$1m bequest declined

A bequest of a million dollars (£295,000) has been refused by Mr Charles Garland, of New York, who is aged 21, because he prefers to work for his living. Mr Garland’s father, Mr W.A. Garland, a multimillionaire, died over ten years ago. Mrs Garland forfeited her claim to a share of the Garland millions by marrying again in 1912. Since then the estate has been held in trust for the three sons. The eldest came of age last year and accepted his million dollars. Charles, who has just reached his 21st birthday, refuses to follow this precedent, and his younger brother, who is a student at Harvard, is quoted as saying that he intends to follow Charles’s example. Mr Charles Garland, who is married and living with his wife and infant daughter at his mother’s summer home at Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, is planning to become a motor mechanic. He says: “I believe that in refusing to accept the money I am placing myself on a Christian basis. Private property is the main cause of our unrest and unhappiness. It saps the meaning from life.”