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State Museum Chief Steps Into i Dispute on New' Jesse JamesDonald Johnson Wants Dalton to Meet Friend of Outlaw's Family Here; Also Reveals Mysterious Letters From Trenton(Additional Pictures on Page 2)“I guess ‘the dirty little coward that shot Mr. Howard and laid poor Jesse in his grave’ didn’t do a thorough enough job,” said ! Donald M. Johnson, head of the 1 Missouri Resources Museum ( here, this week, as he stepped ■ into the recent controversy over 1 whether or not Jesse James isI dead or alive.f ‘‘At least there seems to be some doubt these days as toII whether poor Jesse James j stayed in his grave.i ‘‘I intend to settle the matter ; once and for all,” he added. ‘‘The ; true story of Jesse James and his times is important to the history of the state of Missouri. If the Jesse James exhibit in the museum here in the Capitol ’ doesn’t tell the real story, I want to know about it.And, to settle the matter, Johnson intends to seek a meeting, here in Jefferson City, between J. Frank Dalton, the man who claims he is the original Jesse James, and a man who once was a business partner of Jesse James, Jr., son of Missouri’s famed outlaw. No details for such a meeting have been worked out, but the I museum chief plans to begin negotiations for it in the near I future.“If the gentleman who turned up in Oklahoma recently, claiming to be Jesse James, is genuine it would be an important thing1 for the state and for our state | museum,” Johnson asserts. “But I ! if he is a phoney—as our mu-J seum records seem to show he | is—then I want to see it proved.Ready to Prove Identity“And I am ready to prove be-! fore a committee of competent judges that this man either is or j isn’t Jesse James. We can settle 1 the question for all time right | here.”Johnson was looking through the museum file on Jesse James. Among the items before him were photographs taken of the original Jesse James—one taken | just after he was killed—and pic-| tures of the modern Jesse.“You notice in all of these pic-| tures we know to be genuine, Jesse James has a definite ‘bulb’ at the tip of his nose—a sort of ‘button.’ The Oklahoma Jesse James has a straight nose—no button.“Of course photographs are not conclusive evidence, but we have other ways of proving this man’s claim beyond any reasonable doubt.Can Test His Knowledge“This man’s proof rests mainly on two things. First, he has a rather extensive knowledge of j (Continued on Page 2. Col 2)The Real JesseJames, taken from files of the State Museum here, was taken j in 1875 when the Missouri desperado was but 28 years of age. ; Donald M. Johnson, museum chief, wants J. Frank Dalton, Oklahoman who claims he is the real Jesse James, to come to Jefferson City and settle “once and for all” the controversy on whether or not Jesse ; really is dead.Alumni Approves Teacher Transfer At Rolla SchoolSpecial Committee for Investigation Backs University ActionST. LOUIS, July 10 — (AP) —| Transfer of five veteran profes-| sors from the Missouri School of ; Mines and Metallurgy at Rolla to the Uhiversity of Missouri at Columbia was approved today 1 by officers of the Rolla school’s 1 Alumni Association. ___~ r
Newspaper Details
Jefferson City News and Tribune
Jefferson City, Missouri, US
Sun, Jul 11, 1948
Page 19
Full Page
Clipped by
Joplin P.
MO, USA 03 Aug 2024
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