(A one-act writing sample)
COPR:
2013; akolpienplaywriter.com
Genre/Synopsis
Courtroom Drama: Time & Place: August 2, 1922.
The 59th District Court, Grayson County, Sherman, Texas; The Presiding Judge
rules on a defense motion to dismiss charges against a man accused of killing
two Negro sharecroppers.
Set Design
A slowly moving wooden blade fan with brown flypaper
streamers is centered from a stamped tin ceiling in an early twentieth century
Texas courtroom. There is a raised judge’s dais and witness stand with a brass
cuspidor. A hand-crank magneto telephone and a red and white round Coca-Cola thermometer
are on one wall. The temperature is eighty-five degrees. The flags of Texas and
the United States are against a facing wall. Two wooden attorney tables with
matching mate’s chairs face the judge’s podium. A waist high swinging gate
separates spectator bench seating from the court proper. Walls are faux brick with
high sunlit windows.
Characters (in order
of appearance)
HUTCHINSON
White male; Age: 20-40. He wears a suit with a
string tie and has a briefcase.
DENTON
White male; Age: 40-50. He wears a suit and clear
lens nose glasses. His hands are dirty.
CLARKSON
White male; Age: 40-50. He wears farmer’s coveralls,
a cowboy hat, and a Peacemaker Colt with a pistol belt. The knuckles of his
right hand are scabbed and painted orange with mercurochrome.
EUBANK
White male; Age: 20-40. He wears a white shirt with
suspenders and a bow tie. He has an apple and a briefcase.
ELIANA
White female; Age: 40-50. She wears black judicial
robes.
AT RISE
HUTCHINSON
(Seated at counsel table
perusing papers…
DENTON
(Seated behind gate to court proper…
SCENE 1
CLARKSON
(Enters/sits
next to DENTON…
DENTON
Is it still hot?
CLARKSON
(Removes paper bagged bottle
from pocket/drinks…
If it’s not, it’s getting there.
(Takes out blue checkered handkerchief/wipes face) Who’s on the bench?
DENTON
(Looks
at bag…
Eliana…
CLARKSON
(Snorts…
There’s no brown in the
flag of Texas.
DENTON
What’s in the bag?
CLARKSON
Donuts…
(Removes
donut from bag/takes bite/drinks again/offers
bagged bottle to DENTON…
DENTON
Sheriff, I don’t believe
it. Do doughnuts really go with whiskey?
CLARKSON
(Takes another bite of donut…
Fire, flood, or blood, Judge, anything goes with
whiskey, but this happens to be wine.
(Drinks again…
DENTON
Two bits, four bits, six
bits, a dollar…
CLARKSON
What..?
DENTON
(Shakes head…
Men will buy you drinks.
CLARKSON
(Replaces
bagged bottle in pocket)
SCENE 2
EUBANK
(Enters/places
an
apple on top of Judges’ lectern)
HUTCHINSON
(Raises head from
papers/smiles)
An apple for the teacher, Eubank?
EUBANK
(Nods)
I need all the help I can get.
(Sits
at other table/opens briefcase…
SCENE 3
ELIANA
(Enters
from behind dais/climbs steps to rostrum/looks at apple/smiles/faces
flags on wall…
DENTON & EUBANK & HUTCHINSON
(Stand/place
right hands over heart/face flags…
CLARKSON
(Stands/removes
hat/places over heart/faces flags…
ELIANA
& DENTON & EUBANK & HUTCHINSON & CLARKSON
(Recite Pledge of Allegiance together)
I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the republic
for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
ELIANA
God bless Texas. Please be seated.
DENTON & EUBANK & HUTCHINSON & CLARKSON
(Sit)
ELIANA
(Right hand
flutter in front of face…
Too many flies, and I think it’s warmer in here than
it is outside.
(Sits/gavels…
The 59th District Court of Grayson
County, Sherman, Texas, is now in session. This is a hearing on a defense
motion to dismiss for cause on an indictment for murder
that has been hanging fire for two years.
(Reads ALOUD from document on podium)
‘Comes now the County of Grayson, case #15493; the
State of Texas vs. Wilbur C. Clough (*Pronounced
“Cluff”), on the charge of murder. Attorney for defendant moves the court to
dismiss on cause; cause on the ground of insufficient evidence to commit the
crime, being heard in this court today, August 2, 1922.
(Looks
out at DENTON/continues ALOUD)
On July 13, 1920, the Honorable Judge Benjamin H.
Denton of the 6th District Court of Texas, Paris, Texas issued an
order convening a grand jury and impaneled same on
ELIANA (con’t)
July 15, 1920. On July 26th, the report
of the grand jury was heard through their foreman delivered in open court,
and they issued bill of indictment #904 as follows;
The State of Texas vs. Mr. Wilbur C. Clough, on the charge of murder. This
indictment was received by the 6th District Court and ordered to be
filed in open court by the clerk in that with malice aforethought the indicted
did kill the prisoners Herman and Irving Arthur, brothers and tenant farmers,
formerly employed as sharecroppers by landowners, J.H. Hodges and his son,
William while in the company of others. On October 29th, the
defendant came before that court, and an order was granted changing venue to
the 59th District Court here in Grayson County at Sherman, Texas.
