A ghastly murder convulses Broward County as it involves the elite.

ON TRIAL;

WILLIAM A. (BILL) HICKSby Marlyn Kemper

On Thursday, July 7, 1927, William A. (Bill)Hicks, former Broward County chief deputy sheriffand first exalted ruler of Fort Lauderdale ElksLodge 1517, was arrested on a charge offirst-degree murder . At the time of his arrest,Hicks was working on an appeal of his contestedelection to the office of justice of the peace.

The warrant for Hicks ' arrest had been swornout by C. W. Barber, brother of the murderedRobert Reese Barber whose naked, mutilated ,disemboweled and gunshot-riddled body had beenfound floating in the Dania Cut-Off Canal near thejunction of the east coast canal (now IntracoastalWaterway) by a small boy on August 10, 1925.When the grisly murder was discovered Hicks,then chief deputy sheriff, attended the coroner'sinquest with County Judge Fred B. Shippey. Averdict was returned that' 'Barber met his death atunknown hands."

Special courtesy was shown to Hicks byarresting officers Robert Kendall and Lucian Craigwhile they escorted him to the courthouse.Shackles and handcuffs , usually placed onprisoners charged with first-degree murder, werenot used on Hicks . Hicks entered a plea of notguilty before Judge Shippey and, through hisattorney C. E. Farrington, demanded bail befixed and an immediate hearing be set. Hisrequests were denied ; and he then was locked upat noon in the second tier of cells in the county jailwhere he had lived as warden.

Hicks next tried to seek release from jailthrough writ of habeas corpus proceedings beforeCircuit Judge Vincent Giblin on Friday, July 8.Assisted by Thomas Lockhart, attorney C. E.Farrington claimed that Hicks was being incarcer­ated illegally. Witnesses were placed on the stand

Marlyn Kemper received her B.A. from FinchCollege and M.A. in Anthropology from TempleUniversity. She has authored several series ofworks in history including a revision STANDARDHISTORY OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION OFPHILADELPHIA, Konkle and Henry, 1897 (1976).She currently serves as Public Information Officerfor the Broward County Historical Commissionand writes "County History" as a weekly featureof the Fort Lauderdale News and Sun Sentinel.

Top photograph: William A. (Bill)Hicks, Justice of the Peace and formerChief Deputy Sheriff of Broward Coun­ty. The picture was taken just prior toHicks ' arrest on July 7, 1927 for thebrutal murder of Robert Reese Barber,pictured at the bottom. Courtesy FortLauderdale News

and stated that the body for which Hicks was beingheld on a charge of first-degree murder was neverpositively identified as Robert Reese Barber and,in fact, that the corpse was originally thought to bethat of store clerk Joe Juliene. Hicks was deniedthe writ and his case was turned over to the grandjury which convened in special session to

8

determine if there were sufficient grounds to holdhim on a true bill for the alleged murder.

Reaction to Hicks ' arrest was swift and variedfrom both his backers, who were dismayed despiteefforts to rationalize his innocence , to his foes whocirculated stories linking Hicks to the murderedman. On December 29, 1924, Robert ReeseBarber, a carpenter by trade, had been sentencedto seven months in the county jail for petit larceny.While serving out his sentence, Barber worked onsome houses being constructed by Hicks, thenwarden, in Progresso. When Hicks failed to payhim , Barber filed a complaint with the localcarpenters' union. Meantime, upon release ,Barber was apprehended twice again for issuingbad checks. In July 1925 Barber was found guiltyof assault and battery on Hicks and paid a fine andcourt cost amounting to $16.46. A month laterBarber disappeared from his quarters over the oldpost office at the DeSoto Hotel on Brickell Avenue(now NW-SW First Avenue).

Wesley Corell and Steadman Gray, allegedeyewitnesses to Barber's murder, arrived at thetrain depot in the darkness of night. Under heavyguard, their transfer to the county jail caused newgossip and speculation. To prevent tampering withtheir testimony, state's attorney Louis Marie andhis associate Thomas Farmer placed Corell andGray in the custody of an armed deputy and barredvisitors from seeing or speaking with them in theircells until their scheduled appearances before thegrand jury. Subsequently, Corell and Graycorroborated the story that they had accompaniedHicks when he visited Barber in his hotel roomand, with a faked warrant from Dade County,forced him into a car and drove to thesouthwestern section of the city where on August8, 1925, he was shot, castrated, and thrown into acanal. On Monday, July 11, at 4:43 p.m., thegrand jury, through foreman Fred Wertz, indictedHicks on a charge of murdering Robert ReeseBarber and stated that Hicks did willfully and withmalice aforethought and with premeditated designeffect Barber's death , the motive being bad bloodbetween the former chief deputy and the jailtrusty .

