The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-04-02
FIGHT FoR THE BLYTHE MILLIONS.
The Case to Come Up Soon i'm the
United states supreme Court.

United states Supreme Court.
From the New York Tribune.
Washington. March SO-Gen. w. II. II.
Hart, formerly attorney general of the
state of California. is to appear shortly in
the supreme court of the United States as
counsel Of Florence Blythe. Talking of
this case to-day, he said;
Il am here to represent before the Unit
ed States supreme court the daughter of
John II. Blythe. who died in 1883, leaving
an estate valued at 100000. 1t is perhaps
the most remarkable case of modern times.
Blythe, who was a Welshman came to
California in 1919. His real name was
Williams, as came out in the fight for his
property. In the early days he was
peddler, and also raised eabbages on the
Sand Lots. He invested with wise fore
sight in those lots, and later on came to
be one of the heaviest holders of valua-
bic city realty. He was fortunate in spec
ulauons, too, and so when he died there
was no lack of claimants for his fat es-
tate. He was of reserved nature, and
but few people knew anything of his ear
lier history
"Uncles, auuts nephews, nieces and cou-
sins began to turn up from every quarter
OF the globe to claim a share OF the de-
ceaseds possessions. There were heirs
from Wales Ireland, Scotland India and
even from Ceylon. There were, in fact,
twenty-five sets of claimants, representing
1SS persons, including two women who
claimed to be Blythe's widows On the
trial the dead man was proved to have
had nine different mothers. But back in
London was the only rightful heir, in the
person of young girl, the inegitimate
daughter of Blythe. He had never Sc en- his
child, but had correspondent with her. and
there was no question of the relationship.
This girl came on to San Francisco, and
the legal battle for the establishment of
her rights began.
1t was a wcarisome contest The trial
in the superior court occupied 226 days.
There were 256 witnesses who gave oral
testimony, and 1879 dispositions were read.
Never was there a case that attracted
such interest on the Pacific slope. The
newspapers printed columns about it
every day, and one of our dailes gave
every line of the testimony. From the
beginning until the end public sentiment
was wholly with Florence Blythe, ana
finally, Oct. %, 1880, a decree Of the court
was rendered awarding to the girl the en-
tire property left by her father. Then
began appeal after appeal to the state SUI
preme court, until tWenty-four of them
had been decided, every time in affirma-
ton of the decree that made her the heir.
In October 1895, the supreme court passed
on the case finally, and in December Of
the same year Florence came into the pos
session of the great Blythe estate.
The United States supreme court is
now resorted to by a set of claimants
known as the Gypsy Blythes' They
come from Scotland and are cousins Of
John II. Blythe. Their attorneys base
their argument on the ground that Flor
ence Blythe, being of foreign birth, can
not lawfully inherit property in the Unit
ed States This contention is denied by
her lawyers, who will contend that the
case is one in which the United States
supreme court has no jurisdiction