The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1917-03-29
CONFESSION sTORI DISPUTED.
Detective j. N. Wilkerson Tells OF
Having Investigated Rev. J. }.
VI G lSurriS' Story.

tergiew with Rev. j. ]. Burris,
minister who told of having, received
a dying man S confession OF the vll-
Y lisea AK murder, In the same artlcie
Wilkerson, when interviewed, told OF
having investigated the story, and
convinced himself that it could not
be relied on. Below is printed 4 de-
tailed statement by Wilkerson con-
corning the story of Rev. Burris:
Il have known OF this story IGt
Z some time and have been expecting II
to be sprung at a psychological mo-
ment, and have been pre'ared Tor
.zeral Morrow was raised in Vii
, lisca by, his uncle John Nelson, VINO
was at one time the village black
row learned the blacksmith trade.
John Nelson was very fond OF his
nephew and puroosed giving him
high school education. Gerald at
tended the Villisca high school up. to
one year of graduation when owing
to a peeve with teacher he gut
r. A. Dunn, the present sherlh OF
Montgomery county, was a classmate
Of Gerald Morrow, and knows well
when he quit scnOOl and went away.
From 1862 until the date of his
death in 1913 Gerald Morrow never
again set foot on Iowa SOIL:
When he first went west he went
ON sheep ranch in Wyoming and
was for several years a herdsman.
During the Jackson Hole war be-
tween the sheep men and the cattle
men, the boss of the ranch upon
which Morrow was employed was
very seriously wounded wounded al ana I lay lor
Turing the tine that he was away
Morrow had entire charge of the
ranch, so pleased was the rancne"
with the efficient manner IN winch
his employe had conducted the al
fairs of the ranch during his absence
nent manager OF the ranch, which
position he kept for another wear or
more. Finally when the cattle men
prevailed and ran the sheep men
from that range Gerald drifted fur
ther west and went to the mining
town of Radersburg, Montana, where
he engaged in the trade which in his
uncles forge back in Iowa.
During the year 1912 Gerald fell
i'll of pnemonia and got down and
out, In the meantime his uncle had
died, but his aunt, back at Vllllsca,
responded promptly to his appeal Tor
assistance and after he got up from
the attack throughout the remainder
Of his life he kept up regular cor
respondence with his aunt, Mrs.
John Nelson who still lives at Viii
lisca, and with whom has continued
to reside Miss lola Morrow, a sister
to Gerald Morrow. =
CDR. and Mrs. E. c. Hough,, of
During the summer of 1913 they
took party of young people to
spend the summer with them on
their ranch. The party consisted OF
Miss lola Morrow, Ernest Peckham,
a brother Of Mrs. Hough, and How
ard Arnold, a brother to Mrs. Ross
and airs Wesley Arnold of Red Oak.
after a stay of month on the
ranch, one day to her. surprise and
great JOY Miss lzola learned that
Radersburg, Montana, was only twen-
ty miles away from the Hough ranch.
She made haste 70 write to her
brother bidding him come to her at
once. On the morning, OF the Fourth
Hough ranch stranger, who asked
for Miss Morrow When this lady
appeared the stranger jumped from
the vehicle and grabbed her to his
arms kissing and hugging her al
most to the point of suffocation.
When she was released from the ar
dent embraces OF the stranger. her
astonisllmsnt abated not bit TO |
learn that the big broad-shoulde:ed |
western man was the |
outgrowth of the STRIPPING lad from
high school who had departed from
her eleven years before, and had
now come in response to her appeal,
to again see his little sister. II
All day and all night they talked,
and talked, and talked, OF the by /
gone days, ana of the Childhood
hours. and of the things mutually |
dear and sacred to brother and SIS
ter hood. On the fifth day of July,
Gerald Morrow drove from the Hough
ranch back to Radersburg to ia Ike up
anvil chorus in celebration of the
happy reunion that had Just occur
red with his sister, lola.
sBut before night he was taken
violently i'll, and had to be taken
from his shop. On the morning OF
the sixth 1day of July there came a
Roste nas1 Izo TO Ne MerroW
the bedside OF her brother at Raiders
burg, and with instructions to call
on the way back at Townsend and !
fetch a consulting physician. Miss
Morrow and Ernest Peckham went
3 once to Radersburg, taking. the
ed. When they arrived at the bedside
of Gerald Morrow it was too late 10:
the grief stricken sister to get look
Of recognition from her dying broth
er He was wildly delirous with fe-
yer resulting from a sudden attack
of spinal meningitis. On the night
OF the seventh day Of July, 1917, in
the little hotel at Radersburg, the
spirit Of Gerald passed to eternity. !
hut not with the con- ession upon his
lips that he had murdered the Moore
family nor any one else. 1t is true
that he Iayed in his delirium, and it |
is true that there were around his |
bedside those who witnessed his |
death, but the Rev. J. J. Burris was |
not there. Nor was any other minis |
ter there. But there was loving |
sister who witnessed his dying strug- |
giles and can attest that he went the |
long road without his name being |
stained by the foulest blot that eve"
fell upon name, until comes the |
Rev. Burris and says that he heard |
his confession When Miss Morrow
read in the papers recently this story |
related by this man from Oklahoma |
Sho faintpd away Her aunt from |