National Affairs: Boston’s Franklin

Because Statesman & Scientist Benjamin Franklin won his fame in Phila-delphia, few but historians are prone to associate him with Boston. He was Boston-born Jan. 6, 1706, son of Josiah Franklin, a tallow chandler. Not until 1723, after he had written many an essay for his brother James’s New England Courant, “first sensational newspaper in America,” did Benjamin Franklin migrate to Philadelphia.

Last week Franklin’s Boston birth, his affection for Boston, caused a wrangle between city officials and directors of the Franklin Fund. A codicil to Franklin’s will bequeathed to the “town of Boston,” a fund from his estate, part to be put out at interest for 200 years and the balance to be spent “in public works . . . such as fortifications, bridges, aqueducts, baths, pavements or whatever may make living in its town more convenient . . . and agreeable.” The fund last week stood at $458,846. The treasurer of the Franklin Fund, Charles E. Getting, gave Boston’s Treasurer Edmund L. Dolan some instructions regarding its use. Treasurer Dolan filed a petition in the name of the City of Boston for a Supreme Court decision as to who is legal manager of the $458,846.