The San Francisco call., 1904-07-01
WOMEN At LAW
FOR LITTLE sum
RoOming-House Keeper Says
She Is the Victim of
Fraud and of Usury
NOTE is BILL OF SALE
Even Real Estate Agents
and Lighting Company
Are Involved in Suit

Woman's inhumanity to woman is
the keynote of a complaint filed yester-
day in the Superior Court. An interest
ing story is told of alleged usury and
fraud on one side and ignorance of the
worlds ways on the other, yet, accord
ing to the plaintiffs, only the sum OF
SO 10 stands between the litigants. The
suit is brought by Phoebe A. Green and
Lille Marie Marchant against Louise j.
Francis, Madison & Burke, Jane Doe
Allyne and the San Francisco Gas and
Electric Light Company.
From the complaint it appears that
Mrs. Marchant is the mother of two
children and her support and theirs
is dependent wholly upon the boarding
house which figures in the case. The
lease of this house and the furniture
therein, it is averred, were owned by
Phoebe Green, who paid the rent up to
June 80 to Mrs. Allyne, the owner of
the house.
WOMAN AS MONEY LENDER.
On February last, according to the
complaint, Mrs. Green needed money
and to get it she negotiated a loan with
Louise j. Francis, who is engaged with
her husband in lending money for
for usury. Mrs Green says that she
the right of asking for $50 more. The
loan was TO be secured by a promissory
note, and on the date named a docu-
ment was presented to her to sign, but
she was not permitted to read it, Mrs.
Francis saying that it was the usual
thing for borrowers to sign. Being in
ignorance of such proceedings Mrs
Green signed and paid the notary the
costs. The notary, by the way, was
also woman, Addie L. Ballou, who
appears in the directory as a notary
and portrait artist with offices in the
Donohoe building.
1t is further alleged that, as part of
the transaction, Mrs. Green agreed to
pay $12 80 a month to Mrs Francis.
The latter was to take out the interest
due and deposit the balance to Mrs.
Green's account in the Western Nation
al bank, as a redemption fund for
the principal 1t is charged that in
stead of giving the $50 required, Mrs
Francis only paid $135 so to Mrs. Green,
holding out s14 so for expenses.
DISPUTES BILL OF SALE.
Mrs. Green says she discovered that
Mrs. Francis never deposited any of
the payments in the Western National.
On June 20 Mrs. Green contracted to
sell the lease of the rooming-ho and
her furniture therein to Mrs. Mar
TO have the lease transferred To her
surprise the real estate men told her
that the property was no longer in her
name; that Mrs. Francis had present
ed a bill of sale for it and claimed pos
session. The bill of sale represented
that the transfer had been made for a
consideration of $40. Mrs Green de-
clares she never signed such a docu-
ment knowingly.
Then, to cap the climax the gas and
electric company cut off the gaslight
and reported that the action was under
the orders of Mrs. Francis.
Mrs. Green says that Mrs Francis
threatens to take possession of the
property and being a violent and law
less woman" will carry out her threat
unless restrained by the court Hence
the plaintiffs apply for an injunction,
for an accounting, and for $500 dam
ages each. Mrs. Green offers to pay
the SO 10 principal with the interest
still due upon the loan.