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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (March 13, 1921)
M i 0 if - ' 0 - Clara Smith Hamon- NOBODY was better known through out the length and breadth ot the State of Oklahoma than Jake Lb Hamon. ' He -was a multi-millionaire, he had his finger in the great oil developments ot the" State, he -was the local political em peror ot the State, and he was tbe repre sentative of Oklahoma on the Republican National Committee. i Hamon had Involved himself In a love affair with Clara Smith Hamon and; had separated from his wife and child. Hamon had' been to the National Convention in the early Summer, had worked hard as politi cal boss at the November national election, nd had seen his candidate. Senator Har ding, elected to the Presidency. : j At once there loomed for Hamon vistas of political Importance as a national figure. With his candidate in the executive man sion and his party in power Hamon began to build air castles of his own future great- r.ess la Washington. Securely entrenched In political power in his own State of Okla homa, Hamon felt that he had outgrown the limitations of locaj boss, and might find it convenient to spend a good deal ot time at the national capital and sit In the coun cils of his party in Washington j But Mr. Harding and Mrs. Harming are rather old fashioned In their ideas of clean family morality. It would never do for Hamon to take his sweetheart end his 111- emelllng scandal to Washington with him. It, therefore, became expedient and con venlent to make overtures to his outraged wife, who was living apart with their child ! ' In Chicago, to return to him and wear the mask of domestic felicity. ' j r In this arrangement there wasno place; for Clara Hamon. : L t f It appears that Hamon thought out this situation, and perhaps with rather brutal frankness told bis sweetheart that the time bad come to throw her over. Hamon was accustomed to make and unmake little pol iticians and office holders at his will and convenience. If Clara Hamon stood in the way of his ambitions, why should she not' be dropped as he would have dropped a political associate who interfered with his plans? ' --f' ; i So the time came in the latter part of November when they fixed upon the final ay the day of parting. According to the assertions of Mr. Sam Blair, a very efficient and very reliable staff correspondent of the Universal Service and the Chicago Herald-Examiner, -Clara- Hamon told ot r x Sf Did She or Didn't She Shoot Mr. Hamon's arranging a marriage for her with his nephew so that she might use the name Clara Hamon on her travels with him. Then In these words she gave the story ot the last day: ! "Listen. I want to tell you first of that day and night of the night he was shot. "For ten years you know we had been he had dominated me. I hated him and yet I loved him. That day of November 21 we were to part for good. , "It was my decision and his. His wife was returning to him from Chicago. lie had grown to be a power In money and pol itics. I had made him what he was, but I had no desire to remain with, him and Share in the glory. "As for him. he was about to step out of the rough character, become a home-abiding husband, something of a power in his church, and, consequently, better able to grasp the higher political opportunities that both he and I knew lay just ahead. "And I for ten years, I had been fight ing that soul-racking battle to free myself from him to be just good, as other girls are as every girl wishes to be for the sake of my father and mother1 and for the sake of JImmle. here." ! She reached out an arm suddenly and drew to her the brother typically a col lege boy of clean-cut features and eyes. "Oh, it was for Jimmy's sake that I wanted to leave Jake Harmon forever,! she eald. "I wanted 1 him to be able to go through college with head up never know ing nor suspecting that his sister was not was not- . . ? "And so, you see, that day was to have been our last together. We had made up our minds. - ' ' "We had promised each other that not a thing should happen to mar the sanctity of the time. It was sacred for me, because he was the only man in all my life. ; "It had been sacred for him. too, for he loved me. He was a man who sought after every woman he encountered, but he loved just