Amarillo Sunday News-Globe (Amarillo, Tex.), Vol. 13, No. 33, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 14, 1938 Page: 46 of 264
two hundred sixty four pages : ill. ; page 23 x 18 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
,'AOZ TWENTY-TWO—SECTION A
AMARILIjO RTTNDAY NEWS AND niiOBE, AMARnLLO. TEXAS.
OOIiDEN ANNIVEKHAJIY EDITION, lnriR,
/
One-Man Police Department Crows
By FRED POST
Amarlllo'i first police department
was J. A. Williams, who bore the
title of city marshal.
At the first meeting of the first
council, April 11, 1892, it was de-
cided the city marshal should be
paid $75 a month and that he give
bond of $1,000.
Mr. Williams posted the bond at
the next meeting, April 19, 1892.
He also served as tax collector.
After the initial injunction
Marshal Williams was at the first
meeting of the :ity council, May
84. 1893. I
Wrote Alderman T. B. Hlnkle as
•ecretary pro tem:
"It is moved and seconded that
J. A. Williams continue as marshal
of the city, his resignation by ac-
cepting the office of constable
pending the suspension of the city
council not being accepted or filled
by appointment of his successor
and his salary as such from this
time to be agreed upon at the
next meeting of the council."
But the city was enjoined again
and by the time *he council met,
January 2, 1894, the city marshal
had left not only the city, but also
the county and state so B. B. Hay-
den was appointed marshal, assessor
and collector. He was to receive
fees and no ex officio salary and
was required to post $2,000 bond.
• • *
Amarillo's econd city marshal
was the father of George Hayden,
now a member of the police de-
partment.
Mr. Williams had not been paid
for his services as the first marshal,
so the city council on January 17,
1894. issued $300 in script as the
balance due him. The day before
the city council had decided Mar-
shal Hayden should be paid $25 a
month ex officio salary "and in
addition thereto he shall receive as
marshal the same fees of office as
constable in similar cases and also
he shall receive for his services as
7, 1908. He was elected % third
time, April 5, 1910.
The late John Speed was elected
marshal, April 2, 1912. Just 17 days
later the city council parsed over
the mayor's veto an ordinance de-
fining the powers and duties of the
city marshal.
The council then proceeded to
appoint E. S. Hughes and H. L.
Boyles as policemen.
The council, September 19, 1912,
authorized the police department to
use the city hall for a dance.
• • •
When John Snider was elected
city marshal the first time the
city marshal several times, served
as police chief from May 8, 1923
until December IS. 1923 and three
days later Clark Cain was recom-
mended and accepted as police
chlcf, effective, January 1, 1924.
Nine days later Chief Cain recom-
mended the appointment of the
present chief, W. R. McDowell, as
a patrolman.
Other police department, heads
were C. J. Blackwell. Jack Vest,
who was an acting police chief and
H. L. Gaither.
* • •
Equipped with a radio station to
direct prowl cars, which have bul-
•v .
-■
Judge Mcllroy for his daughter,
waa recovered \7ith the nrrest.
And the first official broadcast
from the police department's sta-
tion, W5XF, resulted In the cap-
ture of W. H. By bee, long-time
criminal who had escaped from
Eastham prison farm under the
daring Barrows barrage.
Both apprehensions have fur-
nished much copy for detective
magazines.
Amarillo's police department, also
equipped with an identification bu-
reau, keeps step with crime preven-
tion and detection meth ds by de-
tailing its officers to special schools.
Capt. Sid Harper of the traffic
squad is ft graduate of the national
traffic school conducted by North-
western University at Chicago and
Detective Captain Leo Useldlng Just
this year took a three months'
course at the Federal Burpau of
Identification School in Washing-
ton, D. C.
Ignition (.are
o
Freighter
By MRS. J. M. WINCHESTER
George Atkinson came to the
Panhandle In 1880 with a friend
who was freighting supplies to
Tascosa.
