The San Francisco call., 1906-12-31
SPIRITS FEATURE Of
ODD SUIT
Local Contractor Accused
of Pretending to Be in
Business With a Ghost
CASE is IN BUFFALO

Sp1r1tualism runs through a legal
controversy begun in Buffalo. n. Y, in
which S H. Woodruff. as the head of a
San Francisco building and engineering
firm. is one of the chief figures. In
some ways II is one of the most re-
nsrkable cases that has come before
modern courts. The suit is brought by
W. ]. Colwen against Sidney H, Clara
end c. H. Woodruff for $25.o00 dam
ages Colwell charges that the defend
ants misrepresented their firm to him
IN order to get him to sever his con-
nection with the Lackawanna Railroad
IN New Jersey and join them in the
building business
colwell alleges in his complaint that
the Woodruffs are spir1tualists; that
they pretended TO him to be able TO
learn from the spirit of the father of
S. H Woodruff. who had been dead for
a long tine. how TO bid on contracts
and what other bidders were doing. Sid
ney Woodruff, in an interview last
night, denied that he and his relatives
had ever been spiritualists. but said
that Colwell was so much of a spirit
ualist that he found 1t impossible to do
business with him
Colweu makes the remarkable state
ment in his complaint that he left his
excellent position as claims agent for
the New Jersey railroad upon the rep
resentation. among other things, that
ne had been selected TO assist in the
management of the woodruff company
upon the advice OF the spirit of Sidney
Woodruff's dead grandfather.
II was represented by Colwell that in
the summer Of 1905 he was earning a
large salary with the railroad company
and had large Investments in California
IN q business line. He had long been a
student Of psychology. and he says that
when the Woodruffs told him that they
were gaining success through the
agency OF the spirit of departed mem
ber Of their family. and that the spirit
had selected him TO assist them TO man
age their work. which was prospering
IN Buffalo. Baltimore, Toronto and
other cities. he readily believed them.
He declared that they claimed, through
infallible spiritual information, TO
know all the secrets of their opponents,
and thus they had been enabled to en-
large the business TO such an extent
that Sidney could no longer control it
tated all specifications and plans for
buildings, he alleged they told him, and
that all difficulties were easily put
aside by daily communication with the
other world.
After becoming a member of the
firm, Colwell said,s he found that he
was the victim of misrepresentation.
Sidney II. Woodruff is the son of
Clara and Cyrus Woodruff, and in an
interview last night he denied they
have anything to do with his business.
He declares that neither he nor his
parents were spiritualists. but that
Colwell. after he had been in Wood
ruffs employ for some time and had OBJ
tained considerable amount of stock
in the Canadian business, proved to be
a most rabid spiritualistfc crank" 1t
became evident to Woodruff. he de-
clares, that "Colwells fooling with
spiritualism had untitled him for con-
tinuance in the partnership.
The Canadian company was put in
the hands Of a receiver continued
Woodruff, through my influence, pure
" and simply TO wind up and discon-
tinue that business. which was per-
fectly solvent and which had no debts,
IN order TO discontinue all business re-
lations with Colwell."
II is also denied by Woodruff that
Colwell left his job at his solicitation,
but that he was looking for a position
at the time he was hired by the former.