The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-10-22


 sum which will amount to twenty-five thousand dollars more. These will give you a larger income than you can spend while you live and will enable you to make bountiful provisions for those you desire to remember in your will. In my will you will find the following provisions: give and bequest unto my wife, Grace Imogene Bennett, the sum of fifty thousand dollars C5O,O0O) in trust, however, for the purpose set forth in a sealed letter which will be found with this will. It is my desire that the fifty thousand dollars con- veyed to you in trust by this provision shall be by you paid to William Jen- nings Bryan of Lincoln, Nebraska, or to his heirs if I survive him. I am earnestly devoted to the political prin- eipIes which MT. Bryan advocates and believe the welfare of the nation de- bends upon the triumph of those prin- cipIes with tongue and pen and as his political work prevents the application of his time and talents to money nnak- ing consider it a duty as I find it pleasure to make this provision for his financial aid so that he may be more free to devote himself to his chosen field of labor.
 If for any reason he is unwilling to receive this sum for himself it is my will that he shall distribute the said sum of fifty thousand dollars accord ing to his judgment among educational and charitable institutions.
 I have sent duplicate of this letter to Mir. Bryan and it is my desire that no one excepting you and MT. Bryan himself shall know of this letter and bequest. For this reason will place this letter in a sealed envelope and direct that it shall be opnd only by you and read by you alone. , P. S. BENNETT.
 "The letter was enclosed in a letter to Mrs. Bryan. The letter to me was according to the form we had agreed up while his letter to Mrs. Bryan was spontaneous"
 Judge Stoddard said after the reading of the letter: There seems to be one or two clerical errors in that letter which makes it somewhat different from the copy furnished us. I would like this copy of the letter which MT, Bryan has just read from Mir. Bennett to be filed with the court as an ex- hibit."
 Mir. Bryara-"All right"
 The letter was then marked as an ex- hibit and filed with the court. l.
 MT. Bryan then said: MT. Bennett asked me when we drew the will to act as executor with his partner, Mr Sloan. I do not recall the subject ever being mentioned afterwards. also may say that at that time he did not say what he was going to give to his relatives except his wife. We talked over the use to which the s50,000 might be put for educational purposes and he said that I might give to the boys schools while my wife could look out for the institutions for girls. The only other provision in which made any sugges- ton was the building of a memorial library in the town of my birth, Sa- lem, Neb. I told him that would give the sum of $1,500 for this purpose and he said he would give a like sum, and said that would. like it to be known as the Bryan-Bennett Memorial Libra Try. During my last frip west bought the old home in which was born ir that town. It is near the center of the town and propose to give the land as a site for the library in addition to the s1,500." MT. Bryan then told the court Il that he was unfamiliar with the prac' tice in this state and that he had noi consulted an attorneys r Judge stoddard said that he had ad- vised MT. Bryan to consult counsel many times and he again said he would moi admit that the letter had anything te do with the will. >-4n-
 MT. Bryan then said: T will never touch one cent of the money which Mir Bennett has left to- me, nor will my family, without the consent of Mrs Bennett. If I get the $50,000 will dis tribute it among colleges"
 Judge Stoddard-"Mrs. Bennett does not want MT. Bryan to have the $50,OoO nor does she consider that he has any right to It."
 j Mir. Bryan--"I first said, before go. ing away, that I would not touch the $25,0o0 without Mrs. Bennett's consent I now make the same statement in ref erence to the $50,000."
 Judge stoddard--"T think it would bt
 better if MT. Bryan made a writer statement to that effect" . \ Judge C1eaveland then said that ht advised Mir Bryan to consult counse
 before doing so and it is probable tha ] he will do so. ... After this court adjourned until 1. o'clock this morning, when the eas,
 will be continued. ,.a9t
 It was understood from MT. Bryan's
 remarks yesterday that his wife hat
 been present at his home when MT
 Bennett was making his will and tha
 she had taken down some notes fo