The Lawton Constitution from Lawton, Oklahoma • 1

COMP A I Secretary Of State Marshall Says Russians Have Shown No Signs Of Sincerely Seeking Existing Internationa I Bodies lays Attitude Vi ck i 7 OURTEEN PAGES Price DAILY EDITION JESSE JAMES IS ALIVEriirLAWTON If 500 armers Ranchers To iJoe Hunter Make Annual Grass Tour Upar 'ort Worth will make an address vvUl LI Ivl Of 'Rainbow' MB coins and besides 9 Affidavits Submitted To Verify Outlaw's James Identity Secret 1948 Sun and Time Co 0 non in affairs Air Mail the Lawton uneral home at 2:30 Thursday and Walters Man Robbed Beaten Send It the name of Col as saying a because we Centenarian Tells Tale Of HistoricRuse Soviet Stand Is Criticized By Marshall 1 OKLA HIST SOCIETY OKLAHOMA CIT'f OKLA Ir his innumerable beneficiaries our affidavits testifying rank Dalton is the original Jesse James have been made this month by three Oklahomans and a Texan who knew the original Jesse They are submitted as links in the long chain of proof that the venerable virile silver haired old gentle man with the icy eyes and the booming voice now In Lawton near the heart of his former Wich ita mountain hideout is Jesse James not dead They fol low: IAn affidavit made in Houston ton County Texas May 7 1948 by Mary James name is Marv James widow of William Martin James deceased My husband passed away during the month of August 1947 My father was Joe he married Mary Louise Pate (my mother) and I was born not far ort Worth will make an address on range management Uyer To Give 'Talk ollowing lunch provided by the Chamber of Commerce and served under direction of John Keathley the visitors will hear a talk by Hyer county agent at large in charge of western Oklahoma grass work Mr Hyer will discuss steps in restoring native grass pastures The tour itself will open at 12:30 Mr Allred and representa tives of the state extension service will discuss various phases of grass production and range management at each of the stops on the itiner ary arms to be visited and native grass natures which will be In spected there were announced as (See Page 2 Column 6 A Walters man awakened with a knot on his head on a deserted road southwest of Lawton about 3 a today minus his clothes except for one sock and a pair of pants after two men in army uniforms hitched a ride with shim' east of Lawton beat him over the head stoleshls car and personal equipment He was Hannaford Sargent 31 who told police he had been robbed of J20 In cash and his wrist watch when the pair abused his hospitality Sargent told police he picked up the two men near the Lawton Duncan about 8 They drove west stopping at a tavern for a bottle of beer and when they resumed the trip onej of the men was in the front seat and the other in the back Struck On Head The man in the rear seat start ed the asault by hitting Sargent in the head Then the pair bela (See Page 2 Col 3) Benjamin Matthews South west Oklahoma resident since 1913 died at his home 2011 A about 250 uesday following an ill ncss of five vears He was 75 and had been bedfast for the past three years A native of Tishomingo Miss he was married to Mrs Susie Ma har in Hill county Tex In 1902 The couple came to Oklahoma in 1916 and moved to Lawton from letcher In 1936 He was a mem ber of the Baptist church During the Spanish American war he served from July 2 1898 to March 15 1899 enlisting as a private in Co of the 39th regiment In addition to his wife Mr Mat thews Is survived by two sons Matthews 809 Lee and Ben jamin Matthews of the home address two daughters Mrs Ed na Wallace Carlsbad and Mrs Bradley Thompson Duncan two step daughters Mrs Moore Comanche and Mrs Moore Chickasha a brother Al len Matthews and a sister Mrs Birdie Ward both of Stillwell 21 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren uneral services will be conduct? eo at chapel NOTE: ully realiz ing that a story of the startling proportions such as the revelation that Jesse Janies who has be come a legend in United States history as an "outlaw with a heart of needs documen tary proof before it can lie ac cepted as a fact by readers edi tors of The Constitution submit the following affidavits all held by this newspaper bv Persons alive today who knew the Mis souri bandit By EMMETT IZ KEOUGH Constitution Staff Writer Ironically the fact that Jesse James never met his death at the hands of Bob ord ornery little has been a well kept but widely known secret for more than three score years Lived By A Code With nis cold blue eyes beaming Jesse himself has confided to his intimates that half million peo pie in Texas knew for all these years that Col rank Dalton of Centerville was none other than the man who was feared in some corners as a ruthless des perado in the and respected in others as a man who never turned a friend in need Blit there's a code among the kith and km of that lost genera tion of Americans who lived by the staccato bark of a flaming six gun as they took from the people who had it and distributed their