The San Francisco call., 1897-02-25
How the Fair. People
Hoped to Get a Show
Of Hands.
The Pencil De ds Fight Will
Swallow Up the Case of
the Notary.
All Issues in the Famous Litigation
Now Pending on the Struggle
TO Begin Monday.

Both sides in the fight between IMrs.
Craven and the representatives of the Fair
estate are busy sharpening their spears in
anticipation of the struggle which will
begin Monday morning before Judge
Slack.
Attorney w. NJ. Pierson, whose illness
was the cause of the postponement, is
convaIescent again. As the attorneys who
will lead the onslaught against the pencil
deeds, he and his partner, r. B. Mitchell,
yesterday filed a formal amended COM
plant in the big case. The documents set
forth that the trust will has already been
admitted to probate, and in accordance
with an order of court w. f. Goodfellow,
James S. Angus and Thomas r. Crothers
are now executors under that will, instead
of special administrators.
Copies of this com plant were served Oh
Mrs. Craven's attorneys yesterday. To-
day they will join issue, as lawyers say,
and thus the last technlcallty In the way
of the big lawsuit has been removed.
The beginning of the civil case will be
the means of transferring interest from
the Cooney affair to the fight over the
pencil deeds. Every issue in the com pill
Gated litigation is after all involved in the
case at issue before Judge SlacE. The part
Cooney played in the drama was after all
q small one, but he aft orded a mark for
the Fair children TO strike at in prefer
ence 10 an attack on their chief opponent.
1t was an idea, SO IL is said, of putting
obstacles in the way OF the trial OF the
pencil deeds that led young Fair ard
Captain Lees to charge the young notary
with perjury. They anticipated on pre-
liminary examination to Introduce enough
evidence TO have Cooney held for trial,
and then with a criminal action pending
they were confident Mrs. Craven would be
deferred from prosecuting her claims in
the civil courts.
The determination OF the executors of
the estate to proceed in this case instead
of urging the trial of Cooney has not met
with the appreciation of the attorneys
representing Mrs Herman Oelrichs, Miss
Virginia Fair and their brother. Instead
it is now bone OF considerable conten-
ton. The heirs ana their lawyers were
for using the criminal lever first and max
Q ing an attempt at washing out the forgery
charges in EaphaZard manner before a
jury. From the beginning of the case
against Cooney 1t Is known that the exc
cutors strongly disapproved of this flank
way OF attacking Mrs. Craven. They
were for making the fight in the civil
courts, anu had convinced the lawyers for
Mrs. Oelrichs and Mi SIS Fair of the futility
OF this course. Young Fair, however, was
anxious TO get before the kaleidoscope,
and he proceeded at once to charge Cooney
. with perjury, asserting that the certih-
Gates upon which he made his acknowl-
edgment of the pencil deeds 8ere of a
form not printed until January, 1896. two
wears after the death of the bonanza king.
Fairs attorneys at the time intimated
that more arrests would follow, but they
finally decided TO rest their fortunes for
the time being on Cooney's prosecution.
In addition TO putting an obstacle in the
way of the civil trial the Fair attorneys
also hoped, it is said, to compel Mrs.
. Craven to show her hand, so TO speak, in
Cooney's defense. They expected t. at
Delmas and Shortridge and the other al
Torneys for the pencil deeds would intro
duce evidence to clear Cooney of the
charge, and thus make public their plan
of campaign. The rCse failed. as the
notary's attorneys preferred TO allow him
to he held for trial, holding their ammu-
milton in reserve for the big fight in the
civil courts.
Events thus far show that the Fair peo-
pie have only succeeded in their plans to
a partial degree. They have succeeded
in having Cooney held for trial in accord
ance with an order TO that effect made
much in the dark as ever in hauling out
the coveted cbestnuts from the hearth.
stone of the pencil deeds.
The Grand Jury has been asked by Judge
Cook to consider the testimony prese nted
against the notary, but as all this lin Ell
must OF necessity be washed out in the
civil case, ills not pro bic that that body
Will take any action until the result of
the action before Judge Slack is decided
Thus it happens, among the many side
lights OF this famous litigation, that the