Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-12-30
ABSURD ACCUSATION.
Dr.. n erryman, Of Mol ne, Has 4
Marrow Escape.
nss Coed Nane Placed l. Jeopardy
areush the Rash ASS ertsen or .
bey-compiese vinaicas ON.


Through the Rash ASS ert,on Or :
bey-compiete vlnaicasI ON.
DR.. Geo. Merryman. Of N oline. has re
Gently been placed in rather embarrss,
sing and humiliating positio, through the
unjust and wholly unreliabl, accusations
Of boy, but happily for all cor .erned a
full retraction has been made of all
imputations concerning the doctor and,
unfortunate though the circumstances
have been he is happy in hi exonerauon
Is shown through the light II the truth.
The facts may be briefly stal ed:
DR.. Merryman was raised in the vi
cinity of Gable where the re cent robbery
OF the Parker fami y occurred and he has
made frequent visits to that neck OF the
woods since. He drove out that vav
professionally on Thanksgiving day and
was passing the Parker house, when he
met the old gentleman in he road. A
conversation sprung up and the doctor
asked the old gentleman as TO his vife,s
health. He received the re ply that she
was not we'll, and upon the invitation of
ner husband, went in and CO He'd upon her,
remaining few minutes, but this was
the first time he had been IN the house.
II happened that the night If the burglars
OF the Parker homestead. DIR. Merryman
mad driven out TO Orion to examine a
horse ownend by a man named Henry
wilson which had been re ported to him.
as being an excellent mate to his own.
de arrived there in the afternoon, put
his team in livery stable and remained
until O'Clock the follow ing Sunday
morning, when he started ON his return to
Moline. During the afternoon he had
driven out to attend to the horse transac.
ton and other business aud had taken
one horse.
After the robbery of the Cable farm
house the boy, who was the only one 10 the
house beside the old people. described the
robbers as onerather tall and one smaller
man. and he stated that the former leaked
very much like DR.. Merry man who had
called there on Thanksgiving day. These
facts were communicated % the vigilent
committee and some of the members were
very excitable and ready to jump at any
The case was put in the
hands of A. R. Tomli son. the vice
president to ferret out. Some
one who heard of the charges
against DR.. Merrymsn informed Mr..
romlinson that DR.. Merrymsp
had been seen over near Orion the
lay before:the robbery. On Investigate
ing further. Mr.. Tomlinson found that
DR.. herryman had been ct Orion on the
lay in question, that one of his horses had
been out of the livery stable during the
evening and that he had not been at the
house where he stopped during the even.
ne. but had come in late in the night
md had left early IN the morning. With
he knowledge of these circum-
stances Mr.. Tomlinson thought his
evidence conclusive and was getting
'eady TO swoop down on the doctor
With the strong arm OF the law, when
q conversation with one OF the doc
of's friends remark was in.
'dvertently made. which alluded jokingly
% little incident which concerned
little gathering on the Saturday
light of the robbery at which the gen
leman who dropped the remark. the doc.
or and number of others were present.
Pursuing this clue. Mr.. Tomlinson soon
ound that any suspicious he might of had
DR.. Merrymsn were all as ILL
bundled as they we're riCIiculously absurd.
md the investigation on that score was
dropped.
Meanwhile, however, DIR. Merrymsn
Who had been ignorant of the jeopardy
he hsd been placed in. 10 body and rep
ltation, had got an linking of the
'harges and he at once drove out to Cable
n company with De,ecifye Frank,Ander-
on, They stopped first at the Parker
'ouse where the boy VINO had originated
he charges completely exonersted the
loctoi and the old people apologized for
he boys rash accusation. Mr.. Tomlin-
on. too, apologIzed TO the part he had
aiken, and offered TO mike any retribu,ion
possible.
Mr.. Tomlinson, who was in the CITY
volunteered the following
tstement. fully vindi eating DIR. Merry
nan. to the ARGUS for publication:
Rock ISLAND. Dec. 29.-In view of the
TACT that the suspicious at first enter
.slned by the Pleasant Ridge Vigilance
committee against DR.. George Merryman,
Of Moline. in connection with thesPsrker
robbery near Cable. have been noised
about, and are calculs ted to injure his
reputation and good name, our commits
lee deem it their duty to make the fol-
owing statement:
After full and ca eful investigation
We find there is not one iota of evidence
hat DIR. Merrymtn was in any
way or manner connected with said
robbery. and that our action in
racing his whereab 1uts on the night
n question was based solely on the opin.
on OF young man. Who has since freely
admitted that he Was mistaken. Not
'nly ourselves. bnt everybody in the
community, feel and l;now that DR.. Mer-
lyman has been unlustly suspicioned,
Ind we take this means of publicly ex-
pressing our regret that HE name has
,een unfortunately connected with an af-
air of so criminal a tharacter.
Pleasant Ridge Vigilance Com. Per.
A. R. ToMLINsoN.
Usao-