The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1908-01-18
PRETTY WOMEN
TRAP DENTIST
FvAD|NG LAW
Detective Has Tooth Filled by
R. D. Lowry and Causes
His Conviction
Miss McGee Tells in Police Court
How Molar Manipulation
Was Caught
State Examiners New Method
in Running Down Men
Without Licenses

Conversation with a young woman
with a hollow tooth caused Robert
Denton Lowry's conviction on the
charge OF practicing dentistry without
license from the state board Of dental
examiners. In Judge Cabsniss' de-
/ partment of the police court yestcr-
day Lowry was found guilty of the
offense named and will have to face a
penalty, the minimum which may be
adjudged being a $50 fine. Miss Ag-
nes MCGEE, pretty young woman
whose teeth do not look as if they
needed the gold cure, told the jury the
condolences that Lowry poured into her
little ears while he was chisling ana
pegging away at her mouth. and on
that testimony he was convicted.
Miss McGee is q detective who
wrings confessions from dentists as
gracefully as they would extract a
pearly member Of the mouth. But in.
the bright lexicon OF her youth there
is no such word as immunity bath.
She brought the big stick of convic-
tion down hard on the dentist yester-
day. To substantiate Miss McGee's
story, her companion, or deputy de-
tective, Mrs. Maude Wallace, took the
stand and recited how the loquacious
Lowry blithely admitted to Miss Nc
Gee that he did not have state IL
cense permitting hira to hold corona
tion ceremonies on persons gums.
The introduction OF pretty girls into
the detective bureau of the dental ex-
aminers is an innovation, but is so
successful that it probably VIII be fol-
lowed extensively
Miss McGee readily took the stand
in Judge Cabaniss' court yesterday az
ternoon.
II had Mr.. Lowry fill my tooth,'' she
testified Il paid him 81 for the job,
and while he worked ! questioned him.
He told me he was graduate OF l
| don't know how many colleges and that
/ he had been practicing for 20 years
led him on and learned that his diploma
had never been exchanged for a IL
cense to practice in California l am
paid $500 day for my services by the
dental board, and I like the work
/ fine"
On cross-examination Miss McGee
said she had only one tooth fixed and
| that as soon as she left the office of
Lowry she had the filing he had put
in removed.
be not sufficient to convince the jury
of Lowry's guilt. Mrs. Maude Wallace
an equally pretty young woman, was
| asked to corroborate the statements
of her fellow detective. Mrs Wallace
said that she had accompanied Miss
McGec on her trip to Lowrys Office and
had witnessed both the filing of the
molar and the payment of the fee.
Lowrys conviction is the first that
has been secured in San Francisco dur
ing the last year although nearly q
score OF cases have been tried Dr. c.
A. Herrick, secretary OF the board OF
dental examiners attributed the CON
] yiction to the work of the female de-
tective.
'sThe women can learn more from a
dentist than man." said DR.. Herrick,
'and their testimony carries more
weight. We have had four young
women employed for more than a
month, and the evidence they have al
ready dug up will be sufficient to con-
vict at least a dozen unlicensed den
lists. In ether cities it has been un-
necessary to resort to such an extrem-
ity, as convictions were more easily
secured. The result has been that as
fast as the takers were driven out oJ
an Interior town they iocked into Sar
Francisco. Some of the men for whom,
warrants will be secured at an carly
date have been practicing illegally in
this city for dozen years, but the
majority of them have come here to
escape punishment elsewhere"
Lowry introduced testimony to prove
that ne was regularly graduated sru-
dent from a dental college in Kansas
City and that his failure to have IL
cense had been an oversight. On this
account the jury recommended him tt
the leniency OF the court.
Judge Cabaniss announced that he
would pass sentence January 90.