The New York herald., 1879-02-08
VANDERBILT'S SANITY.

CONTINUATION OF THE DEFENcE-TEsTIMoNY
OF A RAILROAD PRESIDENT AND AN EXPERT
DELUsIoNs AS TO WEALTH.
The Surrogate's court room was again crowded
yesterday by people interested in the Vanderbilt will
case. William II. Vanderbilt occupied chair be-
hind his counsel and by his side sat his friend, Mr..
Augustus Schol Almost the whole morning ses-
sion taken up with the argument of legal points
Ex-Judge James c. Spencer still on the witness
stand undergoing cross-examination. and was asked
by Mr.. Lord if he could give any details of his con-
versations with Commodore Vanderbilt to which his
previous testimony related. Judge Spencer said that
he could not and Mr.. Lord thereupon moved to
strike out all the testimony in regard Commodore
Vanderbilts sanity based on witness conversations
with the Commodore. the conversations not being
given. A long argument followed this motion. and
subsequently Surrogate Calvin read long opinion
denying the motion and allowing Judge Spencer's
answer to stand. The witness will be recalled for
further ss-examination.
PRESIDENT BISHOPS TESTIMONY.
Pending the decision Of this question William B.
Bishop. President of the New York, New Haven and
Hartford Railroad. was examined He testified that
he had known Commodore Vanderbilt by sight since
his boyhood-personally since 1868; the Commodore
director in the road for number of years
during his presidency; in 1879 or 1874. the
sion OF the commodore ana MS tamlly taxing q
over the road Hartford he alluded to the New York
Central being the greatest road in the country and
the best property. ihe witness said that he told the
Commodore 1T was the best road and good property
while he lived and here to attend to it, but after
his death the stock would get into Wall street and
then nobody could tell what il would be worth. The
Commodore said that he had all that fixed; he in
tended to keep the property together and have
William step into his shoes. Mr. Bishop was not
cross-examned and the only thing which made his
testimony noteworthy was the fact that he q
Commodore
derbilt used to wear
WHAT DIR. GRAY KNOWS.
At the afternoon session the only witness called
DR.. John p Gray, the superintendent OF the Stats
Lunatic Asylum at Utica. The witness asked
whether, assuming all the facts in the so-called
autopsy to be true if such facts and statements in
his opinion, indicated any unsoundness of mind or
mental enteeblement. great deal of intellectual
vgor was wasted on both sides in framing the Ques
ton. but finally it got into satisfactory shape
and then DR.. Gray answered ''They do not" Dr.
Gray then testified at length regard to these facts
and statements, saying he could not infer any such
thing from them as unsoundness or enfeeblement of
mind. there being nothing in the utopsy bearing
upon the BRAIN He only knew one case of insanity
caused by Brghts disease OF the kidneys The next
question was difficult to irame but the gst of it
was. assuming that person is rich aud under no
deluson to the extent of his riches is there
such thing known to medical science delusion for
wealth." This was objected to by MIR. Lord the
ground that the contestants were not trying to prove
that Commodore Vanderbilt was under a delusion as
to the extent OF his wealth, but rather as to its dspo
siton. No satisfactory form could be arrived at
until Judge Comstock put it in this shape:-"In
medical aud classification is there known any
such form Of insanity desire TOR accumulating
wealth followed by large accumulation To this
the witness answered NO, SIR. leaving the infer
that in the opinion OF the doctors only the
who want to be rich and fail are crazy.
THE oss-ExAsINATIoN.
The crossexamination TOOK wide range, ana con-
sisted mostly OF al autobiography of DR.. Gray. The
expert required not only to tell where and when
and how often he had read the "so-called autopsy,
but recite all he remembered of 1t. Before this
process finished the original question upon
which the crossexamination was based was made
more comprehensive, and then the witness was re-
quired to do the thing all over again. II am going
to find out what the witness knows" said Mr. Lord.
and he said that he thought another witness would
be necessary to satisfy hlm that subject. Finally
it was arranged that Dr. Gray should return to the
stand next Friday, and the further hearing of the
adjourned until Tuesday next.
DECISIONS IN c. J. vANDERBILr's MOTIONS
Surrogate Calvin has denied the motion of William
II. Vanderbilt s counsel to dismiss the motion made
by Cornelius j. Vanderbilt to compel the executors
Of the estate to file an inventory but in the
ecutors decide to set apart before the 18th inst.
$2O0OO) in current interestbearng urities for the
purposes designated in the will in the Union Trust
Company subject to the order of the Court, the
ton will be dismissed. The motion to compel the
executors to show cause why they should not be
superseded similarly treated.