Evening star., 1924-12-26

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from his gift a genuine help. To
give his faithful household retainers
and loyal business employees a start
in life, he neglected close and dear
friends whom he knew were already
rich enough TO enjoy the better things
is life.
Among the beneficiaries three live
in Washington, DR.. Robert Oden of
the Monterey apartments who has
served as Mr.. Ritter's family physi-
clan for years, and william kapara-
kis and Clifford Napper, both serv-
ants in the Massachusetts avenue
home. Paul, a son of Mr.. Ritter, also
received a share. The amounts each
will receive have not been made
known.
Ninety-four are Employees.
Ninety-four of the beneficiaries are
business employees, and the remainder
distant relatives and former family
retainers. Their service in Mr.. Rit-
ter's employ ranges from to 20
years. Napier has served the lumber
merchant for two decades and Kap-
arakis for 8 years. The entire list
of 124 is scattered over II States,
exclusive of those living in WASH
ingten.
Pressed for an explanation of the
reasons that prompted him to make
his gifts SO unconditional, Mr.. Ritter
smilingly refused at first, but finally
explained that he believed If men
of wealth distributed their riches
among less fortunate but worthy
families, without attempting TO i'm
pose their ideals upon them as a
provision for enjoying the beauests,
American ideals would be assured a
firmer foundation.
Has Plenty Left.
He gave assurance that he still had
plenty left" for his own needs and
declared that the very joy Of giving
had already returned him more inter
est in pure delight than the stock
with which he has parted would ever
yield in dollars and cents. Mr..
Ritter hopes his money will instill
anew American ideals in at least 124
homes and that those ideals will ex-
pand with the families thus bene-
fitted.
Although the stock is to be held
under a trust agreement for the bene-
ficiaries, not a single restriction was
imposed upon how they should use 1t
orr making it possible for the donor
TO reclaim it through some overt act
on the part of the beneficiary. Mr..
Hitter mas no lOItS hopes IndI MS
experiment will yield a 100 per cent
success, but he declared he believes
the great majority of the families
benefited will vindicate his trust in
them.
The trust is to be executed when
the beneficiaries meet in eight re-
gional gatherings tomorrow in New
York, Philadelphia, Columbus, Blue
field, w. Va; HughesvHle, Pa; Wash
- ~
y. c. The announcement of the gift,
issued from the executive offices of
the w. NJ Ritter Lumber Co, in CO.
lumbus. and sent to Washington by
the Associated Press, said:
For some time Mr.. Ritter has
made it plain to those working with
him that he Is not In sympathy with
the modern practice of men of wealth
in leaving their fortunes to be ad-
ministered in the promotion of indi-
vidual views respecting political phi
losophy. economic theory, Industrial
policy and similar issues 1t was
his intense desire, the statement said,
to leave those benefited complete
freedom. of action.
Mr.. Ritter was born in Hughes
Vile, Pa. during the closing years
of the Civil War. AS a,young man he
recognized the possibilities that lay
in the undeveloped forests of West
Virginia, then veritable empire of
latent timber wealth. He formally
organized the w. NJ. Ritter Lumber
90. in 1900, and the company now has
holdings In Southwest Virginia,
southern West Virginia, Eastern
Kentucky and Western North Caro-
lima.
Those included in the list of bene-
ficiaries who reside in West Virginia
and Virginia:
Clyde Shipman, Oliver Pryor. Ed
ward r. Pryor. John Gwinn, II. F.
Hartley and John Reagan of Maben,
w. Va; Daniel b. Gortner. Mcclure,
Va; Pearl Stevenson, Fremont, Va. !;
Lena Kopp; Huntington, W. Va: Ada
Agee. Williamson, W. Va; Lillian ST.
Clair and James French Strother of