The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1879-09-25
THE CONNER MURDER.
The Mystery in.Connection Herewith
Upon the Murdered Mans Iden-

The II ystcry TN Connection herewith
Sill Unraveiled-A Little. Light
Upon the Murdered Mans Iden-
tity.
Yesterdays Kansas City Journal says that
'the Conner murderer CT murderers are SUI
at large, but II is alto .ether probable that the
bloody work was not that of tramps but rather
of parties associated with Harry Merritt, the
murdered man In looking over the large
number OF letters and papers found upon his
person and strewn along the roadside, now
on file with the county clerk, some idea may
be formed of Merritt and OF the parties con-
nec,ed with him. Some dozen or more let
tiers directed to Merritt are from a woman
working out a different places, under dates
at Noble, Bsaristown. Flora and Springfield
Illinois, in ". ch il appear that that locality
had been his home for ears, and that this
woman is one whom he had cast of and de-
serted. His business there was putting on a
patent tin roofing. Later he turns up IN the
soap business, and has among his papers
commission, under date OF December IAN,
1876, at Dayton, Ohio, from A. w. NJ. Petty,
to sell family rights for the manufacture OF
his Centennial Cod Medal soap in the United
States, which business he was
doubtless in at the time of his death, for in a
sslebook are recorded Gales commencing al
ST. Louis March IS, 1879. His first sale was
made at the st. Louis - am laundry for SIS,
all sales up to September i, 1873, amounting
to 81, 81, and covering territory from ~.
Louis to Vandslis and Springfield. On one
or two entries are IN ada after his eTrival In
Kansas.
"AI OF his papers point him out 20 DE
patent right man OF rather successful class,
aud one having money. the second classifi-
cation of papers are OF one Ell C. Wehrie.
One, an invoice of cigars, dated Washington,
ID. G, July 10, 70; another, an express COM
pany's receipt at the same place, TO be Tor
warded 10 Baltimore, August l2lh. Same
date, a telegram from Baltimore, ordering
clothing fiom Washington. August 18th,
notice from the express company that the
package had arrived. Wehrle next turns up
in s.. Louis, dead broke, and pawns a ring
or four dollars aud a coat for three dollars.
A letter among mis- papers, dated HI " ashins-
ton, July 18th, brings Kate Ssuer, of Wash
ington. again into notice, who Is probably of
the demi.monGe stamp, for an unfinished
letter is found among his papers, dated Sept
4ih, three days after HIS arrival in st. Louis,
showing that Kate is there too 1t reads:
"ssT. LOUIS Sept. 4, lS79.-Dear KGtie-I
thought You had forGotten me, but IL irry
sad GU were asking about ue To-day. L am
in the mali and must nave 81 % tor room rent
1d about - cents Tor chuck. Can You give
IL to-
.IiIere the letter stops, but enou n is written
to show that " heIle comes 10 ~. LOUIS dead
broke and falls in with Merritt, who AT that
time WAS selling soap rights there ana had
a considerable amount OF money al his com
maDd, and that Kate oauer L. "A dear 10
81, ..F "A ,nI a.. nlUneN-InAklnO
mau-the other dead broke.
Exactly ten days after the letter written
10 X ate by wehrie, Harry Merritt Is found a
dead man in a lonely region OF Kansas and
n few of Wehrle's papers found near him.
Can II be that Ed. c. Nehrle AID Kate Sauer
are directly or indirectly connected
suddenly leaving n business which is
netting him nom s. to sl5 per day
after meeting Wehrle, turns up ten days sf-
forward in Kansas with N buIIet IN his head
and STAB IN his breast, with the private pa
peIs OF I'D. c. ehr.e dropped near his body.
UnIess wehIle Can prove an abb, at he
tine Of MeTriit's death TO vindicate law, JUS
tlc- would demand him responsible Tor the
crime. No other clue can be found. The re-
port of the finding OF "A bloody coat Is simply
that "A bloody towel WAS found. That two
men were seen in Wyandott- who were rus
pected of the mu der Is Without foundation
Two men were IN Bishops clothing store at
O'Clock Tuesday morning, but there was
nothing about their actions which could be
alleged against them, Tor one OF them knew
Mr.. Williams, tue SAFES nan, and spoke OF
trading.swith him before. Deputy sheriff
Young, OF PomeIoy, is hunting the matter
closely Letters have been sent 10 st. Louis,
Beardstown and Washington for inforua-
ton, and the returns will doubtless furnish
something more defllite sooD."