The San Francisco call., 1896-03-25

saying that for estates above s3O0, 900 there
is no law. But ah. the number of the
lawyers.
James G. Fair is dead. That may be as
serted as the beginning of the story, and
the one thing not contested in this bust
ness. All the rest that is hereinafter stated
is not true-if you are on the other side.
Both sides, the simple story of events, are
here to be stated, and so everybody must
be on the other side at intervals.
a will was offered for probate purporting
to be Mr.. Fairs last will and testament.
1t was dated September u, 1894, and it
nominated w. s. GoodfelIow, Angus Bresse
and Crothers as trustees of the whole big
estate, valued at the time at forty mil
lions. Forty millions! Great Scott!
The trustees were to handle the whole
vast interests without interference from
ANYBODY. They were TO have certain lib
eral fees for this and certain other liberal
fees for that $50 nominated in the will it
self, and purely Incidentally, if the thought
ever occurred to them and they were salts
fled with 1.-THE weather being fine and
their digestion quite proper-there was
nothing in the will expressly forbidding
them giving the heirs something; always
provided, however, that these gifts must
not trench upon Tue 6StdIS pIOpeE-muSI
be limited to the revenue; for the estate
m ust remain intact until after the trustees
are all dead. and then, so said the will, it
should be divided among a multitude of
grandchi ildren and others who may have
never seen the estate.
Charles Fair and his sisters naturally
felt somewhat sidetracked. They did not
remember what they had done to their
father 70 quite deserve that, and so they
hired George Knight and Charles Hegeerty
and Reuben H. Lloyd and w. Wood
and CARRIER, Boalt & Bishop, which in
ciudes Charles A. Wheeler and Russell
Wilson, and told them to fix it for them.
The trustees hired Garret McEnerney
and William A. Pierson and Robert Mitch
ell TO keep the others from fixing it. Ex-
Judge Paterson was engaged to aid them
on behalf of the next generation.
Forty millions! Great Scott! All these
lawyers began thinking.
The law as it stood prevented a contest
of will before it was before the court,
and it was not before the court until it had
been probated-and when it was probated
the executors might draw upon the estate
to defend themselves in their position.
That was the taking of large trick.
knight, Heggerty, Lloyd, Wood, CARRIER.
Boalt, Bishop, Wheeler, Wilson-imagine
those men thinking toward a common
point. The will was Objectionable in the
single regard of the trust. II the trust
could be eliminated Charley Fair and
Virginia Fair ana Mrs. Oelrichs might
take possession of the estate. If it was
probated then the will must be contested
as not being the will of Senator Fair. If
the trust feature could before the probate
proceedings be discovered to be unlawful
of which this was an open question-then
what remained of the will would suit the
purpose of the principal heirs. With
heavy thinking where does that lead? The
law must be fixed so that will may be
tested before it is probated.
So that was done. Senator Guy c. Earl
introduced the bill at the last session of
the Legislature, and it went through.
That was fixed, and very well, so far as
it went. But all these lawyers-high-
priced, clever lawyers-were thinking.
The trust clause could now be attacked
before the probate proceedings were de-
termined; but suppose the court would
confirm: that clause as being all right?
That was a consummation that must be
considered. Time was passing.
Mrs. Nettie r. Craven, schoolteacher,
who had known James G. Fair in his life
time, did at this interesting juncture the
thing that fitted exactly to all the desires
of all the lawyers for the heirs-save ex-
Judge Paterson--with regard to this par
ticular necessity of the situation. She
produced will written in lead-pencil, and
dated the 24th of September-three DAYS
later than the trust will. This will had
no trust attachment. and it distributed
the estate very much as the trust will
would kave done, with the trust left out.
Mrs. Craven was ia the East, and she
had not thought of tor something of |
the kind-until she saw the row, as re-
ported in the papers, being made about the !
trust. TIA. recalled to her mind the paper
which she was carrying around with her
these forty millions. Her in
terest in the will lay in a bequest of some
few thousands to the schoolteachers'
fund.
This will nominated as executors all