Sunday Washington globe., 1902-02-16


A most remarkable tale has developed in
connection with the Soldiers Home Of
which Justice Hagner Of the Supreme Court
IS the central fgure-in an act of justice
The old soldier inmates of the home are as
a class impeeunious as we'll az friendless,
else they would not be inmates awaiting the
pale riders visit. Nevertheless many Of
these old vets of long years Of service in
their cOuntrys wars. Indian, Civil and
Spanish, have accumulated a few dollars,
and a few among them have considerable
savings, amounting up into the thousands.
This money when they die is supposed. of
course, TO go to their heirs. Sometimes it
does and then again sometimes it does not
It is Of this latter disposition the GLonE
has a tale to unfold.
An Englishrnah with the euphonious
name of Smith died intestate at the home
and left some fifteen hundred dollars. A
well known 6rm of Washington attorneys
whose great boast is that their ancestors ''ht"
in the Revolution interested themselves
in Smith S fifteen hundred dollars In fact
this firm of Tompkins & Tompkins have
the inside snap ia Soldiers Home legal af-
fairs. They draw up the soldiers wills
and look after the legacies left Sometimes
it is averred they offer friendly advice to the
testator who happens to be friendless and
without heirs This advice takes the form
of suggestions as to the disposal Of the tes-
tators money and effects A charitable
institution in which relatives of the 6rm of
Tompkins & TomDkins are officials some
times becomes a beneficiary This is
merely coincident however Remember,
gentle reader, that the GLOBE is writing up
a firm of lawyers and libel suits are in the
line oftheir profession, hence unusual care
must be exercised to give nothing but cold
facts, frills and fancy as we'll o. iraagino
ton must be eliminated
To resume, Smith died, and left 81, 500 to
his heirs, and the firm Of Tompkins q
Tompkins undertook to fnd the aforesaid
heirs. Following out the statutes made and
provided for in such cases, he firm of
Tompkins & Tompkins went to work in a
perfectly legal way They finally found an
heir for Smiths 81 500 This heir was a
resident of distant state and bore the ro-
mantle name of Miss Lulu Smith. This
Lulu, naturally enough constituted the firm
OF TomplSins & Tompkins her attorneys,
ETC., and the firm of Tompkins & Tompkins
secured 81 800 from Judge Hagners court
Now some unregenerate individual un-
mindful Of his or her own affairs took it
upon himself or herself to ind ont who this
Lulu Smith was OF Is away out West. Hap
pening to have a near relative residing at
the very place where Lulu resided, COM
munication was opened up and lo and be-
hold a terrible thing happenedl
The hrm Of Tompkins & Tompkins,
whose fathers "ht' in the Revolution and
whose exclusive snap at the Soldiers
Home, is the envy Of every pension shark
attorney whom ex-Commissary Clerk Evans
has left alive, were incontinently hauled be-
fore Justice Hagner and ordered to pay into
court within a very brief and limited time
the 81, 500 they drew out for Miss Lulu
Smith heir of the deceased Englishman.
Much surprise was expressed al this SUM
mary action Of Justice Hagner and numer-
GUS we're the guesses as to the cause or
reason. Well, to condense matters, for
want of space, the GLOBE hastens to the
denouement. Miss Lulu Smith turned out
on investigation to be big fat ----- negressl
And as by no manner or means could any
consanguinity of blood be possible between
a pure blooded Caucasian OF the Anglo
Saxon race, and English born and bred at
that, and big, fat, black American negress.
the Judge concluded to dip into the case and
investigate the whole matter. He did.
And ne soon discovered that Lulu was a
Lulu, no doubt, but she had never known
the Engishman, Smith who died iutestate
at the Soldiers Home. and was, of course,
in no way related to the deceased warrior.
Thereupon the firm of rompkins & Tomp-
kins, whose ancestors lit" in the Revolu-
ton, were ordered to return and pay into
court soldier Smiths fifteen hundred
dollars.
OF course the big, black fat negress i'm
posed on the legal firm of Tompkius &
Tompkins, but the lawyers saved them
selves from financial loss by the precaution
of not entrustiug Lulu with the fifteen nun
dred dollars they had collected for her.
This Is where the lawyers exhibited the
usual forethought Of their profession for
had Lulu been paid the fifteen hundred
dollars Messers Tompkins & Tompkins
would have been out Of pocket just that
amount. AS it is the firm Of Tompkins &
Tompkins are out nothing but their time in
fooling with big, black, fat Lulu SMITH
And Lulu never knew il neither"
The Soldiers Home ought 20 be cult
waited more assiduously by attorneys Of slim
practice. There are fat pickings out there,
as not few of the soldiers have money and
they are, as a rule, heirless and friendless.
The nice, soothing admonitions Of a chris
tian attorney reminding these old soldiers
of the joys that will be theirs in another and
better world by making a proper dispOsi-
tiou Of their estates In favor Of some chari-
table institution will go a long way in help
ing the poor and making the road easy for
the dying soldier TO that bourne from
whence no traveller returns.