Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-15
ATTORNEYS
BAT TIE IN
LOWE CASE
MANY nTS IN FIGHT OVER
PRESIDENCY
GAS DIRECTORS ACTION REeu.
LAR, HOLDS COURT
Clara ShortrIdge FoItz UphoIds Cause
Of ousted Professor-Two Sets Of
Minutes Made, Testifles
stenographer

Attorney Clara Shortridge Foltz ap-
peared in Judge Charles Monroe's court
yesterday and for five hours hotly up
held the cause of her client, Prof. I. 5.
c. Lowe, who was ousted from the pres
idency of the Peoples Gas and Coke COM
pany Thursday night by action of the
board of directors.
Counsel for the two sides clashed con-
tirually Attorney Foltz maintained that
Prof Lowe still held the office Attor-
ney Goodwin for the defense offered the
minutes of the meeting as evidence of
his contention that Professor Lowe had
been removed in a proper manner.
Judge Monroe accepted the minutes
in evidence and upheld them against the
evidence of Miss Gertrude Ne Caldwell,
stenographer of the company, who testi-
fed that she had prepared other min
utes at the direction of Mr.. Goodwin
and had pasted them in a book but had
afterward cut them out at his request.
Th. minutes were characterized by
Mrs. Foltz as ''libelous and false and
she moved the name of the company be
removed from the case as DEFENDANT
since the individuals who were responsible
for the displacement of Prof. Lowe were
not capacitated to act for the company.
Action Regular
The motion was overruled and the ac-
tion of the directors as shown in the min
utes held to be regular.
ATTORNEY Fo,tz then charged the direc-
tors of having changed the locks on
the private office of Professor Lowe,
erasing his name from the panel OF the
door and excluding him from the premises
which she alleges Prof. Lowe occupied
as head of several other corporations.
She declared he had a right to the use
of the premises even If he were legally
removed from the presidency of the Peo-
pies Gas and Coke company. II was
around this point the argument centered.
The other corporations of which Prof.
Lowe is the head are the Lowe Gas Con-
struction company; Lowe Manufacturing
company; Lowe Gas Appliance company,
and the Oil Refining and Power company.
In addition to the complaint of these cor
porations Professor Lowe appeared per-
sonally as plaintiff
In testimony of the right of these cor
porations to joint use of the headquarters
at 339 South Hill street 1t was declared
that they had been paying their share OF
the rent. which would entitle them to use
of the premises.
Manager c. r. Taylor of the People
Gas and Coke company testified that Mr.
Hays had not used violent and abusive
language in addressing Prof. Lowe when
requesting his resignation. He said that
the motion for the resignation was MADE
while Lowe was occupying the chair.
Lowe Leaves
The professor thereupon made excuse
that he had to step to his office MT.
Taylor said the directors waited for some
time and then went to look for the profes-
sor but he had gone. 1t was then that
the directors elected G. H. Hays as
president.
The witness did not attempt to deny
nor did his attorneys that the locks had
been changed and the name of Professor
Lowe erased from the door of his private
office. This was done by order OF the
board of directors.
c. i. Thompson, director and book
keeper of the company, corroborated
Taylors testimony.
There was another conflict when the
bylaws of the company were offered in
evidence, the attorney for the gas com
pany claiming one book of bylaws to be
the correct and original while Professor
Lowe and his attorney asserted the by
laws lad been amended and the new by
laws were to be found in another book
The court again ruled in favor of Mr..
Goodwin.
The bitter contention lasted until af-
Ter five o'clock, when the court post
poned the hearing to 10 O'Clock this
manning