me. Often, he had told me it had become a pet expression with him 'Clara, I love you better than all the world; I love you better than my children. "And so, that morning, we were sad, but each was trying to conceal the sadness so as to give the other one, last happy memory, i: "There were politicians in Ardmore whom he had to meet. That angered him et the start, for he wished the day alone , with me. - - r "He saw these men. I know he met ; them in the sort of mood which made him an easy victim for the madness which later came. Why the W 'HO fired the shot into the ber ax, which ended King and Republican Oklahoma? The approaching trial of Clara Smith Hamon, his sweetheart, on Thursday, March 10, will clear up a mystery which has set the State of Oklahoma by its ears. : . As Hamon lay dying he declared that he had shot himself acci dentally while cleaning his automatic pistol. But Clara Hamon is de clared to have said that she fired the shot that mortally wounded her lover. " This is the first important and vital fact which must be established beyond any doubt at the approaching trial. Very few people who have studied the case think that the jury will have any difficulty in deciding whether the Oil King's dying statement was made to hide the true facts and escape scandal. J f, then, the jury believes' that Clara Hamon's hand held the pistol J Hamon? "The day passed. Instead f of; our being together as we . had desired, he was forced to ' run constantly to bis office. Each time he came back to ; me he had more drink than before. X i "Alwavs in the oast, he had . been able to achieve what . you call 'carrying his liquor. : But as this day wore on and , I got fitful glimpses of him I became convinced that he was crazy. . . '.- "Crazy Is the word. The way his eyes were glowing, J his lips twitching, his fingers I clenching. . "Until that day he tnvaria- bly masked himself in publio ; .as a gracious man. There I were : those who " always I ") The thought ot him as a 'good ! sport. But toward evening . he forgot to pretend in publio . what he was not behind the deor ox our ; room. f "I met him on the veranda of the Haldol Hotel at close to 6 o'clock. He screamed at me jerked me down into my chair. I : begged him to take me to the room, if he was bent on a quarrel. "I wanted to save him and me from the Ignominy of a publio fight. He made me keep my seat until he left his ownT and lurched across the street once more to his . Office. -Vv-1:'" !'- ' "After he had gone back again to his office I felt strangely worn and old. So t this, I thought, was to be the ending of our last day. I would to God, now, that it had r ended as I believed at the moment it was , finishing. : ,- - ' -. "My automobile was waiting out In front, t X decided to drive alone and seek what re i freshment the evening air would give. S "In possibly half an hour I returned. I was heart-sick. I felt no better. "The last day, the last day, kept ringing In my ears. "But how I hated him for the scene he had made on the hotel porch. " "How I hated myself because I had yield ; ed to his dominance for so long. - "I went to my room No. 28. His room - was No. 29. I locked the communicating , door between. I locked my own door. I could hear him beyond the partition. He evidently was more angry even than be fore. -: (C lKVlBtHoattttul IWtu SrfcIafe : Sentimmt:iiM OklaMoma Buddenlyi Ardmore, Okla., March 5. body of Jake L. Hamon on Novem the life of the multi-millionaire Oil National Committeeman at Ardmore, 54 113 Clara Hamon and Memorandum She the Photograph. "I telephoned for some food. . The negro porter Bill came with food. At his heels rushed Mr. Hamon. I could not put him. ; OUt. "I sot rid of the porter. I knew another : terrible scene was coming. "Mr. Hamon flung himself down on my bed. He was disgustingly Intoxicated. He called me he called me a terrible name. He wanted to know whom X had been rid , ing with.. .;; "He knew he knew, oh, so well, that never in ten years since I was seventeen had I even so much as raised my eyes s. another man. And yet, on that last day, : he chose to pretend he was doubting me. "His knife Mr. Hamon's knife fell out ' of his pocket as he lay on the bed. I don't r know why It must have been Providence 'r I picked it up and concealed it on the table under a newspaper. ; "He got up from tne