The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1890-04-20
IT'S STARTED IN COURT
Lawyers Enough to Eat Up Al
most Any Fortune How
the Trial Starts
or.

ter OF the petitions Tor letters OF aumints-
tration in the Davis estate was taken up.
Many heirs were represented by their at
t~orneys, and all tho other heirs had
from one To four attorneys. The newest
thing In the case was the alleged dauRh-
ter of the deceased, the daughter being
represented In court by a somber yourR
lawyer named Hinckel, OF the firm of
Wilson & Hinckle. The lawyer comes
from Fairfield, Iowa, but the daugh-
ter is stated to be married and now
living In Arizona. She is stated to have
been born i'm in 1874. II is limited that she
is the advance guard of a long line of
alleged daughters who are likely to make
their appearance ERE long. L. j. Hamil-
ton of this city was associated with Mr..
Hinkle his morning and they sat together
at the left of the court room. In the jury
box were seated Henry A. Root and his
sisters and some of his attorneys. These
attorneys included Wade. Toole q Wal
lace Of Helena, Meters of e York, Shaw
of Massachusetts, and Z. Il. Corbett Of
this city. Judge kirkpatrick n John w.
DE Wolfe sat with James w. Murphy,
the public administrator, and watched his
claims. A Connecticut lawyer appeared
for Harriet X. Sheffield n Henry A.
Davis. The alleged son., Thomas Jeffer-
son Davis, was not present, but was rep,
EStSitSti ny ~
an outsider II appeared that the first rub
in the great contest was the field against
the Iowa boy. Ii looked like n combina-
ton TO knock him GU before further pro-
ceedinRs were instituted.
Judge kirkpatrick appearing for John
A. Davis, first called attention TO the list
of questions that were TO be propounded
to Iowa witnesses. He objected to the
appointment Of John c. Mccoy
as commissioner he not being
q resident OF Montana and
not known in this state. The Judge said
the examination should be conducted by a
disinterested party and taken down i'm
short hand. A commissioner should be
appointed on whom both parties would
agree. Alderman S~tapleton replied TO
Mr.. Kirkpatrick. Judge Mediation then
aid 'The commissioned will De ap-
pointed by this court. As 10 allowing the
presence of representatives OF other
claimants, il is doubtful IL they have any
right to be present at all. IL would seem
proper that another than the commits
sioner named should be appointed. As to
the matter of the objection to the inter
rogatories, / would think il almost impos-
sible to suggest cross-interrogatories
which would draw out anything other
than can be learned from the prepared
questions. Some questions are entirely
too general, particularly those from No. 8
to 49,, The judge granted the attorneys
for L. j. Davis 10 days to revise their list
Of questions, and Z days additional was
| given opposing lawyers to file cross-in-
terropators.
John w. Forbis, for John A, Davis, filed
objections to the petitions of James w.
| Murphy, Edwin Manning. w. II. Young
and T. j. Davis. The d~eclination of Joh
T.. Davis to serve as administrator was
filed.
Then Erwin Davis, Of New York, read
an affidavit naming John A. Davis as the
| choice of Erwin Davis, A. p. Davis, Miss
| Diana Davis, Mrs. Harriet Wood and Mrs.
| &. b. Bodeen, brothers and sisters of the
| deceased, Warren Toole, for Henry A.
Root, said that this request amounts to
nothing. II is immaterial because, IL the
claimant from Iowa is a com
proper person. A motion for continuance
was made by Attorney Stapleton for
T, j, Davis, on the ground that there had
not vet been time to obtain witnesses as
to the lain of the Iowa boy. Nathaniel
Meters of New York, attorney for Mr..
Root, and that dispositions could be taken
later. The entire proceeding of the OBJ
tanning of letters of administration by Ed
win Manning i'm the Iowa court, he char
acterized as an attempt at legal fraud on
this court. According to the probate laws
of Montana, the right To serve as admin.
istrator is i'm the following order: First.
husband or wife; second, children; third,
brothers.: fourth, sisters; fifth, grand
children; sixth, other relatives; seventh,
the public administrators; eighth, credit
ors. MI. Meters objected TO the motion
for continuance ON the ground that the
claim in not proved, and that w. II.
Young is not a resident, and has not any OF
the grounds mentioned, not being even a
creditor,
The motion for a continuance was de.
MED by the court this afternoon. The
matter OF the petition of John A. Davis
- a.. A. L.r Izl,. A n....
was NIT ON the witness stand. He said he
had lived i'm Butte since the fall of 1885
being in the wholesale grocery business
under the firm name OF Davis q Co. On
account of the smoke he went east. bu,
returned nearly a year ago am. has since
lived I'm Butte. The deceased was hi.
brother. His property was mostly in
Silver Bow county. He had seer
or heard estimates OF the value OF
the property all the wa, from
S2O.OOO,O0O down to 81, 500, 1000. He thought
himself that IL the estate was settled uI
-. ., an.n ana