The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-04-29
The Contest Will be Taken to the
Supreme Court of the
State.
Heinous Offense of Brute Against . Lit
tie Girl-Accitlent At the Mountain
Consolidated.

IOOAA Wdb CIOWOeO 10 1C6 uGuOSG capacity
Davis and n. A. Root were the chief con-
testants, while Public Administrator Muir
ply was not without a following. The
three contestants were early on the ground
and gave plain evidence in their bearing of
the magnitude of the stake for which they
were playing. With the first words spoken
by Judge McHatton the drift of his de-
cision was made apparent and whispers of
''that means j. A. Davis'' could be heard in
all parts of the room. This proved to be
the true inference. In making this order
Judge MoHatton spoke without notes and
briefly of the circumstances, as fol-
lows: 'In the matter of the estate of A. j.
Davis, deceased, in which the court was at
this time to issue an order appointing an
administrator, I might say that I have
given the case as presented most thorough
investigation. BY reference to the statute
it appears that the court has the right to
appoint the person best entitled to be ad-
ministrator of this estate. But the court is
given greater latitude than that laid down by
those same statutes. I take it that it is
beyond all question that under the law J.
A. Davis is the person best entitled to
the letters of administration, unless it
shall have been proven here that
he is incompetent through one or
more of the causes laid down by the same
statute. If he should have proven incom-
petent and Root competent then the letters
would 90 to Root, and if both should be
shown to be incompetent then the letters
would go to the public administrator. The
court having decided that the order of the
statute must be observed and that the ap-
pointment must be given the one first men,
toned unless his incompetency has been
proven, it will then become apparent that
objections must be exceedingly serious to
cause the making of a change in the order
of the statute. The court might look for
the party best fitted to perform this great
trust, but the law has said there are certain
persons from whom the choice must first be
made. Taking the evidence in the light of
the law, fail to find anything which would
justify mo in varying the rule of the statute.
In that part submitted the evidence fails
very materially in furnishing justification
to such change. The order of the court,
therefore, will be granting letters of admin
,stration to John A. Davis, fixing his bond
at 81, 5,0OO.OOO.''
Judge Toole, on behalf of H. A. Root, 1T
once took exceptions to this finding and
asked for five days in which to prepare a
motion for a new trial, the first step in an
appeal to the supreme court, which was
granted. Judge Smith asked to be included
in the exception, but was denied, to which
denial he took exception. Itwas the under
standing with all the attorneys for all con.
cerned that the case should be brought be-
fore the supreme court as quickly as pos
sible, and it was thought it could be arranged
for hearing during the present term. Under
that understa nding MIR. Davis was given
until the case came up to arrange for his
bond and to qualify.
When it became apparent early last Feb
ruary that Judge Davis, over whose estate
all this litigation has been held, could not
possibly live much longer, the knowing
ones predicted that the greatest lawsuit in
the history of the state would follow his
demise. That prediction now bids fair to
be verified to an extent that could hardly
be foretold then. In order to be first on
the ground and lose no time, John A. Davis
filed his application for letters of admins
tration immediately after his brothers
death and before leaving with the remains
for the east. The testimony in the present
case developed the holding of meeting of
the heirs at the Massasoit house in Spring
field, Mass, on the evening after the funeral,
showing again how the sentiment. that de-
lays were dangers. had taken hold upon all
of them. 1t was also shown that at this
meeting Erwin Davis, another brother of
the deceased, proposed to represent the
remainder of the heirs in the settlement of
the estate, representing that it would be nee
essary for some one to be on the ground
to get the most possible out of what was
left. To this end he asked that all present
sign paper giving him the power to act
for them in whatever emergency might
come up. This proposition was strenuously
opposed BY Henry A. Root, of New York,
nephew of deceased, and by his sister, Mrs.
the property they fondly hoped would be
their own some day, and apparently not
hav ng that confidence in their elderly
uncle that is generally supposed to charac-
terize the intercourse of such near and dear
relatives. Upon this issue the heirs divided,
feebly supported by two of the sisters, while
the others joined forces with Henry A.
Root. That gentleman at once came to
Helena and took up his residence, and hav-
ing established the fact of his being citi-
zen of Montana, applied for letters of ad-
Meanwhile a second Richmond had ap-
peared in the field in the shape of young
man from Salem, Iowa, who gave the name
of Thomas Jefferson Davis and claimed to
be the son of the deceased. He admitted
that no formal ceremony had been per-
formed, bat that A. J. Davis, deceased, and
Miss Lucretia Brown had lived together as
man and wife from 1861 to 1855, and that
he was the fruit of that union. Further,
that the law of Iowa, where they lived and
he was born, legitimatizes such offspring,
and upon that ground he claimed the entire
estate. At the time of his death Judge
Davis still owned 5000 worth of property
in Iowa and upon this the young man OBJ
tanned letters of administration through
his lawyers and appeared here with an ap-
plication for the appointment of w. G.
Young as auxiliary administrator to the one
appointed in Iowa. This, with Public Ad-
ministrator Murphy, made up the list of the
really important factors in the fight which
has Just been closed temporarily.
The hearing of the claims of each of these
applicants for the position of administrator
opened before Judge Mediation in the dis
trict court Saturday, April IS. The first
move was on the part Of the Iowa boy, his
lawyer claiming that if he was the le9iti-
mate son and heir of deceased the others
could have NO standing, and that the first
duty Of the court was to determine his