He liked the country and the
people, and considered it an op-
portunity for a young man. Leav-
ing his old home in Jack County,
he started a regular freight line
between IV dge City and Tascosa,
using a ln-mule team. Going back
for the winter, he arrived In time
to see the Indians kill and scalp
his old friend and neighbor, Green
Lasslter,
In this fight the white men shot
at the Indians from ambush, but In
crawling through the bushes, Green
was cut off from his companions,
killed and scalped, while his friends,
being out of ammunition, were
powerless to prevent it. "Little
Green," Lassiter's son, came to the
Panhandle shortly after the Atkin-
sons and was their neighbor for
many years.
While freighting across the plains,
Atkinson had a good opportunity
to look over the country, and when
the land was opened for settlement,
he Immediately filed on a claim
on Rita Blanca Creek. He bought
Literally thousands of little jars
with metal tops line the shelves,
and in them are more thousands of
tiny bolts, nuts, scirw. and^umer- _ _ ^ rle
ous parts for automotive and trac- > confilderable land ad|0ininR lt pav
tor ignition systems in from 10 ,0 2 ^ for n Hr
h 'rnmnanvInc The * home for his family in
Ve h i n- thp «vpraep rttiz'rn is an old r0rk h°usp. which had brcn
that of^ewllderme^it but it Ls simple I built previous to their comine. They
had secured a pasture. The drouth
lasted for seven years In varying
Intensity, before good seasons came
again.
Mr. Atkinson was always con-
sidered a "good boss," and the
cowboys liked to work for him. He
always had a "waiting list."
One old Swede came to the ranch
and asked for a job. He was work-
ing for Jess Jenkins at the time,
but wanted to have his "name In"
when Atkinson would need more
help. It was Just after a big bliz-
zard and many cattle had drifted
away and frozen to death. The
cowmen said very little about the
number lost, as of course, it would
Injure their credit to have It known.
Now, John Swan&on, knowing this,
said in applying for the Job:
"Me, I don't talk a lot and- tell
boss' business; I just work hard
and keep my mouth shut."
"Well, that's fine," said Atkinson.
"By the way—how did Jenkins get,
through the storm? Did he lose
many cattle?"
"I don't know, I didn't ride the
range yet," observed Swanson cau-
tiously, "but I counted a hundred
dead around the coral."
Mr. Atkinson bought a number
of brands, among the best known
was the X O.
Two of the Atkinson girls have
lived in Amarillo for many years.
Needed Room
"Well, the twins were born, and
I decided Chicago was too small
a place to bring tJiem up In. They
needed lots of room."
In those words B. C. Elliott of
the Elliott-Greer Office Supply
Company summed up his reason for
coming to Amarillo.
Although born near Sweetwater,
Tex Mr. Elliott migrated to Chi-
cago after graduating from Hardin-
Slmmons, and th"re engaged in
selling for a steel filing cabinet
company.
Meantime, his prcsrnt partner, Mr,
E O. Greer, was working as an
accountant for the Gates Rubber
Company and later for the Armour
Company packing plant In Denver.
The firm of Elllott-Greer original-
ly was started here In Amarillo by
Mr. Elliott, who said he had sur-
veyed the potentialities of the area
and concluded lt offered a fine
field for the office supply business.
He arrived in Amarillo in June,
1925.
At first he sold "from the rata-
They are Miss Ella Atkinson and
Mrs. Harry Hartgraves. There are
three Hartgraves children,
of Austin, and June and
Hartgraves of Canyon.
logue," representing a Chicago firm,
but he soon s.iw the need of a
permanent business address and
store. While in Chicago he married
Mr. Greer's sister, so when he de-
cided to open a business here h
wired the Denver man, who came
to Amarillo immediately.
In April, 1926, the partners op-
ened their first store at 715 Polk
Street. They handled office sup-
plies, office furniture and filing
equipment. Value of that first stock
wa.s about $1,500.
Today the firm considers I he en-
tire Panhandle-Plains it.s territory
being the largest, exclusive office
supp'v firm In the area.
Early in 1927 the firm lea.-.ed of-
fice space In the Oliver-Eakle Build-
ing, just completed. The present
store, at 508 Taylor Street, was open-
ed May 1, 1931.
Elliott-Greer is especially proud
of the fine lines of office furni-
ture and filing equipment.
