The sun., 1913-12-07
ACCUSED OF PLOT TO
GET CHILDS'S ESTATE


a trust fund OF 100000 for his wife and
inIan; daughter.
His lawyer in the last few years Of his
life was Frederick II. Clarke. Mr.. Childs
died at the age of &c in a sanitartum on
August go. 1915? When his will was read
II was found thai he had left $4,000 In
cash to Mr.. Clarke and had made the
lawyer his residuary legatee in case Of
the death Of his daughter without issue
The widow was left $4,000 a year In the
lifetime OF the daughter. Marjorie. and
$4,000 in case the daughter died. Mr.,
CLARK. and the Carnegie Trust Company
were named as executors.
Mrs. thIlds contested the will. Through
her counsel. McElheny, Bennett & Sicher.
she accused Clarke of fraud and Of using
undue influence ON Childs She charged
that the will was procured by fraud on
he part of Clarke and persons acting In
concert with him. II was charged that
Childs executed later will than the one
offered Tor probate. but that the later will
vas destroyed or concealed. Others be-
sides Mrs. thlds objected to the will
on the ground of fraud
Gave Senatorial Testtnony.
Catherine T.. Smith Of IL Albany ave-
nue.. Brooklyn. who was Chlds's nurse.
fought the will. She asserted that Childs
executed later will which gave her
$. 900 insttsld of s.. 900. Her counsel said
thdt the later will left $4,000 u
Clarke instead OF $4,000. Lydia Rob
inson. who had been a friend Of Childss
and who received $1,000 in the will
that was offered for probate, was another
objector.
Surrogate Cohalan heard the case.
James Robinson. "A brother OF Lydia Rob-
!nson. gave sensational Testimony. He
said that hr met Childs and Clarke in
Philadelphia In September, 1910. and that
Clarke said tn Childs in his presence
that he had some business matters to dis
cuss. Childs replied:
"Go ahead. Jim is all right"
Clark. and Childs went into another
room. Later that night Childs said TO
Robinson:
all right. I'll show II to you"
"Iim I've made my will. Left L.
MIR. Childs." Robinson testified, OBJ
iected. saying he didn't want people talk
ing about his affairs"
said Child Told Of Trick.
Robinson testified also that in Washing
ton "A day or two later Childs said 10 him {:
MI. Clarke has played me dirty
trick lie put himself down for $4,000
and then changed this to $4,000. He's
got lot out Of me during my lifetime
without getting so much after j am dead.
But II won't max" 10 much difference.
I'll make another will"
There was testimony. on the other hand
from three witnesses to the will that
ChiIds was seemingly normal and the
master OF his own actions. and that the
signature to the will was Chiids's.
There were sensational charges and
counter charges. II Is said that Childs
had besn in the habit OF keeping thou
sands OF dollars in cash under his pillow
and that the money disappeared when he
died
Mr. Clarke. who vas much upset by
the charges against him and by Surrogate
Cohaian's attitude regarding the Black
Hand letter. renounced all claim to the es-
tate and turned the property over to the
widow and daughter. He maintained
that he was innocent of the acts charged,
Maybe a court proceeding will deter.
mine who grabbed that money from under
a dead mans head" he said. He said too
that person very close TO Childs had
tried to ship all his personal property and
his automobile out OF the State after
Childs died. and that the plan might have
been successful had not Chiids's secretary
overheard the conversation OF the plot
ters a nd sent word TO Clarke