The Dickinson press., 1904-03-12
E%xtradition Papers
Read to c. E. Merry ia Stark Couaty jail
Saturday Night and Sheriff Bayer Re-
turned With His Escaped Prisoner
on Monday Night.
Means q Term in Saltwater.

mC6US b IoCm IN
c. F. Merry is now occupying a cell
in the Clay county Jail in Moorhcad,
Minnesota, where he is held on clear
case of forgery. He was taken from the
Stark county Jail Monday evening, hav'
ing spent six days and nights in Sheriff
Goodall's care.
Merry's arrest in Moorhead last
month is still fresh in the minds Of our
readers, also his escape from a deputy
and return to Dickinson under cover OF
darkness. For two days and nights J.
M. Bayer, sheriff of Clay county, search
ed for the fugitive. The people who
had tried to befriend Merry by furnish
ing him money with which to
pay deputies, became angered by his be-
trayal of misplaced confidence and turn
ed themselves into detectives and if he
had been found in Fargo or vicinity no
requisition papers would have been
needed.
Sheriff Bayer sent his deputy, J. b.
Erickson, to Dickinson on the lst of
March, and Merry began to lose courage
right away. His forgeries were not
known here then but he must have been
expecting the crime to come out as he
refused to go back and in order to
prevent his being taken he was surren-
dered by his bondsmen to the local
authorities on his old charge of assault
and locked up.
This protection-temporary at best
did not last long. The old case, on
which he had been tried and convicted
in justice court, was annulled, and Sheriff
Bayer, who had traced up one Of Merry's
forgeries, arrived last Saturday with the
necessary requisition papers.
At first Merry was inclined to be hos.
tile and asked for Attorneys Crawford,
Campbell & Field. Two Of the attor-
neys refused to have anything to do with
the case and the third told him he had
no chance to beat the requisition and
that he had better go along without pro.
test and face the music.
Monday night Sheriff Goodall, attend
ed by guards, took Merry to the depot.
Sheriff Bayer met the prisoner in the
waitinglroom where a large number of
people we're gathered. After being in
troduced to Mrs. Merry, Sheriff Bayer
turned to the prisoner and said: "Merry,
you missed the chance of your life when
you refused to return to Moorhead last
Friday"
There was no demonstration at the train,
but it could be read in the expression of
every face there that Merry was deserv-
ing of all the punishment awaiting him.
The people are sorry for his wife and
four Children, but they are better off
without him.
Merry has Been a notorious crook for
over 20 years, in fact, it is said that his
checkered career began when he was a
youth of IS years and that he caused his
father to lose his property by forging.
Hundreds of people at home and over
the northwest have been faxed by Pro-
moter Merry and it is only necessary to
mention the Odd Fellows Building &
Loan association, the North American
Live Stock Investment Co., the Mercan-
tile Mutual Fire lns. Co., the Great
Western Life ms. Co. and the Wiscon-
sin Central rebate steal, some of his
schemes of recent years, to bring this
freshly to the minds of many people.
,, One of Merry's confidence schemes a
few years ago was the grating of 500
to $500 each from Chicago live stock
commission men by imp%ersonating
3 Charles H. Merry who, unlike the other
fellow, has credit on an honorable repu'
tation at Dickinson and elsewhere.
The specific charge on which Merry
> will be tried the lst of June is this: Fol
forging the name of John H. Steele to
, note for SIS, payable in E months. The
; note, now in the hands Of Mr.. Bayer, was
endorsed by c. F. Merry,in the presence
, , of witnesses, and sold to the Columbia
:. hotel, in Moorhead, last month, fol
s24.5o. Judge Steele is a prominen
=. Minneapolis attorney and swears posi-
lively that the note is a forgery. HI
did give Merry a note for $1,000. tn
terms of the contract accompanying thu
same and providing that the dividend
of the Great Western Life ms. Co.
(Merry's company should be applied Of
y the note and eventually fully pay il
leaving Mr.. Steele the possessor Of ST LOO
d worth of stock in the aforesaid company
j. 1t was also written across the face of thu
note that it was non-negotiable. Merr!
collected SIS interest or the note for
y months and the same was paid by per
.e sonal check. Merry also borrowed 81
or or $40 of Mr.. Steele and got an intro
duction to ten or a dozen of his intimat
rs friends around Minneapolis and grafte'
if them all for amounts ranging from 81
to 500.
" When Merry went to Brainerd earl
:: in the winter he introduced himself t
n. DR.. Courtney of the N. P. sanitarium a
y, c. H. Merry, the partner of Banker A
te billiard of this city in the live stoc
business. The doctor being a brother c
Mrs. Hilliard, gave Promoter Merr
some attention and introduced him t
Or Judge Steele who was looking after a
e important law case there at the time.
H.. Merry was trying to float $4,000
worth of his Great Western ms. G.
stock in Minnesota in order to get
n. license to write insurance and was prat
tically giving away great blocks of pa
per. He worked DR.. Swertser and do;
D.. ems of other prominent Twin City mel
Evidently he had two pockets, fc
non-negotiable paper and another fc
ne straight demand notes. The deman
notes were all forgeries and Merr
L- ---. 49, n ,