The largest- single order the firm
ever has filled was the furnishing
of the general offices of the Santa
Fe Railroad in the Santa Fe Build-
ing. It was the largest single order
of steel furniture and equipment
ever shipped into Texas—32 car-
loads in all.
E. V. Graham of Odessa says that
Walt j antelopes used to follow hts buggy
Anne 1 across the Plains, 50 or 60 of them in
a group.
enough for Jack Gentry, manager,,
who has been with the company then moved to Hartley so that
the last eight years. the chllrtlpn could go to school.
The Automotive Electric Company,
Inc.. is owned by Fred Smith and H.
L. Carter. The firm has a branch
In Lubbock.
The company recently dropped the
wholesale business and discontinued
' e Willard battery wholesale ac-
counts here and at Lubbock, retain-
ing the retail business, It is a fac-
tory authorized service station for
Robert Bosch, American Bosch, In-
ternational, Sc.entilla, Bendlx, Fair-
banks-Morse and John Deere mag-
netoes, and the Lubbock branch also
Is an authorized service station for
Deleo-R.emv and Autolite ignition
lived here for a number of years
AMARILLO'S FIRST mounted policeman furnished
his own horse, but the city furnished the feed.
assessor and collector five per cent | bowery was "going strong" and let-proof windshields, and also • sys,te^f°r,Jr^
for collecting the occupation and although elected to uphold the law equipped with an armory, which which also Includes starters and g
ad valorem taxes and five cents on | on one occasion the officer in- ! includes the latest mob-quelling | erarors.
the dollar of «.he assessed valuation i structed saloon keepers to break , weapon, gas, Amarillo's police de- wno came u> nm
of the nrooertv " the anri remain open after Sat- partment has gone a long way from r 110 y 1925 . *
"The advalorem tax was one- urday jnidnight to give.shelter to its one-man force, the city marshal, electrl^cj^bouTht°the business in
1932 from L. J. Simmons, for whom
he had worked during the four years
preceding. Smith later was Joined
by Carter, who is one of the present
stockholders.
The business was started by La-
mar Caldwell In 1912, later sold to
T. M. Caldwell, and still later to
E. W. Glenn and Harris Ledford.
They ran lt six years, until Simmons
became the owner in 1928.
The Lubbock branch, of which W.
L Martin Is manager, was opened
in 1930, and a Perrytoij warehouse
was opened in 1932.
tax was one-
fourth of one oer rent, and thfre some 200 men who could not find Crime in Amarillo for years has
was a poll tax of $1 assessed against! lodging. | been kept at low ebb, as compared
each male between the ages of 21 Tlle city marshal, John Speed, | with other cities of the same size
i 11.. i i-.-. i < i in the united States. Reports com
piled by the Federal Bureau of In
mtssion, April 9. 1914. vestigation substantiate that state
Appointments to the department ment.
I since then have been made upon
time Amarillo was electing its city thgJ recommendatlon and on May
marshal and F. M. Ong was the , Ra manager,
successful candidate at the elec- ; appolnted Noble Durkee a m0Unted
tion, April 26, 1899. | |M,]lceman (Durkee to furnish the
E. E. Simpson was among the horse) gnd Tjm sklpworth_ patrol_
and 60 vears became the first police chief, having
Again a suit stymied the city been appointed by the first corn-
council and there were no more
meetings until May 4, 1899. This j
He was ap-
rnan. The mounted policeman was
first deputy marshals.
pointed July 35, 1899. to be reimbursed by the city for
Among the earliest duties of the )lorse jeed
marshal, although there was a ^ this Was back In the days Ipollce department lost invaluable
health officer, was to see that sanl- 0f tiie high helmet and then came members, Capt. Pres Burnam, who
One of Amarillo's biggest crime
waves came early in 1934. For the
first three months of that year
it was "touch and go" for the po-
lice department. In the first 90
days of that year there were seven
fatal shootings.
In two gun battles the Amarillo
tary laws were enforced strictly.
Marshal Ong was busy as a col-
lector, too, for the treasurer re-
ported for the month ending, Sep-
tember 12, 1899, the marshal had
collected $745.85 In occupation tax,
$58.90 In dog tax and $4 In fines.