Judge Giblin, who had been appointed byGovernor John Martin when the Florida legisla­ture created the twenty-second judicial circuit inwhich Broward was the only county, requestedthat a new jurist try Hicks. Giblin claimed that hewas personally prejudiced against the defendant.Judge Lexie Parks of Tampa, who was subse­quently assigned to preside , initially disqualifiedhimself when he discovered that the executiveorder coming from Tallahassee, countersigned bySecretary of State Crawford, did not bear the

signature of Governor John Martin but was madeout by Bessie Porter, Martin's typist.

While awaiting news of the date of his trialand the name of the presiding judge, Hicks wasdenied the company of his wife Gertrude and hissister Mrs . Mabel Dagbill; no one saw him excepta delegation of Elks and his attorneys . Duringexercise sessions in the prison yard Hicks duckedhis head whenever he saw news reporters takinghis picture .

Before the week was out, Maire announcedthat he would summon Governor John Martin as awitness for the prosecution of Hicks . Martin hadnot yet been subpoenaed because he was onvacation in the north. Maire stated that Martin 'stestimony would confirm the fact that thecarpenters' union had notified him, protesting themanner in which Barber had been forced to workwithout pay on buildings for Hicks. Barber alsowas alleged to have written a letter to theGovernor and to have received a reply. In fact,friends of Barber claimed that shortly before hewas murdered Barber was compiling evidenceagainst Hicks on charges of peonage, a federaloffense. This information was supposedly takenfrom Barber's body and torn to shreds by Hicks atthe time of the killing.

On July 31, 1927, Hicks ' defense attorneysfiled a sixteen page application with Circuit CourtJudge Lexie Parks requesting a change of venue.Parks had been reassigned to the case pendingagainst Hicks by Governor Martin upon Martin'sreturn to Tallahassee. Contained within thisdocument was an affidavit by Hicks outlining thereasons why he was so odious to a largepercentage of potential jurors that he could neverobtain a fair and impartial trial in Broward.Initially, Hicks stated that his active enforcementof prohibition laws incurred the enmity of thebootlegging element which included a large part ofthe male electors and male citizens from whichcircuit jurors were drawn. Hicks further pointedout that , as a consequence of Sheriff Paul Bryan'sbelief that he gave information leading to federalraids in which the sheriff and his deputies, alongwith local police officers, were arrested forviolation of the liquor laws, Bryan conspired withcounty officials and political bosses to have Hicksput away on an alleged legal infraction. Hicksdeclared that he also incensed municipal officialsshortly after the hurricane of September 1926when he brought about an end to the illegalmartial law declared by the mayor. Subsequently,Hicks was discharged from the sheriff's office.Shortly afterwards, when Hicks was elected justiceof the peace, he stated that county commissionersrefused to recognize him and sought to prevent

9

II I!i

Original Broward County Courthouse in FortLauderdale, scene of the first Hicks trial.

him from discharging his duties by reason of theirfear that, through his enforcement of the law, hewould apprehend officers who were, in fact , notonly neglecting to take criminals into custody butwere actually receiving bribes for the protection ofracketeers. Hicks concluded his affidavit by citinginflammatory headlines and sensational coverageof his arrest by the FORT LAUDERDALE DAILYNEWS, read by almost every man in the county, asunduly prejudicial and by calling attention tobiased statements made by Circuit Judge Giblinfrom the bench, which led to the general opinionthat he was guilty as charged in the indictment.

In a rebuttal of Hicks' statements, Maire andFarmer produced depositions that, while acting aschief deputy sheriff of Broward County , Hicks hada reputation for being associated with bootleggersand even had received kickbacks from speak­easies operating along Dixie Highway. The state'sattorneys also denied chargers that the car-

penters' union had raised a slush fund for theprosecution of Hicks. Thereafter, municipalofficials swore that there had never been aconspiracy to do away with Hicks on a framedcharge. The prosecution then spent more than anhour reading declarations signed by John Cook,Mayor of Pompano; G. E. Butler, Mayor ofDeerfield; J . Stephans, City Clerk of Deerfield; H.J . Singleton, Supervisor of County Registrationand C. C. Freeman, City Manager of Hollywood,alleging that Hicks would be accorded a fair andimpartial trial. Hicks' application for a change ofvenue was denied by Judge Parks and the trialagainst Hicks was set for Monday, September 5,1927.

