Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980, 1921-03-07
Yoder Held
Victim Of
Gangsters
Murdered Woodburn
Garage Man Killed
by Portlanders Is
Sheliff's Theory

Woodburn, Or. Mar. 7.-Sheriffs
and their deputies from various
counties in the state are today
working on clues which, they claim,
indicate that Simon ]. Yoder,
"oodburn garage owner, whose
beaten and bullet pierced body was
found near Gervais yesterday, was
Killed by a gang operating out of
Portland. Deputies today working
with metropolitan officials in an eff
fort to round up a suspect and his
alleged accomplices.
Sheriff o. D. Bower and Coroner
Lloyd RigdOn of Salem are in
Woodburn this afternoon to hold
an inquest Sheriff Bower admit
ted that a number of clues which
he has endeavored to run down
have offered no promise of soiu-
ton to the mystery surrounding the
murder.
Mr.. Yoder, "a, proprietor of
Yoder's garage here, was found
dead with a bullet wound in his
head about Z o'clock Sunday morn
ing. His skull seemed also to have
been crushed by ml0w from a
blunt instrument. His automobile,
in which he had started to take a
strangert Salem at / l o'clock Sat
urday night, was missing, although
$09.35 in cash and about 500 worth
of checks had been left in his pock-
cts.
Salem Man Questioned
Belief that he was questioned
late Saturday night by the strang-
er who employed Yoder was ex-
pressed to the police today by
Charles w. Craig, S1O Bellevue
street. Craig, according to the
police, said he was approached by
a man whose description tallies
with that of the stranger, while
he was standing in front of the
Marion garage about midnight.
The man, Craig says. was wearing
khaki trousers and puttees.
Where is the depot?" Craig
says the man asked.
You're a long way from the
depot" Craig answered.
The man left in the opposite
from that Craig had in
dicated when he told him where
the station lay. This happened
about 12:45 Sunday morning.
Cravens Is Missing.
Immediately after the murdered
man was found Sunday morning.
authorities telegraphed broadcast a |
description of Mr., Yoder's passen-
ger, and a search also was begun
for for Henry Cravens, who was
of stesl1ng automobile |
tires from Mr.. Yoder more than a |
year ago. Cravens was sentenced |
to a year in the penitentiary from |
which he was later paroled. He is |
said to have made threats against !
Cravens, who was seen in Wood
zurn Saturday, could not be found
He was not the man, how
ever, who hired the automobile. it |
Is stated.
Word that Mr.. Yoder's eutomo-
bile had been recovered at Van
,ouver, Wash, where it was parked
in the street, was received by Sher-
If Bower last night. 1t was iden-
.ified by the license number and by
Mr.. Yoder's fishing license which
vas found in the tonneau.
johnson Denied Ride.
A stranger who said he was a
Portland chauffeur en- route to Sa-
EN- hired the automobile. His own
ar, he said, had broken down, and
le wanted a machine to take his ,
)arty on to Salem. The stranger
irst appeared in a pool hall in
where he first made
,nown his wishes. He did not seem
o be seeking any particular driver.
lyman Shorey, an employe of the
Toder garage. originally agreed to
make the drive, but changed his
,lans when Mr.. Yoder announced
hat he would pilot the car him
elf.
The stranger told Mr.. Yoder to
i'll up his gasoline tank as his fares
we're a party Of sports from Port ]
and and might want to return ,
lome after the trip to Salem. Mr..
yoder invited a friend, Ted John
on. a Southern Pacific engineer.
0 go along on the trip, but the
tranger explained that the car =,
(Continued on page five) Ii
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