(Looks at EUBANK &
HUTCHINSON…
Lamar County Prosecutor Eubank and Defense Counsel
Hutchinson…
EUBANK & HUTCHINSON
(Stand together…
ELIANA
(To HUTCHINSON)
Mr. Hutchinson, your motion to dismiss says your
client has been out on bail to answer this indictment for two
ELIANA (con’t)
years, which you consider an unreasonable delay and
the charge should be dismissed if the State of Texas cannot
produce additional evidence to justify a trial of
the accused.
HUTCHINSON
Yes, Ma’am, that is correct.
ELIANA
Mr. Eubank?
EUBANK
I understand the State of Texas must provide
additional evidence to the original indictment for any trial of the accused.
ELIANA
Do you have an opening
statement?
HUTCHINSON
(Sits)
EUBANK
(Approaches
ELIANA)
Yes, Ma’am. All parties to this incident have not
been heard. It was also two years before the federal government told slave owners
in Texas their Negroes were now free.
ELIANA
The Juneteenth day of celebration in Texas by the
ancestors of those freed slaves is not an issue before the court, Mr. Eubank.
EUBANK
No, Ma’am.
ELIANA
(Looks down at document on podium/puzzled)
I see you’ve subpoenaed the Lamar County District Court
Judge and the Lamar County Sheriff to appear as hostile witnesses for the
prosecution.
(Pause…
That’s a first, two firsts actually.
EUBANK
Yes, Ma’am, I did. I also ask the court to rule
against defense counsel’s petition for dismissal on additional evidence to be
presented today that shows the proximate cause for the crime of murder was
because of the purported killing of their landlords by the Arthurs.
ELIANA
We’ll see if that dog can hunt. Call your first
witness.
EUBANK
Yes, Ma’am.
SCENE 4
EUBANK
I call the Honorable Judge Benjamin H. Denton,
Presiding Judge of the 6th District Court, Lamar County, Texas, to the
witness stand.
DENTON
(Stands/enters
into court proper through gate/takes witness stand/adjusts glasses)
ELIANA
(Smiles…
We’re pleased the Honorable Judge from the Sixth
District Court was able to appear.
DENTON
Hello, Eliana.
(Looks at his dirty hands)
I apologize for my soiled hands, Judge. My Ford had
magneto trouble.
ELIANA
(Piqued)
Oh? Does the 6th District Court usually admit
evidence not related to the issue before the bar?
DENTON
No, Ma’am.
ELIANA
Neither do I, but one good story deserves another.
DENTON
Yes, Ma’am.
ELIANA
This is a story about the old west, Ben.
(Pause…
When the bad became very bad, ranchers would send
them as the fourth man on a three man fencing crew with instructions to the
foreman for his burial at the last post.
DENTON
(Nods)
Yes, Ma’am, I’ve heard that.
ELIANA
Sometimes I’ve thought that custom should be
reinstated.
DENTON
You don’t wear gloves when you string barbed wire,
Ma’am.
ELIANA
The court also thinks the transportation of a
sitting judge should be held to a higher standard than other lawyers.
DENTON
Yes, Ma’am.
ELIANA
(Gavels)
I find the witness in contempt for violating the
decorum of this court and fine the flivver’s owner seventy-five dollars,
payable to the Clerk of the Court at the conclusion of today’s hearing.
DENTON
Yes, Ma’am.
ELIANA
(Smiles)
Get a horse.
DENTON
A good horse probably costs more than my car is
worth.
ELIANA
(Raises eyebrows…
Do you want me to pay for it?
DENTON
No, Ma’am.
ELIANA
As an elected judge of the State of Texas, we’ll
dispense with your swearing in, but I consider any testimony you give in this
court to be true and under
ELIANA (con’t)
oath. Also, as the original Presiding Judge on this
case, you have the right to recuse yourself, subpoena or no subpoena.
DENTON
I waive that privilege, Ma’am.
ELIANA
(Smiles)
Spoken like a Texas Judge up for re-election.
EUBANK
(Approaches DENTON…
What’s your name?
DENTON
Benjamin H. Denton.
EUBANK
Can you be more specific?
DENTON
I’m the Presiding Judge of the 6th District Court of
Lamar County. The Sixth District is all of Lamar County and includes the City
of Paris.
EUBANK
Thank you, Judge Denton.
(To ELIANA)
Your Honor, on July 13th, 1920, Judge
Denton issued an
EUBANK (con’t)
order convening a grand jury and impaneled it on
July 15th.
ELIANA
I’ve ploughed that ground, Mr. Eubank.
DENTON
Your Honor, in answer to the Lamar County
Prosecutor, may I read my original order impaneling the grand jury?
ELIANA
Sure, Ben, go right ahead.
DENTON
(Removes
a paper from inside jacket pocket/adjusts glasses/reads ALOUD)
‘It’s unfortunate for the county, it’s unfortunate
for the town, and it’s unfortunate for the state whenever men take into their
hands the execution of the law without regard to the courts. I don’t care
whether it is a county, or precinct, or state or a nation, whenever we do that,
whenever we trample the law underfoot and just simply try to execute the law
ourselves without the courts; we are in a bad fix.’
