The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-04-18
Unusual Chance
 For Bedding To
 Secure Big Park
of Late Commodore L. tSt g en Provides Town to Acquire Beau tifu1 Estate Without Any Cost.

Reading, April 18.-Through a pro- vision in the will of the late Commo- dore Walther Luttgen, New York banker, the town of Bedding has the opportunity of acquiring without cost an extensive and beautiful woodland park. Broadly described the tract in question comprises a valley and the adjacent hillsides, the whole having an area of about 200 acres. It is bounded on the west by Sunset Hill, where the commodore built a pala- tial summer home about a dozen years ago. and approximately on the east by the Newtown line. The To- caI1ty formerly bore the name of East Woods, and in the process of develop
 ing 1t for park purposes the late own
 CT expended probably not less than
 $75,O0O. The improvements com.
 prised the building of a system of
 stone and gravel roads, dams which
 created three pretty little lakes and
 general clearing up of the super
 has many romantically attractive
 scenic features, their natural charm
 enhanced by the methods of land
 scape engineering which were applied.
 The Luttgen will which, by one of
 its directions will be administered
 through the Bedding Probate court
 instead of an New York creates from
 the entire estate trust fund of which
 ficiary during her lifetime. Upon her
 decsase the use 'of the estate goes to
 Mrs. Little, only child of the Lutt-- gems. With the death of Mrs. Little
 the property is to be divided equally
 between her two children, Mrs. Bolts
 and Roderick Luttgen, an absolute
 disposition terminating the trust. The
 amount of the estate will not be
 known until inventory is taken, but es-
 inmates place it at not less than $2,-
 900, 900. To close friends of the com
 modore are attributed reports that in recent years he invested most of his
 fnr-%11 .
 prise, project financially sponsored
 by the banking firm of Belmont &
 O., of which Commodore Luttgen
 was member. So far the canal company has yielded no dividends.
 The park provision of the will auth
 prizes the estate trustees to convey ownership of the park to the town of Bedding at any time the widow sane ttonS such transfer, and compliance with the condition is undertaken to be assured. Next there arises the ques- ton, Will the town consent to accept the valuable gift thus freely offered. upon by a town meeting and the
 probabilities are that the decision would be in the negative, because of the expense involved by the parks upkeep, a burden amounting to sev- eral thousands annually. Some towns and almost any city would be likely to give an emphatic yes to the propo- sition, but Readings depth of purse for the undertaking will hardly be considered. Assuming that to be the situation there has been suggested as happy solution of the problem in an acceptance by the town condition ed up on the prompt turning over of the park to the state. The State Park Commission has for the last two or three years been seeking park sites a few miles back from the Sound and here is not the raw material, but the finished product to be had for the asking. There would of course be certain formalities to be compiled 1 with before the proposed arrange ment could be effected, but it looks as if the thing might be done.