Los Angeles herald., 1909-01-30
STARTS FIGHT
AT AUTO SHOW
SECRETARY HARRISON TRIES
FOR A KNOCKOUT
DEALERS WANT RESIGNATION OF
OFFICIAL
Bad Blood Engendered by Orders Isl
sued Concerning Removal of
Special Decorations for
Society Night

whic. landed lightly on the referees
jaw" probably would be the sporting
phrase to describe what took place at
the automobile show before the So
ciety throng began to arrive yesterday
morning.
"It looked like it would be ten min
utes' old-time rough house." is the way
dealer described it.
H. o. Harrison, secretary of the
Automobile Dealers association, di-
rected the blows at L. B. Harvey, a
man somewhat older than his would
be aSsailant.
Mr.. Harvey, who is connected with
the home factory of the Rambler
company, was by no means alarmed
and would doubtless have given
good account of himself had the as
sault not been prevented by bystand-
ers.
Mr.. Harvey was a guest at the booth
of L. K. Cowan, the local Rambler
agent. Mr.. Cowan stepped in be-
tween the men just in time to receive
the blow aimed by Harrison, which
landed lightly on his upper lip. Be-
fore further blows were struck with
any effectiveness, although Harrison
repeatedly made violent efforts to get
to Harvey, the many dealers who
were present succeeded in holding him
back and finally leading him away.
Harrison did not go far, however, be-
fore he returned and assumed so
threatening an attitude toward Har-
vey that he was again led away, this
time to the managers office, accom-
panied by a number of dealers, in
Guiding Cowan. He was prevailed
upon to make no further demonstra-
tons on the floor of the show but is
said to have promised to whip Harvey
on the street the next time he meets
him.
Harvey an Elderly Man
Mr.. Harvey is an elderly man, who is
widely and favorably known in this
portion of the state, holding the Chans-
lor and Lyon cup. which he won in a
competition last year. He has been
identified with the Rambler company
for many years, at present being iden-
titled with the Thomas B. Jeffrey COM
pany, from it's San Francisco branch.
He has been here during the entire
show, assisting at the Rambler booth,
and is said to have been nominally in
charge of the booth at the time during
the absence of Mr.. Cowan from the
floor of the show.
The affair came as the result of a
suppressed agitation which had pos
sessed many of the exhibiting dealers
throughout the afternoon. 1t. resulted
as an immediate effect of the efforts OF
the dealers to further beautify their
booths for last evenings brilliant So
ciety affair at the show. The executive
committee had decided that the formal
decorations of California redwood, cleo
trict lights and stucco designs might
be departed from for the evenings Oc-
casiOn that the individual dealers mig ht
resort to their respective ideas for
further decoration by the use of rib
bons, flowers, ETC., which should be in
general harmony with the prevailing
color scheme of white and green. These
instructions were given out by Man
ager Ferris to each person in charge of
the respective booths. The newspapers
publicly announced these general in
structions and the dealers all day long
have been perfecting their extra deco
rations with this general idea In view.
Many Schemes Vetoed
Manager Conwell of the Maxwell
Briscoe-Los Angeles company, also a
member of the executive committee
with Secretary Harrison, with his corps
of assistants, had transformed his
booth into a beautiful bower by the use
of frosted white leaves, green sprigs,
white and pale green ribbons and Silken
cords, all festooned about the walls and
ceilings of his booth and also around
the cars on exhibition. The Woodill
Auto company adopted a lighting
scheme, stringing row upon row Of tiny
electric light bulbs of white and green
across the ceiling of their booth, trans
forming it into a fairy retreat.
Don Lee of the Lee Automobile COM
pany had perhaps gone further than
anyone by hanging great festoons of
green and yellow plants and flowers
from the ceiling of his booth, the effort
being nothing short of exquisite.
The Rambler booth had been deco
rated with great branches of natural
apple blossoms which had been brought
from a great distance and entWined
about the columns that mark the boun-
diaries of that booth. A filmy, delicate
drapery of pale pink had been employed
in the general feStoOning of the apple
blossoms, which cast the daintiest of
color about the archWay at the front of
the booth.
Other dealers had begun equally elab-
crate decorations of their booths, but
had been informed earlier that wher-
ever they did not hold strictly to the
color scheme of white and green they
could go no further with their decOra-
| lions, and in many cases the special
decorative work stopped entirely.
Harrison Issues Orders
The WoodiIl brothers, with a crew of
electricians, were busy at work string
ing their electric wires when Secretary
Harrison is said to have notified them
that their lights would not be per-
mitted and if the work was persisted
in that their fuses would be pulled out
altogether. Much chagrin naturally de-
veloped in the quarter of the Woodill
booth and it was finally decided that
the work should GO on regardless.
Don Lee was likewise informed that
his decorations must stop and he
promptly notified the management that
if they insisted he would stop, but
would tender his resignation to the
Dealers association.
The agitation thus created began to
crystalize around the Rambler booth
when Manager Dick Ferris endeavored
to inform the Rambler people that he
had received instructions from Secre-
tary Harrison that the pink drapery
must come down. Expostulations fol-
lowed on the part of Mr.. Harvey, Fer
ris endeavoring to explain that the or
ders came from the secretary of the
association and were being enforced
impartially by him in the case of all
dealers. A crowd rapidly gathered and
I. general protest went up against the
ruling of Secretary Harrison. no one
laying the blame on Manager Ferris.
At this juncture Al Woodill engaged
in the general protest, having been at
tracted to the scene from his booth, he
taking the position that the public had
been told of the special decorations, of
dollar admission for the evening and
the suspension of the free list and that
the decorations should be allowed to