Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-05-02
VANDALISM AT THE MONUMENT.
A Newspaper Man Who Ought to Know
Better.

At 8 am. Wednesday a man who gave his
| name as Wesley Bell and said he was Della
| ware newspaper man was arrested by Special
Officer ]. b. Evans for chipping off mementoes
| from the base of the monument on the outside.
He put up S25 collateral, which he forfeited
and has not been seen since. 1t seems almost
| impossible to impress upon the visiting public
that there has been no act Of Congress author
izing the removal Of the monument or any OF
| the public buildings to Delaware or elsewhere
| on the installment plan. Officer Evans, who is
on duty at the monument, not wishing to have
it whitfield down SO early in the morning sur
prised the vandal journalist by taking him
into court. 1t is understood MIR. Bell has gone
home and will induce the Delaware press here
after to speak of the father of his country as
plain q. Washington.
Maltby G. Lanes Will Overthrow.
jury in New York yesterday rendered a
verdict breaking the will of the late Maltby G.
Lane. who died last July, aged seventy-six,
leaving an estate valueda at LOCO, 900. which in
cluded the hotel Maitby and other real estate
in this city. The will which was contested
substantially left the whole estate to his second
wife whom he had married ten months before
his death. The jury found that the will was
executed according to law, but that Lane was
not of sound mind at the time, and did not
possess testamentary capacity. They also
found that the will was not the free, unre-
strained, and voluntary act of Maltby G. Lane.
Under this verdict the widow will have to take
the part of the estate allowed to her by law.
and the other helrs-at-law will share the
residue. 1t was shown in the trial that before
his marriage with Mrs. Ellen ID. Graham now
his widow, he had made offers OF marriage to
many other widows He was very eccentric
and erratic man, and died Just after signing his
will in his lawyers Office.
The Wife's Answer in a Divorce Case.
In the case of Vim. H. Curtis against Sallie
" Curtis for a divorce, filed a few weeks since,
the wife today flied an answer, a petition for
alimony and a cross bill, all through Messrs. F.
". Jones and s. G. Mills. The charge in the
bill is desertiOn and Irfidelity. The wife de-
MES that there was any desertion on her part.
and says he left her several times, and finally,
i'll March, 1889. he placed her in a house he
said he had bought. and then wrote her that
after thinking matters over have concluded
we couldn't live together again" and requested
that che should not answer by letter. She ad-
mits that he left her March 10, 1889, bur says it
was not on account of her immortality, but be-
cause of his immortality. She denies the
charges Of adultery and charges him with that
offense.
In the cross bill she sets forth the marriage
September Z, 1887. at Rockville, Nd, she being
the widow of Mai. Horace III. Willard with
Two cHliuren' anu tnat sue WAS AZ t0e time re-
celving pension. which ceased at the mar
rIage. She states that in two weeks she dis
covered her mistake; that the compliments
principal object was to get the property, and
that he was illiterate and not able to read or
write. She states that he left for North Caro-
lima IN 1888 and on returning she learned him
to read and write so that he could make out his
application for an appointment on the police
force. She states that he quarrelled about the
children not working and with the servant and
she was compelled to discharge her and do the
family work, when she was taken sick. She
then states that the family expenses were paid
ont of her means; that about May /, 1889, he
took up with another woman. She states that
he owns property worth $4,000 and is private
on the police force.