On Sunday, July 10, Hicks was dealt anotherblow in jail. A local abstract company served himwith papers of foreclosure on property he held inFort Lauderdale. As a consequence, a month laterHicks filed a motion with Judge Parks for

10

insolvency. However, when put on the stand headmitted selling forty lots in Progresso for$10,000, of which $2,500 had been paid to hiscounsel for thei r fees and expenses . His motionwas den ied.

Upon ascending the bench at 11:00 a.m, onMonday, September 5, Judge Parks picked out ofa box the nam es of those individuals , from a listdrawn up by county commis sioners , to besummoned to jury duty at the trial. After thetwelve mem bers of the regular jury were seated inthe jury box, defens e attorney Thomas Lockhartmoved· the court to quash the entire venirebecause the list from which the men were selectedhad not been properly signed by the chairman ofthe county commission; Charles Gordon , courtclerk, had failed to write the names properly on aspecial piece of paper; and the panel had beenserved by Sheriff Bryan and his deputies whohated Hicks . Lockhart even tried to make Bryanadmit on the stand that he had a warrant for Hicks'arrest in his pocket two months before it wasserved and that service had not been made untilthe grand jury was in session in July.

Judge Parks , however, den ied the defensecounsel 's motion for quashing the entire panel.The court proceedings continued. Seventy wit­nesses were subpoenaed. Every available seat inthe courtroom had been taken an hour before thecase was scheduled on the docket . Subsequently,Parks reprimanded spectators who laughed; heannounced that he would arrest anyone violatingthe decorum of the court.

Deputy Jessee Reese of Davie was put incharge of the jurors for the trial's duration. Thejury was composed of the following : C. A.Thornhill and A. H. Morford of Dania, EllsworthMains, Frank Stirling and William Brumby ofDavie, E. B. White and E. S. Mims of Deerfield,R. V. McBride of FJoranada, Roy Mcjunkin andOliver S. Peck of Fort Lauderdale, Charles Sandsof Pompano and H. T. Hamby of Progresso.

The most sensational testimony for the stateoccurred on Wednesday morning when DeputySheriff Jo tt Shiver recounted an office conversa­tion with Hicks about six months after Barber'sbody had been discovered. According to Shiver,Hicks confessed that he was forced to slashBarber's stomach when Barber did not heedwarnings to leave town. With knife in hand, Hickseven demonstra ted how he slit Barber. WhenShiver was asked to explain his reasons for notrelating this startling information to Sheriff Bryan ,Shiver stated " When Hicks was chief deputy hewas running the sheriff's office. If I told anyone ofthis conversation, one night on my way home toPompano the same thing would happen to me as

/

happened to Barber."County Judge Fred Shippey then took the

stand and testified that three weeks after Barber'sbody was discovered Hicks asked "if the goddamnBarbers associated him with the disappearance ofthei r brother." Judge Shippey replied that he hadhear rumors to that effect.

Another witness for the state, undertakerAmos Griffith, recalled a jailhouse conversationwith a distraught Hicks who intimated that he didnot want the body, found floating in the canal, tobe identified. Griffith replied that it was not hispurpose to identify any corpse. His job was to burythe body.

Throughout the proceedings, the defensebased the foundation of its case on the grounds ofconspiracy on the part of the sheriff and hisdeputies aga inst Hicks, stemming from theirarrests Thursday, J anu ary 27, 1927, in aprohibition raid by R. J . Tuttle of Savannah ,Administrator of the Southern Prohibition District.At that time, Tuttle, tipped off by Hicks, senteighteen federal agents through Fort Lauderdaleto seize eight stills and confiscate large quantitiesof liquor . Thirty-three individuals were appre­hended in the raid, charged with violation of theprohibition act, and later incarcerated in the WestPalm Beach County jail. The ax fell heavily.Among the alleged violaters were six policemenand Broward 's entire deputy force, includingSheriff Paul Bryan.

