Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-02-08

Council Bluffs, Feb. S.-"Ii cared to
chloroform my conscience and play the
same as il is played could grow rea-
onahiy rich in council Bluffs in ten
years from administering estates left
andevise3 by will ana whose heirs are
unknown or negligent about prompt
action in applying fer administration"
said an Official %. the district court re-
GENTLY. greaEing al several cases of
administrators Who had no apparent
iGteres, liz The estates they We're han
ding un,.rr appointment IN the pro-
ate division Of me district court.
The charge that abuses have crept
into ne system Of administering es-
taJts whose hers are unknown or far
distant as OF guardianships OF minor
children. vas made with particular
reference to The local conditions. but
IS applicable 10 the existing conditions
al over Iowa. il - stated. L does not
constitute 4 charge against the courts
unless there ne implied a criticism Of
the com plaisance OF the courts in
naming 2 administrators on application
OF persons who have no direct interest
in the estates to he handled The
courts. it vas pointed out, are without
facilities for obtaining the necessary
information and their attention too
greatly occupied with the trial OF cases
to give careful consideration TO pro-
bate matters.
The charge OF the court official that
men grow rich thru administering es-
tates in which their only interest can
be the compensation they will receive
or, as the charge is directly made in
securing the power TO cause the ap-
praisement of real estate and its sale
for sums far below its value 10 dummy
purchasers who, in good time. recon-
vey the property to the administrators
for nominal consideration. does not
in any sense hear directly on the
scores of good men who are appointed
by the courts to administer and settle
estates left in the hands of the courts.
Should Be More Careful
The statement. however. is made
that more caution is desirable in ap-
pointing administrators whose inter-
est in the estates can only be for the
sense cuercenary
The same court official who made
the statement which appears above
TO show the injustice of appointing a
man 10 administer an estate merely
because he asks to be named:
In an Iowa county few years ago
an aged recluse died in the little
shanty in which he had lived on big
farm for many years, leaving an estate
well understood to be worth more than
$4,000.
No ,,F hrar in a
little town some miles from the place
heard of the death of the man, te.c-
phoned the management of the larger
bank which he represented and then
began a scramble to seize the admins
tration of this estate which so dis
gusted the people who lived in the lit
tie town where the hermit had died
that they finally forcibly prevented the
consumna ton of the scheme and mott
fed relatives Of the dead man, who
appeared promptly and took charge of
the estate.
Mad Race by Night.
On receiving the message that the
hermit was dead. one of the highest Of
ficials of the main bank, in another
county from the one which the estate
lay. secured an automobile and by
long night drive picked up his branch
manager, drove to the county seat of
the first county, awakened the proper
officers of the district court and Sc
cured the necessary papers Is admin
istrator Of the estate.
Armed with the letters of admin is
tration the party started for the small
Village to take possession of the estate,
arriving only after daylight. The in
habitants of the town, who knew who
and where the relatives were. made an
angry demonstration and prevented the
eYer-ea administrator from taking
possession Of the estate.
Another case. in Pottawattamie
county, was cited as one of several
which differed from the above only n
that the administrator secured ap-
pOintment but after several months
returned TO the court which had APP
pointed him at his own request 10 ad-
minister the supposed estate Of resi-