tea. He grabbed me. His fingers went deep into my throat. I couldn't scream. "He laughed, that harsh, snarly laugh of ; his which he was careful not to give In pub licbut it was a' laugh I know welL It came the time he struck me on the head. "He grabbed my hands. He laughed and laughed, and tried to break my fingers. He crushed them backward on the knuckles. "Has anyone ever tried to bend your fln- gers back until they broke? it la pain; U is pain. Great Britain nights Tli wred, , that fired the bullet that killed Hamon, many questions at once arise ' which will influence the decision of the jury whether Hamon's, sweet heart was a deliberate murderess and should go to the electric chair-- or whether the girl is guiltless and should be set free. Either one or the other of these verdicts must be brought in by the jury to satisfy the public feeling in Oklahoma. No compromise verdict will do. " : The many phases of the case,, the various motives which may be urged by the Attorney-General who is conducting the prpsecution, and the explanations and answers which will be put forward by the lawyers for the accused woman are discussed elsewhere on these pages. Extracts from the remarkable and rather hysterical diary of Clara Hamon have already been printed, as well as a very circumstantial state ment alleged to have been made by the woman, explaining how she came to shoot Hamon. and the facts and circumstances leading. up to the alleged murder. , ;.. ; . ' , On the last page of the woman's diary, written on the very eve of the shooting, was pinned a letter from woman who signed herself Frances. , This was at first thought to be a love letter from some woman to Hamon which Clara Hamon had intercepted and which had worked her up to a jealous rage which culminated in the shooting. But investigation shows that this very remarkable love letter from the woman Frances was addressed to Clara herself, and that Frances is a very intimate personal acquaintance of the Hamon woman and not of Hamon. It is a curious letter. I . ' f : v The Curious Love Letter That Was Pinned to Clara Hamon's Diary (tjt 7TT DEAREST PAL: "Jul rtceirid your letter of Friday eve asd wa more tLta tied to leer from yea, sal I appreciate ad yoa said about me, and kope'yoa serer csanfe, for It's lots of coasolatioa to ame. Toa are sure thaa SrosderfoL and tune wtU mot ckaage sty tkoagkta sad everytkinf I TtaTe for yoa. ... ."Willi I coald 1m tkere to kelp yea pack, for I know yoa kare year jkaads faTL It weald gWe mo atold pleasare to ko witk yoa aad do all 1 coald for yoa. Kaow yea aaatt ke fired after all yoa kare doae aad kare to do. Wk2e yoa are packing sad working along, please remea&er tkere U a kelper wko woald love to relieve yoa of eoaae of year worries aad work. , "Asa sare your Tisit at your sister's was pleasant in a way, kat was a sad parting for aS especially for tke ckildrea. . ' ' ' ""' "Asa glad yoa enjoyed wkat yoa found tkere oa yoar arriraL aad wiik I coald repeat all I ml, aad I coald do k erery day, kat since I cannot, tkere wiU ke soatetking for yoa wkererer yoa stay go, so yoa will ke tart to kaow 1 aat 'witk yoa' in every one of your aad 'oar days. "I auxsed tke 'kenied good-kye, aad looked for it, sat was sore yea were trying. Tkere Is a baraiag in tke last good-kye,. aad 1 will never forget year last words; tkoagk tkey were sad to ate, tkey ckeered ate wonderfully, aad kope it may ke 'some el tkeso days.. Tke moon kas keen very 'pretty past few aigkts, aad it kas carried mack aad kroagkt more to me. "Have started me a flituV look, vikk yoa wiD see, aad 1 kopo it krings mora to yoa tkaa I pal ia it, for 1 will try and keep oa trying, kecaose .t am pretty sare ft wiD please yoa. t It's migkty lonesome aad Hue around kere, and tkere are so many tkings t miss, kat ia all tke 'muting' tkere is a 'something' tkat is whk me, tkat 1 cannot lose, aad ,w21 never lose it, kelieve me. . "It is, my only treasure aad tke only one, I can keep, if I lose everytking else. Tke cord Is stUJ golden, dear fal of Mine, and kopo tkere wifl not ke one tkinf to ever make it .tarnish. Disappoint ments are hitter ; that's wky 1 don't want any to kappen. At far as myself is concerned tkere won't be, aad am sare yea feel tke same. ' - 4 I "But I won Id not cry out.' i I was too proud, i "Then he had another thought. Instead