Imperial Valley press., 1925-07-23
Scouts Theory
OF Duel, Says
Mate Murdered

y
jefferson Barracks, Missouri. He
did not serve overseas during the
world war, possibly on account of
his birth, the army sometimes re
fusing to send men to France who
were subjects of the Central Powers.
He was stationed at Camp DeVens,
Massachusetts, as q member of the
Headquarters S0mpal::', 303rd In
fantry of the National army. He
was naturalized at this camp on
October 81, 1918, and was discharg-
ed from the same place on July Z,
1920.
!, Entered Marine Corps
From the army he went to lndi-
ana, where he engaged i'll the real
+ estate business, working at it only
Il few months, according to informa-
tion he gave to Ed Harley, local
representative of the international
Correspondence Schools when he en-
rolled at Imperial for one of the
school courses. He later went to
work on n farm in Illinois, quitting
his Job there to enlist i'll the United
States marine corps at Cleveland,
Ohio, on October 20, 1921, giving has
home address as Forest Lake, Mich
igan, where his family still re-
sides. lie served with the marines
i'll this country at Quantico, Nir-
giliia, and in Haiti and was dis
charged for disability at San Diego
on April -, 1924. On May II, 1924,
he came to Imperial to work for
the Imperial lee and Development
company, with whom he remained
until june 80 Of this year.
There is nothing in Truden s rec
ord to show that he ever served in
Hawaii, where it was believed he
might have met Kirk.
While in the marines, Truden
took course in mathematics with
the international Correspondence
Schools, and later in Imperial he
again enrolled for the school S Span
iSh course. He had also graduated
from an automotiye mechanics
school III the army and won his rat
ing as n stable sergeant after a
course of study. These Incidents
NIbh MS Ihh.NNi ', anu MS IIuSdit.N y
is demonstrated by the fact that
he was purchasing stock in a sub
sidiary company of the Southern 81
crras Power company while at I'm
perial,
His employers at Imperial speak
highly of him, declaring he was
honest aud conscientious and a hard
worker who gave no trouble. This
lines up with his army record, where
his character is rated as excellent
and there were no marks against
him. At the time ic quit the ice
company an effort was made to have
him remain in their employ. He re-
fused to he argued into changing
his mind, and when pressed for a
reason for leaving, he stated he had
personal reasons. To a friend in
lmperiaI he stated that he had the
gambling fever and could not re.
main at work, and this party states
that after June 30 Truden did con
siderable gambling at MeXicah.
No Mystery Letters
Truden left no mysterious letters
among his effects, nor is there any
/ thing 10 Show that he even knew
Kirk. Those who had occasion ia
know Truden and his general char.
acter, are firm in their belief that
the letter he left to the chief of po-
lice at Imperial, describing the
shooting of Kirk is absolute truth
! While il may have minor discrep-
ancies, they assert, the main facts
have been substantiated and Truden
was not the type to die telling a
lie, they insist. They also point out
the fact that tch map he left was
true in lis description of where
, Kirk S body would be found,
Moreover, Truden 5 statement in
that letter that Kirk began shoot
ing at "two' instead of '"threc'
/ and Truden S refusal to shoot unit
he had reached the count agreed
upon, are in line with his straight
! forwardncss an0 square dealing. HI
also expressed the hope that hi,
brother will see that Kirk S legiti
mate debts in Imperial are paid,
All these queer angles to the story
and the fact that the cause of tn,
deadly feud which resulted in the
death of two men is no nearer solu
ton than it was last Monday whel
/ Truden killed himself makes tn,
case one of the most gripping loca
officers have ever encountered.