Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-08-22
SENSATIONAL CHARGES,
They Grow Out OF the Kewsnee Game
Case

They Grow Out of the Kewanee Game
Sensational developments have
come to light in the Kewanee game
cases, in the charges against States
Attorney Emery c. Graves, of Henry
county.
The case is the one against the
Geld storage man Merritt. of Kewa-
nee. Some weeks ago the game in
Merritt's cold storage was condemned
before Justice Pyle at the instigation
of State Game Warden Blow. The
facts of that contest are too familiar
to need repetition at this time. Last
Friday Attorney Graves, for the
state, by Information brought suit
against Merritt to recover fines.
The case was tried by jury before
County Judge Mock. In regard to
this trial Warden Blow has said
much through the newspapers. The
Kewanee Star prints the following
statement of Blow:
ut appears as though the recent
trial and verdict in the Merritt ille-
gal game case was not to stand with
out contest. State Game Warden
Charles II. Blow came down from
Chicago last night and forciblv en-
presses himself as detailed below:
1.-The whole thing from beginning
to end bears the stamp of fraud. de-
ception and collision. In the first
place the whole trial was illegal and
cannot stand, because no county
criminal court can have jurisdiction
over a case which may involve above
$1,000, and the fines in this case
might have reached far into the hum
dreds of thousands. When well
known jurists and attorneys in Chi
cago were told of what had been
done at Cambridge they laughed a,
the absurdity of it and expressed
much surprise that any cour,
Judge would receive such case
for trial. The only reason which
can be assigned is that the
whole affair was cut and dried be.
forehand. 1t is plain that it was
foreseen that Merritt would be fined
for only 16l birds aud at the mini.
mum fine, for this is the only thing
that could have been done in order
to make pretense of keeping within
the 81 900 Jurisdiction, and even il
the costs had all been added to thi:
sum it would have exceeded tn.
limit. Although they may try t.
show that inasmuch as the fines die
not run over the $1,000 it is there
fore lawful, it will not hold, for tn,
law reads that the maximum fir,
possible must be considered in adj
hitting the case before the court
Why do you suppose the states at
torney prepared all that information
and took all his pains. not only with
out consulting me, but with an efror
to conceal it it from me, and vet
was the one most directly concerned
1t savors too strong of bribery anC
! mean to prove it, not only of hin
but of others.
Grave Accusations
"There is no doubt whatever bu
that the emissaries of the defense
failing to find Justice Pyle or mysel
open to bribery, went to the state
attorney with the results to be seen
My purpose here is to place Marsha
Swain in charge of the birds now i,
the storehouse, for it is my priv
lege to entirely ignore the bond o
$4,000 given by Merritt as nothin.
in the code of Illinois laws saws tina
bond shall be received in such :
case and if it did not stand when
higher court considers it and tn,
birds had been sold we would how,
no one to blame but ourselves, SO
shall Immediately place them under
the eye of the marshal until tie cir
cult court meets in October. 1t is on,
OF the greatest outrages committed b,
office holders ever perpetrated in the
state. and will prove the ruin o
some one. for we have almost unlim
tied backing to trace the thing from
beginning to end. and we intend t,
do it,