The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-01-23
MASTER IS TO
TAKE TESTIMONY
Announcement Made Today
at Thompson Fund
Hearing
NO RULING AS TO
EXPENDITURES
Counsel for Beneficiaries to File Further
Particulars - Court Denies Trustees
Motion to Strike Out Certain State
mentS.
mentS.
Especial t. The Reformer.l

BOSTON, Jan. %.
Testimony before a master is to be
taken in the matters involved between
the trustees of the Thomas Thompson
estate Of Boston, which amounts to up
wards Of $l,0OO,OO0, and the benefci-
aries under Thomas Thompson's WILL
which has resulted in a petition by the
Society of Seamstresses, Needlewomen
and Shop Girls of Brattleboro and the
town of Brattleboro for the removal of
Richards NJ. Bradley of Boston, one of
the two trustees.
This fact was announced at a hearing
here this forenoon before Judge Crosby
OF Pittstield, member of the supreme
judicial court of Massachusetts. Judge
Crosby said that if the parties to the
controversy, which arises because of what
the beneffciaries and the town consider
Is an inadequate administration of the
trust, could agree upon master the
court would appoint that person, other
wise the court would select an appointee
| Counsel for the petitioners feel that
substantial progress was made today
as the appointment of master to hear
the evidence Is one of the important
/ things they have been striving to secure
| Another important development is that
| the court directed the trustees to file
/ by Feb. , their answer to the petition
for the removal of Trustee Bradley. AT.
ter that is done the appointment of a
master will be made.
I Todays hearing primarily was on th5
petition OF the trustees for authority to
use their discretion in the matter of the
expenditure of the income of the Thomp
son estate pending the outcome of tho
attempt to secure Mr. Bradley's removal
Counsel for the benetciaries objected tC
such authority being granted. Their po
sition was that the expenditures should
be limited to Brattleboro and Rhinebeck
\, y, those two towns being specified il
the Thompson will and the DEGREES of tn,
court, and that the trustees should mo-
be allowed to spend money wherever they
| western cities and places far remote
from Brattleboro and Rhinebeck.
On this matter the court made NJ
order but said that counsel ought t,
be able TO agree concerning it, but tina
if they could not agree concerning an,
specific expenditure the court would
: give instructions relative thereto. /
i, appeared that the trustees were not nov
, spending money belonging to the es
, tate outside the state of Vermont an
Duchess county, New York.
The request of the trustees that tn
! petitioners be required to file furthe
t particulars concerning some of tn
assertions made in their petition 70
Mr.. Bradley s removal also came Ii
today, as did the trustees notion tha
; the court strike out certain statement
! in the bill of particulars already flee
The trustees wanted more particular
E concerning their alleged refusal to al
! certain beneticiaries, and kindred mat
ters, and the court ruled that the pet
:, tioners might file such information a
!, they might have in addition to the pal
: ticulars already filed.
n Concerning the trustees motion t
:, strike out certain statements in tn
bill of particulars, argument was ha
and the court declined to strike thel
J. out. In the bill the counsel for til
benefciaries gave in detail larg
amount of information, and for certai
other information they referred til
trustees to the correspondence and docl
! ments on file in their own office. Th
V part the trustees wanted stricken out
J Counsel for the benefciaries read t
&c the court from The Reformer Of Jan.
< a copy of a letter to Trustee Bradle
It from Attorney Stoughton Bell of Il
! Boston counsel for the trustees, in whiC
) counsel wrote: please do not give OF
e any information or any records of an
i kind whatsoever
r At today's hearing, in addition to Il
Boston counsel, Attorney Frank E. Ba
% ber and Attorney A. P Carpenter, bot
= of Brattleboro, appeared for the petition
y ers for the removal of Trustee Bradle
y and Attorney A, F. SchWenk of Brattl
E. boro appeared in behalf 6f Trustee Bra
" ley, arguing in support of certain e
s. penditures by the trustees and again
ID the denial of their right to continue su,
re expenditures.