ELIANA
Thank you, Judge.
EUBANK
(To
ELIANA)
Your Honor, The grand jury returned this bill of
indictment against Mr. Clough on July 26, 1920, for the charge of murder in
that with malice aforethought, he did kill persons of color known as Herman and
Irving Arthur while in the company of others.
(Pause…
Mr. Clough is the same man that lynched and burned
Henry Smith near Paris in 1893.
HUTCHINSON
(Stands)
Objection, newspaper articles at the time did allege
my client was involved but he was never charged with that crime.
ELIANA
(Gavels)
Sustained...
HUTCHINSON
(Sits)
EUBANK
(To ELIANA)
On October 29, 1920, Mr. Clough was arraigned and an
order granted changing venue to the 59th District Court.
ELIANA
(Annoyed)
I am the 59th District Court, Mr. Eubank.
Tell me something I don’t know.
EUBANK
Judge Denton, do you remember what happened at the
Lamar County jail the summer of 1920 when you and I tendered documents of
confession to the Arthur brothers?
DENTON
No, two years is a long time between drinks.
ELIANA
(Leans forward…
Mr. Eubank, due to the unusual appearance in my
court of a sitting Texas Judge as a witness, I may, from time to time,
intercede in your questioning.
EUBANK
Yes, Ma’am.
ELIANA
Ben, the Lamar County Prosecutor may decide to open
a stable and shoe horses for a living when this is all over, but today I want
you to answer his questions.
DENTON
(Nods…
Okay. I did prepare a confession in anticipation that
DENTON (con’t)
the Arthur brothers would acknowledge killing their
landlords in order to expedite the ruling of a special grand jury that I
intended to convene.
EUBANK
Judge Denton, please tell the court about the
telephone call you asked me to place through the Lamar County switchboard to
Acting Governor Johnson in Austin.
DENTON
(Adjusts nose glasses)
Well, I asked you to place the call to Austin because
I feared a possible Negro uprising.
EUBANK
When we entered the jail, I did see a lot of white
men firing their guns and demanding release of the prisoners but I saw no
Negroes among them. Do you remember what you said when I told you there were no
Negroes in the crowd?
DENTON
(To
ELIANA…
Judge, I admit there was an assembly of concerned
townspeople outside the jail.
ELIANA
(Intrigued…
There is also an additional question before the
court.
EUBANK
Your Honor, I’ll rephrase my question. Didn’t you
say, ‘True, but Johnson doesn’t know that’?
DENTON
(Silent…
ELIANA
Ben, on what legal grounds did you base your request
for aid from Acting Governor Johnson?
DENTON
(Uncomfortable…
Well, we’re of a generation, Eliana, and you may
recall a U.S. Marshall named Tom Smith signing up twenty-two men from Paris for
the Johnson County War in Wyoming back in the eighties, and later, Governor
Amos Butler of Wyoming did wire President Harrison in Washington, D.C., for
troops, and the President of the United States dispatched the 6th
Cavalry of the U.S. Army in response.
ELIANA
(Shakes head…
Ben, that was forty years ago, and although a Posse
Comitatus bill passed Congress in 1876 prohibiting
ELIANA (con’t)
federal troops from engaging in domestic law
enforcement, that law was ignored. However, it has never been repealed.
DENTON
(Shrugs)
It just seemed some flies had decided to settle on
the reins of law and order in Lamar County and thought they could pull the
cart. I was also remembering the recent Negro riots in Missouri.
ELIANA
Missouri isn’t in Texas.
DENTON
Also, I’ve never seen a Colored stand before me that
didn’t seem prejudiced.
ELIANA
Ben, there might be a
natural antipathy existing between all the races but everyone, regardless of
color, has the right to their own opinions as long as those opinions don’t lead
to violation of the law.
DENTON
Yes, Ma’am.
ELIANA
Mr. Eubank, what did the governor say?
EUBANK
He asked, “Who put you on the telephone?” I then
gave the receiver to the judge.
ELIANA
Ben, did the governor say he would send help?
DENTON
No.
EUBANK
Judge Denton, to the best of your knowledge, was any
aid ever received from the State of Texas as the result of my call or any calls
with respect to the Arthur’s confinement?
DENTON
No.
EUBANK
Now, to the appearance of the Arthur brothers in the
Paris jail, did they appear injured?
DENTON
Well, it was hard to tell due to the color of their
skin, and Negroes don’t like to be moved.
ELIANA
Nobody likes to be moved, especially if that move is
to jail.
DENTON
Yes, Ma’am.
EUBANK
Judge Denton, were you able to obtain signed confessions
from the Arthurs?
DENTON
(Perturbed…
Yes, Mr. Eubank, I did. You were there and you read
the confession to them because they were illiterate.
EUBANK
Did the prisoners give any reasons before signing?
DENTON
Well, as you know, they didn’t actually sign. They
made marks of the holy cross near their names, but I don’t really remember any
reasons.
(Points out at CLARKSON…
Sheriff Clarkson might know.
CLARKSON
(Waves at DENTON…
ELIANA
(Gavels)
There will be no
communication between the witness and any person in the court other than the
questioning attorney or the presiding judge.