Glen Maugans, a deputy who later turned inhis badge, testified that he and others hadconspired "to get" Hicks following the raid.Maugan's wife admitted to attorney Farmer thatshe agreed to swear to evidence in Hicks'prosecution because she thought that he wasresponsible for the federal warrants charging herhusband with violation of the liquor laws . Hicks'brother-in-law Frank Read declared that on oneoccasion Jott Shiver told him " We will kill Hickswith high-powered rifles ." On cross examinationCorell and Gray, professed bootleggers andalleged eyewitnesses to the murder who had beendeputized for duty following the hurricane orSeptember 1926 and during the Pompano races,were questioned about additional schemes to doaway with Hicks in order to discourage others fromtalking about their liquor dealings.

The defense also maintained that the bodywas never positively identified, not even byBarber's brothers, as that of Robert Reese Barber.

In order to win the case, the defense counselplaced Hicks on the stand. Hicks entered denialafter denial to questions posed by his attorneysconcerning his connection with the Barber killing.After stating that he " positively did not commit

11

the crime," Hicks told the story of his life.He was born in Oneida County, New York, in

1885. At the age of fifteen, Hicks came to Palatka,Florida where he worked as a bank messenger. Helater went to Dade County and was employed bySheriff Dan Hardie. During World War One, Hickswas assigned to a munitions plant in New Jersey.Afterwards, he moved to New Orleans and becameassociated with the W. J . Burns Detective Agency.Hicks was placed in charge of the Tennessee officein Memphis for nearly a year. In 1922 Hicks cameto Fort Lauderdale and was appointed deputy bySheriff Paul Bryan. He took up residence in thecounty jail , living there until his dismissal byBryan on October 3, 1926.

Hicks then detailed his business arrangementwith Barber. According to Hicks, Barber was paidfour dollars daily for working on houses being builtin Progresso and was given extra food above theusual prison ration. Upon cross examination,Hicks admitted that he had been to Tallahassee tosee Governor John Martin after a complaint hadbeen lodged against him for employing Barber,who was still an inmate in the county jail.

Hicks branded as lies testimony linking him toBarber's death. On the night of the alleged crime,Hicks stated that he had been in the warden'sresidence of the county jail attending his wife whowas ill. He summoned his niece, Mrs. Birdie ReadSummers , to care for Mrs . Hicks when hercondition worsened and, finally, he called in Dr.Robert Lowry. Dr. Lowry affirmed that he hadattended Mrs . Hicks but he could not state thenight or whether Hicks was present at the time.

After more than eleven hours in deliberation,the jury returned twice to the courtroom andreported through foreman Oliver Peck that theywere not able to reach a verdict . However, JudgeParks was obdurate and refused to dismiss them,nor did he inform them that they would be allowedto retire at midnight. During the interim, Mrs .Hicks was permitted to bring meals to herhusband. On Sunday, September 11, the juryannounced that a verdict had been reached. Theyfound Hicks guilty of murder in the first degree.

On Monday, September 19, Hicks appearedin court and read a typewritten statement. He saidthat he had not been given a fair and impartial trialprimarily because he had fallen into disfavor withlocal politicians and incurred the enmity of theliquor establishment. Hicks accused the sheriff'soffice of protecting bootleggers and trumping upcharges against him. He said "I was warnedbefore my arrest I would be shot if I did not leavetown ." Hicks further criticized special prosecutingattorney Thomas Farmer for taking Wesley Corelland Steadman Gray, just before the trial , to a

barbecue on West Dixie Highway (now U.S. 441)where everyone was drunk, while he was held injail incommunicado. Hicks concluded his twentyminute address by saying "I am innocent of thischarge. I am not guilty."

Afterwards, Hicks' attorneys cited sixty­seven reasons why a new trial should be granted.The defense counsel made special reference to aletter written July 23 by superintendent at RaifordState Penitentiary J. S. Blitch about Joe Tracey, amember of the notorious Ashley gang, thenserving a life sentence. Blitch learned that Traceycould prove that Hicks did not commit the murderand was not present on the night of the crime.Originally, the gang member told Governor JohnMartin that he was unwilling to divulge theinformation in court; and the matter was dropped.When Tracey heard about Hicks' conviction, thebandit agreed to appear as a witness in the case.

Despite the compelling arguments presentedby the defense, the motion for a new trial wasdenied. In compliance with the jury's recom­mendation for mercy, Judge Parks then sentencedHicks to hard work at Raiford State Penitentiaryfor the remainder of his natural life . The defensewas given ninety days to file a motion for anappeal.

After sentencing, Hicks pleaded insolvencyand told the court of the current status of hisreal-estate holdings. He declared that he waspenniless and asked the state to bear the burden ofpaying for the cost of transcribing court recordsand filing an appeal. His application was turneddown. The trial cost the county slightly more than$6,000.

