The San Francisco call., 1908-07-06
Stanford Student, Expelled on
Charge of Writing Obscene
Letters, to Fight
Father Coming From Denver to
Begin Action Against
Committeeman
Report of Handwriting Expert Is
Said to Vindicate Popular
Undergraduate

Claudius Raymond, the Stanford
student who was expelled from the
university last May by the students
affairs committee on charge of writ
ing obscene letters, has instructed his
attorneys to bring suit for heavy dam
ages against Professor A. B. Clark,
the chairman of the committee, and
the other members of the disciplinary
body of the college. Raynond's
father, who lives in Denver, is on his
way to this city to take personal
charge of his sons fight for vindica-
ton, and as soon as he arrives imme-
diate action will be taken in the mat
ter. 4 formidable array Of legal tai
ent and the best known handwriting
experts on the coast have been en-
gagged in behalf of the accused stu
dent. and. it is said that the case will
be fought to the bitter end.
LETTERS ARE OBTAINED
Raymond placed his case in the
hands of Thomas, Gerstie, Prick &
Beedy. They called upon Clark for
them up. Raymond's attorneys then
prepared TO bring mandamus proceed
ings to obtain possession of the let
ters, but the threat alone was evil
IDENTIFY sufficient, for the documents
are now in the custody of the law
yers. Theodore Kytka, the handwrit-
ing expert has been at work on them
for some time, and it is said that he
is prepared to make his report. It
is rather broadly intimated that the
findings of the expert will bring but
little comfort to the professors. who
expelled Raymond from college.
1t is said that the evidence, which
was sufficient in the minds OF the
members of the students affairs COM
mittee to convict Raymond. was the
similarity in the writing in the let
ters to his signature on one of his
enrolment cards. These cards are
kept on file in the registrars office,
where they are readily accessible to
the members of the faculty.
COMPARES SIGNATURES
The letters in question were written
last winter to various campus resi-
dents, including both faculty members
and students. Most of these letters
were turned over to the students af-
fairs committee, and they in turn Sc
cured the services of Professor r. /.
Green. former head of the committee
and well known for his detective feats
while he was in that position. Green
at once conceived the idea of com
paring the writing in the letters to
the signatures of all the students
kept on file in the registrars office.
This was done. and it is presumed
that the signature to Raymond's en-
rollment card was believed by the
committee members to have been
written by the same hand that in
dited the letters.
The usual announcement was made
that a student had been expelled for
writing the letters, but the fact that
his name was withheld caused a mild
ripple of surprise in the college COM
munity.
LoATH TO BELIEVE CHARGE
This was increased to the magnitude
of a. sensation when 1t leaked out that
Claudius Raymond. one of the best
liked and best known of the under
+ graduates, was the student in ques-
I ton.
His name would never have been
/ given to the public If Raymond had
not begun action to vindicate himself,
and this fact, coupled with his gen.
/ orally good reputation, made his fell
/ low students loath to believe the
charges made against him.
The men who are threatened with
/ suit are palpably worried, for they
1 realize that the burden of the proof
/ will be on them, and while they be-
1 lieve that they did no injustice they
realize that they will have no easy
time in proving to the satisfaction of
/ a iurv that Raymond wrote the letters
l in question.
/ The students who were expelled last
semester and their friends have learned
/ of Raymond's determination to sue
with unrestrained expressions of
| Measure.