Los Angeles herald., 1908-06-13
SAY GOOD WORDS
FOR DUNCANSON
PASADENA GUARDIAN MADE
CAREFUL INQUIRIES
INVESTIGATIONS PROVED MOST
SATISFACTORY
Laura Fry, When Visited, Showed
Every Evidence of Being Greatly
Attached to the Doctor
and His Wife


Special - Tho Herald.
PASADENA, June &c. M. Simpson.
one of the most prominent lawyers OF
this city. and senior member OF the
firm of Simpson, Moody & Simpson. ZIG
Chamber of Commerce building, gave
a Herald reporter today the first au-
fhentic information which has come TO
light concerning the circumstances I'M
der which Charles Grimes allowed MS
little ward, Laura Fry, to be taken INTO
the family of DR.. Duncanson OF Chiho'
by whom, it is alleged, she and boy
from Los Angeles were treated with
great cruelty Mr.. Simpson is close
friend and business associate of Grimes,
and has known him for twenty-five
years.
sWhen Laura Fry was still in the
Pasadena Children's Training school,
said Mr.. Simpson, "Duncanson came
there to look for child to adopt, since
neither he nor his wife had any chill
dren. He was very much. taken Win
little Laura, and made application TO
Grimes to take her home. l met Dun
canson, who was very bright, talka-
tive man, and did not impress me at
all unfavorably. Grimes also liked MS
appearance and consented to let him
take the little girl, provided it should
not be for more Ian few months.
.'At the end of that time Duncanson
he and his wife had become very fond.
Grimes went to San Bernardino to ar
range the legal details of the pro-
cedure and DuncanSon and his VIE
met him there, bringing Laura with
them. She had become very fond OF
them, called them papa and mamma,
and, when they left her with Grimes
for few hours, was not happy until
they came back, when she danced out
lovingly to meet them. Grimes knew
that his ward must have found a good
home. or she would not have acted
in this manner.
when it came to arranging for the
adoption, however, Judge Bledsoe OF
San Bernardino called Grimes aside ano
told him he would not permit Dun
canson to adopt Laura, since the man
had a bad reputation. Grimes at once
had a straight talk with Duncanson,
who told him that Bledsoe had cher
ished a grudge against him ever since
an election a few years before, when
the two had been running for the same
office. Grimes accordingly came home,
leaving the girl with the Duncansons
until he could arrange a place for her
here.
"At this time" continued Mr.. Simp-
son, At had an interview, at Grimes
request, with Attorney Stewart, who
represented the Los Angeles Children S
home, from which the little boy whom
Duncanson had also adopted had been
taken. Stewart told me he had made
trip to Ontario and Upland to in
yestigate Duncanson's standing; that
he had found it excellent, and was so
well satisfied with it that he recon-
mended the home, for which he acted,
to let Duncanson have the boy.
communicated this to Grimes and, as
he at about the same time received a
letter from Duncanson saying that he
and his wife would be heartbroken to
let the girl go, Grimes decided that
they might keep her while longer.
Grimes is absolutely blameless in the
matter, and, while it is possible that
he may have made mistake, there is
not a straighter man in Pasadena
Miss Edith Burgess, superintendent
of the Pasadena Children's Training
school, says: MIR. Duncanson impressed
me as being little peculiar and &C.
centric, but he looked perfectly re-
spectacle I had no objection to letting
him take Laura away" Miss Burgess
was quoted in a Los Angeles paper
this morning as having protested
against the move and told Grimes that
man" She says that this statement
imputed to her is false.
Grimes Is expected to return from
Arizona, where he has been visiting
his mining properties, at once. His
friends state that he is very much
wrought up over the stories which have
come from San Bernardino, and has
expressed his intention of probing the
matter to the bottom and bringing
Duncanson to justice in case he finds
that the latter deceived him.