CLAIM TO MILLIONS

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 129, 4 June 1927, Page 8

CLAIM TO MILLIONS

BY NEW SOUTH WALES FAMHJES -

AMERICAN SENATOR'S ESTATE

(From "The Post's" Representative.) SYDNEY, 27th May.

Seventeen people in Now South Wales are joyfully anticipating the (Jay when their claim to a share of the huge estate of Senator ■William A. Clark, of Montana (United States), is recoguiiied. Clark died two years ago and left neither wife nor children to enjoy his amassed wealth, estimated ' conservatively at over £100,000,000. Hie estate includes a wonderful- copper mine in Colorado, huge holding of real estate in Butte.City,.3o-miles of electric railways, large property interests : in New York, and immense stock holdings in American'companies. Clark has a romantic history. He was first a" school teaelicr and then a captain in the Southern Army, during the Civil .AVar. Later he drove a bullock team into Butto when it was a village, and discovered the copper mine of which he was the owner. The profits, from his mines alone exceeded £5Q,000,000 in 40 years. ' ( ■ ' . •

Sixty-two claimants, from all parts of the world, have already been able to prove their relationship, to the multimillionaire, but the local claimants state that they have ample proof. The chief claimant, who is acting on behalf of all, is Mr. James Clark, of High street, Waratah, . a suburb of Newcastle. Se,ven of the claimants reside in Sydney suburbs, and the remainder in the Newcastle and Northern Eivers districts of this. State. ■ ■• .

The Clark family originally:, came from Mouagan, Ireland, and when the four sons of the family emigrated, two went to the .United States, and two came to Now South Wales. Each, on leaving, was given a family Bible showing the family tree. Two of these Bibles are said to be in the possession of the trustees of the Clark fortune. The remaining two are in New South Wales, in the hands of the descendants of the two brothers who came here. These are the most important links in the evidence of the genuineness of the local claimants. Another link is that the maker of the fortune himself came to Sydney 40 years ago, after, his own children had died, and offered to adopt Mr. James Clark, now the leading claimant. James C'iark's mother, however, refused to part with her boy. . The case is to come before the Montana High Court towards the-end of • July, and Mr. J. Clark is shortly leavI ing Sydney to fight his case. He will be accompanied by three Newcastle men, including a doctor and a solicitor, who between them have subscribed £20,----000 to enable Clark to put forward his claims, so satisfied are they that his evidence will prove convincing. 'In return for risking • their money these three men will receive £250,000 each, if ,4ha claim-BUcceada, "•_ ___ ".