Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-08-21
Yps Sugflfs Aerald.
The nEoving Qan.s OF the Tullis


Before the last Legislature met,
Section 1869 of the Code Of Civil
Procedure read:
"N0 person Is competent to serve
as administrator or administratrix
who, when appointed, Is
!, Under the age of majority;
2, Convicted of an Infamous
8, Adjudged by the Court to be
Incompetent to execute the duties
of the trust, by reason of drunken
uoeos tmprovidence, or want OF un.
derstanding or integrity
The last Legislature, by an Act
passed April l, 1878, added to the
above another cause of incompe-
tency, and said:
mo person Is competent to serve
at au administrator or administra-
tsix who 10 not q bona fide resident
OF the 6tate.n
Thia amendment, made last Win
ter to the law. Is no doubt the cause
that moved Dye to murder Tullis,
and to plan the murder Of several
rich bachelors of Sacramento who
have no relatives residing in this
etateg II relatives living abroad
may not be appointed to this posi-
tion, and there are residing In this
State no relatives of the deceased,
the proper inference Is that the
Public Administrator would be
niven charge OF tths property. In
& deed, without showing that TIE
Public Administrator was not a
proper person to take charge
Of estates, no court would
be likely to refuse the appli-
cation Of that officer to have pos
session Of the property Of persons
dying without heirs residing in
California. This is why the rich
bachelor Tullis was killed; why
i've or six other bachelors who
have no relatives here were marked
down In the book Of this modern
Borgia for slaughter; why attempts
on the lives Of some Of the others
were made, and failing, their MUIR
der WAS postponed until the Tullis
lob was finished! And II the MUIR
dorers had succeeded in escaping
suspicion In the Tullis case q series
Of mysterious murders of
these doomed bachelors would
have followed beyond doubt 1t
ID we'll for the State, well for the
good name of Sacramento, we'll for
the murderers themselves, we'll for
the doomed pei sons whose heads
were to he laid low in succession,
that these demons have been
caught.
On examination Of the records in
the office OF the Secretary of State
We find that the bill of last Winter.
making this amendment to section
1850 OF The Code of Civil Procedure
which instigated the murder Of
TullIs and caused the murder OF
numerous other citizens to be con-
templated. was introduced January
18th, by Senator Smith, OF Los An
Reles. It was referred to the Judi
ciary Committee OF the Senate and
by them its passage was recom-
mended. 1t was e-referrel to the
same committee, amended and its
passage again recommended.-Sdc.
Bee.
The Bee will find still more
moving reason for the crime in the
change which was made three
years ago in the law touching the
Standardization OF the estates OF
poFsons dying iptestate. BY that
change the Public Administrators
took precedence of creditors. who
came In before the Public Admin
iDtrator in the law rs it was. The
Code was purposely changed in
this respect to give the Public Ad-
ministrators a better chance to
make profit out of their Office.
Under the law, before this change
was made, an estate but very rare
~ found its way into the hands of
the Public Administrator. as but
few men possessing property die
altogether free of debt.