Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-11-28
HYPNOSIS ENTERS
IN STRANGE SUIT
STOCKHOLDERS SAY PRESI-
DENT is SVENGALI
Declares He Has Used Psychological
Powers to the Detriment of
Development Company
Directors

w. R. Price. president and general
! manager of the Guerrero Development
! company, who is said to have hypno-
| tized the eompanys board of directors
into doing his bidding and allowing
him to dispose of $4,000 belonging to
| the concern without any apparent fill
/ ing up of its strong box or bank de-
| posits. was in the superior court yes
| terday, where his attorney moved to
| dismiss the restraining order prevent
| ing the firm from further conducting
: the business.
| This motion was denied by Judge
/ Monroe and a hearing on the injunc-
tion suit filed by B. c. Hatch and other
| stockholders. which has for its object
the elimination of DR. Price as the
controlling person in the company's at
! fairs. was set for 1880 o'clock Monday
night
A. H. Ten Brock, the companys sec
rotary, who lives in San Francisco,
was also in court. According to affi-
davits filed by the defense, the secre-
fary had full charge of the books, and
if anything went wrong Ten Brock is
the man responsible. Attorneys e.
c. DEMO and L. J. Hart. the stock
holders counsel. however, declare Ten
Brock knew nothing of the company's
affairs, as the books were in DR.. Prices
possession, and until the spell of hyp-
motto influence was broken, it is al
legged, they We're supposed to be in
every way properly kept.
Price has been running the whole
thing: l have had absolutely nothing
to do with it," said Ten Brock yes
terday.
DIR. Price lays the whole trouble at
the door of George H. Walker, who
recently filed an action against the
doctor for damages of $4,000 on ac
count of alleged Islander.
Denies Hypnotism
Walker lost a suit against me grow
ing out of our association in the Ma
tional Dredging company" said Price
yesterday. He was angry and when
he discovered there were a few dis
gruntled stockholders in the Guerrero
company he Immediately took advan-
tage of that fact and began making
trouble. He is responsible for the filing
of this injunction suit, but I have no
fear of the result"
what about the charges of hypno-
tism; did you hypnotic the directors?"
he was asked.
Bah! That is all rot" said Price |
There is no such thing as hypnotisn, |
so far as I know. I certainly know
nothing about it. / have been a teach |
er of psychology, and persons knowing
IiOlHllS dDOul the SGltlltt VI uiiN llAiilE
to study 1t have been easily led. Many
of these persons who are plaintiffs in
this suit are intelligent, and it is ri
diculous to say they have been taken
in"
DR.. Price indicated with a sweep of
his hand nearly a score of men AMI
women in the corridor stockholders in |
the development company.
Some of these persons, however diff |
1rf{fh hood Of tho
One woman. it is claimed. was sent |
into Mexico to look over the property
belonging to the concern Separated |
from the doctor and his alleged powe:
of suggestion, it is said she wrote 20
other stockholders, telling them the
lands supposed to be valued al large
sum were in reality worth practically |
nothing
Stakeholder Hypnotized
Then she returned home. When she |
appeared at a meeting of the stock |
holders, at which DIR. Price presided. IT |
was stated by one of the interested |
shareholders, that she arose to tell the |
results of her investigation, was Sven |
CALLED, and when she opened her mouth |
it was to utter the most glowing de- |
scription of the land and its possibili- |
ties.
"Dr. Price says he doesn't know any |
thing about hypnotism, does he? " |
queried another stockholder. That's |
all right. but am ready to go on the |
stand and testify that I saw him make |
a man imagine he was picking grapes |
from the salty air of Long Beach,"
DR. Price has filed his answer to the |
Islander suit brought against him by |
George H. Wallace. Wallace says |
Price told a number of persons in San |
Francisco that the latter was muir
derer and bad man. In his answer
Price reviews at some length the life |
of Wallace while living at San Ber-
uardinO. Wallace does not deny that |
he killed a man, but says the shooting
took place while the man was resist
ing arrest and a charge against him
as a result of the killing was dis
missed.