The CHAIRMAN. Are you gentlemen on both sides through with this witness? Mr. McLEAN. Yes, sir. Mr. NICKELS. We would not like to have him be finally excused We will make an announcement on that to-morrow. now. The CHAIRMAN. You are excused for this afternoon, Mr. McNamara, but will appear to-morrow. (Thereupon, at 4.55 o'clock p. m., the subcommittee adjourned until to-morrow, Friday, May 9, 1924, at 2 o'clock p. m.) The subcommittee met pursuant to adjournment, at 2 o'clock p. m., Senator Selden P. Spencer presiding. Present: Senators Spencer (chairman), Watson, Ernst, King, and Neely. Present also: Luther Nickels, Esq., and Scott Woodward, Esq., counsel for contestant, and W. F. Zumbrunn, Esq., W. P. McLean, jr., Esq., and W. A. Hanger, Esq., counsel for the contestee. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. Mr. Henry will be the first witness. TESTIMONY OF ROBERT L. HENRY (The witness had been sworn previously by the chairman.) Mr. NICKELS. Your name is R. L. Henry? Mr. HENRY. Yes. Mr. NICKELS. Where do you live? Mr. HENRY. Houston, Tex. Mr. NICKELS. Where did you live immediately prior to going to Houston? Mr. HENRY. At Waco, Tex. Mr. NICKELS. What official position, if any, have you held, Mr. Henry? Mr. HENRY. Well, I have held several. I was mayor of Texarkana at one time. I was assistant attorney general of Texas for awhile, and I was a Representative in Congress from a Texas district for 20 years. Mr. NICKELS. The Waco district? Mr. HENRY. The Waco district. Mr. NICKELS. Were you a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the office of United States Senator from Texas during the year 1922? Mr. HENRY. I was. Mr. NICKELS. When did you become a candidate for that office? Mr. HENRY. I announced some time in the latter part of 1921, and made the opening address on March 31 at Waco in 1921. Mr. NICKELS. Are you acquainted with Earle B. Mayfield? Mr. HENRY. Yes. 101521-24—PT 1- 4 45 Mr. NICKELS. How long have you known him? Mr. HENRY. I have known him probably 30 years; ever since we were young men. Mr. NICKELS. He was one of your opponents in the first primary? Mr. HENRY. Yes. Mr. NICKELS. During the campaign for nomination, were you or were you not a member of an organization called the Ku-Klux Klan? Mr. HENRY. I was a member. I became a member in February, 1922. I think it was in February. Mr. NICKELS. During the progress of the campaign, did you or did you not have any conferences with Mr. Earle B. Mayfield? Mr. HENRY. I did. I had one or two conferences with him. Mr. NICKELS. Can you identify the first conference in point of time, and by place? Mr. HENRY. I can. It was on the 21st day of May, 1922. Mr. HENRY. At Dallas. I can identify it, if you wish me to say why, by reason of the fact that I was in Paris, Tex., on the night of the 20th, delivering an address in the campaign, and was called by my headquarters at Waco while over at Paris, at about 2 o'clock in the morning, and requested to go to Dallas for a conference with certain men, including Senator Mayfield. Mr. NICKELS. Did you at that time know what the conference was to be about? Mr. HENRY. I understood it was something in regard to the senatorial contest. Mr. NICKELS. All right. Now proceed and tell the committee whatever other circumstances there are about the conference, and what took place? Mr. HENRY. As I say, I was delivering an address at Paris on the night of the 20th of May, and I know it by reason of the fact that I had my list of appointments with me. Mr. HANGER. The date will not be disputed. Mr. HENRY. And the conference occurred on the 21st of May. When I arrived in Dallas, I proceeded to the Oriental Hotel and was met by Mr. Dudley M. Kent, an official of the local klan at Fort Worth, and Mr. Brown Harwood, of Fort Worth, who was then the grand dragon of the klan in Texas, and they stated to me that I was wanted for a conference with Dr. H. W. Evans, who was the imperial organizer of the klan-national organizer for the klan-and Mr. Mayfield was to be in the conference. Mr. ZUMBRUNN. Now, just a minute, Mr. Chairman. I do not want to interrupt the witness, nor do I want to be in the attitude of interfering with the due proceedings before the committee, but the nature of the question directed to the witness is so general that counsel can not anticipate what the nature of the answer would be, because the question does not disclose the nature of the testimony sought to be elicited. It is apparent to me that the witness must be getting ready to plunge into something other than the inquiry to which we were confining ourselves under the direction of the chairman when we started the inquiry. Therefore, I protest against the proceeding with any testimony, unless the counsel asks the questions so that we might be advised of the nature of the testimony to be elicited, so that we can file our protest if it seems to be advisable. The CHAIRMAN. It is impossible for the committee to tell what the witness will testify. He is answering the question. He may proceed. Mr. HENRY. SO Mr. Mayfield was to be in the conference, and it was to be at 2 o'clock at the home of Doctor Evans, one of the high officials of the klan, as I had heretofore stated. At 2 o'clock I proceeded, with Mr. Kent and, I think, Mr. Harwood, to Doctor Evans's residence, and there I met Doctor Evans, Z. E. Marvin, of Dallas, one of the local officials of the klan at Dallas, and George Butcher, Senator