A Gambler's Estate Turns Ugly
A bitter legal battle over the estate of a Tacoma gambling house proprietor spills over into public accusations of fraud and pauperism.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Although Administrator Chamberlain failed to file his supplementary inventory report, the hearing in the Harry Morgan estate was continued today before Court Commissioner Clifford. Morgan was a gambler and the proprietor of a gambling house, but his friends in life say he was true to his friends, and they accordingly resent what the widow asserts was an attempt to defraud her of the bulk of the estate. Chamberlain's attorney lost his temper, and declared that Chamberlain's accounts were all right, and hinted that his colleague's charges were characteristic of the people he represented. Both sides promise an ever-thickening plot as the case progresses.
“Morgan was a gambler and the proprietor of a gambling house, but his friends in life say he was true to his friends.”
This court battle over assets and transparency echoes the high-stakes estate litigation that still occupies Washington courts today. The lurid press coverage highlights how 'vice' figures were treated in the 1890s legal system.
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