Before being escorted to prison by twoguards, Hicks was given permission for a tenminute farewell meeting with his family. As he lefton his journey at five o'clock Tuesday morning hecursed those whom he held responsible for hisconviction.

Hicks never fully recovered from an injurysustained during his incarceration at Raiford.Three months after he was sentenced, he fell on aslippery floor and fractured his skull. He spentthree weeks in St. Luke 's Hospital beforeregaining consciousness. For several weeksafterwards he had to force open his eyes andmouth with his fingers due to a shattered nerve.Coordination between the muscles in his mouthand eyes remained poor . Tears formed after hetalked for a short time ; he lost his sense of tasteand smell.

On Hicks' forty-fourth birthday on February13, 1929, the verdict against him was reversed bythe state supreme court; the grand jury'sindictment was overturned as a result of private

12

counsel in the jury room. Hicks was remanded toBroward for his second trial on the date of hismother's eighty-second birthday. When askedhow he felt about entering Fort Lauderdale, Hicksreplied "Coming down Andrews Avenue, Iobserved that everything looked quite familiar."

Because of the disqualification of JudgeVincent Giblin , Judge A. J. Rose of Miami wasappointed by Governor Doyle Carlton to try thecase . The original indictment was thrown out anda new indictment was returned by the grand juryon March 3, 1929. Once again, the indictmentcharged that William Hicks did unlawfully andmaliciously cause the death of Robert ReeseBarber by inflicting knife or dagger wounds, byfiring bullets into his body, and by throwing himinto a canal where he drowned. On behalf of thedefense, attorney C. E. Farrington entered aplea in abatement stating the names of severalgrand jurors which were drawn illegally from thebox. Then the defense counsel filed an additionalplea in abatement to the charges against Hicksand contended that W. H. Clifton of Dania was anunqualified juror because of his conviction in 1899on charges of larceny of a domestic animal inVolusia County. At the time, Clifton wassentenced to five years imprisonment and servedalmost three years of the sentence before beingreleased . Hicks ' attorney maintained that Clifton'scivil rights had never been restored and that hewas never fully pardoned; therefore, his grandjury service was illegal. On the other hand,prosecuting attorney Louis Maire pointed out that,although Clifton did not receive a full pardon, helong since had fulfilled conditions of his pardonand was a legal member of the jury. Clifton hadcommitted no infraction since his release from jailin 1902. Judge A. J. Rose ruled in favor of thestate and se t the trial date for Monday, July IS,1929. A continuance until November 12 wasgr anted following Judge Rose 's resignation fromthe bench .

At the second trial , presided over by JudgeGeorge Tedder, defense attorneys once againentered a motion challenging the selection ofcircuit court jurors charging that Hicks could notreceive a fair and impartial trial becausecommissi oners placed in the jury box a largerproportion of names of persons residing in votingprecincts one, two and six knowing that Hicks hadincurred the wrath of many of these citizens whilecarrying out his duties as chief deputy sheriff.After Judge Tedder denied the motion, the trialproceeded.

The most sensational moments in theemotion-laden case occured when the statecharged Hicks with showing extraordinary interest

in having Barber arrested and removed fromBroward. The state produced a copy of a telegramreputedly sent on July 3, 1925 by Hicks to the thenDade County Sheriff H. R. Chase in which Chasewas informed that Robert Reese Barber hadadmitted stealing carpenter tools in Miami. Hicksasked Chase to look into the case immediately inlight of Barber's imminent release from jail. Hesaid: "I want Barber pushed as far as you can."Subsequently, the defense placed on the stand ablack woman who testified to seeing Hicks at thejail on the night of the murder.

At 2:50 p.m . on November 23, 1929, theverdict was reported to the court. The jury wasdivided evenly, six for conviction and six foracquittal. The case ended in mistrial.

Subsequently, both the defense and the statesigned a request for a change of venue and thethird trial was held in Miami on Monday, April 14,1930, with presiding Judge A. V. Long of Palatka.Initially, a continuance had been granted when thestate's star witnesses Steadman Gray and WesleyCorell refused to appear in court upon learningthat the guarantee of immunity which theyreceived by testifying against Hicks on chargesstemming from the murder of Barber might nothold up in Dade. The state again based its case onthe story that Gray and Corell were with Hickswhen the former chief deputy sheriff picked upBarber from his hotel room and took him for theautomobile ride that ended in his murder. The laststate witness was Barber's former wife, Mrs. :R. L.Woodruff of Atlanta, who told of Barber's manylong absences from home and testified that shehad not seen him for several days before his bodywas found in the canal.

