The Washington times., 1936-06-15
TORONTO BABY
RACE INTEREST
QUICKENS
BY FRANK CHAMBERLAIN
ARTICLE


copyright 1895 King Features syndi-
cate, Inc)
TORONTO, Canada, June Is
AS the half-million dollar Charles
Vance Millar Baby Race-strang.
est maternity marathon ever
known-nears its end, it is still
anybody's race. It's outcome will
not be known till october 81 when
the huge fund provided for in
the will Of that eccentric barriS-
ter who died on october 81, 1926,
will fall to the lot Of the mother
in some modest Toronto home, or
be divided equally between two
or more Of them, in case Of a tie.
Interest Grows
AS the final date draws near,
interest in this novel contest is
spreadin 6 rapidly, not only
throughout Canada but through
out the world.
From the present outlook, it's al
most anybody's race. The mother
now in the lead, with 10 babies
registered since october 81, 1925,
has no expectations. The three
who now have nine each all have
expectations, as have two of the
three contenders who now have
eight each. If either of the two
with nine, plus expectations.
should give birth to twins, or of
those with eight each, plus ex-
pectations, to triplets, the mark set
by the present leader will be ex-
ceeded. In that case, the entire
fortune Of half a million dollars
may all go to one family. If not,
it seems certain the fund will be
divided among four or more fami-
lies.
Study the tabulation in the box
accompanying this article, and you
will discover all those possibilities.
The tsbulation ends with ques-
ton mark! What marathon!
Sensational Will
The race started nearly 10 years
ago when Charles Vance Millar,
wealthy Canadian barrister,
sportsman and humorist, made his
will and died. His will caused an
immediate sensation, and the
whole nation laughed at its con-
tents. But one of it's clauses put
Toronto mothers on their mettle.
Millar hadn't any children of
his own, so left the residue Of his
estate, half million dollars, to the
Toronto mother who from October
81, 1925, to october 81, 1896, gave
birth to the largest number Of
babies; in the event Of a tie, the
money to he evenly divided.
That wasn't the only pecularity
Of the strange will. Millar hated
professional moraliSts and reform
erS, so TO two of Canada's most
distinguished reform leaders, Hon.
W. E. Raney and Rev. DR.. Samuel
D. Chown (both since deaO he
left shares in the Ontario Jockey
Club, providing each of them be-
came enrolled as shareholders
within three years of his death.
Gave Losses Back
Here was a strange will, indeed.
Besides leaving $4,000 to reim-
burse a business friend who had
lost that amount in a business
transaction with him, Millar ap-
pointed rival trust companies-the
National Trust Company and the
Toronto General Trusts Corpora.
tion-as executors, and then ap-
pointed ore Of his own legal part
ners, Roy Sproatt, as third execu.
tor, so that they would all quarrel
over fees and thus keep the
handling of the estate perfectly
straight"
Following is the nous
mother clause" just as it appears
in the will:
8. All the rest and residue Of
my property whatsoever stu.
ate, I give, devise and bequeath
unto my executors and trustees
named below in trust, to convert
into money as they deem advis.
able and invest all the money
until the expiration of nine
years from my death, and then
call in and convert it all into
money, and at the expiration
Of 10 years from my death to
give it and its accuInulatiOns
to the mother who has since
my death given birth in Toronto
to the greatest number Of chill
dren as shown by the regiStra-
ti0nS under the vital statistics
act. If one or more mothers
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