Murder of Bill Mason: Difference between revisions
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==Murder== |
==Murder== |
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Bill Mason, a radio journalist for KBKI in Alice, Texas, said on air before he was killed that he had been threatened. He responded on his program by being more vocal in his criticism of prostitution at Rancho Alegro, a dance hall that Mason had accused Smithwick of owning.<ref name=arh2 /><ref name="fort worth"/> On the day of the shooting, Mason had drove to the southwestern portion of Alice to investigate a report of "poor streets" he had received.<ref name="fort worth"/> Mason was heading in one direction, and Smithwick, in a red pickup, was coming towards him. When the vehicles met, Mason stopped his car and Smithwick got out of his truck and approached the car, asking him "are you Bill Mason", and then shot him.<ref name="fort worth"/> The bullet hit Mason near his heart.<ref name=prescott /> Avelino Saenz, who was sitting in the car with Mason when he was shot, identified Smithwick as the shooter.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Caller-Times News Service |title=Smithwick Examining Trial Will Resume Today |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/corpus-christi-caller-times-smithwick/156576338/ |work=Corpus Christi Caller-Times |volume=67 |issue=109 |date=August 4, 1949 |page=1}}</ref> |
Bill Mason, a radio journalist for KBKI in Alice, Texas, said on air before he was killed that he had been threatened. He responded on his program by being more vocal in his criticism of prostitution at Rancho Alegro, a dance hall that Mason had accused deputy sheriff Sam Smithwick of owning.<ref name=arh2 /><ref name="fort worth"/> On the day of the shooting, Mason had drove to the southwestern portion of Alice to investigate a report of "poor streets" he had received.<ref name="fort worth"/> Mason was heading in one direction, and Smithwick, in a red pickup, was coming towards him. When the vehicles met, Mason stopped his car and Smithwick got out of his truck and approached the car, asking him "are you Bill Mason", and then shot him.<ref name="fort worth"/> The bullet hit Mason near his heart.<ref name=prescott /> Avelino Saenz, who was sitting in the car with Mason when he was shot, identified Smithwick as the shooter.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Caller-Times News Service |title=Smithwick Examining Trial Will Resume Today |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/corpus-christi-caller-times-smithwick/156576338/ |work=Corpus Christi Caller-Times |volume=67 |issue=109 |date=August 4, 1949 |page=1}}</ref> |
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==Reactions== |
==Reactions== |
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Revision as of 08:20, 5 October 2024
W.H. Mason | |
|---|---|
| File:Bill Mason.jpg Associated Press wirephoto of Mason | |
| Born | ca. 1897 |
| Died | July 29, 1949 (Age 51) Alice, Texas |
| Cause of death | Gun shot |
| Other names | Bill Mason |
| Occupation(s) | Radio journalist and former newspaper journalist |
| Employer | KBKI Radio |
| Children | Burton Mason |
Bill Mason (ca. 1897-July 29, 1949) was a radio journalist for KBKI in Alice, Texas. He was shot dead by the town's deputy sheriff Sam Smithwick in 1949.[1][2]
Murder
Bill Mason, a radio journalist for KBKI in Alice, Texas, said on air before he was killed that he had been threatened. He responded on his program by being more vocal in his criticism of prostitution at Rancho Alegro, a dance hall that Mason had accused deputy sheriff Sam Smithwick of owning.[3][4] On the day of the shooting, Mason had drove to the southwestern portion of Alice to investigate a report of "poor streets" he had received.[4] Mason was heading in one direction, and Smithwick, in a red pickup, was coming towards him. When the vehicles met, Mason stopped his car and Smithwick got out of his truck and approached the car, asking him "are you Bill Mason", and then shot him.[4] The bullet hit Mason near his heart.[5] Avelino Saenz, who was sitting in the car with Mason when he was shot, identified Smithwick as the shooter.[6]
Reactions
The murder of Mason upset the community, and an attorney argued that Smithwick should not seek bail for his safety.[7] The newspapers reported that Smithwick might be moved as tensions were raised the day after the murder by a shooting at a dance hall.[8]
Victim