DENTON
(Apologetic)
Yes, Ma’am, but Sheriff
Clarkson was there along with Police Chief Harrell and Mr. Eubank.
EUBANK
Judge Denton, would you say the Arthurs said they
were leaving their jobs as sharecroppers because they were told they owed money
to the company store?
DENTON
Maybe…
EUBANK
(To ELIANA…
Ma’am, J.H. Hodges was a large landowner in Lamar
County and as a condition of employment; his tenant farmers were required to do
business at his company store where they were sold food, clothing, and other
necessaries required for living on his property and working in his fields.
(To
DENTON…
Judge Denton, do you remember anything at all as a
reason for the killing of their landlords?
DENTON
(Laughs)
I remember an opinion. Irving Arthur said he knew
how
DENTON (con’t)
the white world went, but he didn’t know how to get
along in it, and Herman said that a few freckles look good on white folks, but
they were all-over freckle, and the white man don’t like people who are
all-over freckle.
(To ELIANA)
Your Honor, what matters most is how you see yourself.
I’d like to make a statement to the court.
ELIANA
Mr. Eubank, do you have
any further questions of this witness?
EUBANK
No, Ma’am.
(Goes
to attorney
table/sits…
DENTON
With respect to the summer
of 1920
at the Lamar County fairgrounds, I accept the responsibility but not the blame.
ELIANA
(Surprised/gavels…
You’re out of order, Judge. Nolo Contendere is a
civil defense and not allowed in a felony criminal proceeding.
(Pause…
ELIANA (con’t)
Ben, the Fourth Amendment of the Bill of Rights is
very clear. There is ‘the right of people to be secure in their persons,
homes, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures’. The
Lamar County jail was not a safe place for the Arthurs. They were forcibly removed
from a jail in your judicial district while in the care of law officers under
your supervision.
DENTON
(Removes
pocket watch/looks at time/replaces watch…
ELIANA
Is there a problem, Ben? Is there someplace you need
to be?
DENTON
(Replaces watch)
No, Ma’am, you’re my only appointment.
ELIANA
Ben, what is the name of the Mayor of Paris, Texas?
DENTON
Crook…
ELIANA
With all due respect, I suggest you ask the Mayor to
appoint a Chief of Police who can keep people in his
ELIANA (con’t)
jail if they belong there and people out of his jail
if they don’t belong there.
DENTON
(Embarrassed…
Yes, Ma'am.
ELIANA
You got scared, Ben. You called the governor of
Texas because the Paris Police Department couldn’t or wouldn’t handle a crowd
control problem.
DENTON
(Silent…
ELIANA
The witness is excused.
DENTON
(Stands/exits)
SCENE 5
ELIANA
Call your remaining witness, Mr. Eubank.
EUBANK
(Stands)
I call the Sheriff for Lamar County, Texas.
CLARKSON
(Stands/adjusts gun
belt/carries hat/takes witness stand/bites
tobacco from plug/chews/spits at cuspidor/misses)
ELIANA
(Shakes head)
I’ve had trouble with you before.
CLARKSON
Ma’am..?
ELIANA
Sheriff, with your aim, I don’t think I want you
answering any stand up calls of nature in my courthouse.
CLARKSON
No, Ma’am.
(Spits again/misses
cuspidor again)
ELIANA
(Disgusted…
Would you prefer that I convene court out of doors
to accommodate your expectorations?
CLARKSON
(Looks
around…
No, Ma’am, this here is just fine.
ELIANA
What kind of boots are those, Sheriff?
CLARKSON
(Looks down at boots/looks up/smiles)
The kind that squeak…
ELIANA
You’ve got blood on them.
CLARKSON
(Looks down again at his boots/thinks)
You can hunt anything in Texas, Ma’am. That there’s the
blood of the lamb, a mouflon to be exact…
ELIANA
I’m afraid to ask.
CLARKSON
A mouflon is sort of a hybrid sheep with mountain
ram’s horns, Ma’am. I cut me off the heads, boil the skulls bare of its meat,
and sell them with the horns attached. They make right fine gun racks, Ma’am,
and I sell gun racks.
ELIANA
(Sarcastic…
Thank you for sharing that
with us.
CLARKSON
(Nods)
You’re welcome, Ma’am.
ELIANA
Sheriff, you’re also an officer of the court, so
we’ll dispense with your swearing in, but I consider any testimony you give today
to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
CLARKSON
Yes, Ma’am, whatever you
say.
ELIANA
Mr. Eubank? He’s your
witness.
EUBANK
(Approaches
CLARKSON…
What’s your name?
CLARKSON
Clarkson…
EUBANK
Can you be more specific?
CLARKSON
I’m the Sheriff of Lamar County, Texas.
EUBANK
Is the City of Paris within Lamar County? CLARKSON
(Annoyed…
It was the last time I looked.
EUBANK
Were the Arthur brothers under lock and key in the
Lamar County jail on July 6, 1920?
CLARKSON
(Disgusted…
Eubank, if my prisoners
weren’t under lock and key they’d get up and leave...
ELIANA
(Gavels…
I’m officially offended. CLARKSON
(Surprised…
Ma’am..?
