Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-09-03
NARS)N Is SAFE
BEHIND PRISON Bars
The Sweet Singing Evangelist
Discards His Bible and
Asks For Magazines
WAS NEVER HERE BEFORE
Claims Never to Have Seen Times
Republican Man Before-Refases to
Talk, Because He Has Been So Ad-
vised by His Attorney-Grand Jury
Investigating.

vised by His Attorney-Grand Jury
Investigating.
Fred A. Marson, alias Fred A. Maison
alias Meyers, the sweet singing evan
gelist and confidence man, is safe be-
hind the bars of the Marshall county
jail. He has discarded his Bible for a
time. and is engaged in lighter maya
zine reading. Marson refuses to talk
further than to say that he was never
in Marshalltown before. He insists
his name is Meyers, under which cog
nomen he was posing when arrested a,
Muscatine, after beautifully working
the public there
Marson was seen in his cell this af-
ternoon by a Times Republican man,
who greeted him with a familiar Hell
10, Maison.' Marson was lying on the
cell cot, reading a magazine. He
scarcely looked, in replying to the
greeting, except to say, Il don't know
you; / never saw you before" He
cody remarked to Sheriff Shoemaker,
who was standing nearby, that his at
torney had visited him and instructed
him to say nothing. "Oh, Mr.. Shoe
maker" he suddenly remarked as If
annoyed at being interrupted in his
reading, and anxious to get rid of his
caller. Did the darkey down stairs give
you my message?" The sheriff replied
that he had not. Well he will when
you go down. With that he resumed
his reading, never looking the news
paper man or officer squarely in the
eye.
The message was signed by IF. e.
Meyers" and was a request to the sher
if to please get for him copy OF Aims
lees and Pearson's. also a bag of APP
pies. Sheriff Shoemaker says they will
be forthcoming IL Marson wants to pay
for them. Otherwise they will net.
Worked Epworth Too.
Marson even worked the good old
Methodist town of Epworth, in Du-
buque county, before going to Musca-
tine and succeeded in finding many vic
tins there. The town is small one, and
the escapade, it seems, did not get into
the newspapers.
Grand Jury Investigating
The grand jury will investigate Mar
sons work here and is already sub
ooenaing witnesses. Young HaZen, son
of w. w. Hazen, who was one OF Mai
sons victims here, also identifies the
prisoner as the man who shared his
room with him when a guest at his
fathers house for two or three weeks
ast February. Marson's bluff ut not
any one here, or never having
been here before, is good one, and Is
another display of his wonderful nerve.
1t is doubtful if he would even know
Mr.. Hazen himself. when he reaches
The city, altho when at the HaZen home
ne always called him Brother WILL"
and Marson TO Hazen was Brother
Fred
More Of the Muscatine Doings.
The Muscatine Journal of Wednesday
evening devotes the better part OF two
pages to Meyers doings. including his
record, as looked up by
The Times Republican last March. The
Journal says further OF his work in
To-day the offices of the Imperial
Company are closed. The groups of
young men who yesterday fingered at
the portals saying nice and ,lnnice
things about Mr.. Meyers are there no
more. The door of the main entrance
s locked. Within, the luXuriant fur
nished walls and floors which yes serday
bespoke of multitudinous Millions
which were on the way from the east
- t,ntf tr,tr a
1ictation of the new stenographer is
almost covered up with JOB wanted"
Inquiries, and over the rich carpets an
strewn contracts that sounded good to
The ear.
Mr. Meyers was a versatile chaplin
he office, church, or in his social set,
ne was the central figure. To his
church friends, he told of his work in
he saving of souls. A sad song, tell
ng the story of a mother, whose home
vas lost, husband deserting her. baby
sick and the Ike, was always preced-
ID by short story. Look at the pic
ure,' he would say, and then listen
Then he would sing. His voice was soft
md sweet, and as he sang, his eyes
would fill with tears. When he had
inished there would be tears in every.
,ody's eyes.
I'm Muscatine Meyers paid particular
attention to the sick people. A young
nan who resides on Chestnut street,
10. 4O6, had been i'll for month.
Meyers, hearing of the illness, rang q
riend UP by telephone one day:
7 never met the young man. he
aid, but / have heard of him, and
10 hope he is doing well. take great
interest in young men,
Later flowers were frequently sent
o the sick man, and a day or two late.
lie was not overlooked when the invi-
ations for Meyers church festival were
distributed.
"Meyeys thoroughly investigated the
esidence property in Muscatine. He
vas especially attracted by the Graham
property on Fifth street, and by the
it. John property on third. On one of
hese he expected to erect $4,000
esidence. The plans We're all COM
,leted he told several, and all that re-
NAMED undone was the formal trans
err.
HE further had under conside cation |
he erection of five other residences for |
ther officers of the Imperial Company.
hey were to cost something like $780, |
90 and were to be modern in every |
,articular. Another work that was to |
ave been started soon was the erection |
f twenty cottages for the same NUM-
er of employees of the factory.