Stephenson Guilty, Aids Free

From The Indianapolis Star, Sunday, November 15, 1925:  Late yesterday afternoon after deliberating five hours and 35 minutes a Hamilton County Circuit Court jury found former Indiana Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon D. C. Stephenson guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Madge Oberholtzer.  A handful of spectators, including Madge Oberholtzer’s only brother Marshall Oberholtzer, were in the courtroom during the reading of the verdict; Stephenson, pale but smiling, listened intently.  Shortly after the verdict was read, Stephenson made the following statement, “Surrender, hell, we’ve only begun to fight….This has not been a law suit, but has been an expression of envy, jealously and malice interwoven with a campaign of propaganda which was pursued with feverish intensity and was designed for no purpose except to wield an unsavory influence upon the public mind”   Two of Stephenson’s aides were acquitted.

“Stephenson Guilty; Aids Free,” The Indianapolis Star, 15 November 1925, p. 1:2

Klan Scores Heavily in Political Passing

From The Indianapolis Times, Monday, November 9, 1925:  Mayor-Elect John Duvall has named the first eighteen members of his administration, and the Ku Klux Klan has scored heavily in the appointments.  The Klan organization maintained a Duvall campaign headquarters in the City Trust Building and there has been considerable speculation in political circles as to whether the Klan or the Republican Party would receive the greater recognition when appointments were made.  Among positions favored by the Klan are three top positions in the police department - police chief, police inspector, and traffic inspector – two assistant fire chiefs, park superintendent, assistant park superintendent, corporation counsel, a board of safety member, and city controller.  The appointment of city controller is one of the most important because, under the law, the city controller would become mayor in the event of a mayoral vacancy

“Klan Scores Heavily in Political Plum Passing,” The Indianapolis Times, 9 November 1925, p. 1:1

"John L. Duvall Names Eighteen City Appointees,” The Indianapolis News, 9 November 1925, p. 1:1

G.O.P. Backs Klan School Board Slate

From The Indianapolis Times, Monday, November 2, 1925:  At a meeting of United Protestant Clubs of Indianapolis at Cadle Tabernacle Saturday night, presided by George Elliott, exalted cyclops of Marion County Klan No. 3, John Duvall, Republican mayoral candidate, and several Republican council candidates urged support of the Ku Klux Klan United Protestant school board ticket which includes Charles Kern, Lillian Sedwick, Theodore Vonnegut, Fred Kepner, and Lewis Whiteman.  The audience of 7,000 were shown on a large board the voting machine positions of the United Protestant slate and instructed how to vote for it and the straight Republican ticket.  School board candidates spoke promising to clean up school affairs and to see the Bible and American flag have foremost attention in education of the children of the city.  Admission was by invitation cards addressed to “Faithful and esteemed Klansmen.”  

“G.O.P. Backs Klan School Board Slate,” The Indianapolis Times, 2 November 1925, p. 1:2