ELIANA
This is Grayson County, Sheriff. Would you
prefer polite cooperation with your own County Prosecutor or thirty days in my jail
for contempt of court? I can even arrange for a large black cellmate who is also
interested in the blood of the lamb.
CLARKSON
(Sotto voce…
Neither…
(Pause…
With all due respect, Ma’am, I don’t work here, and
I
CLARKSON (con’t)
sure don’t work for you.
ELIANA
(Amused…
The voters may have given you that badge, Sheriff,
but I can take it away.
CLARKSON
(Unpins badge of office/throws in cuspidor/smiles…
You can have anything you can reach, Ma’am.
ELIANA
(Smiles/looks sideways off court…
CLARKSON
(Suddenly
afraid/takes out handkerchief/mops
face…
If I still have the choice, Ma’am, I’ll take
cooperation with the Lamar County Prosecutor.
ELIANA
(Looks back…
Good.
EUBANK
Sheriff Clarkson, about the Arthurs..?
CLARKSON
(Relieved…
Well, we had us a couple of killers, Eubank, caught
and returned by the City Marshall of Valliant, Oklahoma. One
CLARKSON (con’t)
brother he found in a gin mill and the other brother
when he was chopping cotton. I don’t remember which was which but after we got
‘em back, we let loose their women folks.
EUBANK
(Feigned
surprise…
You arrested the family of the Arthurs?
CLARKSON
Well, it was more like protective custody so they couldn’t
give aid and comfort to the fugitives while we had them on the run.
EUBANK
You said the prisoners were returned. Why didn’t you
go to Valliant and take custody yourself?
CLARKSON
Chief Harrell, he went, but those Oklahoma boys
turned real suspicious when they saw Grady and his posse so they decided to take
the prisoners back to Texas by themselves.
EUBANK
Why?
CLARKSON
Why what, Eubank?
EUBANK
You said the Oklahoma people wouldn’t turn them over
to Chief Harrell and Grady’s posse but insisted on bringing them all the way to
Paris by themselves. Why?
CLARKSON
(Shrugs)
Beats me, but those Oklahoma boys meant what they
said. They wouldn’t even give 'em up to the Texas Rangers at the Red River. So,
Harrell, he had him a Sunday afternoon parade from Valliant, Oklahoma, to Paris,
Texas, with guns and horses and cars and trucks and murderers and Texas
Rangers.
EUBANK
Judge Denton said the prisoners might have been
injured.
CLARKSON
Maybe, but they
were just a couple of Darkies who got caught acting White when they stepped
over the line. ELIANA
Acting White is not considered
criminal behavior, Sheriff.
CLARKSON
No, Ma’am, but that’s a black
thing, acting white. If they were injured, it was probably because they minded
somebody’s business and somebody reminded them not to do
CLARKSON (con’t)
it again.
EUBANK
Were they injured?
CLARKSON
(Thinks…
Well, it could have been that inner ear infection.
EUBANK
Ear infection..?
CLARKSON
Yes, sir. It probably affected their balance and
all, causing them to fall off their horses when they crossed the Red River…
(Looks at ELIANA…
probably on the Oklahoma side…
ELIANA
(Smiles…
Some people just seem to fall down when they come into
Texas?
CLARKSON
Yes, Ma’am, you could say that. Doc Geron, he was
over after they were locked up and said they were bruised up some from falling
off their horses.
EUBANK
Sheriff Clarkson, you said
there were cars and trucks. Why weren’t they in a car?
CLARKSON
I guess the cars were all
full up, Eubank.
EUBANK
Do you remember the crowd that formed outside the jail
after the Arthurs were admitted?
CLARKSON
Sure, but they were just some fellow countrymen gathered
in support of the law. They maybe had Sam Colt riding with them, and maybe they
were of a type that got a nose bleed north of the Big Red, but mostly they were
just some concerned citizens.
ELIANA
I didn’t hear that, Sheriff.
CLARKSON
(Looks
at ELIANA…
Well, Ma’am, there’s maybe some folks down here in Grayson
County think Lamar County folks treat their Coloreds different, but that’s not
so.
ELIANA
Is that right?
CLARKSON
(Shakes head…
Yes, Ma’am. Purple, black, or high-yellow, we treat
‘em all the same, and that tracker hired by Grady’s posse was old Pitt McGrew,
and he’s Black, so we’re not prejudiced.
EUBANK
Sheriff, who is Grady Sturgeon?
CLARKSON
You know Grady, Eubank. Everybody knows Grady. He
and John Brown and Wood Murrell were the ones who formed the posse that went up
to Oklahoma.
EUBANK
Were they sworn in as law officers?
CLARKSON
Well, Chief Harrell was there
after he joined up with them. He was sworn.
EUBANK
Sheriff, other than the Paris Chief of Police, was
anyone else sworn who was out looking for the Arthurs?
CLARKSON
(Annoyed…
At the time, Eubank, we were protecting our families
and such from violence at the hands of dangerous fugitives.
CLARKSON (con’t)
(Pause…
Anyway, Grady’s posse followed the culprits trail to
the Klomatia ferry and the boatman there did remember putting two Negroes
across who completely filled the description of the fugitives but they were
unarmed.
EUBANK
Was Mr. Clough or any of the indicted defendants members
of Grady’s posse?
