"It's now time to spend Franklin's bequeathal" (associated press release, April 1990)

BOSTON (AP) -- Benjamin Franklin died 200 years ago Tuesday, and according to his will, that means it's time to pend the 1,000 pounds sterling he bequeathed to Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

The pennies saved are worth about $4.5 million in Massachusetts and $2 million in Pennsylvania, and requests for a cut are pouring in from as far away as London.

Franklin died in Philadelphia on April 17, 1790, at age 84. In his will, he gave 1,000 pounds sterling to Massachusetts and the city of Boston, and an equal sum to the state of Pennsylvania and the city of Philadelphia.

The money came from what Franklin earned during his tenure as president of the commonwealth of Pennsylvaniz, 1785-87. He believed politicians should not be paid.

Franklin specified in his will that on the 100th anniversary of his death a part of the two trusts be used for training young people, but at that time several interested parties sued for access to the money.

A Massachusetts court resolved the dispute there by settling up a board of managers to control the money until the 200th anniverary.

The managers ultimately decided to build a technical school, the Franklin Institute in Boston.

A similar arrangement in Pennsylvania benetfited the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, a science museum.

"In keeping with Franklin's legacy we'd like to use the fund to help the young people of Boston with job training for their careers. This way, we're investing the future of Boston," said Bob Consalvo, Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn's operations manager.

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