The San Francisco call., 1898-02-06
CLARK AN
 ENIGMA TO
 HIS COUNSEL Heeds Too w ell Their Advice to Keep
 Silent. Will Not Even Talk to the Men Who Will De-
 fend Him. They Obtain Further Time in Which to Term His Ac-
 quaintance. PLAN FOR THE DEFENSE. will Seek to Prove That the Murder Was Instigated by the Vlc- tira's Wife.
They Obtain Further Time in Which to Term His Ac-
 quaintance.
PLAN FOR THE DEFENSE.
will Seek to Prove That the Murder Was Instigated by the Vlc-
 tira's Wife.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

NAPA. Feb. 5.-George W. Clark, the self-confessed murderer of his brother, William Anderson Clark, was brought from his cell in the County Jail this morning to Judge Hams courtroom to be formally charged with the crime of which he is accused. The prisoner, pale, trembling and with faltering step, was led into the court by posse of stalwart deputy sheriffs, who were obliged to force way through the morbid crowd that filled the room and oyerflowed into the corridors. The prisoner was joined by his attorneys, E. l.. Webber, Henry Hogan and c. J. Reerstecher as soon as he had been giv- en a seat at the attorneys tables.
 When order had been demanded the defendants counsel made formal mo- tion, asking the court to set aside the information filed against their client and for which he was to be arraigned, on the ground that before the filing of the information the defendant had not been legally committed by magis- trate. In support of the motion the at- torneys said that the depositions laid before the committing magistrate, upon which the warrant of arrest was is sued. did not state facts sufficient to constitute public offense; that from the deposition taken before the com- mitting magistrate on defendants ex- animation there was not any reason or probable cause to believe defendant guilty of the offense charged in the 1n- formation; that the filing Of said infor- nation against defendant by the Dis trict Attorney without any affidavits of the commission of an offense was unconstitutional, and that the filing of said information against defendant by the District Attorney was also uncon- Stitutional.
 Judge Ham replied that as far as the points incorporated in the motion were concerned they had all been decided by the Supreme Court, notably in the Durrant and Ebanks cases, and he would deny the motion.
 The attorneys for the defense asked the court for more time to review the evidence taken in the preliminary ex- animation and to prepare an argument in support of the motion. By consent of the District Attorney the request was granted and it was agreed that Thurs day next be set for the presentation of the case to the court. On that day the prisoner will plead, and it was agreed that the case be set for trial on Febru- ary 21.
 Clark has become a puzzling client for his attorneys. When Beerstecher and Hogan were engaged to defend him their first advice to the prisoner was to be cautious in his remarks and to say nothing about his case to any one. That was a few hours after he had made a confession of his guilt. Since then Clark has needed well the advice given him, and his attorneys have been unable even to get him to converse with them. r. L. Weboer. a brilliant young man and a promising attorney, was only few hours before the case was called to-day asked to as- sist in the defense. Clark had not taken his lawyers into his confidence up to the time Webber had agreed to help to defend him, and when the prisoner appeared in the courtroom the trio of lawyers did not know whether their client would plead innocent or guilty of the charge.
 The motion that was presented WAS prepared hurriedly and 1t gave the de- fendant's lawyers an opportunity to ask for time to become better ac- quainted with the prisoner and agree with him on line of defense.
 Clark has since his imprisonment tried every way possible to shield Mrs. Clark, the widow of the brother he confessed he killed. of any complicity in the crime, while at the same time. when asked direct questions of any all legged actions on her part which would make her equally guilty of the murder with him, he will neither affirm nor deny them.
 The murderer is a peculiarly consti- tuted man. He Is considered by those who know him best as a weak minded person, who could be easily led. Since his arrest he has recoiled from telling a lie with horror, saying that he would be eternally damned if he should give expression to an untruth; yet at the same time he looks upon murder as only a trivial omission.
 Clark's attorneys to-day were elab- orating line of defense and when the case comes to trial in all probability an effort will be made to show that the man accused of the murder committed the deed at the instigation of Mrs. Clark. It will be shown by testimony that the self-confessed murderer and Mrs. Clark had several times agreed to marry if only William Clark, the husband of the woman, were out of the way.
 An effort will be made to prove that George Clark acted with the full cog nizar,ce of Mrs. Clark when he twice attempted the murder of his brother with poison, and also when on the morning of January 20 he shot his un- fortunate relative at the doorway of his home. An effort in this line of defense will be made to prove that the simple minded murderer simply carried out the instructions of his brothers wife as faithfully as he could and lured on by the unnatural fascination the woman had for him.