DIVISION THREE — BRAINS. 209 



ance v/ith his original agreement ; and with this understanding Mr. J. B. 

 Corson set about to see if the city would not buy it, and support the Library 

 as a public institution. He consulted several lawyers about the matter, and 

 they said, under the very limited powers of a " city of the Sixth class," as 

 Pasadena was, there was no law or authority by which the city trustees 

 could appropriate funds for such a purpose. But W. E. Arthur took issue 

 with the older attorneys on this, and gave a written opinion that there was 

 law and authority for it. Frank J. Policy was then the city attorney, and 

 he concurred with Mr. Arthur's opinion. Upon this, Hon. A. G. Throop, 

 " Father Throop," who was then a member of the city board, said, " It is a 

 good thing, a right thing for the city to secure the Library property, and 

 make it a free public institution." Some other members, under adverse ad- 

 vice of other lawyers, were afraid it was not good law — and the times were 

 too hard, anyway — the city expenses were already burdensome — the 

 city's management of the library would become a political job — and various 

 other "lions in the way " loomed up through the fog. But "Father 

 Throop " championed the cause both in public and private until he had won 

 every member of the city board to his view. Thereupon they submitted to 

 public vote a proposition to issue $8,500 of city bonds to purchase the 

 Library property, finish the building, etc.; and this was carried by a large 

 majority on January 14, 1890. 



Meanwhile, Col. Ray, as trustee for the syndicate, was buying up the 

 outstanding small debts of the old society ; and on January 23, 1890, his 

 attorney, W. E. Arthur, filed in court these assigned claims amounting in 

 the aggregate to $979.55. On March 26, 1890, J. B. Corson was made 

 trustee of the syndicate in place of Col. Ray, who was removing back 

 east ; in fact, Mr. Corson had done most of the work, anyway, toward get- 

 ting things into shape to save the Library from being broken up, scattered, 

 and wiped out entirely by bankruptcy.* April 4, 1890, the Library Society, 

 by W. F. Channing as acting president, and L. C. Winston as secretary, 

 made to Mr. Corson as trustee of the syndicate a quitclaim deed of all the 

 Library Society's property on Dayton street — consideration, $1. Also a 

 friendly suit was entered in the Superior court, with Arthur as attorney 

 for the Syndicate trustee, and M. C. Hester attorney for the Library So- 

 ciety ; and on August 3, 1890, the latter allowed the case to go by default, 

 so that the title of the Library, lot, books, fixtures, etc., on Dayton street 

 was by decree of court vested in J. B. Corson as trustee. All this was to 

 enable him to convey the books, etc., to the city, and to sell the lot for bene- 

 fit of the makers of that $6,000 note. They paid Mr. Legge the costs 

 which he had necessarily incurred in redeeming the new building at sheriflPs 

 sale, and he engaged to convey it to the city as soon as the building should 



*March 16, 1888, the Library property was sold to the state for delinquent taxes amounting to 

 5.32 But it was redeemed by the Society on October 26 of the same year at a cost of $65.68. 



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