The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-12-12
MILLIONS At STAKE,
An Executor Charged With
Defalcation and De.
hatchery.
CLOSE OF A BIG TRIAL.
The Miller & Lux Case at Red
wood Submitted for Judg-
ment.
MR.. DELMAS CLOSING SPEECH.
Nearly Five Hours of Graphic Por.
trayal of the Remarkable
Story.
MR.. DELMAS CLOSING SPEECH.

D. NJ. Delmas made the closing argu-
ment in the great Miller & Lux case at
Redwood yesterday, and it was one of
those efforts for which his name has be-
come Synonymous in the courts of Cali
fornia with studied impressive utterance
before the bar of Justice.
He told the story of spendthrift whose
love of fast living had been the cause of
becoming bound body and soul to money
king who. ever eager to still further en-
large his extensive possessions, had in this
instance secured the inheritance of the
younger man in payment for thousands of
dollars he had purposely advanced him to
squander
The erring one was Jesse Potter, the step
son OF the late Charles Lux and the sole
executor of his enormous estate.
Henry Miller, the surviving member of
the firm of Miller & Lux, was the man
pictured as having dominating ambition
to own more cattle and more horses and
more acres than any other man IN the
West. That ambition had caused him, so
Mr.. Delmas said, to disregard the fact that
young Potter was an avowed defaulter in
his employ. He had condoned the mis-
appropriation of over $4,000 and per-
mitted the young man to continue in his
service, while he furnished him with
excessive amounts despite the pleadings
OF the anxious mother apprehensive for
the ruin OF her son by so free an encour-
agement OF his tastes for dlsreputable
pleasures.
Finally, Potter, his own nephew and the
stepson of his dead brother, had been
made dependent upon him for existence
and for the support of his wife and child.
So thoroughly was Potter at the mercy
and under the power OF the great cattle
king that it was advantageous to the older
man to have him remain executor of his
partners share OF the contested millions
that comprised the Miller & Lux proper
ties In three States-vast areas over which
ranged great droves of cattle as a big fac
tor in the wealth of this firm.
Henry Miller's consuming ambition to
possess more and yet more had led him to
reinvest all the profits of the business,
despite the claims of the Lux heirs to
some share OF the income of their rela-
tive's property. For nine years this con-
dition of affairs continued, and in the
meantime Mrs. Lux, who was one Of the
executors of her husbands estate, died.
Another executor had resigned, and
only Potter was left, and he was COM
pletelv at the mercy of the man who had
so long prevented distribution of the
estate-a reduction of the mammoth ac-
foundations that had become the pride
and object of his existence.
Then the heirs stepped in and asked
again for q distribution, so that they
might receive their inheritance. Henry
Miller wanted no division. but he shrewd-
" suggested at last sale, one side to bid
in the holdings of the other.
Ii would be necessary for the executor
to agree with the heirs TO make their bid
effective. Miller's hold on Potter would
prevent an agreement on high bid, and
the cattle king would be left in a position
to absorb the share OF his former partner
for any paltry sum be might see fit to
offer.
The heirs would not agree to this, and
began proceedings tc have Jesse Potter re-
moved from the executorship on a triple
charge OF lack ofintegrity, conspiracy with
Miller to defeat the settlement OF the es-
tate and general incompetency.
That is the suit that is just ended, and
that is some of the story as told by Mr.
Delmas yesterday.
He spoke for four hours and fifty-five
minutes in that little courtroom in the
dignifed argument was heightened by
picturesque SMILES; at times a point was
enforced by a Biblical allusion, an apt
reference to some bit of history or brief
quotation, but in the main the long speech
was remarkable for its simple forcibleness
ana the carefully CLOS6l ulCtlCIl the man
who allowed no slang or no grammatical
slip to mar the impressive story he was
telling to Judge and not to impression
able men in a jurybox.
When he dwelt upon Potter's long-con-
tinued defalcations and his reckless squan-
dering of tens of thousands a year among
dissolute companions while his wife and
child were dependent for bare support
upon Henry Miller, Mr.. Delmas intro
duced no successive details.
Few OF the people OF the little town
realized what was going on in that court
room For fourteen days the case had
been going on before Judge Buck and the
end of the trial had come without any
demonstration. In the jury-box sat Henry
Lux, the brother of the deceased multi
millionaire, and with him were his son
Charles and two daughters and their hus-
bands, F. S. Pott and G. MacBride.
A little group CT reporters, the defend
ants attorney, Carrot McEnerney, silently
attentive to the utterances OF his oppo-
nent, few friends and assistants of coun-
sel-that constituted the group within the
rail- In the back of the room a curious
collection of men and few women-a
half dozen law students from Stanford
University, five miles away; score or
more of men whose appearance was
strangely at variance with the fabulous
wealth being discussed by the man IN front
OF them, who spoke ON ana on with no
sound in that interested room but the
lawyers clearly enunciated words.
At last the argument was completed and
the little crowd got up and stretched itself
and went out, wondering, like a person
who has read an interesting novel late
into the night and finally finished without
realizing how long he has sat up.
On account of the enormous interests in
VOWED in the suit, the remarkable condl-
ton of affairs revealed in its trial and the
extensive prominence of the firm name of
Miller e. Lux, THE CALL will publish to-
morrow verbatim report OF the able
CLOSING arOl mont