Murder of Bill Mason: Difference between revisions
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==Victim== |
==Victim== |
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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]]''.<ref name="arh2"/> While living in California, he worked as an investigator for [[governor of California]] [[Earl Warren]], when he was district attorney for Alameda county.<ref name="fort worth"/> 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.<ref name="fort worth"/> 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".<ref name="fort worth"/> |
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]]''.<ref name="arh2"/> While living in California, he worked as an investigator for [[governor of California]] [[Earl Warren]], when he was district attorney for Alameda county.<ref name="fort worth"/> 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.<ref name="fort worth"/> 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".<ref name="fort worth"/> |
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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."<ref name="prescott"/><ref name="victoria"/> Mason's tombstone reads the quote given by the prosecutor.<ref name="peele"/> |
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==Perpetrator== |
==Perpetrator== |
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==Reactions== |
==Reactions== |
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The murder of Mason upset the community, and an attorney argued that Smithwick should not seek bail for his safety.<ref name="sanmateo"/> The newspapers reported that Smithwick might be moved as tensions were raised the day after the murder by a shooting at a dance hall.<ref name="sarasota"/> |
The murder of Mason upset the community, and an attorney argued that Smithwick should not seek bail for his safety.<ref name="sanmateo"/> The newspapers reported that Smithwick might be moved as tensions were raised the day after the murder by a shooting at a dance hall.<ref name="sarasota"/> 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."<ref name="prescott"/><ref name="victoria"/> Mason's tombstone reads the quote given by the prosecutor.<ref name="peele"/> Frank Lloyd, co-owner of the radio station, told ''[[Broadcasting (magazine)|Broadcasting-Telecasting]]'', "it's tragic that Bill Mason should die for using his freedom of speech".<ref name="staffer shot"/> |
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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. --> |
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. --> |
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<ref name="mexia 1952">{{cite news |title=Son Of Murderer Believes Father Killed In Prison |work=The Mexia Daily News |agency=[[United Press]] |issue=126 |date=May 27, 1952}}</ref> |
<ref name="mexia 1952">{{cite news |title=Son Of Murderer Believes Father Killed In Prison |work=The Mexia Daily News |agency=[[United Press]] |issue=126 |date=May 27, 1952}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | <ref name="staffer shot">{{cite magazine|title=KBKI Staffer Shot |magazine=[[Broadcasting (magazine)|Broadcasting-Telecasting]] |type=Newsweekly of Radio and Television|publisher=Broadcasting Publications |date=August 1, 1949 |accessdate=2013-11-14|url=http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1949/1949-08-01-BC.pdf#page=66 |page=82 |editor=King, Art}}</ref> |
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*{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=James |title=Brush Country: A Mystery that Changed History |url=https://jamesmoore.substack.com/p/brush-country |website=Texas to the World |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627120604/https://jamesmoore.substack.com/p/brush-country |archive-date=June 27, 2021 |date=June 27, 2021 |url-status=live}} |
*{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=James |title=Brush Country: A Mystery that Changed History |url=https://jamesmoore.substack.com/p/brush-country |website=Texas to the World |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627120604/https://jamesmoore.substack.com/p/brush-country |archive-date=June 27, 2021 |date=June 27, 2021 |url-status=live}} |
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*{{cite news |last1=Sparks |first1=Mary K. |title=William H. Mason: How A Journalist's Murder Influenced Media Coverage |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED370122.pdf#page=76 |work=[[American Journalism Historians Association]] |series=Proceedings of the Conference of the American Journalism Historians Association: Part II: Journalism History in the Twentieth Century |date=October 1992 |type=Collected Works – Conference Proceedings |publisher=[[Education Resources Information Center]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150430202958/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED370122.pdf |archive-date=April 30, 2015 |url-status=live |pages=76-92}} |
*{{cite news |last1=Sparks |first1=Mary K. |title=William H. Mason: How A Journalist's Murder Influenced Media Coverage |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED370122.pdf#page=76 |work=[[American Journalism Historians Association]] |series=Proceedings of the Conference of the American Journalism Historians Association: Part II: Journalism History in the Twentieth Century |date=October 1992 |type=Collected Works – Conference Proceedings |publisher=[[Education Resources Information Center]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150430202958/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED370122.pdf |archive-date=April 30, 2015 |url-status=live |pages=76-92}} |
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== External links == |
== External links == |
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Revision as of 00:38, 6 October 2024
Bill Mason | |
|---|---|
 Bill Mason | |
| Born | William Haywood Mason ca. 1897 |
| Died | July 29, 1949 (Age 51) Alice, Texas |
| Cause of death | Gun shot |
| Other names | Bill Mason |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1919 – 1949 |
| Employer | KBKI Radio |
| Children | Burton Mason |
William Haywood "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 on July 29, 1949. Mason had referred to the deputy in his daily broadcast the previous day as the owner of a 'dime-a-dance-palace'.