HUTCHINSON
(Stands…
Objection that testimony from the witness before
facts alleged in the indictment is ruled upon is irrelevant and immaterial.
ELIANA
(Gavels…
Sustained!
EUBANK
I withdraw the question, Your Honor.
HUTCHINSON
(Sits)
CLARKSON
Anyway, the first posse left at ten o’clock the
morning they found both Hodges dead and cars were leaving every
CLARKSON (con’t)
hour after that to scour the county. People even
came off the river to volunteer assistance.
ELIANA
Sheriff, it sounds like everyone looking for the
Arthurs was doing so without legal authority.
CLARKSON
(Shakes head)
Beggin’ your pardon, Ma’am, that’s not true. I
personally led a group to the Rucker Bridge below Slate Shoals after the
suspects were said to be seen around Walnut Ridge, and we knew they had another
sister living north of Blossom. They were also reported in March England’s pasture
southeast of Spring Hill.
(Pause…
We also hired us Mr. Frazier, the ex-sheriff of
Delta County, who is a known man-hunter. He found two Blacks on the Texas and
Pacific railroad at DeKalb, but they proved to be the wrong suspects.
EUBANK
Did you provide weapons to the people searching for
the suspects?
CLARKSON
(Nods…
Some, but those Paris boys bought themselves every
rifle they could find and borrowed what they couldn’t buy.
EUBANK
Sheriff, let’s go to the size of the crowd outside
the jail on July 6, 1920. How many people would you say there were outside the
jail?
CLARKSON
I wasn’t selling tickets, Eubank, but The Paris
Morning News said there were between three and five thousand at the
jail and later at the fairgrounds, but you can’t always trust the only
newspaper in town to get their facts right.
EUBANK
This mob formed after the Arthurs were jailed?
CLARKSON
I would still call them concerned townspeople.
EUBANK
Do you know whether Mr. Clough or any of the other
defendants was one of those concerned townspeople?
CLARKSON
(Silent…
EUBANK
(Goes
to attorney table/removes some papers from
his briefcase)
Your Honor, I do understand that this hearing on a
motion to dismiss concerns only Mr. Clough, but it also affects…
(Reads ALOUD…
Mr. Coggins, Mr. Dodds, Mr. Luckey, and Mr.
Holderness who were also indicted with by the grand jury…
(To CLARKSON)
Sheriff, what action was taken by Chief Harrell when
the crowd outside the jail broke in and took the prisoners away?
CLARKSON
I don’t know what Harrell did, Eubank. I was out of
town.
ELIANA
Where were you, Sheriff?
CLARKSON
Horatio, Arkansas.
EUBANK
Sheriff, did Chief Harrell say how the men got in
his jail?
CLARKSON
Well, if that front door could talk, it would say it
got hit with a ten pound sledge until it fell down.
EUBANK
Was there any damage done to the cell doors inside
the jail?
CLARKSON
No, sir, those cell doors were left in good shape.
EUBANK
Then how did they get in the prisoner’s cell?
CLARKSON
(Shrugs)
I guess they found the keys.
EUBANK
Was Chief Harrell able to identify any of the men
who broke into his jail?
CLARKSON
Harrell told me he was under his desk the whole time
until them boys and their Peacemaker Colts were long gone.
ELIANA
(Clears
her throat…
Sheriff, I have a few questions.
CLARKSON
Sure, Judge, whatever you want.
ELIANA
Do you remember the slave patrols in Texas before and
during the War of Rebellion?
CLARKSON
(Nods…
Yes, Ma’am, my daddy told me about them before he
passed.
ELIANA
Did he tell you why they were formed?
CLARKSON
Yes, Ma’am. To capture Colored property who had
escaped their owners.
ELIANA
(Nods…
That’s right, and when we’re done here, I want you
to find Grady Sturgeon, Chief Harrell, Mr. Frasier, Pitt McGrew, John Brown,
Wood Murrell, Sam Colt, and anyone else who was involved and remind them that Texas
law no longer means vigilante justice and slave patrols.
CLARKSON
(Nods…
That’s a right good idea, Judge, but they’ll just say
CLARKSON
(con’t)
that when the only dogs that bite you are black, you
learn real quick to either cross the street or pick up a club when you see one
coming.
ELIANA
(Firm…
Do it anyway.
CLARKSON
(Spits in cuspidor…
Yes, Ma’am. I’ll get right on it.
EUBANK
Sheriff Clarkson, you were there when Judge Denton
and I tendered the confessions to the Arthur brothers. Do you remember if they
gave any reasons prior to making their marks of guilt?
CLARKSON
Well, it was like Judge Ben said, I remember some opinions.
They said, ‘You white folks are all the time going on like an empty wagon, all
noise and carryin’ nothin’, and maybe you caught you a couple of black mockingbirds
but it ain’t even dove season’.
EUBANK
Did either brother say what happened while they were
still on the Hodges land?
