The San Francisco call., 1898-04-07
THE DOCTORS SECRET WENT
 WITH HIM Inventor Lee Has Not Been Seen For
 Years. Made Damascus Steel bv Method Discovered
 by Him. Mrs. Kelly Gave Up Her Ranch for Big Block of the
 Stock. SUED FOR HER PROPERTY. After Fourteen Years the Supreme Court Decides Against
 Her.
Mrs. Kelly Gave Up Her Ranch for a Big Block of the
 Stock.
SUED FOR HER PROPERTY.
After Fourteen Years the Supreme Court Decides Against
 Her.
Oakland Office San Francisco Call,

sos Broadway, April 6.
 An interesting suit which has been in litigation for fourteen years and which has at different times proved of great in- terest to Alameda and Contra Costa coun- ties was decided by the Supreme Court yesterday. It is the famous suit of Kelly vs. Owens, which involves the secrets of the discovery of making the celebrated Damascus steel, the manufacture of which is generally considered to be a lost art.
 Sixteen years ago Dr. Lee, one of the best known physicians of this city, a rel ative of the Lees of Virginia, a man of great scientific attainments and of an eX- perimental nature, started a series of experiments having for their object the discovery of the process of making that quality of steel known as Damascus steel. At great expense and with much labor he succeeded in producing a small quan- tity of steel al his experimental works at Melrose. The metal he produced was tested by scientists and experts and was asserted to be the best quality of steel then known. He made a few bars of it and gave them to dentists and instrument makers, and they all agreed that 1t made the nneSt instruments that could possibly be obtained, and that no such steel had ever been brought to their notice
 Among those who used instruments made from the metal was Dr. Christen- son of San Francisco, another doctor in Martinez and others, who still adhere to the declaration that Dr. Lee had indeed made Q valuable discovery.
 Having expended nearly all of his money on his experiments, Dr. Lee was unable to proceed further without financial as slsJance. me success Of his work was so well atteSted that a MT. Owens of San leandro put up the necessary funds and he and Lee at once built at Martinez a plant for the manufacture of the steel. They bought the land on which their plant was erected and incorporated, after which they found no difficulty in disposing ot their stock for cash on the market.
 A little later Mrs. Kelly, the plaintiff in the suit just decided, took an interest in the plant, and became so lmbued with the spirit of speculation that she did not give Dr. Lee any peace until she had se- cured very large block of the stock. In corporation a parcel of land consisting of 460 acres, located in Glenn County, and worth $l5,000, for her stock. Mrs. Kelly was very eager to obtain the stock, which Owens could then have sold at its cash value in the open market.
 After the exchange, Mrs. Kelly took a personal interest in the manufacture of the steel, and was continually at the plant in Martinez. pr Lee stated to his friends that Mrs. Kelly was altogether too i'm portUnate, and that her presence at the works worried and annoyed him con- siderably. Finally, in desperation, Dr. Lee stated that he needed a rest. He left the works at Martinez and went to San Francisco. He paid a few bills, made a few calls, attended to much important business, and absolutely dropped out of sight He was last seen about fourteen years ago taking the train to Santa Cruz and from that time to this nothing what ever has been heard of him.
 His mysterious disappearance with the secret of the process for making the steel upset the work at Martinez, and Mrs. Kelly, realizing that her stock was not fn Hir1o hrnfI r1,it [ to have her contract of exchange set aside. She commenced her action over thirteen years ago and the original con- plaint was written by Judge Catlin of Sac ramento. Some time later D. M Delmas and Messrs. Cleary and Franklin P. Bull represented the plaintiff and the case was tried at Martinez before Napa County of the old District Court of San Fran cisco. and David Mcclure, both of whom are nov. dead were the attorneys for Owens and the case was bitterly fought Gnd created much interest more because of the legal talent engaged than the mer- It's of the suit
 During the litigation Owens died and bis widow became the defendant The hrst trial resulted in a verdict for the plalnun, but this was reversed by the Supreme Court, which ordered a new trial. Before the argument was made in the Supreme Court, the attorneys DWinelle and Mcclure were dead and the case was argued by Garrett McEnerney
 Judge Gibson of this city and Welles Whitmore then entered the case, which was retired at Martinez before Judge Jones. It was again decided against the defendant, Owens and was once more taken to the Supreme Court. That tri- bunal in an opinion written by Judge Me Farland reversed the judgment and granted defendant a new trial. A motion was made for rehearing by Attorney Delmas, which was granted, and the case was again argued before the Supreme Court in bank. Yesterday they affirmed the department decision, giving defendant c new trial, and this virtually decides the case in favor of the defendant, be- cause the decision touches on a point which prevents a new trial. It states that inasmuch as the suit was an action for a resembling of contract, there thould have been an offer to rescind made before any action was commenced. As this was not done, the attorneys for the defendant claim they have won their case at last.
 At intervals regular searches have beer made to discover the presence or fate ot pr. Lee. but so far nothing has beer heard of the Melrose experimenter since he was seen on the Santa Cruz train over thirteen years ago.