr. NICKELS. Yes, sir. Senator KING. Sometimes books do not quite balance and they reconcile the difference. Mr. ZUMBRUNN. They force a balance, as we call it out in the Middle West. Senator KING. Yes; by a forced balance. Mr. NICKELS. Look at the first entry there and state what it reads. Mr. McQUINN. It says here "Ernst & Ernst audit report." That was, they evidently adjusted the books to agree with the reports of Ernst & Ernst. Ernst & Ernst set up some accrued items that should be taken into consideration, that were applicable to the year under the date, although the books would not require those items at that time; such as that they might have some prepaid insurance, or there might be some prepaid taxes. The year of the klan ends in July, not in December; so that when they pay something in some of those months it is applicable to the subsequent or the prior period, probably, and that is the reason, I imagine, this adjustment was made, to agree with the Ernst & Ernst report--such items as they had set up in the audit. Senator KING. Was it to conceal items that had been expended? The CHAIRMAN. There was no dispute about the objects for which the amount was used? Mr. McQUINN. No, sir. The CHAIRMAN. But in the books of the klan that amount was placed at a different date from what Ernst & Ernst thought it ought to be placed? Mr. McQUINN. Ought to be placed; that there might have been. some insurance, for instance, that was applied on the following year, so that Ernst & Ernst credited back that, and set it up as unexpendec. It was to adjust such items as that that these books were adjusted. The CHAIRMAN. What was the exact amount of that adjustment? Mr. McQUINN. It was accrued interest on notes payable; allowance for doubtful notes. Accrued interest on notes payable, $1,662; allowance for doubtful notes, $200; promotion fund certificates, $960. That was interest that was accrued. The CHAIRMAN. Is that the correct amount? Mr. McQUINN. Yes; $960. Then there was bond retirement, $7,300, and legal services, P. E. Etheridge, $3,000. Mr. McQUINN. Yes, sir. Senator KING. The books would show payments on certain dates; but the adjusters conceived, because, perhaps the liabilities did not attach until a later date, that they ought to be put into this. Mr. McQUINN. Yes; the books would show notes payable, but the books would not show it; so that we set it up to show the real liability of the organization: Mr. MCLEAN. You may have had a $5,000 note and the books would show a $5,000 note, and if it ran 90 days, you would add interest? Mr. McQUINN. We would set up 90 days' interest. Mr. ZUMBRUNN. What is the total amount of your adjustment? Mr. McQUINN. $4,789.47. |