CLARKSON
Scott Arthur, their father, and a sister were
helping load their traps on a rented Paris Livery truck when old J.H. and his
son William came on down to see what was happening. They said the old man watched
awhile until they dropped something and then said, ‘You dropped something’ and
when they asked him what, he said, ‘Your ass if you step out of line.’ Then Will
grabbed their sister and said he was going to keep her company up at the house until
they either unloaded the truck and got back to work or paid what was owed at
the company store. Irving said they didn’t owe any money because the green
monkey in charge was an accountant who can’t count, but Will grabbed their
sister and took her up to the house anyway.
EUBANK
How old were the Arthur brothers, Sheriff?
CLARKSON
They were old enough to kill people…
ELIANA
I didn’t hear that, Sheriff.
CLARKSON
Well, Ma’am, the paper said Herman was nineteen and
Irving was twenty-seven, but they gave different ages in
CLARKSON (con’t)
later editions. Irving was the one who served
overseas during the Great War, and I figure the Army taught him how to shoot
before he left.
EUBANK
What happened after Will Hodges took their sister up
to the house?
CLARKSON
Well, they stood around awhile trying to figure out
what to do and then they heard a scream. Herman said that was when Irving
grabbed their daddy’s double barreled goose gun.
EUBANK
Did anyone try to stop him?
CLARKSON
(Smiles…
You don’t try to stop someone who’s carrying a
loaded double barreled ten gauge shotgun, Eubank. Even I know that.
(Pause…
Anyway, Herman followed his brother up to the house and
when they went in the bedroom they saw blood spatter on the corn-husk mattress
and their sister scared and sort of scrunched up against the headboard.
HUTCHINSON
(Stands…
Objection! Hearsay!
EUBANK
Your Honor, this testimony
should be considered dying declarations one day before by both Arthurs were taken
from jail by a mob and then to the Lamar County fairgrounds where they were
lynched.
ELIANA
(Gavels)
Objection denied...
HUTCHINSON
(Sits)
EUBANK
Sheriff, did Will Hodges
say anything when the Arthur brothers entered the bedroom?
CLARKSON
I wasn’t there, Eubank.
EUBANK
Let me put it another way.
Did either of the Arthurs say that Will Hodges said anything?
CLARKSON
‘Even a blind squirrel gets an acorn once in a
while’.
EUBANK
And..?
CLARKSON
And that was when Irving said he pulled the first trigger
and tore away some of Will’s trousers. The other trigger got him upside of the
neck as he was falling down.
EUBANK
Did they say what J.H. Hodges was doing while this
was going on?
CLARKSON
They said he came running in the door after the
shots were fired waving that birds-eye grip ‘Thunder and Lightning’ two caliber
pistol he always carried.
EUBANK
Did they shoot him?
CLARKSON
Did who shoot him, Eubank?
EUBANK
To the best of your knowledge, did anyone shoot J.H.
Hodges?
CLARKSON
Well, Doc Geron said the old man’s brains were
scatter-gunned on the bedroom wall and his son had long ago bled
CLARKSON (con’t)
out on the bedroom floor. So, I guess you could say the
old man got shot by someone who was there, and the Arthurs were the only ones
left.
EUBANK
(Goes
to attorney table/ /removes two legal briefs
from his briefcase /approaches ELIANA…
Your Honor, I was in the jail at the same time as Sheriff
Clarkson. The Sheriff’s recollection of events is also what I remember. My deposition
is offered as corroborating testimony.
(Gives one
brief to ELIANA…
ELIANA
(Accepts brief…
Accepted in evidence for the prosecution…
EUBANK
(Turns/offers
other brief to HUTCHINSON seated at other counsel
table)
HUTCHINSON
(Takes brief…
EUBANK
(Faces CLARKSON…
What did the Arthurs say
happened next?
CLARKSON
That they went to Oklahoma because it wasn’t in
Texas.
EUBANK
What happened to their sister?
CLARKSON
(Silent)
ELIANA
You put her in jail.
CLARKSON
(Hesitates…
Well Ma’am, we did keep her with the family but that
was for her peace of mind.
EUBANK
After Herman and Irving Arthur were broken out of jail,
do you know what happened to them?
CLARKSON
When I got back to town, I asked around. It seems the
two prisoners were carried from jail to the Lamar County fairgrounds where a
place of execution had already been provided. They were tied to the same stake,
wet down with Texaco White and fired up. They said it smelled like blood and
burning turpentine and the Arthur brothers were black and white and red all
over.
HUTCHINSON
(Stands/outraged…
Objection! Hearsay! The witness was out of town!
ELIANA
(Gavels…
Sustained…
HUTCHINSON
(Sits…
CLARKSON
Then, I heard someone borrowed Judge Ben’s car, tied
the Arthur bodies to the back bumper and drug ‘em through the yards of Black
Town.
HUTCHINSON
(Stands…
Objection! Hearsay! The witness was out of town!
ELIANA
(Gavels…
Sustained…
(Incredulous…
So, the prisoners were apparently broken out of
jail, burned at the stake and then their bodies were dragged through the property
of their neighbors?
CLARKSON
I guess…
CLARKSON (con’t)
(Spits in cuspidor…
See Paris and die.
ELIANA
(Sad…
You made your name.
CLARKSON
(Contrite…
Ma’am, there was an
opinion that the burning was justified, but the dragging of the dead bodies made
it an act of inhuman cruelty.
