The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1893-07-06
HONOR DEX1ER'S MEMORY
NJ. Clarke Proposes To Give a Bronze
Statue to the City.
PLACED ON TRAINING FIELD.
There is n Question. However. whether
the Placing Of the statue There viii
he Contrary to tho Terms OF the Be-
qusst-City Solicitor Looking 1t Up.

ago made an offer to the city council to
fnrnish a statue of Columbus for the
adornment OF the Dexter training ground,
providing the city would expend 5000
10 improving the field, has changed his
proposal somewhat.
He has bmittel to the joint special
COMMITTEES appointed by tue council a
proposition tO furnish a sta ue OF Eb :
nezer. knixht Dexter, the donor of the
training ground. the asylum and
the city, will pay the expense of
the model and erect a pedestal.
Naturally the proposition was very favor
ably received by the COMMITTEES, a I'd tleie
Is little doui Z the cOmmi tee would recon
mend IFS acceptance were IL not for the
fact that there is legal question in
volved which has heretofore been
brought up but never finaly settlcl SO
Tar as can be ascert1ined.
This question Is hetner in case a stat
ne is put on the training field { Q cou-
ditions of the donors bequest vii! be brok-
en and the property liable TO revers
to the heirs of T. ,e.,zr r Knight Dexter.
This Is the question tnat has been asked
City Solicitor Colwell and he is no look
ing into the IN liter. He will be ready
to give and answer ina Short time, but
Was unable today To Indicate what 1t
would be.
The Condition, Of the Gift.
Mr.. ID 'xter died on August 10. 1874, al d
in his will which was probated on the
30th Of the same month he gave to the
ci among other property the training
fielu as it is called. Tue exact language
Of tie will is as follows; II give.
said town of Providence, iu fee
81 nple forever for the use OF traiuing
field and TO b. appropriated to no other
use or purpose whatsoever, next lot of
land at the west end of said tow lying
between Cranston street and High street
and bound westerly on land OF
Rufus Waterman and others, and east
erly on Dexter street. IL being the SAN Q
OF which heretofore belonged TO my
sister Roaseter, an which I purchased
OF her aud her husband, Nathaniel
RoaseUer, Esquire. excepting thereout,
however strip at the north cad
aud another at the south end,
each 10 be one hundred and fifty
feet deep and which said strip
are reserved for houss lots; aud my wifi
is. that said town have the power ID
they are hereby author zed, IL they think
fit TO erect and keep up and maintain
sufficient fence on the west side.
aud on each end of said training
field ut the distance of four feet
from the exterior lines TO prevent the
owners OF the adjoining lands, or any
other person or p rsons from injuring
or trespassing; or encroeching up
on said training field aid
to prevent any person. or rers ms from
erecting any house OF entertainment or
other building To the injury OF the free
use of said lot as training field. Aud
my will further Is that lid town shall
not permit any public execution Of GRIM
iuals ON said training field.
Trainings Out of Date.
The old-fashioned military trainings
are among the things that were. They
have passed into history and are remem-
bered now only by those whose hair has
been touched by times whitening haud.
However, it Is very clear that under the
provisions OF the bequest it can be de-
vo, ed to no other purpcs-.
As early as 1870 AN effort was made to
purchase the .reversionary interest OF the
Dextepheirs, but nothing seems to have
,ome OF 1t. The matter was brought to
public attention anain in 1887, wien the
late Mayor Robbins, in his inaugural
measage, recommended arran ngements
for the puro Iase of the interest of the
heirs. The matter. was looked into by
the joint committee on finance and it
was found that there were but three
heirs. one representing a thre. quarter
interest aud two others the remain
ing quarter. The offered to sell for $25,
600, and the committee recommended the
appropriation Of $4,000. believing that
this sum would be finally accepted. The
council passed the resolution and sent it
to the aldermen for concurrence, but
there It was defeated.
Nothing to Buy.
1t was urged ~ those opposed to the
making of the appropriation that the
city would get nothing for its monev.
The interest OF the heirs was a contin-
gent one. and until that contingency be-
came fact through the failure OF the
city to observe the terms OF the beQuest.
they had nothing to sell.
There is q general opinion that at the
time the late CITY solicitor, Van Slyoi,
was asked his opinion, and that he rem
on the grounds that the heirs had moth.
ing to sell II be gave such an opinion
he probably did so verbally, for dill
gent search of the papers on file in the
city clerks office, fails to bring it to
light
However the board voted 8 to .. to now
concur with the common council and SO
the matter has remained until the old
question is renewed by Mr.. Clarke's gen
erous offer. Members OF the city gov
ernment are very favorably disposed
toward the proposition, aud while
they will be guided entirely by the opin-
ion of the city solicitor they say tiey do
not see how, in the event of the placing
there OF statue OF the man who gave
the training field to the city, the condi-
lions OF the gift will be broken.
The statue would not interfere with
the use Of the field for training purposes
should 1t ever be decided to return TO
that system. besides it would
be perpetusting the memory
Of one Of the greatest
Providence has ever had.
Further than this, it Is clai med that III
the heirs had any rights they forfeited
I em more than forty years ago when
they failed to make any claim
when the city planted trees. around the
field. For this reason they argue that
& is not necessary to buy them out and
recognize a claim which AS been waived
snd which would lead to costly litigation
m f hs fi...