Fri, Jun 25, 1926 ·Page 1 - Libel Suit
(The Evening Herald, Fri, Jun 25, 1926 ·Page 1 - Libel Suit)
LIBEL SUIT IS
THREATENED BY
MRS. M’PHERSON
Aimee Annoyed at General
Doubt of Her Tale;
Criticises Reporters
THINK SHACK IS FOUND
Believe House Occupied by
Kidnapers Located in
Desert Near Douglas
DOUGLAS, Ariz., June 25.—(AP)—
The filing of several libel suits
upon her return to Los Angeles, was
threatened by Aimee Semple Mc-
Pherson, Angelus temple evangelist,
before a gathering of newspapermen
here this morning. While she ad-
vised the representatives of the
press and Herman Cline, Los An-
geles chief of detectives, the evange-
list trembled with anger at what she
declared to be the “unfairness” of
some reporters.
She especially resented the appel-
lation, she said, of “self styled heal-
er,” declaring that she never ad-
vertised herself as a “healer” but
that she had only offered to pray
for people who were ill in the belief
that they would be healed by Divine
grace.
The evangelist said she would call
all press representatives together
immediately upon her return today
from a search for the shack where
she said she had been held cap-
tive, and indicated that every report-
er would be questioned in an effort
to find out who wrote what she said
were “uncomplimentary stories.”
Aimee Leads Search
DOUGLAS, Ariz., June 25.—(AP)—
Heading a party which included
Herman Cline, Los Angeles detec-
tive chief, Mrs. Minnie Kennedy, her
mother, A. B. Murchison, Douglas
police sergeant, the chief of police
of Agua Prieta, Sonora, and Charles
Cross, tracker and guide, Aimee
Semple McPherson early today start-
ed for the San Bernardino ranch
southwest of here in search of a
cabin in which the evangelist said
she had been held captive by three
kidnapers.
The searchers left in three autos.
They will stop at the Slaughter
ranch, in the vicinity of their ob-
jective, and will continue the trip
over the desolate plains of Sonora
on horseback.
To Persist in Search
Before leaving, Cline made the
statement that they would stick to
the hunt as long as Mrs. McPher-
son was able in her weakened condi-
tion, taking a week if necessary.
He declared that he was “morally
certain” the party would locate the
shack and that with this tangible
evidence in hand it would be an
easier matter to proceed with the ap-
prehension of the parties said by
(Continued on Page Five)
AIMEE ANNOYED
AT NEWSPAPERS
(Continued From Page 1)
Mrs. McPherson to have abducted
her from Ocean Park, Calif., May 18.
Says He Did It
SANTA ANA, Calif., June 25.—
(AP)—Mrs. Virginia Cookson of the
Modjeska ranch, Santiago canyon,
early today informed Sheriff Jack-
son of Orange county that the man
who kidnapped her several months
ago appeared at her home this morn-
ing and warned her that if she di-
vulged his identity he would pay the
penalty. She told the sheriff [that]
the man asserted he also was the
kidnaper of Aimee Semple McPher-
son, pastor of Angelus temple, Los
Angeles.
REPORT SHACK FOUND
DOUGLAS, Ariz., June 25.—(AP)
—An unconfirmed report received
here this afternoon said that James
Randolph, race track driver and an
operative for a film corporation,
whose name was not learned, had
located the shack in Sonora, Mexico,
in which Aimee Semple McPherson
said she was held prisoner by
three abductors.
When the evangelist was notified
of the supposed find she was over-
come with joy.
“Thank God! Thank God!” she
exclaimed and closed her eyes and
her lips uttered a prayer.
“I do so hope they are right in
their supposition. Oh, if they only
are.”
DOUGLAS, Ariz., June 25.—(AP)
—Aimee Semple McPherson today
received an offer from a Hollywood
film production company asking if
she would care to appear in a
super-special picture built around
her life.
Flattering Offers
Simultaneously she received an
offer from a vaudeville circuit for
appearance in San Diego, San
Francisco and Los Angeles theaters.
Mrs. McPherson said she would
not accept the offers.
DOUGLAS, Ariz., June 25.—(AP)
—With a fervent prayer and in
the name of her Creator, Aimee Sem-
ple McPherson this afternoon de-
clared that “every word I have ut-
tered about my kidnapping and es-
cape is true.”
The statement was made in the
presence of newspaper men.
Says Story is True
“Before the God in whom I
have every faith and utter belief,
I say to you that every word that
I have uttered about my kidnap-
ping and escape is true.
“If I have been unable to answer
any questions propounded to me by
a score of newspaper men, detec-
tives and even my mother, I have
told them I did not know, or do
not remember.”
Searching Party Starts
A second searching party which
left here today headed by Leslie
Gatlin, Douglas police lieutenant,
and O. A. Ash, constable, was still
scouring the country south of Agua
Prieta.
Meanwhile R. L. Kirk, special in-
vestigator for the Douglas police
department, was investigating a ru-
mor that a woman simply dressed
had begged a ride from a passing
motorist on the Benson highway
north of here, on the morning Mrs.
McPherson appeared at Agua Prieta.
The woman, according to the rumor,
had nothing but a bundle of red-
dish golden hair wrapped in a news-
paper.
Had Been Clipped
Mrs. McPherson’s hair had been
clipped when she was brought to
a Douglas hospital.
One strand had been received in
Los Angeles by Mrs. Kennedy, her
mother.
The second rumor holding the at-
tention of police was that an em-
ploye of smelters had talked with
the evangelist across the interna-
tional fence some distance north of
Agua Prieta early Wednesday. Mrs.
McPherson is reported to have
come from the south directly to a
home a mile east of Agua Prieta
and appealed for aid.