Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1897-08-23
STARTLING MURDER.
Done. So It Is Alleged, by Promi.
nent Citizens Of a Mich.
gan Town.
BANK CASHIER WAS THE VICTIM.
Killed While Defending His Trust by De-
positors in the Bank. Who Then Loot
the Concern-Reason for the Crime the
Fear That n Failure Was Imminent
Perpetrators Said To He known and
Escape Impossible.

Escape impossible.
Detroit, Aug. "a special to The
Free Press from Sheperd. Mich, says:
Sheriff Mogg. Deputy Sheriff Estee and
Prosecuting Attorney Mcnamara, with
several other county officers, held a
meeting yesterday at Mount Pleasant
to consult and make further plans for
the capture OF Cashier Struble's muir
derers. 1t was decided that everything
Is being done that will eventually lead
To the arrest OF the guilty men. 1t IL
thought that three prominent men in the
vicinity are the murderers. but the off,
GERS will not divulge names. They are
watched every moment. day and night,
and cannot escape. Arrests are likely
to take place at any moment now.
Shepherd, ,dich., Aug. 23.-It now ap-
pears that the murder Of Elmer Z.
Struble. cashier of the Farmers bank,
and president of the village. who was
shot at 4:30 o'clock Saturday morning,
is not such a mystery after all. Fri
day afternoon he held conversation
over the telephone with j. F. Ryan,
owner of the bank, and in that cor
yersation Ryan ordered him to come u
Mount Pleasant. the county seat, and
bring with him all the books and mon
~ in the bank. This he refused to do.
but agreed to go there Saturday morn
ing with all the valuable papers. I've
Peoples bank in Mount Pleasant failed
last week. and it was supposed that the
Farmers bank here was affected. 1t is
supposed by the sheriff that this Co
versation over the telephone was heard
by the persons who committed the
crime.
signs of u Fierce Struggle.
De this as 1t may. Cashier Struble
left his house at o'clock Saturday
morning to go to Mount Pleasant. TlIr
valuable papers and books which he
was to carry with him were locked in
the bank. and he told his wife he would
top there and get them. then go to
Mount Pleasant. and return in time to
open the bank for business. Whatever
may have been the plans OF the robbers
Struble suspected nothing as he opened
the door of Nathaniel W. Struble's hard
ware store, in the rear of which the
way back To- the vault. He had even
opened the vault before ne was aware
of any one being present. This fact
is clearly demonstrated. as the entire
furniture of the bank Is ruined. showir b;
signs of fierce struggle, and Struble
inanimate body was found half insids
the vault.
Robbers TOOK Nearly Everything.
The crime was not discovered until
shortly after O'Clock Saturday morn
ing. when T. A. Wisdom, a clerk in the
hardware store. came down to open the
store. The u usual conditions about the
bank aroused his suspicion. and he en-
tered to find the office 4 wreck, and
Struble lying unconscious on the floor
The money in the vault was all gone
excepting SO in silver. but there were
evidences everywhere to show that
Struble had made a gallant defense oi
his life and the money with which ht
was intrusted. There was n bullet il
Struble's wrist. hole in the door tC
show where another had missed. an
other bullet hole in the unfortunat,
cashiers back, and two more just owe,
the heart.