Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-01-31
REV. lIADDOCK'S NEMESIS.
a DARK AND YsrERloUs STORY
FROM SIOUX CITY.

why Son People Think the Murdcr Wa.
Committed by n strnnger-CuwardIy
Crime In MissourI-One Pistol "Goe,
on" In the Right Place-Grave Robbers
In Custady-Culled Cussedness.
| SIoUX CITY, Ia, Jan. 3l.-The sensational
story which comes from Cedar Rapids re-
| gardng the Haddock case has revived and
strengthened theory which many thought
full citizens here have entertained ever since
the night of the shocking tragedy. That
theory was that some old enemy had taken
advantage of the excitement Of the times and
| deliberately took the clergyman's life, con-
fident In the bslief that the saloon element
would be held responsible, and that some
one of their number would be arrested, tried,
convicted and hanged for the brutal crime
Weneil Cerney, a Bohemian carpenter,
while laboring under the deluson that he
was at last being hunted down for the Had.
dock murder, attempted to commit suicide
in a lumber yard at Cedar Rapids. AS he
came to Sioux City from Chicago about the
time OF the tragedy and left very soon after
ward there were some who limited to him, 1t
is reported, that he had something to do with
the crime The suspicion seems TO have haunt
cd him. After the doctor bad sewed up the
would. be suicides razor gashos an inter-
prefer remarked:
"They have found out who killed Had
dock"
mo they haven't, promptly responded the
wounded man They have not found
him."
As soon as Cerney somewhat recovered
from the attempt upon his own life he be-
came retcent and would not converse on tho
subject of the murder.
For several weeks prior to the fatal night
of Aug. >, 1886, Siox City was in the throes
of intense excitement, caused by the at
tempted enforcementof the Clark law. Rev.
Mr.. Haddock was prominent In securing evil
dence and appearing as witness against
saloon men. One day when the courtroom
was Gro wded Rev Mr. Hsddock was upon
the witness stand As his eyes wandered
but over the large audience they rested
upon the features of a stranger to
Sioux City, but familiar TO the minister.
Haddocks face paed, and a nervous tremor
passed over his strong person. Immediately
on leaving the witness stand at the ad journ-
ment hour Mr.. Haddock applied to the court
for and was granted permission to carry
concealed weapons, and on returning home
the gear wheel found near his body the night
OF the murder was fashioned into formida-
that an old and deadly enemy had appeared
in the court room, but he vouchsafed no
further information.
Out of the $50 witnesses called in the
Arensdorf trials there was one young man
whose evidence did not vary from first to
last. He strongly and persistently averred
that the slayer of Rev. Haddock approached
him from the rear following him from the
Columbia house corner and fired the fatal
shot at the very moment when Haddock was
met by Arensdorf aud Peters. The murderer
then ran north and the others scattered in
all directions This young man, Julius
Lebreton, was at the engine house
few PAGES south looking from the window,
and by the relative position of the electric
light and gas street lamp was in the best po-
sition to see the occurrences there enacted
In view Of public sentiment during these
trials ii would have been suicidal for Arens-
DORIS attorneys to havs attempted to prove
that the shot had been fired by other than a
saloonkeeper yet Judge Weaver then and
now believes Haddock was shot from the
rear, and the doctors who examined the
wound testified that the ball entered back of
the shoulder blade
An officer who believes the theory adj
vanced above has sought Though the east,
south and north for the man he believes to
be the murderer, but thus far without sue
cess. In all probability the real criminal
will not be known until the man whom Had
dock saw and recognized in the courtroom
as a deadly enemy is ran to cover and |
1t is rot impossible that this |
man Cerney is the instrument through which |
the Haddock murder mystery will be finally |
cleared IN