One of the initial witnesses for the defensewas Hicks' brother-in-law P. M. Schnorr, a FortLauderdale undertaker. Schnorr reported that , atfirst, Barber's brothers made no attempt toidentify the bod y when it was found . In regard toearlier testimony that the corpse had beenidentified by Barber's brothers on the basis of abent finger , Schnorr asserted that Barber's handshad been covered. The motion for a directacquittal on the basis of insufficient evidence wasdenied.

The counsel for Hicks based their case on thegrounds that Hicks was framed on a false chargeof murder. J. F. McLendon was then put on thestand. After testifying that he was a bootlegger,he said "I had been willing to put up money for afund to get Hicks when Hicks e,onducted acampaign to close liquor vendors' establishmentsin the county. My offer was made public at ameeting of law enforcement officers of Broward.Those present included my brother-in-law Foster

13

Mcl.endon, Sheriff Paul Bryan, Chief DeputySheriff Robert Kendall , Deputies Jott Shiver andE. Baker, Assistant Chief of Police Bert Croft, andattorney J. R. Roach. This meeting took place inJanuary 1927 following a federal raid in whichthose present had been arrested on charges ofconspiring to violate the federal prohibition law."Subsequently, admitted liquor dealer L. H. Shealytestified that he had been "shaken down" for fiftydollars by Chief Deputy Sheriff Robert Kendall topay for Hicks' prosecution. Shealy added "I wasthreatened and told I would be taken for a ride if 1testified in defense of Hicks at his first trial andpresented evidence that might incriminate Grayand Corell." Afterwards, civil engineer CecilCulver stated' 'I saw three men leaving the DeSotoHotel on the night of the killing . One of the menwas Barber. Hicks was not one of the trio."

Hicks' third trial resulted in his acquittal onSunday, April 20, 1930. Hicks returned toBroward, packed his belongings, and headed toUtica, New York. There he resumed his career inlaw enforcement and served as city marshal untilhis death from a heart attack in 1940.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Florida Cumulative Statutes, 1925. Contains allGeneral Laws, 1919-1925, inclusive, and fullyannotated.

Death Certificate, William A. Hicks, State of NewYork.

Fort Lauderdale News. 1920-1930.

Letters:P. E. Hambsch, Prohibition Administrator, Tam­

pa , to Paul Bryan, Sheriff of Broward County,April 15 and April 23, 1926.

William A. Hicks, Deputy Sheriff of BrowardCounty, to P. F. Hambsch, Apr il 17 and April19,1926.

William A. Hicks, Fort Lauderdale, to J. R.Merritt. Sheriff of St. Lucie County, August 3.1926.

William A. Hicks. Fort Lauderdale. to CharlesDuPuy, Grand Beach, Michigan, August 23,1926.

14

William A. Hicks. Fort Lauderdale , to C. M.Jones, Judge, County Court of Records,Escambia County.

R. L. Conlon, Miami, to Sheriff Paul Bryan,August 31. 1926.

William A. Hicks, Fort Lauderdale. to W. T.Griffin. Police Department, Memphis. Ten­nessee, September 7. 1926.

Anonymous writer to Sheriff Paul Bryan, FortLauderdale, October 30, 1926.

J. H. Lee, Acting Prohibition Administrator forJacksonville , Florida, to Sheriff Paul Bryan.December 1. 1926.

Sheriff Paul Bryan, Fort Lauderdale, to J. S.Blitch, Superintendent of Florida State PrisonFarm. Raiford, July 20. 1927.

Frank Stoutarnire, Sheriff of Leon County, Talla­hassee, to Sheriff Paul Bryan, Fort Lauder­dale, July 22. 1927.

J . P. Martin. Harriman, Tennessee, to SheriffPaul Bryan, Fort Lauderdale, November 6,1927.

From Citizens of Floranada to Sheriff Paul Bryan,Fort Lauderdale , February 11, 1928.

Sheriff Paul Bryan, Fort Lauderdale, to GlenMaugans, Sarasota, March 28. 1928.

Statement from W. H. Price, Attorney. Miami, toA. W. Turner, Sheriff of Broward County,March 25, 1930.