loot to those that That code never sunken hut el ways undei stood makes it an of fense punishable by death to reveal the hand of a man whose past failed to meet with the dictates of the law i Known or Generosity or Texans of that generation judged a man "for what he is not what he and Col rank Dalton is a man with a generous heart And sons of Texas pioneers love the man they know as Colonel Dalton 1 Known as a "soft by his associates the tales ot rank Dalton's generosity are legend even as were the earlier stories of the man known as Jesse James feared as an outlaw but loved by st the president Court Order Asked The group immediate ly asked the National Labor Rela tions board to get a court order to force Lewis to bargain The petition accusing Lewis of unfair labor practices for alleged refusal to talk with the southern group ent to NLRB general coun sel Robert Denham Moody speaking for the associ ation told Denham the "prgency of the situation is He continued union's refusal to1 ine requirements of the labor management relations act (Taft Hartley) endangers the nego tiations for a new contract upon the expiration of the present bi tuminous coal wage agreement "Only prompt and effective in tervention of your office can se cure to the Southern Coal Produc ers association its rights under the labor management relations 'Lewis Is Blamed The petition also was filed with the Baltimore regional office of NLRB A similar complaint against Lewis by the southern group al ready is pending there That grew out of dispute over pen lnne Moody told a news conference after the collapse of the wage ses sions that Lewis apparently "want ed to break up the conference He said that Lewis "objects to any organized WEATHER Partly cloudy continued mild poe tible scattered showers High Thursday around 90 Tuesday's high 89 today's low 84 Matthews Rites Are Set WASHINGTON May (UP) Secretary of State George Marshall said to day that since the Russians opened their offen they have shown no signs of sincerely seeking agreements in existing inter national bodies Repeats Stand Mash all's statement to a news conference supplemented the one of a week ago when he called for by the Soviet Union in various international disputes XV hat the world needs so urgent ly Marshall said today is con structive and remedial action par ticularly on questions which are before international bodies Referring directly to Premier Josef Stalin's recent proposal to negotiate a settlement of the cold war on th basis of Henry A Wal program Marshall said the sincerity of the stated desire of the Soviets would be determined by their attitude in the various bodies where negotiations among ail in terested nations are now under way progress in the past has been prevented by the Soviets he said No Soviet Change When asked specifically whether the Soviets had shown any sign of changing their obstructive tac tics in Korea Berlin Japan etc Marshall said there had been no Indication of such a change since the latest "peace controversy ne agreed that there had not been much time for such a change to occur Marshall got a big laugh when he was asked whether he would talk to Soviet oreign Minister Molotov If the latter came here He said he certainly would see him He had been reminded that President Truman Insists that his Invitation to Stalin to come to Washington still stands' The State department made pub lic earlier today a list of 21 inter national Issues on which it accus ed the Soviet Union of obstruction Those are issues which the United States insists cannot be the sub ject of bilateral talks between the United States and Russia alone Called Insincere Move The United States does not con sider the recent Soviet peace of fensive as sincere The list of 11 unsettled issues was designed to show the world that already long and fruitless efforts have been made to reach agreements The list supported Secretary Marshalls statement of a week ago that what the United States wants is in the already existing international not a two way deal between the Uni ted States and Russia Marshall charged then that the Soviets had obstructed agreements (n the United Nations and other international bodies Today his ad visers read chapter and verse of the long struggle in the post war period for agreements Specifically they accused the Soviet Union of blocking agreements on three is sues Reduction of armaments atomic energy German and Japanese peace treaties evacuation of troops from China and Korea respect for uauuntu sovereignty and terference in domestic (See Page 2 Column BY RANK HALL Constitution Staff Writer Blood stained gold still lies hidden in the granite studded Wichita mountains and Joe Hunter veteran Lawton trea sure hunter believes it will be located soon through the personal aid of Jesse James famed badman of the midlands Doubt Removed When Hunter will take up his Ceaseless search ncmSn a pivoirui atical but he is certain that in formation given him by the aged man revealed in Lawton today