The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1927-01-20
ADMITS HE Is
CLARK, WANTED
In CALIFORNIA
Confession Made to Newspa-
per Man and Sheriff Late
Wednesday Afternoon
is NOW EN- ROUTE WEST
Jack Miller Claims He Was
'Bluffing to Lengthen Time
Which He Had to Live

Minot. N. d.. Jan. 2O-LP-
Thwartcd in two attempts to cheat
the gallows by acting as his own
exccutioncr. and unafraid to die "be-
cause God Almighty above knows that
I'm not guilty Of MURDER" Jack Mil
Ter of Minot, 80, whose true name is
Earl j. Clark, today is on a train
speeding toward California where
death ut the end Of rope is the
penalty which he must pay for the
crime Of which he was convicted
murder in the first degree.
Dropping the masquerade of posing
as Miller and different person than
Clark, the condemned man late yes
terday opened his lips for the first
time to confess his identity, and to
admit that he has been "bluffing to
iengthcn the time in which I've got
to live"
Less than an hour before he was
20 be taken aboard Great Northern
train No. ! in Minot early this morn
ing, Miller made two attempts t5 end
his life in the county Jail in this
city. one by strangling himself to
other by eating a tube of shaving
soap. Both attempts failed, and his
farewell greetings to Sheriff w. f.
Slaybaugh at the train was, "Tll be
back"
Hanging Attempt Fails
Miller's effort to hang himself
with his underwear, which he had
tied to a high cot in his cell, failed
when the improvised moose which he
had made loosened and droppd him
to the floor.
Shaving soap, which Miller be-
lieved would poison him. was next
resorted to in an effort to end his
life, but the liquid, which he had
poured into an orange to swecten
the taste, only made him sick, and a
physician soon had him feeling bet
ter after administering an emetic.
Miller was in high spirits when
taken to the station where he casu-
ally surveyed crowd Of several
hundred persons which had gather
ed to get glimpse Of the convicted
California slayer.
Behind him in Minot, Miller has
left wife of three months, her eyes
Redeemed from hours of weeping
since she learned positively that her
husband was to be taken away from
her forever, to die for Staying
which the officers say was prompted
by jealousy over another girl.
Minot Wife Near Collapse
~~,ho nl
to Miller last Halloween night at
public ceremony. in this city, is near
a physical collapse as a result of the
strain she has undergone since her
husband was arrested on January 8.
"Try and forget mc--God knows !
love you. and you're good girl"
was Miller's final message to be con-
veycd to his wife, who visited him
for the last time in the county Jail
last night and, separated by Jail
bars which have turned their mar.
ricd life Of happiness to one of grim
tragedy, bade him goodbye. Weep
ing she then passed out Of the Jail.
The big steel door changed shut
after her, and jailer's key clicked
shut the lock-
Upstairs in a cell in solitary con-
fincmcnt. Miller lighted q, cigarette
which had been given him by "a vis-
itor, took few deep puffs, and
started to bundle together his few
personal belongings in preparation
for the journey which will eventually
lead him under q dangling hangman's
moose in California penitentiary.
Bluff Ends Suddenly
Miller's bluff for longer time in
which to live, as he described it,
came to an end with startling and
unexpected suddenness late yester-
day, when he requested an officer to
summon Raymond G. Dobson, city edi-
tor Of the Minot News, to come to
the Jail to see him. The newspaper
man had previously visited him in
the Jail and had discussed the case
at considerable length with him.
To the newspaperman and Sheriff
Slaybaugh, Miller for the first time
admitted that he was Earl J. Clark,
Continued on page thres.)