The Fallon standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1920-1958, 1920-09-30
S Assailant
Is Taken Into
Custody
Polish Youth Who Worked at Ed
Morgan Ranch Confessed His Guilt
As Mrs. Morgan's Assailant

study in criminology is afford
ed by Joe Cranmer, 19-year old Pol
ish youth who on last Wednesday
night entered the Ed T. Morgan
ranch home near Northam and after
stealthily making his way through
the house. entered Mrs. Morgan S
sleeping apartment and brutally
struck her in the face with his fists
time after time. The young man
was apprehended Monday morning
by Jim Smith, Herbert Hoover, Bob
Tillotson and A. F. Branch, MEM
bers of Sheriff Ways posse who had
followed the young mans trail from
the Morgan home to the oil field
east of John Peterson's station,
about 2S miles cross country from
the scene of the atrocious assault
upon defenseless womanhood.
| When he entered on his career of
crime Cranmer, who is plainly a
mental defective, very apparently
decided to 60 the limit in depreda-
tion and he entered house after
house taking food, guns and cloth
ing. He entered a cabin near the
Morgan ranch, later breaking into
the VIM. Rodgers house in the
Sheckler district and afterward
broke into the T. II. Depp house
south of this city. From there be
went to the beach near Carson Lake
and pursued the same. burglarizing
tactics, and on Sunday showed up at
the John Peterson station. Mr..
Peterson furnished the local sher-
IFS Office with the first description
of the marauder who took TO the
hills when he deemed his tenure oil
house breaking terminated in this
community
The members of the posses
searching for Cranmer followed the
clues established by Mr.. Peterson
and 1t fell to@the vt of Jim Smith
to place him under arrest after To-
eating him at cabin in the vicinity
Of the Ell Petrolio oil land locations.
Cranmer quickly saw that resist
ance would be futile and surrender
ed to Mr.. Smith without comment.
When taken into custody he had a
tal ha oh
and three boxes of sholls in his pos
session.
Cranmer was brought to this city
at once and lodged in jail. He later
confessed his crimes and said he
did not know why he struck Mrs.
Morgan. He told the questioning
officials Monday that he had gone
there in search of food and when
he found that occupants were in the
house he resorted to fistieuffs, not
knowing that he was attacking Mrs.
Morgan. This version of the affair
is not believed by the officials who
believe Cranmer was impelled by
entirely brutal motives and that his
purpose was only thwarted by the
plucky fight of Mrs. Morgan and her
ten-year old daughter.
Cranmer worked at the Morgan
place during the second alfalfa hay
harvest and was not suspected of
having perverse tendencies. Mr..
Morgan regarded him as ordinarily
bright and did not suspect him of
the crime and it was only the young
mans other crimes that connected
him with the heinous affair at the
Morgan place.
Feeling ran very high in Fallon
Monday night and only leader
was needed to attempt mob vio-
lence. Talk of lynching was freely
INDUCED in certain quarters but
wise counsel prevailed. The law
will take its course and on Tuesday
afternoon Cranmer waived counsel
in Justice of the Peace T. A. Jones
court, asserting that he wanted to
60 to jail. He is charged with first
degree burglary and the machinery
of the law will probably move very
rapidly to place him behind the pris-
ON bars.
The $1,000 reward offered by the
State of Nevada for Cranmer's ap.
prehension. dead or alive, will be
apportioned by District Judge T. c.
Hart within the near future.
A representative of this paper
questioned Cranmer yesterday. the
young man talking freely of the
episodes that form an astounding
chapter in local criminology. He
said that he worked Is days for Mr.
Morgan during the second alfalfa
hay harvest and that he lost mos
of the money together with tn,
purse In which II was carried ant
that he wanted most of all some
thing to eat. He said that he hat
nothing against Mrs. Morgan an,
that he had been treated we'll dur
ing his sojourn at the Northan
ranch. He picked up the hammer
he said. when he came on the Nor