The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1913-07-01
WATERMARK KEY
TO Will CONTEST
Document to Be Sent to Mil
Where Paper Was Made.
S25O,OOO LEGACY At STAKE

State of Tennessee Interested In Fate
of Mrs. Cloths 100000 Estate, For
Which No Heirs Appeared For Some
Time After Her Death-Contestant
Charge Forgery.
On the records of the Southworth
Paper mill, at Aittineague, Mass,
which has manufactured for thirty
years a peculiar brand of typewriter
paper exclusively for one typewriter
manufacturer, will depend whether f.
Bruce Garrett of Memphis. Tenn, is to
get a S250,OO0 legacy under the will of
Mrs. Caroline Cloth of Shelby county.
Tenn.
The authenticity of a will dispostng
Of a S1,00O,O00 estate hinges on the
watermark of tie paper. The will as
offered is dated 1895 1t bears a wa
termark Nv. s. & 3. Regent Linen
The contestants contend that this
proves the will to be a forgery. since
this watermark did not appear on re-
gent linen manufactured for Wyckoff.
.
Archie Butler, manager of the paper
department Of the Remington Type
writer company in New York city, the
corporation which succeeded the firm
of Wyckoff. Seamans & Benedict. was
examined recently by order of the
Shelby county courts. Mr.. Butler pro-
nounced the paper to be genuine re
gent linen and asserted that his rec
ordS showed that the watermark in
question was not used until 1900.
Prior to that time, he said. the water
mark had been Regent Linen w. $
& T."
Severe Cross Examination.
Mr. Butler was severely cross exam
ined by an attorney for Mr.. Garrett
He admitted that it would he possible
to have counterfeted the watermark
had any paper manufacturer desired
to trade OH the reputation Of regent
linen but insisted that it would have
been impossible to counterfeit the "a
per. lie said that no paper expert
could he deceived 10y any attempted
counterfeit of paper which had been
the exclusive product of a certain min
maintaining unife~m quality by spe-
cial processes Of manufacture over n
long period Of years. lie said he had
no doubt that the paper was genuine
regent linen.
He said the question when the date
Of The watermark was changed must
be decided Mt the mill which produced
it, the Southworth paper mill mt Nit
tinoague. Mass With such large
amounts at stake the will. representa-
tives of the Remington Typewriter
company said, must be taken to Nit
tineague. When produced in court 1t
was under guard of commissioner
How viii Was Discovered.
Mrs Cloth, who made the will. left
two cousins, Or. John NJ. Smaller and
his sister, and half a dozen more re
mote cousins in Denver She was the
widow Of Herman Cloth and increased
his estate of 100000 by abStemtous
living and judicious investments The
witnesses TO the will were dead when
Mr.. Garrett. the $250000 heir under
its provisions, discovered it. Its au-
thentIcity was not disputed until Miles
S. Buckinham, who had been Mrs.
Cloths business agent. held it up to
the light and saw the watermark.
which started lslm on search.
Before the offering of the will by Mr..
+ Garrett proceedings had been institut-
ed by the state of Tennessee to escheat
the estate because no heirs had an
pearcd- The heirs who are now fight
ing the will did not appear until it was
offered for probate.