Marshal Ong was re-elected, April
J, 1900.
W. T. Skipworth was elected mar-
shal April 2, 1902, but Marshal
Skipworth soon was before the
mayor's court for the use of abusive
1916 when the commission thought nns a Plains pal of the late Will
it advisable for police, firemen and ' Ro?ers, and Chester Grounds, a
Inspectors to have regulation unl- ■ y°ung traffic officer.
forms.
J. B. Wheatley was appointed po-
lice chief, May 1, 1917 soon after
The slayers, both with prison
records, were accounted for, one re-
ceiving a life sentence and the other
Ion Marrs had been elected mayor ; falling to his death in a subse-
quent encounter with Amarillo po
lice.
One of the most sensational cap-
tures of the country was effected
and A. D. Armstrong was city
manager.
In June of 1918 the Amarillo po-
lice department got a patriotic
"break it up" order from the city here* when Chief McDowell. ...
commission. The minutes show the sisted by mert.bers of his depart-
language to and in the presence of i city manager was instructed to not • ment, took into custody Walter Mc-
hls honor. S. Lightburne. He was only request but also demand "the Gpp "brains" of the Mcllroy
fined $25 for contempt and Septem- j police department to prosecute all j "snatch1' at Kansas City.
ber 9, 1902 he resigned.
vagrants in the corporation court
Harrison Jackson was appointed ! under the vagrancy laws and that
Pity marshal. September 16. 1902, a!l able-bodied men in the city
but he resigned October 14 and the n0TV loafing or idle shall be corn-
next day Henry Leftwich was ap- i Pelled to work or fight for their
pointed. He appointed T. A. Heart j country's cause."
as deputy. I chief Jerome Wheatley resigned.
• • • May 1, 1919, and Charles M. Davis
Whether C. Henry Leftwich eon- j became head of the police depart-
Much of the ransom paid by
Frank Mitchell: "Scotty Wilson
had a peculiar way of snorting when
he spoke; began with 'Humph' in a
loud, rough voice. The teacher at
Tascosa could not cash her $85
voucher. Finally she went to
Scotty and said, 'Mr. Wilson, I can
not get my voucher cashed and I am
told that you have cash. Would you
take this for me?' Scotty gave a
snort so violent that the girl fell
back and started to run when Scotty
answered, 'Don't know who would
refuse a nice little girl like you.'
She went with him to his shack and
later told that he took a sock from
between the mattresses; lt, was so
full of rolls of bills that lt made
her eyes bug out. "
The first school in Hartley had
16 pupils and half of them were
Atkinson's. The teacher and his
wife who had come West for their
health were unusually well edu-
cated. The wife, a graduate of a
famous eastern conservatory of
nu j, gave lessons to the Atkin-
son children. Many people who
are not acquainted with the West,
think that the early day settlers
were crude and uncouth, but col-
lege-bred men and women, filled
with adventurous spirit, were among
the builders of the West and
brought with them ;.he customs and
culture of their childhood.
• * *
While the Atkinsons lived in the
"the rock house," they constantly
watched for "rises" on the creek.
Sometimes the water would fill the
canyon and come up into the house.
Calves and colts too small to swim
out were often drowned in these
sudden rises. Great trees would
be uprooted and boulders dislodged.
Every winter would bring a big
blizzard or two, and they often had
to "dig out" the hen-house to keep
the chickens from freezing. Mrs.
Hartgraves, one of the Atkinson
girls, recalls some drifts so deep
and so hard-packed, that one could
walk from the ridge pole of the
house to the corrals without break-
ing through.
In 1896 little rain fell and the
ranges were brown as winter in
the middle of June. Creeks dried
up and wells failed. Mr. Atkinson
was obliged to take his herd out
of the country. It was a never-to-
be-forgotten sight, the 10,000 head
strung out over the trail on the
way to Tyrone, Okla., where he
As Amarillo Enters Its 50th Year
we begin oull fourth!
A." mtpr our fourth ynr frp' our Infnnrr n.* romparrrj wifh who or« nb|p to rplrbrato
their fifftrth anniversary—but u*p btp proud our rnpld growth and take this opportunity to thank
those who by their patronage have made thla growth possible.