Bill Mason started his journalism career as a newspaper reporter. He reported in Minnesota and then went on to be a journalist for the New York Times and the San Francisco Examiner.[3] While living in California, he worked as an investigator for governor of California Earl Warren, when he was district attorney for Alameda county.[4] He also worked as the public relations director for the General Tire & Rubber Company, and from 1938 to 1940, he worked for D. P. Brother Advertising Agency and for General Motors.[4] He moved to Alice in 1947 and became managing editor of the Alice Echo, and in December 1948, he became the program director for KBKI radio. His radio show was broadcast daily at noon, and was titled "Bill Mason Speaks".[4]
In the closing arguments phase of his murder trial, the prosecutor attorney, James K. Evetts, said, "He had the nerve to tell the truth for a lot of little people."[5][9] Mason's tombstone reads the quote given by the prosecutor.[2]
Perpetrator
| External image | |
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 | |
 Mason murder hearing, August 3, 1949. Smithwick to the left, sitting at end of table. |
Mason was shot and killed by Sam Smithwick, a Texas deputy sheriff.[5][10][11][12] Smithwick was found guilty of murder with malice and sentenced to life in prison.[13][14] The story was that Smithwick committed suicide in his cell, but it is probable that he was murdered to keep him from speaking with Former Texas governor Coke Stevenson, who had arranged to meet the prisoner on the day that the "suicide" took place. Smithwick, an associate of Duval County boss George Parr, had been the deputy who produced the famous "ballot box 13" that swayed the 1948 Texas Democratic Senatorial primary to Lyndon Johnson. Stevenson was travelling to meet Smithwick in an attempt to get to the truth of the matter. Johnson had trailed after the votes were tabulated by about 200 votes statewide, and the "found" ballot box contained enough votes to turn the election around. The new "votes", all for Johnson, had been "cast" in alphabetical order, with each signed by the same pen in the same handwriting. For sources, see Robert Caro's THE YEARS OF LYNDON JOHNSON.
Impact
After Smithwick's death, rumors surfaced that the "suicide" was murder, but Johnson waved aside the story and denied any knowledge of the events. The CBS television show did an episode on the events, including the killing of Bill Mason, entitled THE DUKE OF DUVAL after Parr died in 1975. In 1964, the Goldwater campaign printed copies of a book A TEXAN LOOKS AT LYNDON by J. Evetts Haly, which detailed the events of the Mason murder and Parr's connections to LBJ.
See also
References
- ^ King, Art, ed. (August 1, 1949). "KBKI staffer shot" (PDF). Broadcasting. p. 82. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- ^ a b Peele, Thomas (August 1, 2012). "Death stalks some reporters working their beats in U.S." Plain Dealer. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
- ^ a b "KBKI crusade" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 8, 1949. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Associated Press (July 31, 1949). "Raiders Riddle Dance Hall After Radioman's Killing". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. pp. 1, 8.
- ^ a b c "Slayer of radio reporter hangs self in prison cell". Prescott Evening Courier. April 16, 1952. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- ^ Caller-Times News Service (August 4, 1949). "Smithwick Examining Trial Will Resume Today". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Vol. 67, no. 109. p. 1.
- ^ "Feeling runs high over Mason shooting". The Times. July 30, 1949. p. 3. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- ^ "Dime a dance place is shot up after slaying". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. July 31, 1949. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
- ^ "New trial is sought for Smithwick by attorneys". Victoria Advocate. January 26, 1950. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- ^ "SMITHWICK v. STATE | 234 S.W.2d 237 (1950) | sw2d2371443 | Leagle.com". Leagle. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- ^ "News Broadcaster Slain; Deputy Sheriff Held". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Associated Press. July 30, 1949. p. 1.
- ^ "Accessible through database". Pampa Daily News. August 1, 1949. p. 10. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- ^ Salinas, Alicia. "Alice, Texas". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
- ^ "Breckenridge American (Breckenridge, Tex.), Vol. 30, No. 22, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 25, 1950, Sequence: 1 | The Portal to Texas History". Texashistory.unt.edu. January 25, 1950. Retrieved November 14, 2013.