No One Arrested
A murder in Sturgis? This article was printed in the Sturgis Times-Democrat on January 10, 1914.
According to the reporter, police responded to the alley behind the Masonic building for reports of a badly beaten, bound and mangled body of a man they said was named “Price.”
They reported that this man had been a problem for merchants and citizens for several months. They questioned the merchants and found that the mangled body belonged to a man referred to as “Hy.” Hy was not liked by a majority of the local merchants and considered a troublemaker.
Suspicion for the murder fell upon the merchants, all of whom were well known and respected throughout town. However, police investigated but found no signs of a struggle or a crime inside the Masonic building or outside in the alley.
“Today, police announced that a sufficient arrest will not be made not only because of the prominence of the men, but also because this mutilating of ‘Hy’ Price will mean a great deal to everybody who attends the great combination sale that opens tomorrow as the result of the deliberately planned attack on High Price.”
So, it wasn’t a news report. It was an “advertisement” so to speak by merchants who were garnering attention to their sale by “attacking” High Prices. Seems like they should have waited until April 1 to run the ad. It was certainly a spoof on the general public. They likely slapped each other on the back for coming up with that one.