<<y-.*vrv-
! •; 'is:'v'ti'.-.
. -V '
HUGH GATLIN
MANAGER
MRS. HUGH GATLIN
gatlin glass & paint co.
DEALERS FOR MOUNTAIN AND PLAINS PAINTS, VARNISHES AND ENAMELS.
417-B East Tenth - Amarillo
tinued as city marshal is not on
record, but on September 8, 1903,
he was allowed $503.40 for assessing
and completing the tax rolls and
on December 22. 1903 he, Jim Fel-
lows and W. S. Bailey were appoint-
ed deputy marshals.
On the first of March, 1904, the
ment.
Chief Davis recommended the
appointment of Jim Keeton, who
became a traffic patrolman, Decem-
ber V,. 1919, and iater became chief
of police.
As chief, Jim Keeton requested
another man for his force, Novem-
cit-y attorney was Instructed to ; ber 1, 1921. "Cold weather is corn-
draw up ordinances separating the mg on and I anticipate lots of
office of city marshal and collector trouble during the winter months,"
and creating separate offices for he said.
the assessor and collector. Chief Keeton evidently knew what
At the next election, April 5, 1904. psychologists determined long ago—
J. W. Britt became city marshal \ that more crime against property is
and F. M. Ong, who had been the j committed in winter and more
first elected city marshal of Ama- . crime against persons is committed
rillo was elected assessor-collector, j in summer.
the Joh which theretofore had gone
hand-in-hand with that of city
marshal.
Marshal Britt on September 13,
1904 appointed as his deputy John
Snider, who for many year* has
been a member of the force, aerv-
fpg as marshal and chief, plain-
elothesman and detective.
Back In 1905 the city had a
night watchman and among hla
other duties was to check the num-
ber of street lights burning.
John Snider was elected city
marshal for the first time, April
3 1906. He posted a $1,000 bond
signed hv R. R. Wheatley, ,7. H.
Boyce, H. C. Harding and William
Harrell.
Marshal Snider, upon taking of-
fice, was authorized to "employ one
more night watchman to work In
the bowery district at a salary of
$40 a month."
Mr. Snider wa* re-elected, April
John Snider, who had been elected
I ere I hirty Years
Serving San Jacinto eight year* with
a modern neighborhood drug jtore.
We make our own ice cream each day.
SPEER DRUG STORE
Sixth and Mississippi Phone 9212
MRS. GOULD S
ESTABLISHED
1930
SPECIALIZES IN
* Cleaning
* Pressing
* Alterations
* Dyeing
Our work Is guaranteed to !
give Satisfaction, and we ap-
preciate your business.
WE CALL FOR AND
DELIVER
110 Eait 5th StrMf
PHONE 2-2560
We are at this time glad to participate in thi*
50th Anniversary Celebration in honor of those
ruggpd pioneers who made our present day
prosperity possible.
Bruce E. Au+ry
Southwestern Printing Co.
PRINTING SATISFACTION
Khone 6577 Oliver-Eakle Bldg.
AMARILLO. TEXAS
We Believe
♦ ♦ ♦
the next fifty years will bring as largo a progress and as
great an increase in rpal estate values as the past fifty
years have brought to the High Plains Area.
Hugo M. Loewenstern Co.
3 15 POLK ST,
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
BUSINESS LEASES
CITY PROPER1Y
INVESTMENTS
REALTORS
AMARILLO
Member Society of Residential Appraisers
PHONE 2-2228
RANCHES
FARMS
LOANS
• • #
Since 191 5
[Yaka Visa Hereford Ranch
Hugo H. Loewenstern, Prop.
Specializing In
Good Range
of Anxiety <Hh Breeding
#
RANCH 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF NARA VISA, N. M.
ON MAIN LINE OF ROCK ISLAND
WRITE
NARA VISA, NEW MEXICO
or
315 POLK ST.
AMARILLO, TEXAS
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Amarillo Sunday News-Globe (Amarillo, Tex.), Vol. 13, No. 33, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 14, 1938, newspaper, August 14, 1938; Amarillo, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth299921/m1/46/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hutchinson County Library, Borger Branch.