as James will lead him to the treasure trove that has eluded many scores of searchers and cost numerous lives since it was brought into this area years ago by the Spaniards All doubt about the brass bucket two picks a wedge three legged skillet and a watch discovered by Hunter during his 15 year search were hidden by James apparently were dispelled as Lee Howk Cen terville Texas a long time friend of the man who says he was once the outlaw leader gave details of how they were hidden "There was lots uf gold hidden in this area plenty of it but un less they have the right Informa tion no person will ever find it Howk quoted James who has gone jcatiu uiiuer rank Dalton bunod tfr ni 4 nave any wav tn trnritsrinrt ro tizvV gold bullion and coins and besides we need too much of it Howk quoted James "We hid it well and used a code that easy to antastic Story XX ith the almost unbelievable rev elation that Jesse James is slllf alive there is iinrvniAi of a fantastic story of how Hunter came in possession of certainLnaps prepared by: James: himself that pointed the way to treasure caches In the region The maps now In pos session Howk said were stolen from Jesse after his alleged death and while he was on a trip to Eng land It was while he was seriously ill aboard the ship that the charts were stolen from him These even tually found their way back to the United States and were placed with an aged man in eastern Oklahoma However that person whose name cannot be revealed did not know he possessed the maps until he had owned them five vmr be cause they were hidden in the false bottom of a small chest It was soon after their discovery that Hunter became their custod ian from where I live now on January 3 1857 I married William James Left Steel Jacket "When I was about 10 years old a man calling himself Jesse Red mond came to our home and stay ed He was hunting a place to rest up and hide out for awhile XX'hile Lewis Balks Coal Meeting Collapses WASHINGTON May 19 (AP) Negotiations on a new sott coal wage contract collapsed today and southern mine owners promptly charged John Lewis with unfair labor practices The two day old talks broke up over the right of the South ern Goal I roducers association to take part Lewis and his United Mine Workers balked at seating Joseph Moody BULLETIN OKLAHOMA CITY Muy 19 H) 1 he Oklahoma supreme court today reached a decision on whe ther Justice letcher Riley can legally seek re election and run for the senate simultane ously The decision which may force Riley to seek the senate post and drop his race for re election will be handed down be fore 5 Preparation of the formal opin ion was expected to take several hours AN AIDAVIT CONSIDERED one of the important supporting documents in the startling revelation that Jesse James legendary outlaw of the post Civil war era is alive is the following af fidavit signed in the presence of Reece Russell notary public in Lawton on April 24 1948' "KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS' That I rank Dalton being of sound mind and body wish to state mat I am the son of Robert James a Baptist minister and Zerelda Cole and that I was born at Centerville Missouri on September 5th 1847 the town of Centerville was later changed to Kearney Missouri same being located and sit uated in the present County of Clay the State of Missouri I have used many different names and aliases over many years but my real name is and always has been JESSE WOODSON JAMES My full brother was ALEXANDER RANK JAMES four years older than myself We were members of MISSOURI IRREGULARS that fought through the Civil War on the Side of the Confeder acy later we became outlaws or bandits who operated over a wide area of several states ''IN WITNESS WHEREO I hereunto set my hand and seal this the 24th day of April 1948" (Signed) rank Dalton (The Lawton Constitution has a photostat copy of this affidavit on file A estimated 500 area farmersand ranchers are expected to converge in Comanche county Thursday for the second annual Southwestern Oklahoma range im provement field day scheduled un der sponsorship of the Lawton Chamber of Commerce County Agent Ted Krisher is director of the event which will be conducted in cooperation with the Oklahoma extension service Soil Conservation service and the dry land experiment station north of Lawton The day will open with assem bly at the station at 9:30 a rom 10 until 11 a the group will Inspect old grass seedings and tour small grain experiment plots at the station Allred chief of range division SCS region 4 KING REBELS Eyes that have witnessed a century of turbulent history gaze pensively as Jesse James famed Missouri outlaw recalls the day when he ruled as overlord of the treasure kingdom of the Wichitos (Constitution Staff Photo by Emmett Keough) Hl inrowing your mind in neutral and whittl ing a Spell now and then will keen ou from getting ORTY SEVENTH YEAR (AP) Associated Press Hunter became their custod Maps Accurate know now that granddaddies