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Petitioners prosecute this proceeding for the purpose of obtaining a writ of mandate to compel the respondent superior court to enforce contempt proceedings against the secretary of the Security Investment Company, a corporation, the alleged contempt consisting in the refusal of said secretary to obey an order requiring that he exhibit to the petitioners the stock books of the corporation in order that they might ascertain the names of the stockholders and the number of shares owned by each. Petitioners had insisted upon that right under the terms of section 378 of the Civil Code, as alleged creditors of the corporation. • By the petition filed herein petitioners show that at the time of the commencement of this proceeding there was pending in the superior court of the county of San Bernardino an action wherein these petitioners were the plaintiffs and the Security Investment Company and others defendants, which action was one to secure judgment for a large amount of damages alleged to have been caused to the plaintiffs through certain acts of the defendant corporation in obtaining the contracts of the plaintiffs, and because of acts of fraud committed in connection therewith. The…