“Finally to all those not included hereinbefore (for various reasons), here’s to our next merry meeting. To those in authority, thanks for a square deal. To mine enemy—but I mustn’t bulcon him.
“Gentlemen, I go, but I leave, I hope I leave my reputation behind me.
“Anglicus.”
Probates his Own Will
Judge R. B. Tappan, of Alameda, California, in July, 1910, practically probated his own will. He filed in the Recorder’s Office, of Alameda County, a document which makes the Alameda Lodge of Elks his beneficiary. He provides that if he dies or becomes insane his property is to go to the Elks. Throughout the legal phraseology of the instrument Judge Tappan has made many unique observations, among which he states that he trusts that no one will inspect him too closely for signs of dementia. He says:
“I hope that such things as leading a horse over a hill while I am hatless and coatless and wearing a bandana handkerchief over my head or wearing moccasins in the city will not be considered evidence of insanity sufficient to revoke the terms of this trust.”
On Judge Tappan’s death he directs that such property as he has transferred to the trust shall immediately be put to the uses of the Elks lodge after paying his funeral expenses, which, he says, should not be over $75. He remarks in the document that he has already paid $10 for a redwood box to convey his remains to the crematory. In regard to the document, Judge Tappan said:
“I have the consent of the directors of my lodge of Elks to keep for me in their possession during my life my property now in their possession, and any property which I may place in their custody hereafter will be similarly held. I have made provisions in the declaration which will pass the trust fund to the Elks lodge in the event of my death or in the event of my becoming insane. The question of insanity is left to the officers of my lodge. There may arise an occasion where some meddlesome person or persons would lodge a contest, and perhaps my wishes concerning the disposition of what belongs to R. B. Tappan would not be complied with. I have a right to do what I see fit with what is mine without consulting any one else, and it is a great satisfaction to me to-day to know just where my property will go in the event of the happening of either one of the conditions referred to. This proposition involves a large sum of money and securities which are as good as gold coin, and the matter is no joke. The officers realize this, or else they would not have accepted the trust. I never speculate or gamble in any form; hence my trust is not likely to shrink much.”
Trust Companies as Executors
The Trust Companies of the United States and other countries have, in recent years, proved themselves the best mediums for administering wills; such an institution located in Melbourne, Australia, in pointing out its merits and stability, quite uniquely, we think, quoted Tennyson’s lines: