The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-04-22
W, FAIRNESS ESTATETOTAL
 $1,000,O0O
Comptroller Says It Is Larg est to Pass Through Of flee Though Not
 Appraised.

New York, April 22.-Testimony, ta- ken by the State Comptroller to de- termine whether Lannon V. Hardness of the Standard Oil Company was resident of this State or Kentucky was
 filed in the Surrogate's Court yester day. The investigation was made
 by Tax Appraiser Joseph w. Spencer that the Surrogate might be fully in- formed.
 While the estate is not appraised, it is stated that it is one of the largest ever to pass through the Comptrol- Ier's office. Recently State Comptrol- Ter Travis placed the valuation at $10O, 100000, and stated that the equi- ties were wholly in stocks and bonds. The report shows for the first time MT. Hardness security holdings. The more important follow: Ang1o-Ameri- ican Oil Company, 26,20O shares; Southern Pennsylvania Oil Company, 2,165; American Sugar Refining Com pany1, 2,2OO; Standard Oil Company of New York, 1,2O0; Pennsylvania Railroad, $500; International liar vester, common 5000; International Harvester, preferred, 5000; Interna- tionaI Harvester Company of New Jer- sey, 5000 common, 5000 preferred; New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, 1000; Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, common, 1, 1925; Standard Oil Company of California, $500; South ern Pipe Line, 1882; Standard Oil Company of Indiana, 4,002; Prairie Oil and Gas Company, 2,597; Ohio Oil Company, 8,0g6; National Transit Co.,, 6,76O; Buckeye Pipe Line, 2,668; Va cuum Oil Company, 1898; American Shelters Securities Company, 2.OOO; United States Steel preferred, 1000; Virginia-Caro1ina Chemical Company, 1856 preferred; New York Central Railroad, 6,950; Manhattan Railways Company, 1,154; Union Pacific Rail- road, 5000, and Standard Oil Com pany of New Jersey, 13 200.
 MT. Hardness died in Ca1ifor- mia, Jan. IT, 1915, his heirs claimed that he was a resident of Walnut Hill, a suburb of Lexington, ky, and for that reason denied that the State of New York had the right to collect a transfer or inheritance tax. It was to shed light on the legal residence of the decedent that the inquiry was in- stituted. William w. Wingate was Ieppointed special counsel by the Comp tro11er and Murray, Prentice & How land were retained by the Hardness administrators. ~t
 Harry s. Hardness, son of the finan- cier, submitted an affidavit in which he said his father had for many years been resident of Kentucky, and coun- se1 for the estate introduced much evidence along these lines. In his CSSL1LnOny the son SS1Q h1S ~IaLn0T ndd lived at No. 933 Fifth Avenue prior to I19o5, but since the death of his wife
 in that year he never slept in the house. 4 | Counsel for the Comptroller pro
 duced proof that funeral notices pub
 lished in the daily papers of New
 York gave MT. Hardness residence at
 No. 933 Fifth avenue and that bu-
 rial was in Woodlawn Cemetery. | Harry s. Hardness testified that his
 fathers Kentucky estate comprised r.
 900 acres and a house which the de-
 cedent enlarged after he had acquired
 it. On it are 1.400 horses, mostly
 pedigreed.
 The State showed that MT. Hardness kept accounts in New Yok banks and
 drew checks on these banks for ex-
 penses incurred in running his farm.
 1t was also proved that his name ap- peared on the-door of his sons office
 at Th1rty-fou1 tn Street and Fifth Ave
 nue.
 The estate passes to Harry s. Hark-
 ness, Mrs. Lola E. Edwa1 ds. and Mrs.
 Myrtle H. Macomber, son and daugh-
 ters. The realty in New York State is the Fifth Avenue residence, valued
 at $275,OOO; No. 65 East Seventy
 sixth Street, worth $52,5O0; place
 at Northampton, L. l., $40,OO0 and
 a plot at Flushing, $75,00O.