Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-08-08
E[WELL FIGURES
IN POSTAL THEFT
florida Postmistress Says He
Gave Her Money to Make
: Up First Deficit
STOLE TO PROTECT BROTHER

8uOtnef, HccOTulnB 10 nCE stOTy, tnc
part a drugged glass of wine played
and how a snake bite removed the last
hope Of making good a shortage in postal
accounts for which she says she was not
rssponsfble, are told In a sworn state
1ent written by Miss Lena Clarke In
the Orange County jail and given to
former poBtmistress at West Palm
Beach, ts accused Of the murder end the
theft OF $50 900 from the postofice. In
! . note accompanying the statement, she
said;
terday, I hand you herewith for your
omcial records a sworn statement as to
my coming to Orlando. l herewith
place the truth, so far Gs l remember
Il, IN your hands and commit my soul
20 Gods keeping"
Y Text Of Statement
Miss Clarke's statement reads:
~ hereby solemnly affirm the fol-
lowing facts:
'Therc were numerous small annoy
ances overlooked by me, because they
were occasioned by F. A. Miltmore 8
(the man she Is accused OF killing) per-
sonal ambition to obtain the position
Of assistant or postmaster at West
Palm Beach.
1.-THE first serious trouble was in
tho GUNNER of 1913 when my brother,
Paul Clarke. and were pushed to the
limit trying TO keep up our regular
work and conduct war work also At
this time F. A. Miltmore was in town
one evening when my brother and I
had g,ne back after supper to count
and wrap our funds ready for deposit
the next day. Mr.. Miltmore advised
that ha h,l
small bottle Of wine and offered him a
drink to refresh him, as Paul was very
tired Shortly after drinking a small
portion OF the wine my brother began
to oct in n peculiar manner and I be-
came frightened and took him home,
az he had evidently been doped to make
"As soon as got my brother quiet
] returned to the Office. remembering
the money, and as l approached the
ONCE I met Miltmore going away.
amount Of about S3S 900 which we
were counting had disappeared during
my absence.
"I was naturally frantic over this
and accused Miltmore Of drugging my
brother and taking the money. He
laughed at me at the time and refused
to talk about 1t. l covered the matter
because my brother was dearer to me
thar my own life. He had been in the
postal service over twenty years with
of flaw in his accounts, and I
switched the loss to accounts which
were under my control and said nothing
about the loss to him when he returned
after about two days illness.
Borrowed s3s. 900 From EIwelI
AFTER battling with the loss for sew
eral months I borrowed the money from
q friend Of my brother, whom I sup.
posed to be New York business man,
who had been hunting and fishing with
my brother in the Everglades, Joseph
Elwell by name. and was shocked to
learn later that he was n gambler. Some
months after l Strengthened my accounts
with his money Mr.. Elwell tried to hold
It over my head and threatened to tell
inspectors Of the occurrence unless I
gave the money back to him or went TO
New York to work for him. returned
the money as soon as l could and again
carried the shortage by shifting figures
and carrying amounts over for about
eighteen months past.
In the early part of May, 1920. I
worked until after midnight on my ac-
counts. went home leaving all vouchers
in drawer to my desk designed for
that purpose. In the morning when
open and the account gone. Also all
record Of paid order numbers. was
completely disheartened by this loss,
which made 1t almost impossible for me
to hide the other any longer. l wired
for an inspector, who arrived In a few
days and recommended to the auditor
that credit be allowed me for the stolen
orders, but I was not sure this would
be done and wrote Mr.. Elwell that
had dacidaI 20 lat h;vo haIn nan .,.+
Death intervencd. as he was found
murdered il his home in New York
few days later, before I heard from
him.
"In the fall Of 1920 received word
from the auditor to deposit 500, 900 to
cover the amount Of the orders, pend
ing further investigation. This II
was naturally impossible for me to do.
] went to Jacksonville in December.
1920. intending to ask inspectors for
advice. but could not speak because
in the position Of postmaster which
had secured.
Death Again Upsets Plans
"I returned home froul jacksonville
and had Il long talk with my brother,
telling him everything. lie asked rue
to wait until after Christmas, and he
mas Day my brother died from q snake
bite and l felt that my last prop was
knocked away. finally decided to try
and cover the loss in a way that would
protect both my bondsmen and the DOG =
tai service to which l had devoted the
best years of my life. had $4,000 acci-
dent policy and took out a SIT, 900 life
insurance policy, payable to double It's
face value: these with q similar policy
NJ HH0n0 nj pa la nj ka "a L..
in case OF accident would have given
$4,000 which would have paid all
shortage and left a margin for my par
lents. My plan was to take the first
Federal Reserve shipment which ap.
proximntely covered my loss. remit It q
few thousand a day until the shortage
was eliminated, then, having set my
accounts in order, ride of the Lake
Worth bridge in an old auto which |
had obtained; thus giving the appear.
ance of death by accident. and I be-
lieved the policies would be paid by the
time the missing bank packages could be
traced to me.
what changed my plans wag moi
sthe breaking down Of a 'mastermind,
% was suggested by one who did not
know ma well. 1t was seeing a bo,
In trouble, who was his mothers sol,
support. seeing postal clerks In troubl,
who are young and ambitious with :
future before them. ! wished 10 justif,
myself with them and with Inspector
by obtaining a statement from Miltmor
~ 10 previous occurrences, which fel
sure / could do I, therefore, lef
West Palm Beach for Orlando Monda.
morning. August /. About s 80 Mon
day evening / sent nore 10 Mr.. Milt
moro asking him to call at the Sal
Juan Hotel and told him brief