Mayfield, and one or two gentlemen whose names I did not learn, and would not know them if I should see them. Mr. NICKELS. Did Kent go to the conference with you? Mr. HENRY. He did; at Doctor Evans's residence. We went into Doctor Evans's parlor, and he proceeded to unfold his ideas about the meeting. The CHAIRMAN. We will have to suspend here for a moment to answer a roll call. (At this point the subcommittee took a recess for five minutes, at the expiration of which time the subcommittee resumed its session.) The CHAIRMAN. Proceed, Mr. Henry. Mr. HENRY. I left off at the point where we were in Doctor Evans's parlor. Doctor Evans opened the conversation by saying he had called us together to discuss the elimination of one of the klan candidates from the senatorial contest in the primary, and he hoped it could be done: that he as one of the organizers of the klan had helped to build up a great militant political organization in the State and elsewhere: and that if two klan candidates should continue in the race it was inevitable that both of them would be defeated, and he wanted to see if Mr. Mayfield and I could not come to an agreement; and several others who were present participated in the conversation. Senator KING. Mr. Chairman, is this considered relevant and material? The CHAIRMAN. The witness has not finished. I can not tell. I do not at this moment see any relevancy as to whether one or two men who were members of the Ku-Klux Klan agreed among themselves that one should withdraw or not, but the witness has practically just commenced his statement, and I will not pass upon it at this stage. Mr. HANGER. We do not want to be in the attitude of intervention, but we have understood that the question now was limited to the matter of campaign expenditures; and if so, we think that it is apparent that this is not on that subject. The CHAIRMAN. That is true. We were to hear evidence first upon the excessive expenditure of money, but I do not presume that the committee feel that that is an ironclad rule. If a witness came from Texas who knew some other part of the case we would not examine him now simply on the matter of money and let him go back home and then bring him up here again for the other part. Senator KING. This is not in the nature of an objection. I just sought to know the attitude of counsel, whether the fact that a party was a member of the klan or was not is a question at issue here. Mr. NICKELS. Of course, a part of the testimony will be relevant to other issues in the case; but we think this is all strictly relevant to the issue as to the expenditures, and for this reason: I will state to the committee that in these various conferences some questions of campaign expenditures were discussed. One of our main purposes is to prove up the conspiracy which we allege to have existed to use money in the campaign and thereby seek to control the effect of the campaign and the election. Senator KING. Is it not your contention that membership in the klan is a disqualification for office; or is that your contention? Mr. NICKELS. Our allegation is made in the petition, but it is not in this connection; but the purpose of the testimony here is under the formal rule that when you once prove the conspiracy, acts performed in pursuance of the objects of the conspiracy become binding on the conspirators; and there may be some other questions of law at the end of this thing as to whether or not it is necessary to show actual knowledge of certain expenditures on the part of Mr. Mayfield; and we think that it is permissible to prove an interest there, if we can, to which he was a party, if we can prove that, and that money was spent by various of the coconspirators in furtherance of the common design. The CHAIRMAN. Proceed. Mr. HENRY. There was a little discussion after Doctor Evans opened the conference, and finally Doctor Evans said, "All of the gentlemen present, except Mr. Mayfield and Mr. Henry, will retire from this room and allow them to talk the matter over and see if they can settle it amongst themselves," and led by Doctor Evans the remainder of those present did retire to his front porch. Mr. Mayfield and I remained in the room and talked at some length. Mr. Mayfield undertook to convince me that I ought not to continue in the race. He said that he had joined the klan long prior to the time that I had; that he had worked a great deal in it; that he was an officer in the klan at Austin-his local klan; I believe he called it the kludd. Senator KING. What is the meaning of that term in klan nomenclature? Mr. HENRY. I understand the kludd is a sort of chaplain. He continued and said that he had spent a great deal of money in the campaign; that he had exhausted himself financially; that he had gone into his private resources; that he had encroached upon what he had. and was really expending some part of an estate that he had recently inherited; and that he was very deeply in the hole in the campaign, and he thought I ought to retire and give him the right of way; and he added, "It looks to me like you could retire now and help me. two years from now you could run for the seat occupied by Senator Sheppard." I said, "You can take Senator Sheppard's. I do not care to go into that contest, and I am not going to retire from this contest." We talked at great length about his having spent so much money up to that time, and he said he thought he had prior claims on the |