Young Brothers Massacre

4. Paul on a Career Path of His Own

PAUL ON A CAREER PATH OF HIS OWN One may wonder why Paul was not involved in the burglary of the boxcars. The explanation is simple. He had gone off on a lark of his own and was faced with monumental problems. He had, for the moment, moved his operations to Bell County, Texas. There, on January 14, 1924, the sheriff was directed to arrest him on an indictment charging him with burglary. Witnesses from the nearby towns of Temple, Pendleton , Belton, Franco, Waco, and Mart were subpoenaed to appear at the courthouse in Belton on January 18. There a grand jury charged that on December 10, 1923, in Bell County, Paul "did enter a house" owned and occupied by J. H. Ashcroft in which there was "corporeal personal property " that Paul appropriated to his own "use and benefit." Paul was represented by a lawyer, and the case proceeded to trial. It ended in an unusual manner. A jury was selected. Judge Lewis H. James gave the jurors a written statement saying that the defendant was charged with burglary to which "he has 'pleaded guilty'''; and notwithstanding that"the court has admonished him ofthe consequences " and "it plainly appearing to the court that the defendant is sane" and not influenced by considerations"of fear, nor any persuasive or delusive hope of pardon," the court received the plea and instructed the jury "to find the defendant guilty as charged." Under the judges instruction, the jury duly found Paul guilty and fixed his punishment at ten years in the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville) The Texas penitentiary records give a succinct "Description of Convict When Received." His age is listed as twenty24 Paul on a Career Path of His Own 25 nine; eyes, blue; complexion, fair; weight, 130. Under "marks, scars and remarks" is the statement, "Last three toes off a right foot." In a newspaper interview after the massacre , Willie mentioned that Paul had shot off the toes himself , II accidentally" (to escape the draft in 1918). His occupation is listed as "salesman," which for want of a better designation may apply, somewhat humorously. His amount of education is given as fourteen years, including two years of college. His wife's name is listed as Ludora Young, McGregor, Texas. Ludora must have dropped out of Paul's life soon after his conviction. Vinita believes that his wife in 1984 was his second and that he was divorced from his first wife. The Greene County records for January 1932 note that a Dortha Young, the "innocent and injured party," was granted a divorce from Paul. This was, of course, before the days of nofault divorce. One glimpse of Paul as a convict is provided by another part of the Texas penitentiary file, that of April 6, 1924. The page is headed "Convict's Biography." The account is as amusing for what is not said as for what is included. According to the report, doubtless provided by Paul, he did not drink, gamble, or use tobacco. From this information we are to infer, perhaps, that he was free from vice in any form, even though the record states that he did not belong to a church. (His Phillips University records show him declared /I a Presbyterian.") Here, his occupation as /I salesman" shows"seven years' experience." This was a gross exaggeration , if one considers only legitimate employment. When he was released from the Missouri penitentiary on April 11, 1922, he did work for the Keystone View Company. However, that was less than two years before his Texas incarceration. His family is listed as wife, mother, and two sisters: Gladys and Florence. Paul oddly overlooked his other sisters: Mary Ellen, Lorena, and Vinita. Two brothers, Jarrett and Oscar, are listed and their residences given; but he neglected to name brothers Jennings and Harry and to give their 26 Young Brothers Massacre addresses. Opposite the query "Ever arrested before?" the answer given is "No," and opposite the question "Ever in Penitentiary, Reformatory or Workhouse?" the answer, again, is "No." Those answers, of course, are false. 2 In spite of these early convictions, however, the rest of Pauls life was exemplary. Improbably, he was to become a respected, law-abiding nonagenarian, still alive in 1986, in a new home with a new wife. (He died in Houston, December 31,1986.) Despite the"no prior prison experience" attested to in the "biography," Paul, of course...