WRITTEN AT: Dry River Junction, Tex.
DATE: November 7, 1924
WRITTEN BY: Luke Torkle, Service Man
SUBJECT: Tractor belonging to D. C. Suggs
Reached here 7 A.M. Unloaded tractor for Canyon Ranch, and will
drive it over to-morrow.
Before I had a chance to look up D.C. Suggs, the mayor and prominent
citizens urgently requested me to use the new tractor to move a house
that was blocking the main street. This looked like good advertising
for us, especially as the county commissioner here is expecting to
buy a tractor for road work. Accordingly, I spent the morning moving
the house to where they wanted it, and then looked up Mr. Suggs.
Found he has left town. It is reported that he was shot at three
times yesterday by a man called Rogers, but escaped. Last night he
sold his entire property, consisting of a second-hand tractor, an old
fliv, one radio set and the good will in a house-moving business for
$450. He then took the train north with a girl called Mildred Rogers
of this place.
I inspected the tractor formerly owned by Mr. Suggs. No wonder we
couldn't supply him with repairs for it. It is not one of our
tractors. It has no name plate, but I was able to identify it as a
1920 Model, Steel Elephant Tractor, made by the S.E. Tractor Company
of Indianapolis. I talked on the phone with Mrs. Joseph Banks, whose
husband formerly owned the tractor. She says her husband sold the
old Earthworm Tractor three years ago to a man in Dallas. Mr. Banks
owned four or five different kinds of tractors. Mrs. Banks
remembered he had once bought tractor parts from the Farmers' Friend
Tractor Company.
In regard to your suggestion that Mr. Suggs might be persuaded to buy
a new tractor, I think this is hardly possible. It is reported that
before he left, Mr. Suggs stated that he and Miss Rogers would be
married and would locate in Chicago. He was uncertain what business
he would take up, but said very emphatically it would be nothing in
any way connected with house moving, or with tractors or any kind of
machinery.