of break , lng my fingers he would test his strength by twist ing the flesh of my hands In a cir cular fashion un til the flesh should 'break. He pro ceeded to atrip my hands of skin. - "We talk about physical agony. We read about Inquisition. I have Vrote Under the tortures of the known them as only a fiend could con- ceive them a fiend of his strength, work ing on one of my weakness and of my pride and love. - "How, I don't know, but there came an instant when I succeeded in jerking loose my tortured hands. They were bleeding from every pore. They were torn. A "He watched me auletly for an instant. that beastly sneer on his lips. He lighted a cigar and this is what he said to me: " 'I would as easy slit your throat as draw cn this cigar.' "He felt for his knife the knife I had. picked up and hidden under the paper. Then he reached for -his watch chain. Last Christmas I had given him a gold chain with a small knife attached. - ' "This knife was gone. He leered at me foolishly for a moment. Then his face set In a way that's horrible to remember. He ) started to lunge toward me across the floorf- His arms were outstretched and his fingers clutching the air grotesquely. - "Instinctively I reached behind me On the window sill I felt my handbag. It was open. Inside my hands searched for and found my' gun. "He had given me this gun himself not so long ago and ordered me to carry it always, especially to protect a - diamond worth 110,000 which he had presented to me. "Good-kye, dearest PaL friend aad aJL aad 1 am going to be at mf kest as long as there is kope, aad after that IH ke just 'tke same, so tke memories will ke sweet as they are new. . "Good-kye, good lack, aad may yoar keeltk come back anew, aaJ if yoa ever need me, yoa can rest assared I'll ke 'waiting, also watching for year commands, aad wiD do all I caa to fal0 the reqaest WHEN EVER yoa may ash it. "I am klaa to-day, kat GOOD, aad kope yoa are. speeding along coa teatedly aad look kack to see oae wkom yea HAVE MADE, aad remem ber 1 love yoa aad will always ke 'for yoa,' regardless of what might kappea. ,W: - :. , .-, .': "Coi bless yoa aad keep yoa safe give the encouragement, keeltk and all tkat I prayed Him to give yoa. j "Worlds of love to yoa from oae wko is thin lung deeply and caret more tkaa yoa know. Tkese Eaes are from tke bottom of my keart to a REAL PAL from oae wko kat always keen trae "FRANCES." "I levelled this gun at his head. I cried i out for him to stop. Of course, I should have asked him to throw up his hands. But I didn't do that because I could noi think.. I Just held the pistol toward him tvnd motioned him to swing around from in front of my door. ; "He eyed me without a word and slowlj .1 followed my motions. I got close to tht . door. I had him In the centre of the room I was on the verge of escape. This wai working' out the way it should have been . "But Ugt his drunken mood he must havi uiuukuv X tj a. a Kcvt,utKj iau r iw juu uiut run from the . room, possibly locking the "door behind met. "There wag j a chair close to his let? nana. ; we unea ms ngnt -one suaaeniy and switched oft the light. - ' "The chair was swung over his head. I .could see the movement faintly from the light reflected from the street arc He rushed at me with the chair up. He struck down savagely at me. "He struck me with the halr. As it came down the gun went off. It's true, I held it In my hand and had it pointed at him. But I swear to God I didn't pull that trigger. It may be that nobody in the world will believe me, but I swear to God the gun went off because of the blow he eravA ma with thfl halr. "He fell on the floor, he spoke. The shot had sobered him Instantly. "'Clara, you've hit me, you've hit me,' he sort of half-way moaned. "I stood there above his body In the dark of the room. I became a crazy woman for a moment. - - t "I began screaming out,- 'Oh, I didn't, you know r didn't; you know I never could have done it.: I didn't do it. I didn't do.it" It has been intimated that this alleged confession will be denied by Clara Hamon. It is thought possible that she will claim that Hamon spoke the truth in his dying statement that he accidentally shot himself. ' Just what the defense will take as its posi tion as to the shooting is not clear. It is reported that the accused woman will ad- Continued on Next Page.