The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-02-28
No LEADING STRINGS.
Seymour Wetmore Will Be Free
TO Squander His Wealth.
he ONLY yEARNs TO SPEND IT.
The Long Controversy Over the Self.
Confessed Old Spendfhrifsss Di-
minlshinx Estate.

mfnI>hfng Estate.
Seymour wetrrore WA probably be
Without guardian after Tomorrow. al
wasch Sinse Tire resignaszoa Of waEana II.
Reeves viii come ar before Judge Lang
ley. To-Day wstmcre VIII fiie a petition
ASKING for the discharge 81 the guardian.
an'f since ali the parties heresasose en-
CARED IA complicated legal struggle ap-
pear wfllng 20 retire from the combat,
the indications ere that 1ae petition wis.
be granted
The case dates from, July. fsss, wsaen the
chaatven % wetmare, who had then al
uoss reached his three score and kesa. ap-
pied 10 The superior court for guardian,
saying thai he was heavy drsnker and
was s9uande-fng his essute. The apylIca-
ton was heard by Judge Hu-nes. who sp-
poiasei Reeves guardian, wefmore fzz.ng
10 appear n court IL transriresi that the
reason fer has default had been the state
meat OF Ford Wilson. n son- sn-law. who
told wetmo~e not 10 bother about the
matter and assured him that Ii wonld BE-
al right anyway. Wetmore had previous
ly been served with a copy OF the arg&i-
ca ton for . guardian.
There seemed TO be nothing particularly
wreng with we.more save his head had
been turned by the fact that large tract
Of hts real estate had suddenly jumped Ia
valie from a nominal sum TO 500 an acre.
He felt al rich as any OF the lords OF Gre
alton. and worked himself up 10 the Entox-
ication of enjoyment by spending money
for the sole pleasure OF seeing It &C. He
went about. his pockets lined with SO
pieces. THIS sort of thing grew sEesome
to his prospective ipeSrs. who became des-
perste on learning that Wefmore had en-
tered into a deal with Byron Ycong, OF
TACOMA. whereby the latter received. IN
return for a hausole. 5000 in money and 30
lots In Byron aaa1tion. One object OF Sc
curing a guardian was 10 recover the
money and property. and the first thing
Reeves did was to begin an action having
that end IN view.
Bus ewtmore endeasoret 10 checkmate
THIS move by coming into court with an
applica ton that the guardian be DIS
charged The question was brought up In
September, lsa2, before Judge Lichten-
berg. who nulEfled his colleagues decree
by hofding that the court had no rewer
10 appoint a guardian for a person who
oniy occassoneily awinsged In siquor Dur
ing the examination Wetmore stood on as
sndeyyendence as a great American citizem
and asserted his right 10 do as ne
pleased with his own. 1t was nooooy
business, he declared. what he nad zone
and when questioned too closely ne wouan
appxii to the court for protection. saying
that he ackno wieiged having spent the
nancy and that sosue OF 1t had gone IN
a way he could not detail specifically In
a drawing room; yet II had gone, and that
u,ass an there was to 1t AT one stage OF
the proceedings ne spoke up about az
follows:
NOW. your honor. may I ask the court
q question:
"Ycu may" answered Judge Ltchten-
berg.
.weA suppose you Rad WHOLE barrel
fau az twenties you didn't know what TO
do with
81 can't conceive Of such q case" inter.
rupted the court
But. just suppose. Judge Now. woaid
II be anybody's business bait your own II
YOU were to roll the barrel down to the
dock and OF INTO the hay for the fun OF
eeesn,r how bog hole 1t would make in
the vater?"
The proposition was a startling one.
but the legal hIminary upon the bench
would throw no additional light upon
such a manner OF disposing OF surplus
wealth. ard tho court grayeiy announced
that he I'D not feel called upon to de-
eide that phase Of the case.
Reeves and the heirs prospective were
not satisfied with the annnIment OF the
guardianship. and promptly appealed the
case 10 the supreme court That tribunal
decided that the mere serving OF the
Application for the appointment OF .
Guardian was not sufficient to give the
court Jurisdiction OF wetsnore, but Cat
ne should have been Drought into court
personally.
Nonsithstar ming this decision In De-
cernls.r. 1888, another application was
made for a guardian and WAS beard by
Judge Langley during wetmore-s absence
an Victoria, and resulted in the reap
pointinent Of Reeves But pending tho
decision Of the supreme court the prop
erty involved had been transferred and
retransferred again and again tssstI an
abstract of title would make a formidable
document In consequence the suit Of
Reeves, as guardian. VS.. Young, was dss-
missed by stipulation IN the equity de-
fslrtment last Saturday. There Is now
nothing left to fighe over, and the incgi-
table eonrlusfon In that the aged ward
win tie found able TO take care or HIM
self