The morning times., 1896-06-25
H|NTsAT THE WILL 5 MAKER
Mr.. Worthington Springs a
Surprise in His Argument.
HE CONNECTS TWO DATES
Day ON which Miss ThrockmOrton
Hurriedly visited Washington Was
the Day the VIII Was Mailed
Counsel for the Heirs-at-Law w cav
Ing Chain.

The crowd in attendance on the Holt
will trial yesterday surpassed In magni-
tude that OF the day before, aid had but
few para Ilels in size in the history Of local
legal combats.
The large number OF ladies in the audi
ence, with their airy and muiti-hued
costumes, made the party OF spectators
have more the appearance Of an aggrega-
ton Of matiDee-goers than attenuants on
the ordinary sumber and august proceed
ings in a court Of justice.
Every available spot In the room was
used for the placing Of chair. Where
there was not room. for that some one
stoud up. Passers-by in the corridors
stopped in the doorway because iiey.colid
not get in, and still others stood out III
the hall and craDed their necks in order
10 hear and see what was going on inside.
II was the second dag OF the arguments.
Mr. Darlington, the prime figure amoDg
counsel for the beDeficiaries under the
will, began with the opening Of court to
conclude the telling argument lie opened
the afternoon before.
Without undue ceremony he picked up
the chain of his speech where he left off.
He went at length into the testimony that
had be en- offered by the cavcators to show
that Judge Holt did not write the will
that bore SO close "A resemblance to his
own handwriting that the heirs could get
around ii in no other wa Y than by asserting
that the alleged forger must have used
tracing paper. And yet they had not
proved conclusively that such tactics had
been resurted to.
FOURTEEN THINK IT GENUINE.
Fourteen OF the most credtable wit
nesses, all Of whom were familiar with
. x-l.a,- ..l, Ia, "a f.a,l
that they believed the man whose name
appeared at the bottom OF the will wrUec
the document. Again, no man who was
bent on fraud, would have attempted to
disfigure his illegal handiwork by burning.
Ii was too perilous an undertaking. -
The genuineness OF the three attesting
witnesses, said Mr.. Darlington, had been
proved beyond doubt. The theory that
the will was in two pieces when it rea ched
the office of the register had been das.ed
to pieces. The queer piece OF paper bore
unn,istakable signs Of Judge Holt's in
divid uality.
Upon the question Of revocation. no tes-
timony had been given to prove con-
clusively. to the lawyer for the caveatces,
that Judge Holt ever before lie died in
tended to undo what he had already done
and done well. If he ever made Il later
will. the very fact that that will was hot
found was legal presumption that lie him.
self had destroyed 1t.
When Mr.. Darlington closed his address
few minutes after IL O'Clock Mr.
worthington began to present the views
of the attorneys for the other side. He
repeated the four questions that the jury
Ina SO frequently been told they would
have to decide. Those questions were:
Did the Judge write the viii? Did he
al-a lEnc lnr fro,
undue influence exercised?
Charles Strothers did not send the will,
Mr.. Wortliington thought. There was too
little to gain. and tue penalty he might
have had to pay was too great for him
to have done that. had everything else lent
itself in Ills assistance. He would have
long since dickered with the principals
on one side or the other If he had been
carrying 1t around in his pocket for a
year.
The will was such a suspicious paper.
The person that sent 1t to the register
was ashamed of what he had done. 1t
was the act of a man who had made a
fictlcious will.
Mr.. worthington said that an examna-
ton of the burned will showed that the
burning could not have been accomplished
by merely dropping 1t in the fire. 1t was
remarkable that not single word had
been obliterated by the flames.
Mhl IT MAS Bl hNED.
Tie burning must nave been wnolly and
simply ior the purpose OF conceaiing eie-
meuUs OF Irduu. Ihe Juuge, 100, sent
out ana got bottle OF ink WIN which 10
write the Will and never used IL again,
the evidence showing that.
Tie uocumeuJ Was the work of an ignora-
nous, auu sucn tDe people WIZ were crying
,FnI ,arrv II
attempt to prove ne was. Ii Il man came
To the ulstul uisneu lawyer ana asked MN
" make Il NH ior MN, auu he charged
50 ior writing such all instrument as that,
he was aIrdlu lie might lie liable TO arrest
ior oUtaIuing money under false pietences.
The lawyer uben made comparison vi the
will with tie olner papers mat nad been
written by Juuge Holt. II lacked the
cIearuess ana Ieatness that characterized
every oIner manuscript he ever penned.
Mr.. MortuILgton directed attention to
the transparencics he had repared and the
results tuat had been oDtaIned through
them. 1t was evident that the letter OF
February Z, 1873, had been used as a
model. The word Washing ,on,r the date
February Z, 1873" the word Holt"
auu many less prominent words and phrases
were reportedln the will in rac simiIe form.
The attorney took the viii and three or
four of Judge Hollis letters. Climbing into
the jury box he surrounded himself with four
members OF the panel at a time and pointed
out to them the resemblance between words
in The will and words in the letters-a re-
sernblance SO great thatit was beyond reason
TO obtain it, Mr.. Worthington said, except
by resorting to copying or tracing.
THEDINNER ATJUDGE HOLT'S.
The dinner at Judge HOit's house in
February, 1873, formed the topic OF a
brief bit OF argument. 1t was u significant
point connected with the authenticity ofthe
alleged will.
Tue forger OF the will had named u fitting
date for it. He knew of this dinner, and lie
knew that Gems. Sherman and Grant were
there, as Well as Mrs. Sherman. This was
known to tue Tbrockmortons, and they had
letters in their possession pointing TO the
same fact.
The sending of the will was equally
suspicious. No one had been able to
show who sent it. But the testimony In
the case threw the glare OF searchlight
in one direction. 1t was deduced III the
evidence that Miss Josephine ThrockmortoD
visited Old friends in Culpeper, Va, last
August. II was the first time she had
paid them a visit in years and years. Upon
her return TO her home In New York she
stopped in Washington at the Sixth street
station. Her stay here was of one hours
duration. She did not even have time
to pay her grandmother visit. On the
very day and at the hour she stopped in
this city, SAID Mr.. Worthington, the will
was mailed. 1t was mailed, too, In the
northwest section of the city, where the
railway station WAS situated.