The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-07-09
WHO STOLE IT?
Henry Martins Will Not
Yet Found.
The Last Man Who Examined the
Document Did So From Inside
the Counter.

The contest over the will of the late
Henry Martin, now pending in the Supe-
rior Court, has received additional slim
illus from the inexplicable disappearance
of the already probated will.
The discovery was made on Thursday
morning last, when County Clerk Haley
and Probate Clerk Casserly were convers-
ing about the contest. Suddenly Casserly
asked the County Clerk if he had ever
seen the will. at the same time Offering to
show it to him. They went over together
to where the papers were kept, and on
running through them discovered that the
will was missing.
The circumstance was kept strictly quiet
while a most comprehensive and dillgent
search was made for the missing dOcu-
ment However, as no trace of it came to
light it was decided to inform Arthur
Rodgers, who is the attorney for the will.
II don't know how it could have hap
pened" said Probate Clerk CasSeriy, "Or
what motive any one could have had for
abstracting it. You see, l am obliged to
give any papers up that are demanded by
persons of acknowledged repute. Attor-
neys come in and out here every day, and
are constantly asking for papers in some
suit or other.
"Here you see"-pulling out a pile of
papers from its numbered pigeon-hole-
show we keep these papers. AS soon as a
will is admitted to probate it goes,
together with the other papers in the
estate, into its proper box. Now If an
attorney demands the papers in this
estate | hand them over to him, and when
he returns them to me [ presume them to
be all in order. SO it has been in this
case except that some one has put the
will il. his pocket. There Is nothing to
prevent any one committing a similar act
at any hour of he day"
County Clerk Haley said even worse
than that. How can we prevent such
occurrences" said he. I'VE are obliged
to trust attorneys with the papers they
demand; we cannot do otherwise. To
make sure that we receive back the exact
papers that we have given out would
necesSitate check system by means Of the
register that is absolutely impracticable
There is too much business going on
around the courts and our clerks have
their hands full all day long.
IN W this case is most peculiar in more
ways than one. La the first place no one
was permitted to take the papers 10 this
case outside the Enclosure. Every man who
examined those papers did SO from the in
side.
I'VE think we know the man who stole
the will. if stolen IT was. He examined
the will from the inside. using the poSting
clerks desk, while deputy stood near by.
He was the last man to have the papers in
his possession, and when we asked him il
he had seen the will be answered by ask
ing US if we thought he had stolen it. This
was when only Mr.. Casserly and myself
knew the will was stolen. Judge COffey
never knew ANYTHING about it. We may
be wrong, but suspicion points to this in
dividual He has been in and out Of here
several times since.
my impression is that the will will be
surreptitiously replaced Just as it was re-
moved. 1t was evidently wanted for some
purpose. possibly to be photographed. But
if. on the other hand, it was stolen deliber-
ately and with malice it must have been
with the object merely of delaying the
probate, as | do rot see what other harm
could be done by such an act
THE will is already admitted to probate
and an authenticated copy Of it is filed up
stairs. Besides. Attorney Arthur Rodgers
has photographed copy of the document
in his possession. so how can you get
away from that?"
Although every nook and corner in the
County Clerks office have been diligently
searched without result, it is barely posi-
BILE that the will may have got out of its
wrapper into that of some other suit or be
living hidden in some corner of drawer.
The clerks say that when the process of
moving from the old office to the present
one was going on in May last numbers of
papers in suits filed long ago were found
here and there. misplaced. AS one of the
clerks remarked. "If any one had asked us
for the papers in one Of those suits would
he not have thought that thief had been
here and stolen the missing document