New-York tribune., 1900-10-14
FIGHT ON SECOND WILL.
OPPONENTS OF PATRICK MAY TRY To
PROVE UNDUE INFLUENCE. IF
FRAUDULENCE CHARGE FAILS

The fight for the Rice millions will be pro-
tracted and costly. Although Patrick and Jones,
the attorney and valet respectively Of the de-
ceased millionaire. are now penned in jail.
charged with forging TWO checks, the real
struggle between the rival claimants will re-
volve around the validity of the so-caled second
will IF it should be sustained Patrick will be-
come a millionaire. II it should be decided that
il was spurious the William NJ. Rice Institute
OF Houston Texas. will be one of the most richly
endowed organizations of its kind in the coun-
try and by the same token Patrick and his
fellow prisoner may he doomed to spend several
ears within the walls of a State prison
Captain Baker, who represents, the relatives
% Mr.. Rice and the heirs under the 1890 WILL
and his legal. advisers intend to force the issue
as speedily as possible. AS they have no knowl-
edge Of the whereabouts Of some of the rela-
tives to whom bequests have neen made clts-
tions must be made by publication The no
tices must be published for period of six weeks
hut at the expiration of that time the attorneys
acting for Captain Baker will take steps to
prove the VIII Immediately. In the mean time
q citation will be served upon Patrick, who VI
ne wishes to begin q contest. as he unquestion-
ably viii. must produce the instrument Whlch
Mr. Rice is said to have signed in June last.
Then viii begin q tussle in the courts tnat Is
likely to extend over some years.
It was learned yesterday that If it should
happen that the courts declare the second VIII
TO be authentic the interests for whom captain
Baker stands will institute another suit against
the will on the ground that it was obtained py
The exercise of undue influence over Mr. Rice
AS a matter of fact, 1t is believed that Captain
Baker and his lawyers are more inclined to de-
vote their energies to proving the existence Of
undue Influence than TO establishing the
fraudulency of the document. The handwriting
experts who have been at work on the cheeks
and the assignments which were submitted TO
them for examination have come to the unani-
nous conclusion that the signatures on them are
forgerles, but far as can be ascertalheo'
they have been unable TO make comparisons
between these alleged forgeries and the hand
writing Of either Patrick or Jones The sigma
tures on the checks are held TO be tracings, but
the original from which the tracings were made
IS not in the possession Of the experts nor Is
it likely ever to find its way to them. Besides,
It is almost impossible to identify suspected
forger with a tracing, because signature so
made bears the characteristics Of the writing
from which il was drawn.
AS Patrick still retains possession of the sec
ond will the experts have not had an oppor-
tunity TO examine It, The idea prevails that
the signature TO this testament will be found
10 be genuine. The belief was expressed yes
terday by many people concerned in the case
that IL the name Of Mr.. Rice had been appended
10 the will by some one other than himself, this
person would not have run unnecessary risk
of detection by separately signing each page OF
The document On these facts and on other de-
ductions from the circumstances surrounding
the case the view taken yesterday by some
persons that the charges of forgery would prop
ably not be pushed, and that the whole mat.
ter would resolve itself into a civil contest OF
the validity of the second will.
James W. Gerard, one Of the lawyers actlng
for Captain Baker, informed a Tribune reporter
that there plenty of evidence aVailaole 10
support plea of undue influence. For m
stance" he said, there the checks which
give TO Patrick a sum of S2J0OOO for no ap-
parent consideration, and then there is the
Wetherbee affidavit wherein the sworn state
lnent is made that Jones confessed TO having
rect and positive evidence of improper lnnu-
ence."
Frederick B. House, who is defending Patrick
and Jones' is apparently seeking to attack his
opponents on their own ground. At his re-
quest Thomas W. Cantwell, a handwriting eX-
which was offere' for probate on Friday. Al
though no information obtainable as to the
conclusions which he reached, II was learned
shat he had satisfied himself that the blanks
which had been left in the document when 1t
was drawn had been filled in by some one
whose handwriting was different from that of
the signature.
William NJ. Rice, jr nephew of the dead
man. called at the Tombs yesterday and sent
note TO Patrick, wherein he said that, as he had
been appointed one OF the executors of the sec
ond viii, he felt that he had right to see it,
Patrick replied. Your friends have placed me
here in prison, and have no facilities for show
ing you the Will