ELIANA
(Cold…
Sheriff, the only opinion here that matters is mine.
CLARKSON
(Embarassed…
Yes, Ma’am,
ELIANA
Do you
remember what I said about vigilante justice?
CLARKSON
Yes, Ma’am, no more slave patrols and to pass the
word to those who were involved.
ELIANA
(Nods…
And I’ll be asking Judge
Ben to verify you did just what you’ve promised the court.
CLARKSON
Yes, Ma’am, I’ll get right
to it.
ELIANA
Mr. Eubank, has the State of Texas any further
questions of this witness?
EUBANK
No, Ma’am.
ELIANA
The witness is excused.
CLARKSON
(Reaches
in cuspidor/removes badge/wipes and pins
on shirt/spits chaw in cuspidor/stands…
ELIANA
Do you think you’ll ever
stop drinking whiskey, Sheriff?
CLARKSON
(Surprised/removes
bagged bottle/drinks…
Ma’am, this is wine, and
drinkin’ Paris, Texas, wine is like pickin’ tall cotton. It looks good, it
feels good, and it goes easy in the sack.
CLARKSON (con’t)
(Replaces bottle in pocket)
ELIANA
(Serious…
Don’t come back.
CLARKSON
Yes, Ma’am, whatever you
say.
(Puts on hat/adjusts pistol belt/exits)
SCENE 6
ELIANA
The court will now hear
closing arguments. Mr. Hutchinson?
HUTCHINSON
(Stands…
Your honor, my client asks
the court to dismiss for cause. Cause on the grounds that the State of Texas
has not only failed to provide additional evidence sufficient for the defendant
to commit the crime but also because this case was not brought to trial within
a reasonable time.
ELIANA
Mr. Eubank?
EUBANK
Your Honor, this was one
of the most heinous crimes ever committed in the State of Texas. Testimony from
the Lamar County District Judge and County Sheriff has established this before
the eyes of justice.
ELIANA
The eyes of justice are
covered and she is blind, Mr. Eubank.
(Pause…
Sometimes I think P.H. Sheridan was right at Fort
Clark when he said, ‘If I owned Hell and Texas, I’d rent out Texas and live
in Hell.’ This is a case of face from the summer of 1920 in Paris, Texas, and
has gained such notoriety and so much prejudice in Texas and surrounding states
that a trial alike, fair and impartial to the defendants couldn’t be had for
two years and still cannot.
(Gavels)
Cause, on the grounds of insufficient evidence to
commit the crime, being heard in open court, this case is dismissed.
EUBANK & HUTCHINSON
(Turn to leave…
ELIANA
Just a moment, I have my own
judgment of Paris.
EUBANK & HUTCHINSON
(Return together…
ELIANA
‘Droit du seigneur’ known as
“The Right of The Lord” for conjugal favors from tenants may be a custom still
practiced in Europe but it is not recognized in Texas.
EUBANK & HUTCHINSON
(Together…
Yes, Ma’am.
ELIANA
Mr. Hutchinson, a new country has just been formed in
Asia by a man named Lenin.
HUTCHINSON
Yes, Ma’am.
ELIANA
His Commissar of Justice put it this way, ‘We
must execute not only the guilty. Execution of the innocent will impress the
masses even more.’ Your clients
would probably do very well over there.
HUTCHINSON
Yes, Ma’am.
ELIANA
The court also
thinks five men are needed to repair the barbed wire fence on the Red River
border of Oklahoma
(Pause…
on the Texas side…
HUTCHINSON
Yes, Ma’am. Garland is always looking for men who
know how to string wire and have their own tools.
ELIANA
Mr. Eubank?
EUBANK
Ma’am?
ELIANA
Remind the Judge of the 6th District
Court to keep his car doors locked.
EUBANK
Yes, Ma’am.
ELIANA
(Gavels)
The 59th District Court is adjourned. God
bless Texas.
(Stands/picks up apple/takes
bite…
I’ve always thought there
was some Negro blood in the family.
(Exits…
SCENE 7
EUBANK & HUTCHINSON
(Return
to
attorney tables/pack briefcases ……
HUTCHINSON
(Faces EUBANK/offers handshake…
Nice seeing you again.
EUBANK
(Returns handshake…
You too, are you coming back?
HUTCHINSON
I was never here.
EUBANK & HUTCHINSON
(Exit together…
THE END
OF Paris, Texas
Acknowledgments: This docudrama is taken from public
domain records in the Grayson County Courthouse, Sherman, Texas. All character
names (with the exception of the Presiding Judge) and document quotations are
matters of fact. The pledge of allegiance is as it was in 1922.
(Scene Sequence)
Scene Page(s) Character(s)
AT RISE (4) Hutchinson/Denton
1 (4-5) Clarkson/Denton
2 (6) Eubank/Hutchinson
3 (6-10)
Eliana/Denton/Eubank/Hutchinson/Clarkson
4 (11-26)
Eubank/Denton/Eliana/Hutchinson/Clarkson
5 (26-53)
Eliana/Eubank/Clarkson/Hutchinson
6 (53-56) Eliana/Hutchinson/Eubank
7 (57) Eubank/Hutchinson
Performance time: Approximately
sixty minutes (60’)
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