The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-12-07

Hv EW YORK, December 6.-After RI the death of some conspicuous
 ly rich individual, 1t has be- come the fashion for highly imaginative persons to spring forward and set up claim to the estate either in whole or in part. They begin their assault with ale gations in lawsuits which are generally scandalous and calculated to annoy the heirs in possession. Executors are com pelled to defend in costly and tiresome litigations and generally nothing comes of 1t save annoyance, expense and cal umny. What seems to be one of the latest of these Is a suit against the es- tate of the late collis P. Huntington, brought by a London lawyer. one Wal ter Morsehead, in behalf of certain al- legged stockholders, to recover a certain portion of something like s10000o00o. The plaintiffs claim to be owners of stock in the old Central Pacific, which is now a part of the Southern Pacific. Up to the present time the suit has only spread the allegations of the plaintiff on the record in a sensational sort of way; and the defendants, who have had some experience with suits of this kind, remain provokingly silent, and simply smile when it Is referred to. I under stand. however that the Southern Pa- cific acquired 6700O shares to take over the Central Pacific, and somehow, dur ing a long period of time-thirty years almost-eight hundred and fourteen shares were lost At the trial which will come up next month some light may be thrown on the whereabouts of these missing shares.
 For many years knew Mfr. Collis P. Huntington. and I am no judge of men if this great f1nancier left behind him an estate which could be successfully attacked. It would be a reversal of his life long policy. It was not his policy to plan for the day and give no heed to the morrow On the contrary, the great works he has left benind are monu- ments not only to the vastness of his conceptions and of his marvellous energy and capacity In execution, but for per ception of conditions which the future would unfold. It would be singular, in- deed, if he did not protect the accumula- tions of his energy, courage and persist ency against the lust of those who tn years after he was dead and gone, would rise to set up claims against his estate. Nevertheless, these suits have a good effect in so far as they recall to mem-
 
 obstacle, strove to promote commercial empire in the United States, and who succeeded. These suits thresh over old Allegations arising from the building of the old Central Pacific. and are thread- bare. The defendants seems to wonder why Morshead doesn't claim a thousand million while he is about 1t; but explain 1t on the ground that probably he is afraid his counsel would charge accord ingly for his services.
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 It seems like yesterday that Collis P. Huntington was a notable parsonage on Broad and Wall streets. He was a com manding personality. Tall, powerfully built, he scarce showed his age though his hair was gray and his mous- tache and bushy beard white. He wore No. 7% broad-brimmed hat of the pro- nounced western type There was scarce a boy or man In all the great financial district who did not glance at this won- derful man as though anxious to dis cover the secret that had made him the most potential figure in the great com mercial world. They called him west erner. How many thousands today speak of Huntington as Californian? And yet he was born and went to school in the little sleepy village of Harwinton, Litchfield county, Conn.,, and at the age of twenty-one was in partnership with his brother in a general merchandise store at Oneonta, N. r.. In 1S4S the California gold fever swept over the east. The young merchant watched the signs of the times. He observed hun dreds of young men start west to dig the precious metal. His vision of the opportunities a new country presented was clear. They appealed to his mind, but not as to others He saw that where new camps were formed new towns would spring up, and that provis- ions, lumber and the innumerable arti- cles of hardware would be in demand. He determined to cast his fortune in the new land. He left home a merchant and he remained one. He started with $12OO On the Isthmus he was detained by lack of transportation for three months. He set up store. When he arrived in San Francisco he had $5000.
 From this time until the day he died his doings and his personality were a fruitful theme in the minds of news- paper men and the general public. He astonished the world with the magni- tude of his conceptions and successes of his enterprises. He was a peculiar combination of daring and conservatism. His experiences in litigation, especially as a witness of exasperating coolness and equanimity who it seemed to be im- possible to browbeat or cross-examine | with any satisfaction or success, were numerous and have amused an apprecia- 1 tive public on several notable occasions He was the despair of plausible frauds | of every kind and of would be- black mailers who sought in all sorts of ways to get their unholy clutches on his money. To good but impractical people l who overwhelmed him with benevolent | schemes he was a frequent giver some