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.[1][2] 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.[2] 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.[2] The bullet hit Mason near his heart.[3] Avelino Saenz, who was sitting in the car with Mason when he was shot, identified Smithwick as the shooter.[4]
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.[1] While living in California, he worked as an investigator for governor of California Earl Warren, when he was district attorney for Alameda county.[2] 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.[2] 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".[2]
Perpetrator
| External image | |
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 | |
 Mason murder hearing, August 3, 1949. Smithwick to the left, sitting at end of table. |
Sam Smithwick had been a Texas deputy sheriff in Jim Wells county for 24 years.[5] At his trial, Smithwick testified that he heard Mason's radio program the day before, and he gone to Alice to retrieve some tools from his home. When he saw Mason's car driving down his street, he approached the car and decided to talk to him, asking him; "Are you Mr. Mason"? According to Smithwick, Mason replied "yes, what in the hell do you want"?. Smithwick told the reporter he wanted him to take his name off the radio, and Mason responded by cursing him and calling him a Mexican. Smithwick further testified that Mason's hands were "around his pockets", and again referred to him being cursed at, and ultimately pulled his gun out, shooting Mason he claimed in self-defense.[6] Smithwick was found guilty of murder with malice and sentenced to life in prison.[7][8]
Suicide in prison
| External image | |
|---|---|
| via Substack Texas To The World newsletter | |
| Copy of letter Smithwick wrote to former Texas governor Coke Stevenson |
On April 15, 1952, Smithwick committed suicide by hanging himself in his cell at the Huntsville state penitentiary.[9] Two Texas Rangers who investigated his suicide, said in their opinion, that in the "last few days of Smithwick's lifetime, he had become mentally ill".[9] While in prison, Smithwick had written a letter to former Texas governor Coke Stevenson, alleging that he knew the whereabouts of a stolen precinct 13 polling box which Stevenson had maintained cost him the 1948 United States senatorial election.[10] Lyndon B. Johnson had narrowly defeated Stevenson by eighty-seven votes.[10] Johnson biographer Robert Caro made the case in his 1990 book that Johnson had stolen the election in Jim Wells County.[11] Smithwick's son told a Houston Texas newspaper in 1952, that he believed his father was killed because "he knew too much" about a disputed election.[12] His son alleged that his father "knew things that went on in Jim Wells county and Duval county".[12] Around the same time, a journalist for the Houston Press reported there were "strange physical circumstances" surrounding Smithwick's death.[12]
Reactions
The murder of Mason upset the community, and an attorney argued that Smithwick should not seek bail for his safety.[13] The newspapers reported that Smithwick might be moved as tensions were raised the day after the murder by a shooting at a dance hall.[14] 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."[3][15] Mason's tombstone reads the quote given by the prosecutor.[16] Frank Lloyd, co-owner of the radio station, told Broadcasting-Telecasting, "it's tragic that Bill Mason should die for using his freedom of speech".[17]
See also
References
- ^ a b King, Art, ed. (August 8, 1949). "KBKI Crusade" (PDF). Broadcasting-Telecasting. p. 29. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f "Raiders Riddle Dance Hall After Radioman's Killing". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Associated Press. July 31, 1949. pp. 1, 8.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ "Sam Smithwick Hangs Self In Prison Cell". Abilene Reporter-News. United Press. April 16, 1952. p. 1.
- ^ Gouldy, Mabel (January 24, 1950). "He Cursed Me, I Shot Him, Smithwick Says". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 1.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Allee, Alfred; Peoples, Clinton (July 8, 1952). "Smithwick Mentally Ill At Time of Death, Investigators Say". Lubbock Morning Avalanche. p. 13.
- ^ a b "Rangers Find Sam Smitwick Took Own Life". Austin American-Statesman. Associated Press. July 7, 1952. p. 8.
- ^ Caro, Robert (1990). The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Means of Ascent. Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 398–400. ISBN 978-0394528359.
- ^ a b c "Son Of Murderer Believes Father Killed In Prison". The Mexia Daily News. No. 126. United Press. May 27, 1952.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Peele, Thomas (August 1, 2012). "Death stalks some reporters working their beats in U.S." Plain Dealer. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
- ^ King, Art, ed. (August 1, 1949). "KBKI Staffer Shot" (PDF). Broadcasting-Telecasting (Newsweekly of Radio and Television). Broadcasting Publications. p. 82. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
Further reading
- Moore, James (June 27, 2021). "Brush Country: A Mystery that Changed History". Texas to the World. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021.
- Sparks, Mary K. (October 1992). "William H. Mason: How A Journalist's Murder Influenced Media Coverage" (PDF). American Journalism Historians Association (Collected Works – Conference Proceedings). Proceedings of the Conference of the American Journalism Historians Association: Part II: Journalism History in the Twentieth Century. Education Resources Information Center. pp. 76–92. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 30, 2015.