The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-11-17
PENCIL WlLL OUT
AN UNEXPECTED TURN OF EVENTS
IN THE FAIR ESTATE LITI-
CATION.
HE DOCUMENT WITHDRAWN.
MRS. CRAVEN INFLUENCED BY A
DESIRE TO PROTECT HER
INTERESTS.
ACTION INDICATES A COMPROMISE
1t Is Now Believed the Legal Conn
plicatiOns Have Practically
Reached an End.

SAN FRANCISCO, Cal, Nov. 16.-
The contest over the wills of the late
James G. Fair ended today by the
withdrawal of the so-called pencil will,
which had been offered for probate.
Ii. marc Livingston, named as execu-
tor under the pencil WILL in withdraw
Ing the document, stated that his rea-
son for his action was that the posi-
tion OF Mrs. Nettie Craven might be
strengthened. Mrs Craven had Joined
WIN Livingston in submitting the
pencil will. but she claims to be the
contract widow of the late Senator
Fair, and claims Fair gave her deeds
10 Two pieces of city property valued
at $l,500,000. 1t was feared that if the
pencil VIII should be declared a for
gerry similar fate might follow for
the alleged marriage contract and
oeeos TO Mrs. Craven, which the Fair
nelrs pronounce forgeries.
All the Fair children, who at first
supported the pencil will, now declare
II forgery also. They joined in a
petltlon Tor the probating of the trust
VIII dated three days earlier than the
pencil WILL The trust will was adj
nlltteo to probate today, and it is be-
heVed the litigation, which bid fair to
De lnterminable, Is now practically
ended. The trust feature Of the pro-
pated will was declared illegal so far
as the real estate involved is con-
cerned A similar decision regarding
the personal property of the estate is
now anticipated. The trust will. with
the trustee provisions eliminated.
would be eminently satisfactory to the
/ children Of James G.. Fair.
The unexpected action in withdraw
ing the pencil will today caused great
surprise in legal circles, although If ia
rumofed that the retreat of Livingston
ana Mrs. Craven was the result of
compromise among all the parties in
terested
A Welghty bar was lined up befors
Judge Slack this morning for and
against the pencil will attributed to the
4ate James G. Fair The alignment of
parties has been very Intricate The
pencil VIII was originally propounded
oy the children of Fair, but first of ALI
charles l.. Fair became convinced that
1t Was forgery and his counsel filed a
contest. The daughters, Mrs. Oelrichs
ana MISS virginia Fair, were for a long
Tune neutral. This neutrality was due
however, rather to an idea of their
counsel, that the will could be put oDt
or court in some more simple proceed
Ing than an elaborate trial before a.
jury. The proponents of the trust will
OF whom w. S. Goodfellow is the prin-
clpal, took no part in the contest They
We're, of course, opposed to the pencil
WILL, but were holding their rights in
reserve 7t-77
1t was expected that Mr. and Mrs.
Hermann Oelrichs would arrive here
last night from New York, accompanied
by Miss Virginia Fair, Mrs. Nettie
Craven was but indirectly interested in
the establishment of the pencil will If
1t had been proven it would have been
valuable corroborative evidence in sup
port Of the deeds to property attributed
to Fair, of which she is the beneficiary.
Those deeds are likewise written in
pencil. The property affected by the
contest is valued at from SIS, 0O0. 900 TO
S20,O00,000. The contestants of the will
imported from New York the two most
noted experts in handwriting in the
United States. These are Daniel T.
Ames and David N. Carvalho.