of all the treasure Hunter declared today "They have never been wrong Jesse made one of these maps on a huge cowhide the other on a piece of leather that he had sewn inside of his It was these maps that Hunter employed when he discovered the treasure clues that were presented to the public recently through an exclusive story The Lawton Con stitution Many were skeptical of (See Page 2 Col 5) By LINDSEY XVIHTTEN Constitution Staff Jesse James the famed Missouri outlaw is still and riding the trail again The txvo fisted gun sling ing Robin Hood of the post Civil War era was revealed today to be officially alive and residing in Lawton Historic Ruse History must blush with shame at its terrible mistake It must re cord a retraction for the error it made more than a hnlf century ago when the man who was be lieved to be Jesse James was killed and buried ate made It possible for the Missouri outlaw to experience one of the most unusual roles ever lived by any man He sang at his THER MORE" INSIDE I or additional Constitution staff photos and related news on the Jesse James story please turn to Pago 7 own funeral sounding off with hfs handsome baritone voice which even today is something to be proud of The location of his residence In Lawton was withheld from the public It was realized by his close companions that when his identity was revealed the world would surge to his side Officially Jesse James was killed In 1882 by Bob ord a member of the gang although not fully accepted But actually it was Charley Bigelow who met his death at the hands ot the gangster Mother Old Man Jesse laughs with a keen twinkle in his eyes when he recalls the episode of his official demise He enjoys even more when he remembers that even his own mother at first would not go along with the plan It took his brother rank to convince her that she should Identify the body as that of her beloved son Jesse History records that Mrs Sam uels their mother at first stated that it was not the body of her son But later she said it was and the body was: burled in her front yard the benefit of those who wonder why he has decided to re veal his Identity Jesse recalls his pact with the members of the gang "We reveal our Iden tity until all of us are dead or past the age of The leader was 100 on Sept 5 1947 Chose Iawton He himself chose Lawton as the point where he would reveal his Identity Jt was the center of his activities since his young manhood when he was on the "owl trail He also felt the Influence of Joe Hunter of Lawton to come un the trail The trail led throughout Texas Arkansas Oklahoma Kansas Ne braska the Dakotas and on up Into Montana But the XVichltas UTA hifl fll a OHl lnt it eeeu any HMJ JUVC UltJ scene of many an experience which would put fiction to shame It was here that he wrestled with nature used her for a cloak of protection and battled with the bad men of the west who thought they had a chance against the magic of his draw and the accuracy of his alm The nutlaw leader although ad mlttedly an operator outside the law re afflrms the age old axiom (See Pago 8 Col 4) as i sw ixuijii i ii rr ii in ni Jiun rnoroyrQphtrj Rites Set or Mrs Etlierton Mrs Mary A Etherton 93 year old Lawton woman residing with a daughter Mrs A Johnson 1703 Dearborn died at 4 Tuesday leaving 38 direct descen dants including two great great gradchildren She died at a local hospital following a two wecks illness Born Mary Ann Henson at Grand Tower Ill she was mar ried to Abram Etherton at Grand Tower In 1871 Mr Etherton died at their home there in 1921 and Mrs Etherton has lived with Mrs' Johnson here for past three years In addition to Mrs Johnson Mrs Etherton is survived by four sons Guy Etherton Herbert Ether ton Eldon Etherton of Los Angeles Calif and XV A Ether ton' Kirkwood Mo 11 grand i Children 20 great grandchildren ive grandchildren living in the Lawton area include A John son 501 ort Sill Blvd Clay John son 316 Park Mrs Brown ort Sill Jimmy Johnson 1211 Lake and Harold Johnson 810 13th The body be forwarded to Kansas City Mo for services ri day and burial beside the grave of a son at Mount XVashlnvtnn sas cemetery Local arrangements are unoer tne direction of tha Law I earthed the historic unerax nome The Resurrectl0n of jM jQmes (phofoby Robn 100 with us a few weeks he helped us pick cotton and do other work about the place which was on the Ncches river I had many oppor tunities to get a good look at this man who wore long hair which was more or less wavy he had blue eyes fair complexion I re collect then that he left a steel bullet proof jacket when my broth er carried him to Lufkin Texas XVe found an identification card in the jacket naming him as Jesse Jaines My brother carried him on to Tnf km and he sent a gallon of whisky I burial will be in Highland cem (See Page Eight Column 7) jtery THE LAWTON CONSTITUTION 5 A nt rcvww 1 1 ay a 1 ft 1901 (UP) United Pre: LAWTON OKLA WEDNESDAY MAY 19 1948 Hr v'j Ah A 7) wiMMgBKaBWEL ig WHS iHK 1 i hi A 1 IM iMHa i my.