Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-05
TRUSTEE AND
MAYOR FIGHT
EXCHANGE BLOWS OVER HOTEL
LICENSE
DIFFERENCE IN TIME MAKES
ACTION QUESTIONABLE
opposino Officials May Take Matter
Into Courts Because Watches
Did Not Agree to
Minute

OCEAN PARK, Nov. 4.-The fictien
that has been developed among mem
bers of the Ocean Park board Oh trus-
tees over the granting of a retall hquor
license for the Hotel Decatur bar cu'-
minated tonight in a rough-and-tu -tum-
BILE fight betfeen President II. b. FAX
ms and Trustee George Washington
Foster The affair took place follow
ing a special meeting of the board to-
night when the license in question was
granted to J. B. Doty and F. l.. Stine-
man.
The meeting lasted about fifteen min
utes. When the trustees and the au-
dience, consisting of about dozen
men, all more or less interested in the
procuring of the license, were leaving
the city hall. Foster is said to nave
complained to President Eakins, spok-
en- of locally as mayor of ocean PARK
that the meeting had been called toe
soon. At this, witnesses say, Eakins
accused Foster of 'fditching" the meet
ing tonight, as we'll as last Monday
night. when Foster was brought to the
council chamber by a policeman at the
request of Eakins.
Calls President Liar
Foster. thereupon, in very forcible
language, intimated that Eakins lied
and before anyone was aware what
hannened the two men had clinched
Before they could be separated, Fos-
fer had Eakins down ON the ground
and was pummeling him with one hand
while holding him tightly with the
other. 1t required three men to pull
Foster off and then it took two others
TO prevent Eakins from finishing th@
fight right here, according to wit
nesses.
at didn't amount to anything" said
Ealxins. mo one was hurt. l won
stand for anyone calling me liar.
The law requires that the meetings
of the board of trustees must be called
at 1880, unless in case OF a special meet
ing. when the time is then specified
Tonight's meeting was adjourned from
last Tuesday night When President
Eakins called the board to order to-
NIGHT Trustees j. d. MacKinnon ano
Robert Mayer were the only members
present besides himself. 1t is sale
Trustees Griffith and Foster were moi
far from the city hall, but they failed
TO answer to their names when the
clerk called the roll.
Without wasting any time, the appli-
cation of Doty and Stineman was
brought up and granted. Eakins anc
Mack klnnOn VOteu lOT hiiS AiiSeN9NA =
MAYER refusing steadfastly to vote. AS
this was a majority of the members
present. the action was declared final
In a few minutes Griffith and Foster
came in.
Quarrel Over Watches
Griffith told President Eakins thai
the meeting had been called before tbs
legal time. This was denied by FAX
ins. Griffith then told Eakins that his
watch was wrong and to prove MS
assertion, he called up central on thC
telephone and was informed that it was
then 1928. This was several minutes
after the board had taken action or
the license application. 1t seemed tC
be a question of the veracity o.
watches. Following this incident, botf
men insisted that their watches wer'
correct.
II is said that Griffith, Foster and
others opposed to the granting of tht
license to the Decatur bar, will raise
the question of its legality because O.
the discrepancy in time between the
various watches. Griffith is the hus-
band Of Mrs. Hester T. Griffith, presl'
dent of the state w. G. T. U.