Show GEORGE DUNNINGS CASE EVIDENCE seems to be accumulating in support of the story of george dunning of chicago and there appears but little room for doubt that he was made the victim of a foul conspiracy the narrative reads like a romance woven by the the fertile imagination of a modern writer of fiction it could be made the basis of a stirring sensational novel if clothed with a few imaginative situations and episodes according to what has been published publish edt the skeleton of the tale is about as follows dunning a good looking young fellow was a newspaper circulator in chicago in pursuit of his vocation he made regular calls at the house of a millionaire who resided in his district this wealthy old gentleman had a pretty daughter r the young lady and dunning formed an acquaintance and a mutual affection sprang up between them As in the ordinary domestic 0 drama the aged moneybags money bags discovered what was going on he here re sorted to a number of methods to break up the mutuality of the youngsters then came the conspiracy to dispose of young george dunning A tough character named frank allen alien was engaged to commit a burglary so arrange matters that the deed would be discovered and dunning be arrested as an accomplice the scheme was operated and carried in good shape the two were tried convicted and sentenced each to four years imprisonment allen alien got a new trial was sentenced to one year and after being in jail two weeks was pardoned A new trial was denied to dunning A lawyer surreptitiously engaged by the YOU young lady to defend george was bought off the millionaires daughter also wrote letters to dunnings mother an attorney made pretense of an intention to work for the unfortunate victim of the plot obtained possession of these epistles and that was the end of them by secret instruction to prison officials dunning was placed at the hardest labor in the jail and was fast succumbing to the rigorous treatment until discovered by john bonfield the noted ex detective who procured a relaxation of the regime to which the convict was being subjected 4 mr bonfield also discovered that i two checks of each had been negotiated through the merchants loan and trust company the cash having been paid to mr west of the times mw this is alleged to have been hush money received by him the condition being that the story about dunning which had been obtained by a representative of that paper be not published the chicago journal has been hunting up the facts and has given a full and particular account of the remarkable story which has greatly agitated social circles in the queen city during the whole stir for some reason best beat known to those who have been working up the exposure the name of the millionaire the grim old villain of the drama has been persistently suppressed As money as well as a love affair has been at the root of the whole business it can scarcely be doubted that the influence of wealth has super induced the silence that has prevailed upon this point the whole affair is an evidence of the potency of wealth and the corruptibility through its agency of ordinary mortals if the millionaire had taken energetic fair and legitimate means to save his disobedient daughter from making a bad matrimonial match that would doubtless have resulted misery in course would have been commended but recourse to a disgraceful plot such as that described involving in its conduct a recourse to law by securing the conviction and imprisonment of a man for a crime of which he was entirely innocent is beyond the pale of excuse in other words it is basely criminal and should result in the severe punishment of the perpetrator |