Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-04-22
MARKING EXHIBITS
Principal Work Of Friday in Wells
VIII Cnse

Exhibits for the proponents III the Wells
will case reached the number OF 621 Fri
day, when practically che entire morn
ing and a part of the afternoon were
taken to enter and mark exhibits. 2S1 of
them being marked during the day. The
Jury were excused from about 9:l5 Fri
day' morning until two o'clock In tho
afternoon, while the greater part of this
marking was going on. In tho afternoon.
there was more marking and some read
ing in the diaries of Mrs. Wells.
Only one witness was on the stand dur
ing the day This was Frederick II.
Welis who went on the first thing in
tho morning to compete the testi-
mony started the afternoon before
Attorney Sargent withdrew the question
which was pending concerning Mr..
Wells financial condition. and asked
few questions in regard to his nearest
relatives. Mr.. Wells said that his near
est relatives were his nephews and
nieces, and he started in to name them.
creating some amusement when he failed
to name Anna Wells Sykes among the
list, of which omission he was finally re-
minded by Attorney Sargent.
The exhibits which were marked dur.
ing the morning were largely letters
written by Anna Wells Sykes to her step
| mother. Mrs. Effle E. p. Wells. which
Mrs. Wells had kept for years back, care
fully done up in bundles. At the after
noon session Attorney Sargent called
| upon the attorneys for the contestants
! to produce letters written by Mrs. Wells
| to Anna covering the period from the
beginning Of 1914 down to the time Of
Mrs. Wells death. In response to this
| call, the contestants later produced four
letters in the handwriting of Mrs. Wells
and addressed to Anna. These were ad-
mitted as evidence of the mental capacity
of Mrs. Wells.
deed Of the Wells house at 81 Sum-
NIT street, transferring the house from
Anna Wells Sykes and James Greenleaf
Sykes to Mrs Effie E. P. Wells was
| offered in evidence by the proponents,
but the OFFER was withdrawn after an ex-
ception had been asked for by the con-
| testants on the ground that this deed was
immaterial in the case.
During the afternoon, Attorney Sar-
gent read to the jury a copy of the CON
| tract entered into between the stock
holders of the Wells-Richardson Co.,
Inc, relative to selling the stock of the
company. this being the contract which
has been referred to previously in the
testimony of Frank r. Wells and George
NJ. Besett.
The last half hour of the afternoon ses-
sion.. which closed at Ais, so that some
OF the jurymen could get the 4:4O train
was taken up with the reading of the
diaries of Mrs. Wells, including the lat
ter part Of the year 1913 and the early
part of 1914, being concerned mainly with
the European trip of Mrs. Wells at tina,
time.
The check for SO which Mrs. Eff,
f. p. Wells sent to her granddaugh liter
Martha Sykes, at the time the girl wa,
in school. and which has been mentioned
as causing difficulty in the family, be
cause the money was finally returned t.
Mrs. Wells, was introduced Frida,
} afternoon by the proponents The name
of Martha Sykes and 'the head of thu
school where she attended were on tn,
back of the check, showing that 1t hat
been cashed The contestants concede,
the handwriting on this check to be tina
of the people whose names appear there
but objected to its being entered on tn
grounds that the names on the back wer
) not material in the case. The check wa
admitted. and an exception noted for tn
IcoDtastapts