Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-11-07
DENY IRREGULAR
SALE OF LANDS
Defendants in Injunction Case Be-
gun hy SlYiS Heirs Contend
They Acted Regularly.
ALL INTERESTS PROTECTED
Hold War Conditions Delayed Real
Estate Movement and Trustee
ship Should Be Continued.

Denial OF the general allegations
made IN recent bill flea in the
Office of the circuit clerk by heirs
OF the late R 5. Silvis is made in
the answer submitted by c. B. Mar
shall attorney for the defendants
Certain lots in the village OF Sill
Wis and lands nearby are involved,
the originSibill praying for an in
junction ~ prevent public sale by
trustee. ne defense now contends
that the proceedings have been en-
tireIy regular and above board and
that the benefits viii be shared by
ali parties interested 1t is denied
that there were threats to force
private sales for the purpose Of de-
prIying the complainants of their
rights
In support Of the denial the de-
PENDANTS have set forth cores pond
ence with reference to proposals
and counter proposals The title Of
the case is Charles L. Silvis, Thorn
as s Silvis. Belle c. Stevens, Mary
f Sharp. complainauts, VS.. Julia
K. Stafford. Richard a Jackson,
Harriet ". Hurst. EImoTe II. Stat
ford and Gilmore II. Stafford, trus-
tee.
Denial is made that Elmore W.
Hurst at the time Of his death had
any right or title in the trust es-
tate held by Elmore II. Stafford,
trustee, but that prior TO his death
he had sold and transferred his
rights to Harriet NJ Hurst, his
wife. II had been asserted in the
E-- l.
der the Will and had not inherited
any Of the property in question
and was therefore without author
ity TO petition the trustee to sell
at public sale.
Hold Division ImpTacticable.
The answer states:
These defendants, further an
swering, deny that the lots and
lands remaining unsold in the said
trust estate are so situated that a
physical partition or division can
be had without manifest prejudice
TO the parties in interest, but, on
the contrary, auege and aver the
fact to be that q considerable pOr-
ton of said trust estate remains in
acre tracts. unplatted and unsub-
divided Description IS given with
reference to location in the vicin-
ity Of railroad tracks,. That it
never was contemplated by the
trust agreement that said lands
should be parted or subdiyided for
q distribution to the several parties
u in interest"
II is asserted that the value of
the lands undivided is in excess of
what it would be should they be
divided, producing a competition in
lie sale thereof and a cutting Of
prices.
It is denied that a sale in mass
would depreCiate the proceeds Of
the property or enable a majority
IN interest to buy in property at the
sale by dummy bidders or other
wise would by unlawful fraudulent
combination defeat and defraud
the minority interest in the trust
estate.
War Stopped Sales.
In brief, some Of the essential
points set forth are:
That the defendants believe that
greater success would have attend
ed efforts Of Richard 8. SiIvis and
the trustee, acting through Sharp,
lad il not been for the interven-
ton Of the war; that many Of the
purchasers and prospective pur-
chasers of lots in Silvis and addi-
tons thereto were of Belgian, ItaI-
ian. French and Austrian extraction
and with the onset OF the war in
the latter part of 1914, many of
these persons, reservisLs in armies
Of their native countries, departed
on the call to arms, and others who
remained failed to purchase be
cause Of the uncertainty OF their
future activities.
That the defendants, Harriet NJ.
Hurst and Richard A jackson,
realizing that the purpose OF the
trust remained to be carried out
and that he trust agreement would
expire Dec. l, 1913, and desiring to
continue the trust and preserve the
property as an entity until the war
situation should clear, made known
such desire TO c. L. Silyis, admin
lEtrator; that there was no desire
to freeze out the SilYls interests,
but Jackson caused the trustee to
convey 70 them the information that
if (hey wished to convert their in
terests into money he would pay
from $4,000 10 $4,000 for their in
terests or he would invite a propo-